Megacolon

taryn

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I'm not sure if many people remember me since I haven't been on recently since Nuts passed away.

After Nuts passed on we got Sirius, who is thankfully very healthy(Nuts and his sister Attitude both had FeLV.)

He has never pooped daily, since we got him about 13 months ago, usually going every other day or every 2-3 days but has been fine(went to vet they said some cats go infrequently so just keep an eye on him.) Well he's gone around 5 days(Paul cleans the litter box, I don't so I don't know how long exactly but less than a week) without pooping so we went to the vet with him and he is clogged up beyond belief. So we are dealing with megacolon now. He's at the vet's for the day getting enemas to clear him out.

The question is- does he need to be on the 'special' food the vet gives him forever? Does he really need it at all? He is fed high quality canned food, and dry Fromm(which he rarely eats, only if he's really hungry will he touch the dry.) If he needs the food I'll feed it but I just spent $80 on high end wet food for him over the weekend. If he can't have it any more than our local rescue will love us since they'll be getting a donation of cat food.

I'm just really PO'd at this vet since she treated us like crap thinking we were neglectful saying "We've only seen him once" and being just rude. I finally brought up he'd been there several times and that they obviously hadn't linked Sirius in both Paul(my boyfriend) and my accounts. Sure enough, they hadn't, she got a lot nicer once she saw that he had been in multiple times, and had been vaccinated in Jan. I think the next time I call for Sirius or our dog Dexter it will be 'anyone but Dr. X' because she was just rude. I don't neglect my cat or his health, just because their records were wrong(or not linked together) was no reason for her to treat us the way she did. Like I said, she got a lot nicer once she saw he had been in for vaccinations, surgery to remove a benign lump plus a dental, and for suture removal. Wow, I spent over $500 in Jan for him for the mass removal(since they didn't know if it was cancer or not) plus the dental, he's NOT neglected, he sees the vet whenever nesessary. He's been healthy otherwise so he hasn't needed the vet for anything else. Glad I thought that maybe the records weren't linked or she would have continued to be rude to us.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Taryn
 

white shadow

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Someone else inquired about megacolon earlier today........here's how I replied to him:

The greatest single concentration of the guardians of megacolon kitties is to be found here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline_Megacolon/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=2 Over the past 12 years, over 1600 people have congregated there to share their experiences, get practical help and hear about the latest leading research on the condition. Were I in your shoes, that's where I'd be! I think you will find that the collective experience there far outstrips that of our individual Vets.

That's where I'd be and where I'd be asking those questions if I were dealing with Sirius.
 

kittylover23

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UGH, rude vets are the worst!!!! Trust me, I've had a few of them!!
You are not alone.

If it was my kitty, I would keep feeding the same high quality canned food but give Sirius about a tablespoon of pumpkin daily. Pumpkin is a great source of fiber in cats and it really helps constipated kitties go! I don't know too much about megacolon, I've never really dealt with it, but I feel for you!
If he totally, absolutely, completely has to be on a prescription diet, avoid Hills and go with Royal Canin!
 
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taryn

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OK, vet said it wasn't megacolon yet but it will end up as that if we don't take care of this now.

She gave us 12 cans of I/D which she says will lessen the amount of waste he puts out(unlikely, he'll just poop less often now I'm sure, he never poops unless it's a huge amount every few days.) She also gave us Cisapride and Laxatone for daily use. Sirius was happy enough eating the I/D(all the vet carries is Hill's and I'm not keeping him on it longer than 6 days which is what she gave us.) We'll see how well he takes the Cisapride and I know the Laxatone is always fun to try and give him(we give it to him on occasion for hairballs.)

He seems fine for now, they said they got a huge amount of stool out of him with the enemas. I'll just have to see how he does from now on.

Taryn
 

tjcarst

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Rude vets annoy me to no end.  Why be rude to someone who is obviously there for help because someone cares enough to get help?

Some people find that a little extra fiber helps.  Have you asked about giving 1tsp of pumpkin twice a day mixed with food?  Or Metamucil?  Fiber can help for both constipation and for loose stools.

Hopefully someone more medically knowledgeable about a cat's digestive system chime in with advice.
 
