Constipated/cat Doesn't Poop Often?

Merlin123

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So I'll start my nightmare from the very beginning. Merlin is a 4 year old short haired domestic cat, 11 pounds. (Is that the term for your average Joe black and grey tabby kinda cat?) He ate an elastic about a month and a half ago. I decided to take him to the vet after him pooping out some strands of the elastic a about a week apart from each other. The vet gave him an antibiotic and some other medicine to help reduce stomach acid. He pushed more elastic out after a few days and we are sure that was the rest of it. Now the medicine made him have some large poops which seemed normal. He did end up pushing out a small really hard and dry poop which had some elastic in it and that was the last piece we ever saw.

After the antibiotics were done he had the worst diarrhea ever. The vet gave him some fortiflora but it didn't help. I continued to give him that and some slippery elm powder for about two weeks. He stopped using the litter box in the mean time but I don't think he even knew when he was about to poop. There was also a lot of it. Like how did you have all of that in you a lot! He was drinking lots of water, eating and playing normally through this entire episode, only hiding away when he had to poop.

Recently about two/three weeks ago the diarrhea stopped and he had firm poops again. But now he poops about every 3/4 days. When he poops they're rather large, not too smelly, a rich dark brown, firm but I can still squish it with minor pressure and it comes out in log shapes. Some are long and some come out a little smaller but still log shaped. When I break it apart there's some hair in it but nothing strange.

Now when he has to poop he will usually not eat too much and not move around a lot that day, he will hide in random places or loaf up on the floor with his tail curled around him. His anus also sticks out a little bit because there's poop there but he just won't push it out. Sometimes I can see some poop sticking out and some of his inner anus will stick out ever so slightly. When he does poop he usually runs around or hides under the bed. But it comes out super easily and quick. There's no pain in his face nor does he make any noises. He s usually scared after he poops but once I pick him up and give him a snuggle hes fine right away and energy levels go right back up.

Everything else is fine with him but I just don't know how to make him poop regularly again or if this is actually a major problem. It seems semi behavioral because he was terrified of his diarrhea and I think he's just afraid to poop. Or maybe he lost some nerve sensitivity after the antibiotics and diarrhea.

Along with the poop problem he stopped peeing 1-2 times a day and only after he pooped and it wasn't in the litter box. I've recently solved that problem and he's using it again just for peeing. Using it once or twice a day. So I've been slowly seeing improvements during this whole episode.

I've been giving him more liquid based foods(he nornally eats dry food, he has a high sensativity problem towards wet food but I found a brand that isn't giving him the runs), probiotics, and slippery elm powder. Sometimes a little dolop of pumpkin. Energy levels are great besides poop day, drinks a lot of water.

My vet has been no help in this situation so I've resorted to asking online to see what people think. I have an inner fear that he has some kind of mega colon from so much poop but the symptoms don't add up besides being 'constipated'.

How can I make my cat poop normally again? Is this a major concern? Did all the meds maybe just set his colon and what not off balance and just needs recovery time? Would time most likely fix this problem? Should I be scared of mega colon? I just want Merlin to be healthy again. I'm so worried and I love him so much. :(
 
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Merlin123

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His poop is also slightly wet when it comes out like mucus? But it's minimal. I think I covered everything now
 

walli

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Not an expert by all means, I'm sure someone will be along shortly.
I'm wondering if his stomach needs time to recover? Have you had an X-Ray to make sure all the elastic is out? I think feeding him wet food is good.
He could be in pain when he poo's, cats don't show pain, sometimes they purr when they are in pain.
 
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Merlin123

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Not an expert by all means, I'm sure someone will be along shortly.
I'm wondering if his stomach needs time to recover? Have you had an X-Ray to make sure all the elastic is out? I think feeding him wet food is good.
He could be in pain when he poo's, cats don't show pain, sometimes they purr when they are in pain.
Yeah I'm wondering if he just needs recovery time. Found a new vet today so I'm going to call them! I collected all the pieces of elastic and all the long pieces were for sure out but maybe something got stuck? There hasn't been blood or anything but I'll see if I can get an xray!
 

walli

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Just for your own peace of mind! (X-Ray)
I'm no vet but maybe ask about backing off all the meds and formulas for awhile?
till his stomach gets better?
posted this before the I saw the mention of probiotic, probiotic should be good!
 

