Jasper has IBD and now is experiencing constipation

[amberkenn2016]

Hello! New here!

My cat Jasper is 14 years old and has been diagnosed with IBD almost a year back. He's currently on 5mg Prednisolone once a day, famotidine as needed, and once a day Cerenia (for a few days). He has also been put on 3cc Enulose twice a day due to this recent issue.

He started acting off about 5 days ago, he's naturally anxious so I thought very little of it. He likes to pace every now and then and he's done that since forever. He puked on that day too, but with his IBD, he does puke once a week or so, even on the Pred. It's alot better than it was. The next day, same thing, he puked bile and was a little antsy. Third day, he puked again. That's usually when I make the call to put him on Cerenia for a few days to let his stomach settle. I get him into the vet because even after the Cerenia, he puked 30 mins after giving it to him, that's a huge red flag to me.

After this vet visit and one the next day for an xray, we find out he's constipated and the vet thinks that could be why his stomach is upset. This is when he's put on lactulose, and he poops a small bit on the carpet a few hours after the first dose. He's still looking uncomfy to me so I call the vet in the morning to ask about an enema, and they said they could get him in for one. Before I get ready to bring him, he has liquid stool in his litterbox, so I call the vet again. They said since he's passing some kind of stool, an enema wasn't necessary, and he started relaxing a bit after this, which was a huge relief.

However, since today is Christmas Eve, our regular vet is closed today and tomorrow. He hasn't passed any more stool since the liquid stool yesterday, and he's still looking a little uncomfortable. He's still eating and drinking just fine, but he looks like he struggles to sleep and my heart is aching for him.

I suppose my question is, is Enulose pretty effective? And is the runny poop a normal occurence? I just want him to start feeling better here soon. He's never been this constipated before, though he has had hard poops in the past.

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site, although I am sorry that you were in need of coming here on Christmas Eve.

To answer your question, Enulose (lactulose) is an extremely common medication for constipation in cats and is considered effective. However, that does not mean that it works in all cases and we have had members here who felt that over the long term it became less effective. From your post though, I gather that you have only used it for a few days.

In IBD cats, if the stomach is affected, there will be vomiting and if the intestines are affected there will be diarrhea. That is a general description of the condition though. In the case of your cat, his frequent vomiting may be because of an inability to pass things through.

One side effect of the initial use of lactulose in cats can be diarrhea and some discomfort, like gas. This usually passes as the cat becomes used to it. One question then becomes did this seem to be diarrhea or only a small amount of runny poop?

If he was constipated but passed only a small amount, it is possible that runny poop was able to pass in that way, but the constipation is not resolved.

 

[amberkenn2016]

Welcome to The Cat Site, although I am sorry that you were in need of coming here on Christmas Eve.

To answer your question, Enulose (lactulose) is an extremely common medication for constipation in cats and is considered effective. However, that does not mean that it works in all cases and we have had members here who felt that over the long term it became less effective. From your post though, I gather that you have only used it for a few days.

In IBD cats, if the stomach is affected, there will be vomiting and if the intestines are affected there will be diarrhea. That is a general description of the condition though. In the case of your cat, his frequent vomiting may be because of an inability to pass things through.

One side effect of the initial use of lactulose in cats can be diarrhea and some discomfort, like gas. This usually passes as the cat becomes used to it. One question then becomes did this seem to be diarrhea or only a small amount of runny poop?

If he was constipated but passed only a small amount, it is possible that runny poop was able to pass in that way, but the constipation is not resolved.

It seems that this was just a small amount of runny poop. I almost mistook it for a litter clump of urine when I looked at it in the litter box. And yes, we've only used it since Friday evening, so two days. Is this too early to be expecting more results? Friday evening he did pass a very small hard poop, but he had to use the carpet as leverage to get it out. Also, would something like laxatone help? He gets that occassionally when I think he's got a hairball.

 

[Aileen666]

Hello! New here!

My cat Jasper is 14 years old and has been diagnosed with IBD almost a year back. He's currently on 5mg Prednisolone once a day, famotidine as needed, and once a day Cerenia (for a few days). He has also been put on 3cc Enulose twice a day due to this recent issue.

