Urinary Crystals resolving...Now constipation

[TommyShelby0425]

Hello,
I am new to this site, but I have heard nothing but good things about it, especially for questions about cat health issues. My lil man, TommyShelby was making frequent trips to the litter box. A trip to the vet later, I found out he deveoped crystals due to a food change. The vet put him on sub q fluids, prednisone & gabapentin along with a RX food diet, mostly wet. He has been getting the Hill's s/d urinary care wet food, along with Royal Cannin Uriniary SO dry food. He hates the wet, but will eat it now if that's all that's there. He likes normal wet food, as a treat. His urinary issues seemed to have resolved after another vet visit more fluids and we have one more dose of prednisone left. We stopped gabapentin after two doses, it made him too drunk and loopy. The RX food seems to be taking care of the urinary issues, but he's now straying from water. This cat used to love water...jumped into the shower, drinks from faucets has a fountain, and two other bowls around the house. Now he just barely dunks in his paw and licks it off that way. After another visit to the vet, we found he was constipated after two days of lactulose he finally pooped, but was stopped up again two days later and another day of lactulose he finally pooped hard little nuggets. I'm at my wits end and feel so bad for my boy. He's such a great little guy, and has been his usual self despite all of this. I pulled the dry SO food becasue I think that's what's doing it, I left only the wet Hill's food, and he will eat it, but I come home to flipped bowls because he's usued to dry kibble and being able to munch all day when he wants. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to keep giving my cat laxatives to poop, it can't be good for him in the long term. Please help!

 

[stephanietx]

It could be that your boy was nauseous a lot. They will drink water in an attempt to settle their tummies. To help my kitties stay hydrated, we always add a couple of teaspoons of warm water to their wet food to make it the consistency of a thick smoothie or thick oatmeal. You can also add in a little bit of plain canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) to help keep things moving.

 

[TommyShelby0425]

It could be that your boy was nauseous a lot. They will drink water in an attempt to settle their tummies. To help my kitties stay hydrated, we always add a couple of teaspoons of warm water to their wet food to make it the consistency of a thick smoothie or thick oatmeal. You can also add in a little bit of plain canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) to help keep things moving.

Great, thanks for the info. I did try pumpkin only for less than a day, then the vet said too much can stop them up too. I said "ok, then why say to give it to him?" Appreciate the response!!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS! It could be something in the food that is attributing to the constipation as well. If you stopped the dry SO long enough, has it corrected the constipation issue? There is a comparable Hills dry food too that you could try. And there is also a comparable RC wet food too, that maybe he would like more than the Hills. You can ask your vet about both of these. Purina also carries urinary care foods too. I'd try to let him have some dry food in any case since he is apparently missing it.

If there is a urinary care wet food that he would like better, you might be able to get away with adding a bit of water to it to help offset his lack of drinking water otherwise, as mentioned above. You can also try 'flavoring' your cat's water with low-sodium chicken broth or juice from a can of tuna.

The plain pumpkin can help with fiber if that is what he is missing, but it is also used in some cases to help with loose stools, so just know it might not work for your cat if lack of fiber isn't the problem. Psyllium husk is another fiber option.

All said, you may need to give your cat a laxative on some routine basis if none of the above work - Miralax is an alternative to lactulose. They work pretty much the same way, but Miralax is tasteless and might go over better with your cat if needed longer term.

The other thing is to ask your vet if there is a point in time when he can be switched back to other foods that are not urinary care related. As long as he is regularly monitored for the development of more crystals, this might be an option.

 

[stephanietx]

You can also try slippery elm bark. You can get it from the health food store. Boil 1 Cup of water. When boiling, remove from heat and mix in 1 teaspoon of SEB for 1-2 minutes. It will get the consistency of a raw egg white. You can give 1/4t a day or twice a day as needed. Store mixture in fridge for up to a week. Mix into wet food or syringe into his mouth. I would start with 1/4 t daily or even less. Again, it's something that can help with constipation, but can also help stop diarrhea, so you don't want to overdo it.

 

[TommyShelby0425]

Hi and welcome to TCS! It could be something in the food that is attributing to the constipation as well. If you stopped the dry SO long enough, has it corrected the constipation issue? There is a comparable Hills dry food too that you could try. And there is also a comparable RC wet food too, that maybe he would like more than the Hills. You can ask your vet about both of these. Purina also carries urinary care foods too. I'd try to let him have some dry food in any case since he is apparently missing it.

If there is a urinary care wet food that he would like better, you might be able to get away with adding a bit of water to it to help offset his lack of drinking water otherwise, as mentioned above. You can also try 'flavoring' your cat's water with low-sodium chicken broth or juice from a can of tuna.

The plain pumpkin can help with fiber if that is what he is missing, but it is also used in some cases to help with loose stools, so just know it might not work for your cat if lack of fiber isn't the problem. Psyllium husk is another fiber option.

All said, you may need to give your cat a laxative on some routine basis if none of the above work - Miralax is an alternative to lactulose. They work pretty much the same way, but Miralax is tasteless and might go over better with your cat if needed longer term.

The other thing is to ask your vet if there is a point in time when he can be switched back to other foods that are not urinary care related. As long as he is regularly monitored for the development of more crystals, this might be an option.

Thanks so much, do you happen to know what dose to give for miralax? I think that maybe a cheaper route if it comes to that. He's 11lbs

 

[TommyShelby0425]

Hi and welcome to TCS! It could be something in the food that is attributing to the constipation as well. If you stopped the dry SO long enough, has it corrected the constipation issue? There is a comparable Hills dry food too that you could try. And there is also a comparable RC wet food too, that maybe he would like more than the Hills. You can ask your vet about both of these. Purina also carries urinary care foods too. I'd try to let him have some dry food in any case since he is apparently missing it.

If there is a urinary care wet food that he would like better, you might be able to get away with adding a bit of water to it to help offset his lack of drinking water otherwise, as mentioned above. You can also try 'flavoring' your cat's water with low-sodium chicken broth or juice from a can of tuna.

The plain pumpkin can help with fiber if that is what he is missing, but it is also used in some cases to help with loose stools, so just know it might not work for your cat if lack of fiber isn't the problem. Psyllium husk is another fiber option.

All said, you may need to give your cat a laxative on some routine basis if none of the above work - Miralax is an alternative to lactulose. They work pretty much the same way, but Miralax is tasteless and might go over better with your cat if needed longer term.

The other thing is to ask your vet if there is a point in time when he can be switched back to other foods that are not urinary care related. As long as he is regularly monitored for the development of more crystals, this might be an option.

He's been off the Royal Cannin for about a day now, so I'll have to check when I get home from work if he pooped on his own yet after last night. I'm going to get him the Hills Urinary & Hairball formula and see how that works with some new urinary care food. I will also try the chicken broth option too thanks so much!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks so much, do you happen to know what dose to give for miralax? I think that maybe a cheaper route if it comes to that. He's 11lbs

Generally, one starts with 1/8 tsp mixed with just a bit of water and then added to food. That can be done twice a day, if you think that is necessary. The dosage can be increased to 1/4 tsp either once or twice a day, depending on the results. I am hoping that if you can find a balance over time, you could administer it periodically to stave off constipation, rather than trying to 'cure' it.

 

[stephanietx]

I need to correct my directions of Slippery Elm Bark. It's 1/2 Cup water and 1 teaspoon SEB.