Some Constipation Questions

[Timmer]

That is good news that she pooped on her own. Was it a decent amount? I have been trying to get caught up on your thread here and happened to see you are feeding her grain free, or were at one point. I would get her off that. When you think about it, we all need fiber to go potty, not more protein. Grain free never worked well with my cats.

I tell you what I feed my girl now and it's a godsend is the Royal Canin Hairball forumla. That's in the pet stores. I've also heard high praises for the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal food which you need a prescription for. In fact, I was tempted to call my vet and ask for that. Both come in canned and dry. I believe you can get the gastro one off Chewy for much less than anywhere else. I've had a couple of cats with constipation issues. Timmer had to be sedated and the stool manually worked out of him. That takes a lot out of a cat but he couldn't go anymore.

I had a cat years ago who lived to be 18 years old that had mega colon and had motality issues. I gave her enemas at home with a baby ear syringe. She never produced more than a turd about the size of a thumb. Not much ...but she kept going. It was no way for her to live, though, and I regretted it. Eventually she couldn't go anymore no matter what I did.
I wish you luck. Please keep us posted.

 

[missmindy]

Thank you both! She's producing a pretty good amount. At home it was about 4 3 inch poops. I'm not sure what she did at the vet, but they were pleased. I'm going to continue to try very hard to get her onto wet food. She was a little more receptive to it this past week. I'm not sure if it's from hunger or just digested better for her. I think we are going to keep her home tomorrow and if all goes well, keep actively trying to prevent the problem. Otherwise, she'll go back to the vet. I will absolutely talk to my vet about all the diets that have been posted. Hopefully my next update will be just as good

 

[Timmer]

YAY!!!!

 

[missmindy]

Well, no poop since we came home. She's spending the day at the vet again today so they can keep working with her. Hopefully she's getting cleaned out and wasn't "ready" to go again yet.

 

[Timmer]

I"m just curious why you would take her back so soon after she did poop on her own.
Please ask about the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal food. There are reviews on it at all the sites. I haven't used it but I'm tempted. For now their Hairball formula is working well. Very high fiber.
Best of luck to you today.

 

[missmindy]

They told me to bring her back. They didn't feel what she did on her own was reflective of what was in her system. I will definitely ask about the diet.

Edited as I as talking while I typed and half wrote what I was saying to a colleague.

 

[missmindy]

Was just looking at the RC GI food-it looks like there are several varieties. From reading here I think most kitties are on the fiber response food? I'm wondering if the high fiber would "bulk up" her stool too much. I'll make sure I ask that too. Still hoping to transition her to wet consistently!

 

[Timmer]

I don't know. It might. Some of the reviews I had read said that it made their cats poop softer and was a life saver. I wish I could remember on here who was trying it and loved it.

 

[duckpond]

glad she went to the potty! how is she doing today?

my cats often don't want fancy feast, but they do love those creamy delights. Especially the pate one, which surprised me as they normally are not pate fans the touch of milk in it may also help with the constipation, don't know. What ever she eats i would feed

 

[missmindy]

I don't know. It might. Some of the reviews I had read said that it made their cats poop softer and was a life saver. I wish I could remember on here who was trying it and loved it.

glad she went to the potty! how is she doing today?

my cats often don't want fancy feast, but they do love those creamy delights. Especially the pate one, which surprised me as they normally are not pate fans the touch of milk in it may also help with the constipation, don't know. What ever she eats i would feed

That's ok! I'll keep reading
She had another enema today and they were really happy with the amount of poop she produced. The ones earlier this week didn't produce anything, so hopefully it's a step in the right direction. I'll find out for sure tonight, but I think she is getting time off through the weekend to see how she is on her own. Poor kitty must be tired of being "stuck" everyday!

 

[maggiedemi]

My cats are really picky. They like Friskies Shreds, Sheba Cuts, and Fancy Feast Classic the best lately. I've been trying out some Grain-Free dry foods, but it has only been 2 days, so I can't really recommend yet.

 

[maggiedemi]

I think Artiemom uses the Fiber Response dry food.

