Mega Colon Kitty - Miralax And Recent Pancreatitis Flare Up

[RobinJean]

Hello everyone. I'm new here and so appreciative of this site. My little 5 yr. old Chloe has had mega colon for about 3 years and is on Royal Canin Fiber Response dry food and 1/4 teaspoon Miralax two times a day. She has been prone to urinary tract infections since she was about 3 months old (she was a found kitty). Last week we were at the vets four days in a row. Throughout those days she was given SQ fluid therapy 3 times, a vitamin B12 injection, had blood work done, a radiograph, an enema, an antiemetic injection, and given Convenia 80mg/ml. Not in that order.. sorry I'm getting ahead of myself here. Her lab report indicated elevated levels of something (?) that resulted in a diagnosis of 'mild' pancreatitis.

My question (and again, so sorry I'm taking the long way to get this out) is.. has anyone had experience with attempting to manage mega colon and pancreatitis? I worry about the Miralax possibly being a precursor to the pancreatitis even though it has been a life saver for her. I can't tell you how much I appreciate any knowledge or experience with this any of you are willing to share with me. My husband and I are so in love with this precious kitty and so committed to her we desperately want to help her feel better. Which, she actually is right now (eating well, bowl movements normal for her, and not lethargic).. however just this afternoon she urinated outside her box. One of our vets wanted to put her back on a prescription med for the mega colon (name begins with an L, but can't recall the name), but it really didn't help her that much the first time we tried it so we chose not to try it again.

Again, thank you for reading, Robin

 

[stephanietx]

They probably wanted to put her on Lactulose for the mega colon. Sometimes, adding plain canned pumpkin to wet food can help in place of Lactulose. I'm sorry I can't help with pancreatitis. I'm sure someone will come along to help soon.

 

[denice]

I don't think Miralax would have anything to do with the Pancreatitis. Miralax just draws fluid into the colon which is what Lactulose does, the Miralax is just easier to give because it is a tasteless powder. Pancreatitis is one of those things that shows up often with no rhyme or reason. She could have a UTI again which also isn't connected to the Pancreatitis.

You might want to consider a diet change. Will your kitty eat wet food? Increasing fluid intake will help with the UTI's and constipation issues.

 

[RobinJean]

Thank you guys for your quick response. And yes, we much prefer the Miralax to the Lactulose which she absolutely hated taking. We give her a little bit of canned food twice a day to mix with her twice daily dose of Miralax, but mostly she gets the Royal Canin Fiber Response due to her mega colon problem. The Pancreatitis just came out of the blue (as does most of this stuff!) and she had been doing so well it caught my husband and I both completely off guard. I've just been really concerned and have been so worried that somehow the Miralax could have somehow been connected to the Pancreatitis. I'm cutting back her dosage slightly and ideally would love to be able to take her off of it entirely, in hopes that her special dry food would keep the mega colon under control.. but I know that would be tricky and somewhat risky. A risk I'm approaching with extreme caution and crossed fingers! Also her dry food increases her thirst which helps with her drinking more water. We've done fluids at the vets and at home in the past and I'm a great believer in the benefits of that. She's currently on a 14 day antibiotic and actually appears to be doing better right now than my husband and I lol. But we may have to resume the fluids depending on how it goes. We're retired so at the moment we're watching her so much she's becoming bored with us and probably wishes we'd move on and watch her sister instead.

Thinking the Pancreatitis just threw us for a loop. We've had years of experience with cats and should be used to new things cropping up! Too, our age probably isn't helping the situation.. two old worriers and cat lovers here

Again thanks for responding, reading, and listening, you've really helped me gather my thoughts and get my bearings with this new (to us anyway) diagnosis..

 

[romulus]

Hope your cat got better .We have the same problem with our cat.. he is a 5 year old British Tabby . We went through similar problems with him having mega colon but not pancreatitis . And he started to constipate again now. We are back on Miralax twice a day and I also give him a little bit of milk(1 tsp in a syringe) twice a day which helped him last time to go use the litter and empty his colon. Boy !! Was he glad
We mix both Royal Canine and wet food 1 tsp each and feed him twice a day as he is the kind to gain weight . He is a Garfield.
I did forget the pumpkin which I will have to get now to feed him. He is not on Lactulose right now. Hope this helped .
Pray mine gets better.

 

[daftcat75]

I don't have experience with mega colon. Feeding a dry food that has fiber seems to be the wrong approach like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. The dry food itself is causing the constipation by not providing enough moisture. Adding fiber is only making matters worse by adding bulk without moisture. Miralax can help with the moisture. But replacing the dry food with a high quality wet food would go that much farther. Dry food also affects stomach and intestinal pH making digestion less effective. It could very well be the dry food that is also causing the pancreatitis. Try to reduce or eliminate her dry portions and increase her wet meals. Keep using the Miralax. That's the only sane part of her treatment right now. If bulk needs to be added to her wet food diet, use plain canned pumpkin. 1/2 to 1 tsp daily. This will provide both moisture and bulk. Miralax provides moisture without bulk.

 

[daftcat75]

And if you just need to push things through sometimes...

A pat of butter will grease the chute just like Vaseline or hairball gel but Chloe will actually like the taste.

A tsp of raw egg yolk will disolve the fat that binds ingested hair into hairballs. This one is like cat Drain-O so don't over-do it.

Both will take 12-24 hours to work their way through so don't double up until you've given them a chance to work.

 

[artiemom]

I do not have experience with pancreatitis, but I do with Megacolon/motility issue...

The fiber response food did great... and miralax... then added lactulose... and daily sub-q fluids.. and daily cisapride--upping it to twice daily..

I would rather use the miralax than the lactulose. They both work in different ways..

Are you mixing the miralax with water, and then adding it to some wet food? That is the easiest way to give it. Then your baby can eat the dry FR food.

I am not in the same opinion that miralax contributed to the pancreatitis.. I do not see how it could. I take it myself.. but occasionally.

It is a vicious cycle.. I really do not know what to say, to help...
All I can do is send my ((hugs)) and love..

any specific questions, just ask..