Diet to manage megacolon

[katkelly]

I just wanted to thank the girl who posted about the Wellness Core food, it literally saved my cat's life!  I am a HUGE cat person and have rescued numerous cats and currently have 8 (5 inside and 3 that are inside/outside and live in the catroom basement).  My favorite cat Lulu was diagnosed with Megacolon after being severely constipated and even being put under to have it removed, only to have to be admitted to the vet two weeks later for the same reason and given 8 enigmas until she finally got cleaned out!!! The poor thing  She was then diagnosed with Megacolon and I was devestated.  My vet is fabulous and has always shown me things I could do at home myself rather than stressing my cats out by bringing them to her, like doing my own IV with salines for Subcu fluids, etc.  For Lulu, she was going to need weekly (or more) enigmas probably for the rest of her life, since the condition doesn't typically clear-up.  I knew surgery was an option, but that was the last option for me to put her through that. So my first step was to change her diet.  She was on canned Friskies her entire life (she's 5), so I did what my vet recommended and purchased the Hill's Science Diet for fat cats, the Metabolic lol.  She was cleaned out so it was a clean slate to really test if this food would work.  It didn't and I was again devestated about 4 days later when she was straining to go again and couldn't.  This is when my best friend emailed me a link to this forum and I read the post about someone saying Hill's didn't work and to try Wellness Core.  So that very day I drove 45 minutes to the nearest Petco and purchased a case of the canned Core.  I also mixed in Miralax, which was vet recommended from the beginning.  IT WORKED!!!!  She actually was able to go on her and crossing my fingers as I type this, she still has been going on her own like she's normal!!! I was shocked and thrilled and even told my vet who was going to recommend that from now on for Megacolon cats!!!! So I wanted to post this and send a huge shout out THANK YOU to the girl who posted about Wellness Core, you saved my cat's life and I can't thank you enough.

 

[kittycort]

What dosage of miralax are you all giving your cats and how often? Is it a liquid form?

 

[artiemom]

 
What about Royal Canin Fibre response?? I hear its a miracle

I used to give the dry form of it to Artie. It was a miracle worker!! It did help him a lot. Cannot do that now because he has IBD. sigh..

Artie got it as treats or when he really needed a dose, in addition to his wet food and some miralax.

 

[kittycort]

Also...do you all use "human" miralax?

 

[artiemom]

Miralax is the same for humans and cats. 

Try a quarter teaspoon mixed with a bit of water; add to the food. It that is not enough-wait a day- then try 1/4 tsp twice a day...

 

[kittycort]

Thank you!
My cat poop has megacolon and major cystitis issues. Last night, he had a terrible time trying to have a BM. He even started panting and it took repeated attempta to finally poop. (Although it was THAT hard of poo, as it normally is). He currently has lactoluse but I am wanting to try Miralax tonight, even though neother bet recommends it..saying they have never heardof it for cats. Anyways, as long as he had a BM last night...he is not stopped off, correct? I mean..He can pass it...so an enema should not be needed roght now....right? iIts been three or four years since he had an enema. Like others, my vet had insisted on the high carb/grain diet...even when it was causing the need for an enema up.to every two weeks.He now eats 90-95 percent canned, no grain.

 

[kittycort]

I should say my vet said he "thinks" he has a "touch" of megacolon.How were your cats diagnosed? Im trying to deciide on a third vet opinion versus going at it on my own and trying the Miralax.

 

[artiemom]

My cat has not been diagnosed. He has other issues, IBD. He has had a history of constipation. Before his diagnosis I was able to manage it with miralax and fur ball treatment stuff. 

Since his diagnosis, he has had either constipation or diarrhea from too much miralax; but he had to be cleaned out. 

He is now taking cisaperide (capsule), a motility drug; and 1/4 tsp of miralax twice a day. It seems to be working. He has a huge, I mean huge, normal texture poop every other day. The past week, he has been going daily..that is ok for me.

Artie stated the new drug about a month ago ~ Saw results immediately.

Where do you live? In the States?  

Some people have great results with adding some pumpkin to their cat's food. It provides fiber and does work very well.

Once you get thru this current situation, think about the fiber response food. It is high fiber with probiotics.