He started acting off about 5 days ago, he's naturally anxious so I thought very little of it. He likes to pace every now and then and he's done that since forever. He puked on that day too, but with his IBD, he does puke once a week or so, even on the Pred. It's alot better than it was. The next day, same thing, he puked bile and was a little antsy. Third day, he puked again. That's usually when I make the call to put him on Cerenia for a few days to let his stomach settle. I get him into the vet because even after the Cerenia, he puked 30 mins after giving it to him, that's a huge red flag to me.

After this vet visit and one the next day for an xray, we find out he's constipated and the vet thinks that could be why his stomach is upset. This is when he's put on lactulose, and he poops a small bit on the carpet a few hours after the first dose. He's still looking uncomfy to me so I call the vet in the morning to ask about an enema, and they said they could get him in for one. Before I get ready to bring him, he has liquid stool in his litterbox, so I call the vet again. They said since he's passing some kind of stool, an enema wasn't necessary, and he started relaxing a bit after this, which was a huge relief.

However, since today is Christmas Eve, our regular vet is closed today and tomorrow. He hasn't passed any more stool since the liquid stool yesterday, and he's still looking a little uncomfortable. He's still eating and drinking just fine, but he looks like he struggles to sleep and my heart is aching for him.

I suppose my question is, is Enulose pretty effective? And is the runny poop a normal occurence? I just want him to start feeling better here soon. He's never been this constipated before, though he has had hard poops in the past.

My cat had to get an enema about a year ago. She has anxiety so she is on anxiety meds ( which contributes to her pooping less ) but she is on gastrointestinal prescription food that help her go. She goes every 2-3 days. When she wasn’t going it was probably 5-6 days not going. I thjnk your cat is fine until Tuesday to see your doc for constipation as long as he is still eating and drinking ! You might want to change the diet. My cat skso gets miralax in her can food . Well she was just diagnosed with small cell lymphoma of intestines and vomited all of the meds up fri night and has barely eaten since then and dr us out until Tuesday. I have to talk to oncology wed about chemo or if I want to go the palliative care route because she is getting worse and the cost of all of this is astronomical and she is almost 16. I have a lot of research and thinking to do. I hope your cat is ok !

 

[amberkenn2016]

My cat had to get an enema about a year ago. She has anxiety so she is on anxiety meds ( which contributes to her pooping less ) but she is on gastrointestinal prescription food that help her go. She goes every 2-3 days. When she wasn’t going it was probably 5-6 days not going. I thjnk your cat is fine until Tuesday to see your doc for constipation as long as he is still eating and drinking ! You might want to change the diet. My cat skso gets miralax in her can food . Well she was just diagnosed with small cell lymphoma of intestines and vomited all of the meds up fri night and has barely eaten since then and dr us out until Tuesday. I have to talk to oncology wed about chemo or if I want to go the palliative care route because she is getting worse and the cost of all of this is astronomical and she is almost 16. I have a lot of research and thinking to do. I hope your cat is ok !

Ah okay! Yeah, I might just have them give him an enema either Tuesday or Wednesday if we have no further results. I appreciate your words and insight. I've thought about possibly getting him tested for lymphoma but I feel as though it wouldn't change our treatment as far as the IBD goes even if I did. He's currently on Blue Buffalo Basics wet food and he was doing great on it up until now to be honest. I'm thinking a contributing factor to this episode might be his probiotic and that I might need to adjust the dose, but I feel like I can't say for sure if that alone would help. But hey, usually we're smooth sailing for a few months then we're back to the drawing board

As for your little one, I'm so sorry to hear that. Only you will know what's best for your baby and what to do when it's time. I've had quite a few pets to know that they don't keep track of how long they're alive, and they're always living in the moment. So whenever I've had to make a hard call, I choose quality of life vs. quantity. I'm hoping me saying that can help put your situation into perspective. I hope that whatever you choose to do that'll it'll be as smooth as possible and that your baby lives the rest of its life comfortably.

 

[stephanietx]

What are you feeding him, wet or dry or a combination? Sometimes dry food can cause constipation. If you're feeding wet, you can try adding plain canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie blend) into food to help soften stool and pass it.