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I think letting his colon/stomach recover from all the meds is a good idea too. Ask your new vet and see what they suggest. More fiber definitely wouldn't hurt (any of us!) keep up on the pumpkin and any other fiber you can think of. He's pretty cleaned out after all this, so not going regularly for a while would not be unusual. And i think you are right, he is afraid to go,and since cats are so afraid of change, even with their bowels and he remembers the pain, that would be normal. X-rays are much cheaper than CT scans, usually around 100.00, and would be worth it for peace of mind. But as long as he IS going, eating and acting normal (or almost so) i would say he is recovering. All the luck!
 

tarasgirl06

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So I'll start my nightmare from the very beginning. Merlin is a 4 year old short haired domestic cat, 11 pounds. (Is that the term for your average Joe black and grey tabby kinda cat?) He ate an elastic about a month and a half ago. I decided to take him to the vet after him pooping out some strands of the elastic a about a week apart from each other. The vet gave him an antibiotic and some other medicine to help reduce stomach acid. He pushed more elastic out after a few days and we are sure that was the rest of it. Now the medicine made him have some large poops which seemed normal. He did end up pushing out a small really hard and dry poop which had some elastic in it and that was the last piece we ever saw.

After the antibiotics were done he had the worst diarrhea ever. The vet gave him some fortiflora but it didn't help. I continued to give him that and some slippery elm powder for about two weeks. He stopped using the litter box in the mean time but I don't think he even knew when he was about to poop. There was also a lot of it. Like how did you have all of that in you a lot! He was drinking lots of water, eating and playing normally through this entire episode, only hiding away when he had to poop.

Recently about two/three weeks ago the diarrhea stopped and he had firm poops again. But now he poops about every 3/4 days. When he poops they're rather large, not too smelly, a rich dark brown, firm but I can still squish it with minor pressure and it comes out in log shapes. Some are long and some come out a little smaller but still log shaped. When I break it apart there's some hair in it but nothing strange.

Now when he has to poop he will usually not eat too much and not move around a lot that day, he will hide in random places or loaf up on the floor with his tail curled around him. His anus also sticks out a little bit because there's poop there but he just won't push it out. Sometimes I can see some poop sticking out and some of his inner anus will stick out ever so slightly. When he does poop he usually runs around or hides under the bed. But it comes out super easily and quick. There's no pain in his face nor does he make any noises. He s usually scared after he poops but once I pick him up and give him a snuggle hes fine right away and energy levels go right back up.

Everything else is fine with him but I just don't know how to make him poop regularly again or if this is actually a major problem. It seems semi behavioral because he was terrified of his diarrhea and I think he's just afraid to poop. Or maybe he lost some nerve sensitivity after the antibiotics and diarrhea.

Along with the poop problem he stopped peeing 1-2 times a day and only after he pooped and it wasn't in the litter box. I've recently solved that problem and he's using it again just for peeing. Using it once or twice a day. So I've been slowly seeing improvements during this whole episode.

I've been giving him more liquid based foods(he nornally eats dry food, he has a high sensativity problem towards wet food but I found a brand that isn't giving him the runs), probiotics, and slippery elm powder. Sometimes a little dolop of pumpkin. Energy levels are great besides poop day, drinks a lot of water.

My vet has been no help in this situation so I've resorted to asking online to see what people think. I have an inner fear that he has some kind of mega colon from so much poop but the symptoms don't add up besides being 'constipated'.

How can I make my cat poop normally again? Is this a major concern? Did all the meds maybe just set his colon and what not off balance and just needs recovery time? Would time most likely fix this problem? Should I be scared of mega colon? I just want Merlin to be healthy again. I'm so worried and I love him so much. :(
Hello M Merlin123 and welcome to TCS -- you're among friends here! A consult with a different vet sounds great. That's where I would start. Since you don't know what's going on, copying out your post and running that by him or her would be good, too.
Personally, I would feed your cat only high-quality wet food, changing gradually from the dry mixed in with a small amount of the wet, and decreasing the dry and increasing the wet over a period of a couple of weeks until he is eating only the wet. This will definitely be healthier for him all the way around. Some people recommend a raw diet. I'm not a proponent of that, but I do feed high quality wet. I buy my cat supplies at drsfostersmith.com, a company which was founded by 2 vets and which ships directly to your door for free if your order is $19 or over. If you get auto-delivery, you also get nice discounts. And this way, you know your cat will never run out of food. You can call them to change your delivery at any time -- they're in WI and very helpful.
Please keep us informed on your cat's health! *PRAYERS* for him to stabilize and thrive!
 