Or try the 1/4 tsp miralax twice a day along with the fiber food. And get a probiotic, it could help. My Vet suggested Proviable (ordered thru Chewy--not as expensive)

I cannot comment about not needing the enema. I am doing everything in my power to avoid that. 

If your cat is vomiting, that can be caused by the constipation also.

One other thing to think of: is the vomiting immediately after a certain food? or immediately  after eating?  My guy was doing that. I discovered, by watching, that he vomited immediately after eating chicken!  Artie is allergic to chicken.  I took all the chicken away, and he stopped vomiting. But he lost so much weight, that he was worked up for IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). That is something to think about. 

Are there many Vets around where you live? Is there a Vet school with an associated clinic? If there is,  That may be the best thing to do.

All I can say is Good Luck!! I will be thinking about you.  

I just realized the begging of thsi thread is from 2014!! Are we responding to people and issues from an old thread?

Or are there new people on here who are having the same issue..

I am really confused!!!

 

[LotsOfFur]

My cat Chicken hasn't been officially diagnosed with megacolon. In June he was constipated and ended up staying at the vet for 4 nights and ended up having an enema. Upon discharge the vet recommended 1/4 tsp of Miralax one time per day. He had previously been on a "high quality" kibble and occasional wet food. While he was at the vet I started my research. I now only feed wet food and no kibble. I add extra water to the pate style cans and now Chicken gets 1/4 tsp Miralax in the morning and at night mixed with his food; It is a stool softener. I mix the 1/4 tsp with a tbsp of filtered water and make sure it isn't "grainy" then mix that in with the wet food.

I increased the dosage to 2 times per day when I saw Chicken try to poop unsuccessfully for a day and 1/2 (vet approved of course). I also added in canned pumpkin at that time for the added fiber. I suspect megacolon (or the possibility) because his stools are so large compared to my other "non-constipated" kitties. They are easily 2x the diameter of the others and about 6 inches long! I thought the pumpkin might have been the reason so I weaned off the pumpkin, made sure he didn't miss a dose of the Miralax and added more water to his food. He seems the most regular when I add 1/4 tsp of coconut oil to his middle meal where I do not add Miralax. Even without the pumpkin his stools are large and long but they are soft and formed. I keep a record of when he poops and he averages every other day, sometimes once every 3 days and occasionally everyday.

I'm only on my 4th month and so far, so good but I know this may just be the beginning...

When researching I found TCS which led me to felineconstipation.org, the megacolon group on yahoo and Dr.Pierson at catinfo.org

Hope this helps and I will be thinking of you and your kitty.

-Tina

 

[kittycort]

Lotsoffur...do be careful with coconut oil..its a diuretic.

I do not use anything with fiber for my kitty. Fiber gives him constipation badly. Since getting him away from fiber as much as possible, he has improved incredibly. The vet wanted him on daily meds, prescription doit, and an every other week enema. Umm..no thank you. I switched him to the high protein diet and his struggles greatly improved. No enema is three to four years. I hate that vets often prescribe their in-house food, even when it is dangerous to an animal.
My boy now has occasional issues and I want him off lactulose. Ive only been given it as needed but with it being able to increase calcium levels and not being helpful, I do not wish to continue with it. Hence me asking about Miralax as an occasionally uses product for my boy. To those of you with struggling kitties, I recommend trying the low fiber, high-protein diet. I cant stress enough how much a diet change alone helped my boy.

I live in the states, in the city. I just cant see the purpose in spending $75 on just an exam, plus all the extra tests a vet wants to do only to be told to do something that doesnt help my pets. Unfortunatly, there arent many vets out there who actually care. In my area, I can pretty much guarantee tha if we go to the vet, despite what the issue or history is, we will simply be told to buy prescrition food from them. Enough is enough.

 

[charmer82]

Hello,

My name is Charley and I'm not a veterinarian or anything but I have a 15 year old male cat with megacolon. I have him on Blue Buffalo limited ingredient Mature formula dry cat food and Natural Balance wild pursuits canned food. He does well most of the time, but when he experiences vomiting/diarrhea/constipation I supplement with HomeoPet digestive upset drops 3x a day and/or Ranitidine aka zantac, 3.5 mg twice daily until it passes. A last resort is a glycerine enema, which he hates, but is always grateful for after the stools pass. You can buy pre-loaded syringes online (search feline enema) Metamucil has also been recommended to me, but it doesn't look like fiber is the issue with your pet. There is a flavor free clear version of the supplement if you want to give it a try. I'm currently experimenting with feline pre-biotics/probiotics and digestive enzyme supplements to prevent or reduce the incidents of large hard stools. I'll post any successes. The only other remedy I have found is to put my cat in a couple inches of warm water and massage his tummy to get the bowel moving again. Greymalkin is 76 in human years, so I get that his body is slowing down. I take him for walks when I can, and get him to play often. The exercise seems to help as well. Best of luck with your furry friend.

