My cat is recently suffering from constipation and I am so sad and frustrated about it...

j0717 · Dec 23, 2016

Hello everyone, I'm Jo and I have a beautiful girl called Ashe, who is 4 years old domestic short hair.

I joined this site to get some advises and comforts because dealing with feline constipation is so difficult

Ashe started to have this constipation since November this year. She was fine before.. no major change in her diet. I used to give her Applaws dry and wet food but switched to fancy feast due to costs (I'm not too rich

just a student. So sad) and then to Whiskas wet food.

Her first episode of constipation was when I was feeding her applaws and fancy feast cans. She couldn't just defecate... She urinates fine, plays fine, eats very well but just no poo. I had no idea about her being constipated just thought that she isn't going that regularly. However, as constipation progresses she strains to poo and when she does, the poo is very dense and small.

So I took her to the vet and the Dr had to give enema (under anesthesia). It was successful and she seemed fine for couple of weeks.

BUT recently... it came back...I took her to the vet and Dr tried with overnight stay and fluids + Miralax? or something like that...

It didn't work for poor baby

( I was so emotional and sad at the fact Dr suggested another enema. I was definitely worried about the cost (approx. $500 each enema in Australia). Altogether I spent around $1000. BUT I was more worried about my cat having to go through that again...

There was no choice but to do second enema, and this was done last wednesday. I asked if she had any problem with other organs and the Dr said they were fine according to blood tests and few others. So I'm pretty sure she's otherwise healthy. Anyway when it was done, Ashe was given medication to take (lactulose 2ml 2 times per day) and had to change the diet into Royal canin gastrointestinal wet food and diabetic dry food. Apparently my vet don't have gastro dry food so they suggested diabetic one. She DOES NOT HAVE DIABETES but apparently it is high in fiber which will help stimulate bowl movement. So I just agreed and bought them.

What stresses me the most is that she DID NOT POO YET. I'm so frustrated, worried, and I don't know how to describe it anymore... Is it normal for cat not to defecate after enema? I called the vet and they just said give a couple more days because her bowl was completely emptied out so it needs time until the next one. Dr told me she needs to exercise as well (because she wasn't really moving much at home) so I tried to get her exercise but she just won't. Most likely she is stressed after another enema and overnight in the vet

((( I'm scared about possibility of another fecal impact.

I'm also waiting on cisapride (about $160 dollars) to be compounded and provided to my vet. Would this drug help...? I really hope it does. Another thing I'm worried is that the Dr was telling me that Ashe may develop megacolon and may need a surgery if cisapride does not work... Can megacolon be developed this quickly? Considering constipation only happened twice. I'm really scared... if I have no other choice but to go with surgery, my parents would probably won't let me keep her with me anymore. I'm so sad. I really really hate to become an irresponsible owner of my baby.

I love her so much but I don't know what I can do in this situation... I'm just hoping to avoid surgery...

doshin · Dec 23, 2016

Have you tried just adding some olive oil to her food?

Probably not a final solution for your situation but it could possibly help some?

artiemom · Dec 23, 2016

@j0717 I am going through a very similar situation with my guy..

Artie was originally diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, along with constipation.. a real contradiction..

To make a long story short, He was put on Miralax a couple of years ago...I was mixing 1/4 tsp twice a day with water and added it to his wet food..he was prescribed cisapride earlier this year. It does help, however, you have to keep increasing the dosage. He is also taking Cerenia, prednisolone, and pepcid for the IBD..

He had his first enema 2 weeks ago because of constipation--not being able to poop.

Since then, he was prescribed an increased dose of cisapride, lactulose, and an increase in the Miralax.

I took him to the specialist yesterday. He had an ultrasound, an x-ray, another enema because he was still constipated, and another drug was added, Reglan..

Turns out that Artie has a lot of disease. He has inflammatory bowel disease, in addition to motility issues in his bowel, which can lead into megacolon..

I know exactly how you feel.. I spent a thousand dollars yesterday.. between the ultrasound, enema, x-ray, physical exam, and the drugs...

The specialist told me that he has a lot of disease..So I really understand how you feel...

They did warn me that he may not poop for a couple of days because he has been completely cleaned out.. I try to remember how I feel after I have had a bad bout of a GI upset. I do not poop for a few days also....

Keep giving your baby the medicine... she will eventually poop, if you are concerned, call the Vet..that is what they are here for....

Now I am dealing with my guy not having an appetite, again....

((Hugs)))

j0717 · Dec 23, 2016

Doshin said:
Have you tried just adding some olive oil to her food?
Probably not a final solution for your situation but it could possibly help some?

Yes... But it did not work

i guess olive oil works for mild constipation

j0717 · Dec 23, 2016

Artiemom said:
@j0717
I am going through a very similar situation with my guy..