 

[missmindy]

Thank you! My regular vet was out today, so the one I saw suggested the royal canin gastro diet before I could bring it up. Planning on a switch to that. She felt my poor kitty was pretty cleaned out today, and that while she can still poop, there are motility issues. She recommended Metamucil over miralax. Any thoughts on that? No more visits required unless we don't get poop in 48 hours.

 

[maggiedemi]

Metamucil is Psyllium Husk. That's in the hairball paste I use for my cats.

 

[CatloverinFL]

Hi everyone,

I've read through a bunch of the threads on here about constipated kitties, and I think mine is experiencing a combo of all the issues discussed.

Long story short, she started throwing up a few weekends ago. I took her to the ER vet and they didn't find much. X-rays were good, blood was perfect, gave her fluids and sent us home. Fast forward a week and the same thing happened again. I also noticed a decrease in the size of her poops. Back to the ER vet, but this time they saw a lot of "material" on the X-ray and gave her an enema and sent us home with lactulose.

Now 3 weeks later, the lactulose helped some and i saw an increase in poop, but the vomitting came back. So this time I went to regular vet ( who I had been in constant contact with throughout the ER visits). She upped the lactulose dose, kitty took several BIG poops, and I thought we were good. The vomitting has now returned and she appears to be backing up again. We are now looking at adding cipraside. She is using her box to pee, but not to poop. She isn't pooping elsewhere, but either is choosing to hold it, or is having physical issues getting everything out. I gave her a 2nd litter box and put cat attract in it. If I physically put her in the box, she will poop. She's totally ignored it otherwise. we are trying to up her wet food, but she is a hard core kibble addict and this transition hasn't worked fully. I know all wet is best, but we aren't there yet.

I guess my question is, is it time for cipraside? I don't doubt my vet, but if you've seen my old thread, my kitty has had a number of major health problems and her vet bills have been in the 5 figures. I'm also open to any other tips and tricks anyone might have. I think we are going to repeat X-rays this week as she's still not acting quite right and isn't the voracious eater she usually is. Also to look at anything that might be causing her pain. I'm afraid I've totally stressed her out about using her box and am kind of at a loss. I feel terrible I haven't been able to help her feel better yet!

Edited to add I wouldn't not treat her due to $$,but just want to make the best decisions for both of us. I have care credit but her last issue ate up most of it.

Hello, I am new and have been lurking here for about two weeks . IMO, constipation can be a red flag! Having just lost my beloved cat Tues afternoon, 4/10/18 to terminal lung cancer, and a large tumor in his stomach, and a golf ball sized tumor on spleen, I strongly suggest taking your cat to a respected vet specialist/hospital in your area for more testing.

Over the last 5 months, I have spent thousands of dollars going to four separate, but well known, vets in my area to try to find out what was wrong with my baby, who died at 13.5 years old. My heart is broken. He was a beautiful, solid white cat, with one blue eye, and one hazel eye. Had I known then, what I know now, I would have taken him to a specialist immediately back in early Nov to get a clear, accurate diagnosis of what was wrong with him. He had started to cough, was constipated as usual, not eating as much, occasionally throwing up, and acting lethargic and listless during that time.
By the time I took him to a well known and very respected specialist hospital in my area only two weeks ago, it was too late to save him. I knew he was gravely ill, and that something was direly wrong with him, he seemed like he was dying, and he was, but my main vet kept saying it was just the "heartworms" that he had tested positive for back in Dec. But he kept getting sicker and sicker. For at least the last several years, he had been constipated but no vet I saw seemed to take that very seriously. And I had an enema, X-rays, blood work panels, etc, etc, all done on him within the last 4 months. Nothing wrong. No, that was so wrong.

So I second, Timmer's excellent advice; get an advanced type of ultra sound, and more testing done by as Vet Specialist. It's not going to be cheap, but take him to a vet Internist specialist, as they have much more precise testing equipment that normal, run of the mill Vets offices have/ buys for their office.

I'd always suspected his constipation was some type of obstruction in his gut, like maybe a hair ball, never thinking it was ever cancer! But all this time he'd probably had this awful tumor in his stomach for several years that was causing his constipation, and the tumor eventually grew and spread to his other organs.