 

[kittycort]

Hi Charley. I have not heard od the Homeopet drops...have they been helpful? What do they do?

My boy has been on Miralax but I am taking him off of it tonight. It is causing him to have a BM but it comes out as one very large BM. Itsnot horribly hard but nnnowt safe either. The size though is far too big and he is passing one about every other day or so versus each day. It has made him very cranky also and I believe does not feel too well. He seems to be able to taste or smell it as well, seeing how hes avoiding his wet food now. Back to the other stool softener. The other worries me because it can cause calcium levels to rise...and he suffers from severe and chronic cystitis.

Ive been down about it all lately because I know these issues could take his life someday. All that has been done noe for eleven years are attempts at treating recurring issues...no actual luck with prevrnting them.

 

[anitaskinner]

I have a male cat that was diagnosed with Megacolon about 9 years ago. I feed him a diet of baked whiting filets that I purchase by the bag at Walmart. I bake the whole bag and put it in the fridge and when he is ready to eat I scoop some on a small plate and warm it in the microwave. A 2 pound bag lasts me about 6 days with me feeding him twice a day. I then add some liquid lactulose that I get from my vet and mix it in with the fish. 

My husband came up with this idea because fish is very easy to digest. My husband's idea saved my cat's life. They mentioned an operation 9 years ago and I tried everything in the book but since we started the fish diet he has been able to poop and I have not had one bit of trouble with him in 9 years. I do carry him to the vet once a year to get the tartar cleaned off of his teeth as he does not eat hard food.

If anyone would like to speak to me on the phone about the pans and such that I used to bake the whiting filets please let me know. Fish is very watery and you can't just put it on a baking pan and bake it because your fish won't be flaky but will be mushy and that is not what you want. It was trial and error at the beginning but I figured it out and we have had no problems in the last 9 years. 

 

[kittycort]

Thats awesome!
My boy has major issues with cystitis though and fish/seafood can lead to problems with that.
I have no doubt with what youre saying though. My cat used to like only seafood flavored foods and at that time, he never had issues with bowels movements. Never. When I had to take him off those foods he liked so much because of his cystitis and kidney infections, the megacolon began. Its a battle.

 

[kittycort]

Are there any other stool softeners besides Miralax and Lactluose? My vet has no other but recommended giving a full gel calsule of a human stool softener, which I just did. Im worried about giving him an entire pill and about the size of a gel capsule in a small cats' throat. Any other options out there?

 

[kittycort]

For those of you with cats with megacolon...any experience with using olive oil? How much can you safely give them?

Miralax does not work, lactulose does not work, even a human gel tab doesnt work. And hes on Wellness canned with added water. Hes not overweight.

 

[katlady12]

I have a cat that has megacolon.  I tried Science diet w/d also.  I didn't  have any luck.  I switched vets and she recommended Royal Cainin fiber response and it works great.  Haven't had a problem since I switched.

Hope this is helpful!

Wanda

 

[kittycort]

Thanks but fiber IS the issue with him.

 

[pattiw]

My cat Bigboy is going through this currently. He had a case of it a year ago, but the vet just said he had constipation. He lost a lot of weight in the last month, when I took him to a vet, he was in liver failure. They tried to free up the obstipation, this cost me $1000 for med's and 3 days hospitalization. They sent me to a specialist, he has been there for 4 days. They put an easphogeal feeding tube today and they tried to deobstapate him but only could a little. Tomorrow they are going to try again. They are telling me they would have to give him medication that cause diarrhea in order for this not to happen again. IF he has to have the surgery it would be another $3000. I have paid them $2500 already. They also told me that if there is nerve damage to the colon it would creep up the rest of the colon even if he has the surgery. He is a very special cat to me, he 5 years old. Yes I do have 5 other cats, but none like him. I have paid out more money on him than myself. I had cancer last year and still have bills from it. I have taken money out of my IRA to pay this. When do you stop I love him so much. I wish he had died in his sleep one night than me having to go through all of this. Any help would be appreciated!