 

[amberkenn2016]

Update: He pooped

 

[amberkenn2016]

Update: He pooped

I hit post on accident, but he pooped! He let out 4 average sized logs this morning, I'm hoping now we're mostly in the clear but what a Christmas miracle!

 

[fionasmom]

Great news! When you have a constipated cat, it is amazing how thankful a person can be to see poop!

 

[lisahe]

We had a Christmas miracle with one cat, too! She also used the floor for leverage (and had clearly eaten some thread , not quite sure how that happened) but we were glad for the gift! I'm glad your cat's doing better, amberkenn2016 .

Her constipation has eased a lot since we started giving her Vet's Best hairball prevention tablets (they have some psyllium husk in them) and Adored Beast's Feline Gut Soothe (probiotics plus herbs) so I'm not sure what happened. (I'd like to hope the thread was to blame but there wasn't a lot of it.)

Fingers crossed that this doesn't repeat! For either (any!) cat!

 

[amberkenn2016]

Thank you all! The vet suggested keeping him on lactulose until he produces regular poops, but he is doing better for sure. I'll update this forum if there are more developments, but hopefully they'll be good ones if anything!

 

[amberkenn2016]

Alrighty, I hope to get more suggestions on how to manage Jasper's IBD better. I'm not 100% what caused the constipation, but I have taken him off his hard food officially tonight (I was worried about him not eating alot, and anything going down his gullet made me happy). He was also on a probiotic that I haven't used for a few days, I was worried the dose I gave him was too high, I plan on putting it in his wet food again now but at a smaller dose. He's no longer on the Cerenia since puking hasn't been a huge issue now, he is taking 2.5mg famotidine 2x a day as per vet's recommendation, along with his 1x a day Pred. And now he's on Miralax 1/2 tsp 2x daily for less than a week here until he has regular bowel movements (he HATES the lactulose taste, vet gave permission to go forth with Miralax)

He pooped again as I'm typing this, thank God. But I noticed he's feeling a little uncomfortable today, at least up until now. I wanna help him feel comfortable on a regular basis as much as possible (I know IBD is incredibly difficult to handle, so realistically I know he'll still have rough days).

Would anything like belly massages help? Any possible supplements? Like I said, any advice is welcomed. I've done so many internet deep dives on cat IBD and my head is cluttered to say the least.

 

[stephanietx]

My vet prescribes Cerenia for gas for my guy as well as nausea associated with gas and acid tummy. I would try Cerenia again, or ask the vet for a longer acting antacid, such as Ondansetron (Zofran). It's a 12-hour pill, so you can give it twice a day.

Have you tried Slippery Elm Bark for the poop issues? It also helps soothe the tummy and decrease inflammation (not a lot, but some). You can get the powder from a health food store or online. You don't need a whole bunch. Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil, then whisk in 1 teaspoon of SEB powder for a few minutes until it's the consistency of a raw egg white. You can give 1/4 teaspoon in wet food twice daily. (This has helped my kitty with loose poops and tummy problems.)

What wet food are you feeding him? I'm convinced that contributes to upset tummies, nauseas, and gas.

You can add baby gas drops (no dyes, no saccharine, no flavors) to his regiment and see if that helps soothe his tummy, if you think he's got gas. The dose is 0.3mL-0.5 mL twice a day. (We use Rugby brand.)

Lastly, you can give psyllium husk or plain canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) to help with constipation as well.

 

[lisahe]

I am in total agreement with stephanietx about both Cerenia and slippery elm bark syrup. "The elm" as we call it is very helpful for Edwina; we use a syrup with half the elm that stephenietx puts in but Edwina gets elm in supplements, too. (I've calculated her total amount to check with the vet.) Not all cats will eat food with the elm but she does and she gets a few little snacks with it each day. We can now use Cerenia with her on an as-needed basis; it's like it resets her after a barfing situation. We've found that famotidine doesn't do much for her, which is just as well since it wasn't easy to get her to take it!

