Cat diagnosed with megacolon, not doing good.

Nebbas is 16 years old and a few weeks ago had her first enema due to constipation. The vet didn't think it was megacolon but started her on lactulose just to be safe. Nebbas and I quickly learned that dosing that stuff twice a day was not going to fly and thanks to forums like this I found out about miralax. It worked great and for about 2 weeks she seemed to feel better than she had in years! I was giving her 1/4tsp twice a day until I noticed her stool getting pretty runny so I lowered it to once a day.

Out of no where she just stopped going to the bathroom and didnt have a bowel movement for 5 days....back to the vet we went. They did x-rays and of course she was constipated but this time it was with diarrhea because of the miralax. He said she does have megacolon, prescribed cisapride and told me to hold off on the miralax until her stool looks less runny.

She has been home for 4 days and I am giving her cisapride 2.5mgs twice a day, she has had one bowel movement a day of diarrhea the last three days so I guess that means the cisapride is working but she seems to still feel pretty bad because she has not come out of the bathroom cabinet (thats one of her favorite hiding places) since Tuesday! She just lays there all day everyday and only comes out to eat and go to the bathroom. I am so worried about her and I don't know what more to do. The vet said she is just full of gas and will feel better after it passes but shouldn't she be feeling better if she is going to the bathroom now?

I am also worried that since I have stopped the miralax that she will start forming new stool and it will get hard and this whole cycle will start over again! The only good thing I have noticed about her is that she is eating like a champ but even that confuses me! It seems like if she is full of gas and dealing with these bowel issues that she would have no appetite. The first time she got constipated she completely quit eating so this time is weird. Dont get me wrong, I am glad she is eating it just doesnt seem to fit with what the vet says is going on with her.

I hope maybe someone reading this has had something similar happen and can give me some advice, I am so worried about my baby. She is normally always by my side so having her living in a cabinet while I just wait it out is killing me!

How is Nebbas doing today?  I'm afraid I don't have any experience with megacolon in cats, so I'm bumping this up for you.  Hopefully another member will come along with some help for you.  

What type of food is she on?  Often with megacolon getting as much fiber out of the diet as possible helps.

Things about Megacolon:

1. You will have good and bad days.

My cat was diagnosed at 2yrs and is now 16 and a half. We've had our ups and downs and finding the right food and medication balance is key. The only upside was Bandit was diagnosed young and he was one tough little guy!

Fluids are important if he's throwing up and diarrhea can happen : the new stool with lactulose/PEG (mirilax/restoralax) will be soft and ooze around the hard stool. Have your vet teach you how to massage the colon. This is what I do for my boy and have done for years. the colon for cats with this condition does not have proper paristalsys action to move the stool down and break it up.

Ciscipride is a motility drug---it creates the contraction of the colon to help keep the bowel moving. 

lactulose, PEG (ingredient in mirilax/restoralax) helps keep stool soft for easy passage.

I went with a high fiber diet for my boy and this seems to help him a lot. But, there are many new food therapies today and each kitty is different.

Did your kitty get checked for kidney disease? Constipation is the first sign of kidney issues. Hydration then is also important and there are great wet foods for cats with kidney issues that are very watery and help with constipation.

Good luck!!!

Thanks for your response. I understand it will take a while to get her meds under control but she is just acting so weird. Hiding in a cabinet for days but when I pet her she seems happy and she comes out a lot to eat but that's it.

On your cats bad days does she act strange, kind of aloof is how I would describe nebbas. I really hope it's just a matter of getting the medicine right.

She did have a more normal looking bowel movement yesterday. It wasn't diarrhea, quite soft but don't you think that's better than to hard?

I'd look at putting her on a raw or homecooked diet asap.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/constipated-cats/

http://www.foodfurlife.com/

http://www.radfood.com/

Also consider giving her some slippery elm bark syrup daily. 

http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/

The softer the stool, the easier to pass: Remember, a cat with mega colon has a fault with how the muscles contract. The reason the stool gets rock hard is because the muscle cannot pass it and it stays in the bowel too long. When my boy was first diagnosed, they wanted him to have very, very soft stool.  It was not an easy time and we spent a LOT Of time at the vet.  Finding the right diet (we went with a high fiber diet that worked for him) and absolutely NO hard food. My boy doesn't drink water--not sure why, but he doesn't. So, no hard food and that really helped him when he went on all wet food diet.

Raw diets for megacolon cats are not always recommended. I would speak to your vet first before trying this or anything holistic. Some holistic medications or natural ones may do more damage than good because the bowel isn't functioning as it should.

Sorry to hear about your baby. My 18 yr old Mimi has megacolon. What works for us is Royal Canin Gastrointestinal dry. I wouldn't have believed it but it increases her thirst so she stays hydrated and she gets 2.5 Cisapride daily. Her bowels move a little everyday. No more worries or vet visits. Hope you find the magic combination soon.