 

kattiekitty

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Hi
I just saw your post. Your poor little kitty. I too deal with a kitty that doesn't poop regularly. In fact, she is borderline megacolon. Now the doctor I worked for (I'm a registered vet tech, just not currently working in the field cause I had another calling, but I do stay current) put Kattie on the high fiber horrible hills r/d plus Metamucil. That made things a whole lot worse. More fiber isn't always good for these kitties. It almost makes the situation worst. Kattie was at the point where she was needing enemas and to be " cleaned out every few months.
Now I did some research on my own and with the doctor. A low fiber diet seems to work with the cats that get worse on high fiber diets. Now I'm not a vet, but I can tell you that the r/d or equivelent is about 16% fiber. I never feed my kitty anything more than 3 percent and try to do less than that. The other huge thing is get more canned food into him. Go totally canned if you can. Add water about a teaspoon, if he will eat it. Moisture is key to keep the intestines hydrated.
Severe kitties sometimes have to go on drugs like lactulose and cisparide. Kattie was never on cisparide, but she was on lactulose for a while. It worked but was a sticky mess and gradually became less effective.
The god send that I use to this day, is miralax. It is over the counter so doesn't need a prescription, and works like a charm. I sprinkle a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of the powder in her food and she usually eats it right up. It is odorless and tasteless so dissolves easily in canned food. Another way I give it is dissolve it in a small amount of water and syringe it directly to her. It works by pulling water into the intestines and softening the stool. If you give too much they can et diarrhea, so it is kinda a dose to effect, if one dose is too much, cut it back a little til you get a soft formed stool.
I haven't had any side effects other than the diarrhea when given too much. It is safe for kitties, and many people with megacolon kitties use it. My own vet calls it the miracle drug for them. My own cat went from having to be cleaned out every few months, to not having an incident in 3 years. If I've noticed she hasn't pooped in 2-3 days, I will increase her doseage and sure enough the next morning there is a stool.
So my kitty eats a regular diet like my other cat and gets her miralax. I am in the process of converting to raw, but that's another story. Hope this helps though!

Good luck with your kitty!

Oh and forgot to add that we tried i/d too. It didnt help my kitty. It is more for animals with diarrhea, but didn't help with constipation. Laxatone helped with the hairball says my kitty is a long hair, but I didn't like giving every day as I read somewhere that it interferes with the absorption of nutrients from the digestive tract. It sounds like your vet is a lot like my old vet that treated cats the old way before some of the new findings. If your cat isn't megacolon, those might work, although I'm surprised she prescribed the cisparide with out lactulose. Every vet is different though and I don't want to question your vets expertise, but a cat that isn't megacolon can still benefit from the miralax for constipation if need be. Try the I/d for a little bit and see what happens, but I like you, would never keep my pets on any of the Hill's products for longer than I have to. This coming from someone who sold it day in and day out lol.
 
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taryn

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We had to start him on Miralax since he hadn't pooped since he got back from the vet except for a tiny little amount(less than what a normal cat poops). We gave him 2 doses the day before yesterday and yesterday and there was finally a normal amount of poop(for him) in his litter box this morning.

We're going to see if he can move it out on his own but if he hasn't gone in 3 days we'll give him more again. We're hoping this isn't going to be something he has to be on forever but if he has to be then he has to be. We don't want him to end up with megacolon. He also refused to eat the I/D after the first 2 cans so he went back to his normal canned diet.

The vet also told us to put him back on dry after we called to say he hadn't pooped yet. Not sure why she wanted us to do that since it seems to go against helping him poop but I assume she knows what she's doing. She wanted us to bring him back in but we just couldn't afford another $300+ vet bill so she said we could start giving him Miralax and then bring him in if it didn't work but it appears to be working, thankfully.

I just hopes this helps him and keeps him regular. Poor kitty, I just feel so bad for him.

Taryn
 

barneythecat

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Thank you. My cat is only four year old and I have had him on all of the above that you have mentioned even doucoulax pills.He has been to the vets
Twice in the past two weeks. Over 12 times in the past 2 and half years. Lots of money. Help!!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Thank you. My cat is only four year old and I have had him on all of the above that you have mentioned even doucoulax pills.He has been to the vets
Twice in the past two weeks. Over 12 times in the past 2 and half years. Lots of money. Help!!
You are posting to a thread that is 7 months old, so you might want to start up a thread of your own. 

So your little guy has been on Miralax with no results?  How often do you give it...twice a day?  What is he eating?  What has he been to the Vet for twice in the past 2 weeks...enemas?  Are you adding canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) to his diet?  Has he been formally diagnosed with megacolon, and if so, what medications is he on? 

Here are a couple  more threads on megacolon that you might find interesting: 

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/205398/diet-to-manage-megacolon

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245960/help-for-kitties-with-megacolon
 
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