Did you give the cisapride 15-30 minutes before meals? My vet did not tell me this at all! You would also have to administer aloe vera the same way. I did not try aloe vera and my kitty wouldn't eat coconut oil, but the feeling I got from others was that the aloe and coconut oil was preferable due to less side effects--if you could get way with it. But they tended not to work as well, so if you had to it was cisapride. You should run the aloe vera and coconut oil by your vet just to make sure.
Every other day (8 out of 17 days) isn't too bad, that was about how often my kitty went. But why are you asking about every 3-4 days? My vet said that as long as the stool is soft and you don't get a lot of extra volume, going every 3rd day was OK. Every 4th day I don't know about though. There are toxins that start building up if they don't go often enough.
Of course we have had Max examined and also x-rayed. We followed the instructions for administering the cisapride, to the letter, but after three months no meaningful change. We switched vets and stopped the cisapride in lieu of giving Lactulose which worked from the first dose. The initial diagnosis of mega colon was made by the first vet based solely on the fact that Max was full of poop, which of course he was!?! Looking back (this was 3 years ago), I felt that this was not enough of a basis with which to conclude a diagnosis of mega colon.
Ideally cats 'should' have a BM every day. But as they get older or develop digestive issues and start to have bouts of constipation, they invariably will develop a new normal where every day potentially becomes every couple of days. My rule of thumb for Max is no more than two days. If he has not gone by the second day then this tells me that he needs some further intervention.
Coconut oil increases metabolism and is therefore a stimulant. B12 enhances nerve function. SEB softens the stool.
Yes, for the most part Max is just getting SEB, each morning with the first feeding, and the coconut oil every couple of days. One of the qualities of the SEB is that it causes a reflux stimulation of nerve endings in the gastrointestinal tract leading to increased mucus secretion which helps to protect and soothe the tract, and in this way may also help to improve motility. My understanding of B12 in treating constipation is that it is used to help aid in digestion and in tandem with probiotics, to help facilitate enzymatic function.
How do you time SEB and probiotics? I mean, do you space them out or give them in the same time?
That is a good question IrinaSaK .. I actually haven't started the probiotics with anyone yet but will be mindful that this should be given separate from the SEB, or totally on its own and discontinuing the SEB .. Want to do a little more investigating before implementing this with or without SEB. For the SEB, I mix this with water and add it to Max & Maggie's wet food at 5:00AM, and do the same for the feeding at 10:00AM.
I give Sophie SEB for maintenance now, as she has regular BM now every 24 hours. Talking to my vets (who knew nothing about SEB before but understand now the way it works) we have come to the conclusion that giving SEB twice a week is enough. So I have been giving Sophie SEB on Thursdays and Saturdays for two months and it's working out. She's having one 370mg capsule/day split in am and pm, mixed with water and then with wet food.
Thanks Snugglecat! Max's BMs are not huge at all, but normal for his size. There are like tootsie rolls which is actually ideal. The initial diagnosis of megacolon seem to center totally around the amount of feces that Max had in him, and little else which is what prompted me to seek another opinion. Cats get constipated and become full of feces for any number of reasons. Does this mean they have megacolon, not necessarily.
Glad to hear that Sophie is doing so well! Every 24 hours is great. Its what we all aim for
She just had the injection January 13 so not sure if it is going to help her or not. I am not sure how many times she will get the injection before we will know if it's working. The vet said if it did work she would have the B12 injection once a month. I tried giving Peaches probiotics, the same one Max is getting but she will not eat her food when I add it in and I have tried several times in the last month. I do know that no matter what we try she still has days where she will run around crying before having a BM.
Aww, sorry to read that she won't eat the wet food with probiotic. There may be a liquid form you could try?
