Experience with miralax in drinking water for megacolon

[Yerocnella]

I have a male cat that was diagnosed a few years ago with megacolon. He's done well on his twice daily lactulose. However he greatly hates the process of injecting the liquid into his mouth. I recently switched to miralax. I now understand that it must be mixed with water and not just sprinkled on food. And unfortunately the little man only eats dry food. He's extremely picky and I've yet to find anything he will eat besides his dry food. So I'm left to syringe the miralax into his mouth as I did with the lactulose. I'm trying to make him more comfortable/ less stressed out. Which has lead me to thinking maybe mixing it with his drinking water might be the best solution. I've read online that it can be done. Has anyone had any luck doing this? I would have to figure out how much water he needs plus how much powder to mix in daily. But I wanted to see if anyone had experience with this method. My vet isn't much help as he isn't very familiar with this condition.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

What I can tell you is that, to human taste buds, Miralax has no taste at all, even mixed with plain water. The trick is going to be to put down just a small amount of the mixture, to make sure he gets it all, and not refilling it until it is done.

 

[Yerocnella]

What I can tell you is that, to human taste buds, Miralax has no taste at all, even mixed with plain water. The trick is going to be to put down just a small amount of the mixture, to make sure he gets it all, and not refilling it until it is done.

Thank you. I'll give it a shot. Hopefully it works.

 

[LTS3]

I would not put a dose of Miralax into the bowl of water and just let it sit all day. Cats don't drink from a water bowl often so what little Miralax your cat might ingest isn't going to help much if at all. Miralax works best if it's ingested all at once, not little amounts over a period of hours. Miralax has no taste so you can just syringe it into the cat if needed. Instead of water, those cat broths type treat things or a very liquidy canned cat food would also work to dissolve a dose and may make syringing a lot easier. Homemade broth would also work.

Your vet has the ability to consult with a veterinary school or with another vet hospital if he is unfamiliar with treating megacolon. You may want to suggest that to your vet. You could also seek out another vet for a second opinion.

 

[di and bob]

Try Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors, you might be surprised. I give all my meds to my cats mixed in it and keep it around in case one gets sick and refuses to eat. They ALWAYS take a few licks of it. When I gave my elderly cat Miralax, I mixed it with a beaten egg yolk. You might try several lickable treats and see if your picky cat will accept one.

 

[Yerocnella]

Try Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors, you might be surprised. I give all my meds to my cats mixed in it and keep it around in case one gets sick and refuses to eat. They ALWAYS take a few licks of it. When I gave my elderly cat Miralax, I mixed it with a beaten egg yolk. You might try several lickable treats and see if your picky cat will accept one.

I have tried this. I got the variety pack for him a few months ago. I had high hopes for these as so many people say their cats love them. He wanted nothing to do with them. I'll try the egg yolk though. Maybe he'll like it. Thanks!

 

[Yerocnella]

I would not put a dose of Miralax into the bowl of water and just let it sit all day. Cats don't drink from a water bowl often so what little Miralax your cat might ingest isn't going to help much if at all. Miralax works best if it's ingested all at once, not little amounts over a period of hours. Miralax has no taste so you can just syringe it into the cat if needed. Instead of water, those cat broths type treat things or a very liquidy canned cat food would also work to dissolve a dose and may make syringing a lot easier. Homemade broth would also work.

Your vet has the ability to consult with a veterinary school or with another vet hospital if he is unfamiliar with treating megacolon. You may want to suggest that to your vet. You could also seek out another vet for a second opinion.

Thank you