Good luck to you and your baby.

 

[missmindy]

Hello, I am new and have been lurking here for about two weeks . IMO, constipation can be a red flag! Having just lost my beloved cat Tues afternoon, 4/10/18 to terminal lung cancer, and a large tumor in his stomach, and a golf ball sized tumor on spleen, I strongly suggest taking your cat to a respected vet specialist/hospital in your area for more testing.

Over the last 5 months, I have spent thousands of dollars going to four separate, but well known, vets in my area to try to find out what was wrong with my baby, who died at 13.5 years old. My heart is broken. He was a beautiful, solid white cat, with one blue eye, and one hazel eye. Had I known then, what I know now, I would have taken him to a specialist immediately back in early Nov to get a clear, accurate diagnosis of what was wrong with him. He had started to cough, was constipated as usual, not eating as much, occasionally throwing up, and acting lethargic and listless during that time.
By the time I took him to a well known and very respected specialist hospital in my area only two weeks ago, it was too late to save him. I knew he was gravely ill, and that something was direly wrong with him, he seemed like he was dying, and he was, but my main vet kept saying it was just the "heartworms" that he had tested positive for back in Dec. But he kept getting sicker and sicker. For at least the last several years, he had been constipated but no vet I saw seemed to take that very seriously. And I had an enema, X-rays, blood work panels, etc, etc, all done on him within the last 4 months. Nothing wrong. No, that was so wrong.

So I second, Timmer's excellent advice; get an advanced type of ultra sound, and more testing done by as Vet Specialist. It's not going to be cheap, but take him to a vet Internist specialist, as they have much more precise testing equipment that normal, run of the mill Vets offices have/ buys for their office.

I'd always suspected his constipation was some type of obstruction in his gut, like maybe a hair ball, never thinking it was ever cancer! But all this time he'd probably had this awful tumor in his stomach for several years that was causing his constipation, and the tumor eventually grew and spread to his other organs.

Good luck to you and your baby.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your baby. We have an appointment with an internist next month.

 

[Timmer]

I do regularly add psyllium husk to my cat's food but when my Timmer had IBD I used Miralax.
PLEASE let us know how that RC gastro food works. I really want to know. THANKS!!!!!!!

 

[missmindy]

I do regularly add psyllium husk to my cat's food but when my Timmer had IBD I used Miralax.
PLEASE let us know how that RC gastro food works. I really want to know. THANKS!!!!!!!

I ordered it today, so hopefully it comes soon and we get some good results!

 

[CatloverinFL]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your baby. We have an appointment with an internist next month.

Thank you, missmindy. I am so glad to hear you have made an appointment with an Internist Specialist. You won't regret it, and it will save money you that would have other wise paid a vet for their guess/hypothesis. I only wish I had gone to my highly respected internist vet specialist that I went to several weeks ago immediately* when last Nov my boy started coughing out of the blue, still had constipation, not eating much, and sleeping more.

By the time I took him to the specialist he was near death, hanging on by a thread, and yet even in this grave condition my vet kept saying it was "Heartworms". I knew it had to be something much worse, and it was, he was* dying, when I got the diagnosis from the Specialist; he was eaten up with cancer.

I mentioned that his ongoing constipation problem had been going on for several years, and I took him at least 3 times a year, beginning in 2014, to various vets in my area and always first mentioned it/constipation, and his overall malaise, but it was seemingly never taken seriously. One vet keep insisting my cat take antacids regularly, and that, having acid build-up in his gut, was what was causing "acid reflect" that was probably the culprit to his constipation making him not seem well and nauseous. It frankly never made sense to me. It seemed like odd, 'cool aid' logic to me. My cat had acid reflect..? No. Had I taken my sweet boy to a vet Internist Specialist then*, I very well may have him still with me today, in addition, to saving thousands of dollars while trying to get to the heart of exactly what was wrong with him. Too late now.

Please keep us posted.

 

[missmindy]

And now the vomiting is back. This is a nightmare. The only thing that stopped the vomiting was daily enemas. She didn't get one today. The specialist can't see her for 3 more weeks. I think I'm going to lose my girl.