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2 weeks might not be long enough for the forti-flora to re-seed the gut with good bacteria after the antibiotic therapy. I would personally continue giving this, or another probiotic if he isn't keen on the flavor (most cats love it), possibly for life. Even for a healthy cat, quality probiotics are not a bad thing to use due to the contaminated nature of our food/world.
Do you recall the name of the "some other medicine to reduce stomach acid"? Acid reducers can REALLY mess up the gut, not dangerously so if used short term, but some animals and some people just do not have a good reaction to them even if they're needed.
If you consult another vet make sure they have access to his records so they can see the entire picture of what happened, when it happened, what was given, when it was dispensed and for how long. If your vet isn't helping despite continuing problems, I would definitely seek a second opinion.
Did the vet mention using Miralax? We have a boy with some constipation issues and miralax and a few other things have really helped. We only use them as needed now. Merlin's symptoms mirror his; he doesn't eat much, lays around, his rear end looks like a small torpedo because it's filling up, etc.
Also, with the diarrhea stuff in the past have the vet check him for impacted anal glands or anal sac problems. This alone can make straining to "go" more difficult/uncomfortable.
If he's eating the wet food I'd vote keep him on it and limit the dry, at least until things clear up for good. I'd also opt to feed him as little and as often as possible to make up his daily requirements vs. one or two larger meals per day.
If he gets backed up, resist the urge to skip a few meals but just offer a tiny bit at a time to hopefully get the system moving along. The last thing you want is to completely cease digestion and leave that, uh...crap sitting there, for a lack of a better term. :lol:
Our boy hates pumpkin and won't eat it anymore. He used to but decided it was too unfeline. He eats Fancy Feast Classics at the moment, and a few days a week we add in some raw chicken hearts (1-2 at most per day) and 1-2 times a week we give him a little bit (1/4-1/3) of a raw chicken liver. The liver seems to act as a laxative and gets things moving. I would caution against feeding a lot, as it can go the other way (diarrhea) and feeding large amounts daily can create some problems with Vitamin A toxicity.
Best of luck to you and your guy...
 

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I'm no vet but I do know poop and the digestive system (in humans) :) Do you think that the med your cat was given to reduce acidity could have caused him a hairball problem? With the reduced stomach acidity and the use of antibiotics, he may have not been able to break down and easily pass fur. My cat rarely throws up hairballs but will get constipated because of them. Maybe try a hairball paste of some sort.
 
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Merlin123

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Bless all of you!!!!! I contacted a new vet and they gave me some great advice too! Going to bring him in this week so the new vet can get a look at him but they aren't considering it an emergency after everything I told him. He pooped just the other day and his bum didn't stick out so much, his energy levels were better than usual and he was eating and drinking a lot more than the other poop days. I've been giving him more wet food and a little bit less dry food too just to keep those moisture levels up. Right now he's eating Performatrin Limited Ingredients dry food and I've been giving him Weruva Luxe wet food. The medicine he was on was metronidazole twice a day which was the antibiotic and famotidine twice a day for his stomach.

Reading all these posts is really helpful and makes me feel so much better! Thank you!

P.s. I'm posting from Ontario Canada if that makes it easier to suggest a different food or anything else!
 
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Merlin123

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I'm no vet but I do know poop and the digestive system (in humans) :) Do you think that the med your cat was given to reduce acidity could have caused him a hairball problem? With the reduced stomach acidity and the use of antibiotics, he may have not been able to break down and easily pass fur. My cat rarely throws up hairballs but will get constipated because of them. Maybe try a hairball paste of some sort.
I did notice more hair in his poop but not too much but what you said really does make a lot of sense and I think it could be a huge contribution to the delayed poops!
 