On another note, after our experiences with probiotics, I'd strongly suggest starting with a tiny amount - literally a pinch - and taking time to work up to more. We did that even with the Feline Gut Soothe I mentioned above: it has herbs (including elm) along with probiotics but even so a full dose to start was too much.

Since you asked about massages, amberkenn2016 , I'll add that patting our cats by stroking them along their spines seems to relax them a lot. Especially if I tell them stories while I do it! I know that sounds weird but I learned this from holistic vet presentations: I mention the cats' names a lot while I pat them -- it makes them so happy! Edwina, our IBD cat, also gets Rescue Remedy homeopathic drops (the pet version) because she tends to get anxious, particulalr about her food. The drops work really well for her.

 

[stephanietx]

On another note, after our experiences with probiotics, I'd strongly suggest starting with a tiny amount - literally a pinch - and taking time to work up to more. We did that even with the Feline Gut Soothe I mentioned above: it has herbs (including elm) along with probiotics but even so a full dose to start was too much

This is so true!! I totally agree with lisahe . If you start with anything from Adored Beast, start with a much, much lower dose than recommended. We've had Gut Soothe since July or August and we still cannot give the recommended dose because it will cause a blowout. We have added Proviable DC to his supplements and that seems to help. We give it to all our kitties, but too much for one of them causes hard poops. Again, start with a little bit.

 

[lisahe]

This is so true!! I totally agree with lisahe . If you start with anything from Adored Beast, start with a much, much lower dose than recommended. We've had Gut Soothe since July or August and we still cannot give the recommended dose because it will cause a blowout. We have added Proviable DC to his supplements and that seems to help. We give it to all our kitties, but too much for one of them causes hard poops. Again, start with a little bit.

It's so interesting how much this can all vary! And how much can be oddly similar, too. If I remember correctly, it took about two months to get each cat up to a full dose of Feline Gut Soothe. (I didn't do it simultaneously, thank goodness!) It was really worth the effort for both: Edwina now rarely barfs and Ireland's not nearly as constipated. (I knock on wood, go tfu-tfu-tfu over my left shoulder, and cross my fingers!)

 

[amberkenn2016]

To reply to everything, right now he's on Blue Buffalo Basics wet food in the turkey flavor. The other two flavors in that line are not to his liking unfortunately, he's a little picky. I saw another person online recommend that for cats with IBD so I have it a shot, and it's caused very little issue up until now, hard to say if that food has run its course now. Seems like we get a change of food, then a few months later it starts disagreeing with him. Please let me know if y'all have any other food recommendations!

I will pick up some slippery elm bark powder, I know we do have straight up pumpkin puree in our cabinet. He's had it before but I felt like I ended up wasting so much of it each time I opened a new can. So, this may be a dumb question, but how long is pureed pumpkin good for in the fridge, given that it's stored properly?

I will also call the vet to ask about either more cerenia or the zofran. I feel like the cerenia worked well for him, I just don't know how long he can safely be on it? Or if there is even a safety issue with having him on it for longer than the usual 4 days?(At least, our vet only keeps him on it for 4 days at a time)

lisahe , I'll give those RR drops a shot! I looked at reviews online as well as what you've said, it seems to be a pretty good product. Jasper has had those Feliway diffusers in the past but they didn't give us strong results. I didn't want him to be sedated but I also didn't want him to pace as often as he does. I also pace, so I'm thinking he learned that from me.

All in all, thank you guys again for your input. It is beyond helpful of y'all, and I appreciate your time. I used to have a decent roost of guinea pigs and I felt like I knew everything about them, but Jasper, obviously being a cat and having tummy issues, has completely flipped the tables on my thought that I knew alot about animals. So, again, thank you for your wisdoms!

 

[stephanietx]

I put my pumpkin puree in small portions in zip top bags and put them in the freezer.

If your kitty is not on prednisolone (steroid) then that would be something to ask the vet about as well.

My vet has said that if you think your kitty is sensitive to or allergic to chicken, they will most likely be sensitive or allergic to other fowl such as turkey. Have you tried rabbit? That seems to be popular with a lot of IBD kitties and owners, but it doesn't work well for my kitty.

 

[amberkenn2016]

I put my pumpkin puree in small portions in zip top bags and put them in the freezer.