Artie was originally diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, along with constipation.. a real contradiction..

To make a long story short, He was put on Miralax a couple of years ago...I was mixing 1/4 tsp twice a day with water and added it to his wet food..he was prescribed cisapride earlier this year. It does help, however, you have to keep increasing the dosage. He is also taking Cerenia, prednisolone, and pepcid for the IBD..

He had his first enema 2 weeks ago because of constipation--not being able to poop.
Since then, he was prescribed an increased dose of cisapride, lactulose, and an increase in the Miralax.

I took him to the specialist yesterday. He had an ultrasound, an x-ray, another enema because he was still constipated, and another drug was added, Reglan..

Turns out that Artie has a lot of disease. He has inflammatory bowel disease, in addition to motility issues in his bowel, which can lead into megacolon..

I know exactly how you feel.. I spent a thousand dollars yesterday.. between the ultrasound, enema, x-ray, physical exam, and the drugs...

The specialist told me that he has a lot of disease..So I really understand how you feel...

They did warn me that he may not poop for a couple of days because he has been completely cleaned out.. I try to remember how I feel after I have had a bad bout of a GI upset. I do not poop for a few days also....

Keep giving your baby the medicine... she will eventually poop, if you are concerned, call the Vet..that is what they are here for....

Now I am dealing with my guy not having an appetite, again....

((Hugs)))

oh no... I'm really sorry to hear you and your baby is going through hard times...

Your case would be much more difficult due to other co-morbidities. I know how it feels to put our babies into such a traumatic procedures

...and puts lots of emotional and financial stress on us too. I hope you and your sweet kitty stay strong and your baby will be in my kitty prayers.
((BIG BEAR HUGS))

j0717 · Dec 23, 2016

UPDATE ON ASHE

This morning I woke up (around 8 am in Australia) hoping and praying to see a faeces... and......FINALLY!!!! A brown looking stool! It wasn't bigger than I expected it to be and she didn't have diarrhea even though she is on lactulose (i heard some kitty get diarrhea). The stool was soft when I felt it with gloves so I guess it is a good sign! FOR NOW.

I forgot to mention one thing in the earlier reply! I heard there are products to increase the appetite for cats. I am not sure if that will work for your baby Artie because I believe he's not keen to eat due to upset stomach. I will continue to pray for both our cats.

sophie2ellie · Dec 23, 2016

the olive oil made the pooh run right out of her, but when I did get her unconstipated, I was able to add more treats to her food and that included those hard little treats in a bag. She was constipated again real soon. I am serious, it looked like cement in her intestines.

now the treats are gone from the house, we bought some Beyond Cat food, no sugar, and are keeping our fingers crossed.

Merry Christmas everyone

darkhorse321 · Dec 23, 2016

Have dealt with this for about 14 yrs (my boy was diagnosed at 2), there is a balance of how you can manage chronic constipation. First, you need a diagnosis. My boy was diagnosed with megacolon and this was his regiem:

1. Ciscipride 3x daily (propulsid)

2. Lactulose 1x daily

3. NO HARD FOOD---this is the key. Must give wet food only.

Later on, I stopped the lactulose in favor of PEG or Mirliax/Restoralax. That was a saving grace. Also, high fiber wet food---this is what helped my boy go---and I also learned how to massage his bowel---you would need the vet to show you how, but this is a godsend. Cats with megacolon have, in my boy's case, a neurological issue and the bowel doesn't work properly--the muscles don't contract in normal paristalsis. So, you do it for them. You manipulat the stool to keep it smaller/break it up. My boy was EXCELLENT with this, and as a result, with the wet food fiber diet, PEG and ciscipride, he was able to have a normal life...until this year, when he became ill with pancreatitis, and just never rebounded. We think he had some sort of IBD along with megacolon and likely bowel cancer, for which I chose not to test for. Bandit was 16 and I had to let him fly with the angels 2 weeks before he turned 17. <3. I miss him. But through his entire life, he was a champ with his medication and medical issues of mega colon.

Best of luck to you!

white shadow · Dec 23, 2016

Hi and welcome to the forum, j0717 !

There's a marvelous website....completely reliable and science-based....and written in plain English....all about feline constipation.

That's probably why it's called Feline Constipation.org

I firmly believe it's a must-read for anyone living with a cat.

Now, there's a second, equally reputable site.......probably a should-be prerequisite to adopting a cat, because it could have prevented all these problems: Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition - Lisa A. Pierson DVM Besides fundamental dietary info, there's a ton (tonne?

) of other must-knows....like, check out the 'vaccinations' article there.....then, the others.