Hello, I'm new to this site as well as new to this illness as you are. My four legged baby is a male cat who adopted us abt 7 years ago and he means the world to my husband and I. He was diagnosed with megacolon by an xray and already has been sedated and cleaned out 2times,as well as several enemas at the vets and at home. He was put on lactulose the first day and Cisapride was prescribed but not available locally so its been ordered and the wait is ridiculous because nothing else was recommended to use in the meantime. He's OK for now, as far as not crying or in pain, but its just a matter if time. He was just cleaned out a few days ago but even then they can't reach as high as one of the blockages is with their hands. We've spent about 300.00 just on all these little things. Originally they wanted to do surgery to clean out the colon to make sure they got it all, but that was going to be 550.00 and my husband is retired and I just lost my job 2 months ago.we have no IRA to draw from. Only a very small amt in savings. We haven't been told what the sub-colectomy(?) would cost but I've heard its 1500-2000!no way we can do that.So we are searching sites and reading everything we can to learn what's working for others and the info is mind boggling! We don't know which way to go. Our vets say"Cisapride, Lactulose,and Royal Canin Fiber Response Diet, (also expensive), just the Cisapride is 70.00 a month! We've been using the lactulose but getting no response, but a lot of that is due to the loss of motility in his colon,so he has no "urge" to even try. The Cisapride is the only drug for that and we can't get our hands on it for up to 2 weeks!we went out yesterday and bought Miralax to try(instead of lactulose) because almost everyone on here recommended it. But its scary to go against the vets who are supp to be the experts! I cry almost every night over my buddy's illness and the rare times he has tried to go have caused him to cry out in pain.I'm a total basket case when an animal is hurt. I cry in movies if I see a western and a horse falls during a chase or whatever.I don't cry over the person riding him(!)Anyway, my point is I can relate so much to how upset and worried you are and just wanted to say you're not alone. This site is very helpful, and I'm sure there are even more places, someone on here said Yahoo has a megacolon site. I'll share anything we try that works, maybe you can do the same! I wish you the best of luck!

 

[mayacatz]

I wish all of you had some access to holistic vets. 

Suregeries and pharmas are slowly going to kill your cats

I read up top someone was 'treating' this with Hills prescription… do you know your vet gets a check at the end of the year for pushing this food? Do you know that it's NOT grain free and that cats should be eating grain free?

MOST illnesses in your pets are caused by the food you feed them

Trying to save twenty cents on cheap food, will eventually add up in the long run when you have to pay vet bills, lab work and surgeries. So how about feeding your pets mostly WET food that is GRAIN FREE and avoiding made in China treats which are often made of dog meat and giving your pets ( cats and dogs ) half a tea spoon of pure coconut oil a day. They love the taste, it improves their fur, lessens shedding, helps digestion and it's antibacterial

Buy the kind that is unrefined, a jar will cost you $20 and last a month

When your pets have diarrhea or constipation go to whole foods and buy the pet pumpkin. It fixes both and keeps the animal regulated.

AVOID buying huge bags of dry food. By the time your pet hits the bottom it's no longer the same food - reason why your pets end up chewing on your plants or your dog eats grass during walks. If you don't do it for them obviously they need to find some green to regulate their tummy. Next time buy a bag that last no more than 5days and place it into a plastic container.

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS READ THE CAN of how much to feed

An adult cat needs to eat a minimum 1 3.5 oz can of cat food a day, but ideal is two. One in the morning, one at night, with some dry food left out while you're at work.

With an adult dog I would do the same. Can of wet am and pm with a bowl of dry. Dogs must also have a huge clean bowl of water.

Cats should also have a water bowl, but they get most of their moisture from wet food, which means if your cat lives only on dry, she will develop a number of chronic illnesses

Why not prevent illness before you cause an illness? Do you enjoy giving meds to your pets, injecting them with needles? I have two diabetic cats who were born diabetic, because their daddy had a severe case ( he was a feral ) I have no choice, but they are 13 and very healthy.