If your kitty is not on prednisolone (steroid) then that would be something to ask the vet about as well.

My vet has said that if you think your kitty is sensitive to or allergic to chicken, they will most likely be sensitive or allergic to other fowl such as turkey. Have you tried rabbit? That seems to be popular with a lot of IBD kitties and owners, but it doesn't work well for my kitty.

Yeah, he is on pred! Though I had to pester the vet a few times before they prescribed it to me. Good tip on the pumpkin puree, I didn't even think to put it in the freezer before, noted! And I have been looking into switching him to a rabbit based wet food diet since last night, it's a little more expensive but I do think it'd be worth a shot. I'll be picking up some sample cans today if I can find some in the area!

 

[lisahe]

To reply to everything, right now he's on Blue Buffalo Basics wet food in the turkey flavor. The other two flavors in that line are not to his liking unfortunately, he's a little picky. I saw another person online recommend that for cats with IBD so I have it a shot, and it's caused very little issue up until now, hard to say if that food has run its course now. Seems like we get a change of food, then a few months later it starts disagreeing with him. Please let me know if y'all have any other food recommendations!

I will pick up some slippery elm bark powder, I know we do have straight up pumpkin puree in our cabinet. He's had it before but I felt like I ended up wasting so much of it each time I opened a new can. So, this may be a dumb question, but how long is pureed pumpkin good for in the fridge, given that it's stored properly?

I will also call the vet to ask about either more cerenia or the zofran. I feel like the cerenia worked well for him, I just don't know how long he can safely be on it? Or if there is even a safety issue with having him on it for longer than the usual 4 days?(At least, our vet only keeps him on it for 4 days at a time)

lisahe , I'll give those RR drops a shot! I looked at reviews online as well as what you've said, it seems to be a pretty good product. Jasper has had those Feliway diffusers in the past but they didn't give us strong results. I didn't want him to be sedated but I also didn't want him to pace as often as he does. I also pace, so I'm thinking he learned that from me.

All in all, thank you guys again for your input. It is beyond helpful of y'all, and I appreciate your time. I used to have a decent roost of guinea pigs and I felt like I knew everything about them, but Jasper, obviously being a cat and having tummy issues, has completely flipped the tables on my thought that I knew alot about animals. So, again, thank you for your wisdoms!

I'll start with the easiest thing, the drops! They work great for Edwina, like I mentioned. We don't use the full amount they recommend; a couple drops a few times a day seems to do the trick, though we add more when the weather's hot and humid or there's a lot of noise. Or her sister freaks her out. Etc.!

As for Cerenia, I don't know the answer to the safety question. But I do know that our vet doesn't want Edwina on it all the time: among other things, it can mask symptoms so the cat never actually improves. Also, I've noticed that some vets are still prescribing large doses of Cerenia, though our vets have prescribed only 4 mg a day for Edwina, who's large, around 14 pounds. And Edwina doesn't even need that much: 2 mg a day seems to work perfectly well for her, too. Our new vet said that the dosage used to be based on the cat's weight but the norm was lowered in recent years, to 4 mg. She said she wasn't surprised that even half that works for Edwina.

I'll use that as a segue into food... since if a cat that's taking Cerenia isn't vomiting, that doesn't mean that something in the cat's food isn't causing problems. If you're not already keeping a journal of symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, etc.) and circumstances (time of the incident, last meal fed, stressors, etc.), you might want to start one. A journal can help you notice patterns, which can help you know what to take out of the cat's diet. Or what to change in the cat's routine. This is how I've figured out that a supplement that we used for homemade food was making Edwina barf a few times a week. And why we eliminated all foods with agar-agar and green-lipped mussels from both cats' diet. In Edwina's case, it's usually a thickener or other ingredient -- rather than a protein -- that causes her problems. She gets a very low-carb diet with as few thickeners and fillers as possible, particularly since potato is a definitely Bad Thing and I'm almost certain that tapioca starch is, too.

It can take a lot of time, energy, and effort to figure out what's bothering a cat with IBD and/or constipation but it's great to see improvements when they come! I hope the elm helps Jasper.