Hope that helps !

j0717 · Dec 24, 2016

darkhorse321 said:
Have dealt with this for about 14 yrs (my boy was diagnosed at 2), there is a balance of how you can manage chronic constipation. First, you need a diagnosis. My boy was diagnosed with megacolon and this was his regiem:
1. Ciscipride 3x daily (propulsid)
2. Lactulose 1x daily
3. NO HARD FOOD---this is the key. Must give wet food only.

Later on, I stopped the lactulose in favor of PEG or Mirliax/Restoralax. That was a saving grace. Also, high fiber wet food---this is what helped my boy go---and I also learned how to massage his bowel---you would need the vet to show you how, but this is a godsend. Cats with megacolon have, in my boy's case, a neurological issue and the bowel doesn't work properly--the muscles don't contract in normal paristalsis. So, you do it for them. You manipulat the stool to keep it smaller/break it up. My boy was EXCELLENT with this, and as a result, with the wet food fiber diet, PEG and ciscipride, he was able to have a normal life...until this year, when he became ill with pancreatitis, and just never rebounded. We think he had some sort of IBD along with megacolon and likely bowel cancer, for which I chose not to test for. Bandit was 16 and I had to let him fly with the angels 2 weeks before he turned 17.

j0717 · Dec 24, 2016

White Shadow said:
Hi and welcome to the forum, j0717 !

There's a marvelous website....completely reliable and science-based....and written in plain English....all about feline constipation.

That's probably why it's called Feline Constipation.org

I firmly believe it's a must-read for anyone living with a cat.

Now, there's a second, equally reputable site.......probably a should-be prerequisite to adopting a cat, because it could have prevented all these problems: Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition - Lisa A. Pierson DVM Besides fundamental dietary info, there's a ton (tonne? :lol3: ) of other must-knows....like, check out the 'vaccinations' article there.....then, the others.

Hope that helps !

Thank you for providing me with these article!

j0717 · Dec 24, 2016

Another update... Very worried too.

Hello everyone, I am really worried about Ashe at the moment because she was suddenly coughing like...wheezes. It sounded like those coughs from shortness of breath or something like that... Could she be allergic to the royal canin diet? Or could it be because she was playing a little after she ate? I'm so stressed out again

white shadow · Dec 24, 2016

I'd suggest watching her carefully.

One possibility, especially when things are not moving smoothly through the gut system, is that there's some hair at play in there...hair that otherwise might just flow through and get 'dumped'.

That said, don't just assume that...monitor

white shadow · Dec 24, 2016

I'd suggest watching her carefully.

One possibility, especially when things are not moving smoothly through the gut system, is that there's some hair at play in there...hair that otherwise might just flow through and get 'dumped'.

That said, don't just assume that...monitor

ocean22 · Jan 4, 2017

Hi everyone

New here..and I'm so grateful to have found this site/thread. I don't feel so alone now. I can relate to everyone's posts. Thank you, all ~!

My boy has been suffering from mega colon for nearly 2 yrs. Currently he's on lactulose 3ml - 3 times a day. In the summer heat he only seems to need it 2 times a day. Though recently it seems to not be working as well. He is 4 1/2 yrs old. I only have the one feline so it's easy to keep tabs on him. Every time he does go it's an enormous relief to us both !!~~!~!

Initially he got very sick before i knew he had this problem. It was heart wrenching, and still is when he doesn't go. When he skips a day it freaks me out b/c he never misses a day with the lactulose. I'm waiting for a call back from the vet now to see if mirilax might help. I don't want to wait until we're in crisis mode ever again.

Darkhorse 321, I'm so sorry for your loss. I read that your Bandit allowed you to massage his bowels. My boy still fights me tooth and nail at every dose...no way will he let me massage his tummy !

Every other day i need to scrub the rug and walls as most times after i give him a dose, he shakes his head & the remaining med goes flying everywhere. I also must go after him with warm wet paper towels to wipe off the remaining liquid off his face, body, whiskers etc which he hates but it must be kept up... he's a long hair. Once this stuff dries it's very difficult to remove as many of you know.

Yet..... !!!!!.............. I'll Happily continue to do Anything it takes to keep him comfortable and his bowels moving.

jo717, I'm sending best of thoughts to you and Ashe. Our pets are ever so precious to us.

Artiemom, sending you & Artie good thoughts also.. and everyone else here who is having issues with their babies

darkhorse321 · Jan 5, 2017

The hardest part of megacolon is that every kitty is different.

I did find that a hard food for GI issues worked really well---I think it's Royal Canin. The wet food I used was a Pet Valu brand cal Performatrin weight management. This was his food for years.

