Is It Megacolon? Need Advice.

[rbianchi]

Hello all. I have a 2 year old cat that I brought to the vet today due to some hard stools and decreased activity. All other aspects of her lifestyle are good. She is eating and drinking normal, and will play if it is instigated. The vet determined that she was constipated and prescribed her lactulose. However, I was doing some research online and megacolon came up. How do you determine if your cat has constipation or megacolon? Do any of you have experience with megacolon? Just concerned about my little girl.

 

[abyeb]

Did they run an ultrasound to look at the colon?

Constipation can be caused by megacolon, but there can be other causes as well. This article gives more information: Everything You Need To Know About Constipation In Cats

I hope your kitty is feeling better soon!

 

[Ladewyn]

That's when diagnostics tests have to be run, such as ultrasound or radiographs. Your vet probably started with the most likely, most affordable solution since running diagnostics starts to run up expenses a lot. I wouldn't worry too much about megacolon unless the problem persists, since constipation is more likely. If the problem doesn't sort out, then the vet is going to start looking at other possible causes. Of course, if you have the money, asking for preemptive diagnostics isn't necessarily a bad thing either (a vet's favourite client is often the one who lets them get the correct diagnosis on the first try by asking to run the appropriate diagnostic tests).