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Merlin123

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2 weeks might not be long enough for the forti-flora to re-seed the gut with good bacteria after the antibiotic therapy. I would personally continue giving this, or another probiotic if he isn't keen on the flavor (most cats love it), possibly for life. Even for a healthy cat, quality probiotics are not a bad thing to use due to the contaminated nature of our food/world.
Do you recall the name of the "some other medicine to reduce stomach acid"? Acid reducers can REALLY mess up the gut, not dangerously so if used short term, but some animals and some people just do not have a good reaction to them even if they're needed.
If you consult another vet make sure they have access to his records so they can see the entire picture of what happened, when it happened, what was given, when it was dispensed and for how long. If your vet isn't helping despite continuing problems, I would definitely seek a second opinion.
Did the vet mention using Miralax? We have a boy with some constipation issues and miralax and a few other things have really helped. We only use them as needed now. Merlin's symptoms mirror his; he doesn't eat much, lays around, his rear end looks like a small torpedo because it's filling up, etc.
Also, with the diarrhea stuff in the past have the vet check him for impacted anal glands or anal sac problems. This alone can make straining to "go" more difficult/uncomfortable.
If he's eating the wet food I'd vote keep him on it and limit the dry, at least until things clear up for good. I'd also opt to feed him as little and as often as possible to make up his daily requirements vs. one or two larger meals per day.
If he gets backed up, resist the urge to skip a few meals but just offer a tiny bit at a time to hopefully get the system moving along. The last thing you want is to completely cease digestion and leave that, uh...crap sitting there, for a lack of a better term. :lol:
Our boy hates pumpkin and won't eat it anymore. He used to but decided it was too unfeline. He eats Fancy Feast Classics at the moment, and a few days a week we add in some raw chicken hearts (1-2 at most per day) and 1-2 times a week we give him a little bit (1/4-1/3) of a raw chicken liver. The liver seems to act as a laxative and gets things moving. I would caution against feeding a lot, as it can go the other way (diarrhea) and feeding large amounts daily can create some problems with Vitamin A toxicity.
Best of luck to you and your guy...
Thank you! I'll ask the new vet about the miralax!! Torpedo butt is honestly the best way to put it into words!!! Haha
 

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We went through a constipation nightmare over the past 3 months. It took a diet change and the addition and then tapering down of a couple of medications as well as adding in forti flora. We started with miralax, which was way easier to administer, but she responded better to lactulose. Hopefully your vet will be able to get your kitty sorted out easily :)
 
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Merlin123

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Thank you! I'll ask the new vet about the miralax!! Torpedo butt is honestly the best way to put it into words!!! Haha
Oh and the medicine was famotidine for the stomach acid!
 
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Merlin123

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Famotidine can have constipation as a side effect. Short term use I wouldn't worry too much, is he still on this medication?
Nope! He s been off of it for about almost three weeks I think?
 

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Two things: Try to make sure you brush him daily, and give him a really thorough brushing. The less fur that gets into his digestive tract, the better. A furball paste such as Petromalt may be helpful for him.
And I'm no authority but I've read that in humans -- and this would apply to cats as well -- it's not too much acid that's the problem, it's not enough. Usually, though, the body regulates these systems quite well by itself. I would stay wasy from the drugs as much as possible, including antibiotics, and give him a chance to stabilize after having to have those. They really wreak havoc on the system, and it takes time for things to normalize.
 
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Merlin123

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Two things: Try to make sure you brush him daily, and give him a really thorough brushing. The less fur that gets into his digestive tract, the better. A furball paste such as Petromalt may be helpful for him.
And I'm no authority but I've read that in humans -- and this would apply to cats as well -- it's not too much acid that's the problem, it's not enough. Usually, though, the body regulates these systems quite well by itself. I would stay wasy from the drugs as much as possible, including antibiotics, and give him a chance to stabilize after having to have those. They really wreak havoc on the system, and it takes time for things to normalize.
Thank you! I make sure to brush him a lot as he was shedding a lot when he was stressed out with the medication. I'll talk to the vet about natural and herbal medicines too as he does really well on those types.
 
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