Restoralax/Mirilax was a godsend though---or, PEG as it's known as (since it's marketed under different names in diffferent countries). That was what really helped Bandit live a normal life.

The bowel manipulations are also a HUGE help...but sadly, not every kitty is as good as Bandit.

I wish all of your kitties the best and that you can figure out that balance of food and medication. Once you have that, you will have a happy kitty who can poop.

In regards to Bandit's needs---he never had hard food due to the binding nature of it (that and Bandit didn't drink water until he developed pancreatitis). Wet food is best to stick with unless your kitty won't eat anything but hard food. Then try the GI hard food from Royal Canin (obviously speak to your vet).

Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions via Private Message. If I can help ANYONE with all that I went through with Bandit, I will. Just remember I am not a vet, but I have worked with vets and am very comfortable around animals and work with animals, so I was able to be taught things that some people might choose not to do, which is totally fine!

www.freewebs.com/banditsstory for Bandit's full life story, and his sad departure from my life.

artiemom · Jan 5, 2017

darkhorse321 said:
The hardest part of megacolon is that every kitty is different.

I did find that a hard food for GI issues worked really well---I think it's Royal Canin. The wet food I used was a Pet Valu brand cal Performatrin weight management. This was his food for years.

Restoralax/Mirilax was a godsend though---or, PEG as it's known as (since it's marketed under different names in diffferent countries). That was what really helped Bandit live a normal life.

The bowel manipulations are also a HUGE help...but sadly, not every kitty is as good as Bandit.

I wish all of your kitties the best and that you can figure out that balance of food and medication. Once you have that, you will have a happy kitty who can poop.

In regards to Bandit's needs---he never had hard food due to the binding nature of it (that and Bandit didn't drink water until he developed pancreatitis). Wet food is best to stick with unless your kitty won't eat anything but hard food. Then try the GI hard food from Royal Canin (obviously speak to your vet).

Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions via Private Message. If I can help ANYONE with all that I went through with Bandit, I will. Just remember I am not a vet, but I have worked with vets and am very comfortable around animals and work with animals, so I was able to be taught things that some people might choose not to do, which is totally fine!

www.freewebs.com/banditsstory for Bandit's full life story, and his sad departure from my life.

thank you for your website.. your love for Bandit is extraordinary.. ((hugs)) I may contact you one of these days.. kind of going through the same thing with my guy...

ocean22 · Jan 5, 2017

Thanks for your response, darkhorse

Again i so appreciate other's experiences. Without finding this site i never would have realized there are alternatives that can help keep my precious & ever-so feisty boy around. He is my first cat, a rescue. And we are so so bonded !

Happy to say he Did get some relief yesterday ! Yes, he is on Royal Canin. I asked the vet about the mirilax and she said try 1/4 tsp in his am & pm meals. Tried less than that in his supper today and he actually ate it. He is very fussy so i held my breath ! I am fortunate to have a vet who is open to suggestions. We check back with her tomorrow as to his reaction to the mirilax.

I would love to get him off the lactulose eventually. i'm leery of all that sugar causing yet another issue down the road. Am in a wait & see mode for now tho. One step at a time.

How nice for you both that Bandit let you rub his tummy...a love like no other

artiemom · Jan 5, 2017

Ocean22 said:
Thanks for your response, dark horse

Again i so appreciate other's experiences. Without finding this site i never would have realized there are alternatives that can help keep my precious & ever-so feisty boy around. He is my first cat, a rescue. And we are so so bonded !

Happy to say he Did get some relief yesterday ! Yes, he is on Royal Canin. I asked the vet about the mirilax and she said try 1/4 tsp in his am & pm meals. Tried less than that in his supper today and he actually ate it. He is very fussy so i held my breath ! I am fortunate to have a vet who is open to suggestions. We check back with her tomorrow as to his reaction to the mirilax.

I would love to get him off the lactulose eventually. i'm leery of all that sugar causing yet another issue down the road. Am in a wait & see mode for now tho. One step at a time.

How nice for you both that Bandit let you rub his tummy...a love like no other

When you give your little boy Miralax, you should mix it with water and add it to the wet food. It should not be mixed into the food in the dry state. The extra water should help your guy also..

ocean22 · Jan 6, 2017

Thank you for that info Artiemom ! I will mix it with water when he has his lunch

Being a strictly indoor kitty he doesn't get enough exercise. So i engaged him in some romping around.. Not long after we stopped did he have a nice soft poop !!!! Now that I'm feeling better we will have 'playtime' once a day again. The tiny amount of mirilax made quite an impact too - as he dripped a bit overnight.

-d

- unrelated question, how do i respond a a post without creating a whole new one... i see some folks replying directly within a post.

My cat is recently suffering from constipation and I am so sad and frustrated about it...

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