Another Thread About Constipation - Hooray!

[Elvgrengrl]

Okay, so my poor little guy has been through a lot lately. Ate a ribbon 2.5 weeks ago. Started limping 5 days after that. Took to ER vet and all they could say was arthritis and 'here's some Buprenex' and just watch and wait for the ribbon. Next day he pooped the ribbon. A day after I stopped the Buroprenex his eating was slowing down to next to nothing and he had diarrhea for the first time ever Friday, so I took him back to the vet. She couldn't find anything wrong. Her advice was to just get him to eat. Um, thanks. He pooped diarrhea the next day followed by a more formed (but soft and smelly) one. Monday morning there was another formed, soft and smelly poop inthe box. Anyway, it was a struggle getting him to eat. I tried everything - even posted here in a different thread for help. I remembered I could give him Pepcid AC, so I did that Monday thru last night (1/4 tablet). His appetite picked up (HOORAY) and now he's mostly eating normal and acting normal. EXCEPT ....

He went a couple/few days without pooping. He did poop 2 tiny ones this am, but needed to use the carpet to get them off his butt. I'm happy he finally pooped and it was brown and formed, but I'm pretty sure he's constipated. I've given him laxatone. I tried putting some coconut oil on his paw, but he walked around with it on there - in food? no way. I tried butternut squash - nope. I tried olive oil - nope. I tried pumpkin - nope. I tried goat milk probiotic - nope. He's a picky one. Sooooooo ... I really don't want to have to resort to Miralax or Metamucil. I read about Slippery Elm, but here's the thing. I have spent close to $1k of vets and the gamut of foods over the past 1.5 weeks and not too keen on continuing with the expensive science project.

I'd like to try a good high-fiber wet food, but the internet is complicated. Did I mention he's picky? Like wouldn't touch Hill's A/D which apparently is what they give starving pets to get them to eat. He tried to cover it up. Soooooo ... help?

Thanks, guys!

 

[duckpond]

I think any wet food he would eat right now would be good. Does he like any of it? What was he eating before? Im not sure i would go higher fiber right off the bat, especially since his surgery, without the vets recommendation?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Is he still on the Buprenex? That can cause constipation, so if he's on it, you may NEED to start using Miralax, or a generic thereof, simply to offset the pain meds. The one good thing about Miralax is that it's completely odorless and tasteless and doesn't gel up, therefore cats don't know it's there. Believe me, I have one of the pickiest eaters in the universe, and I've given this to him before and he didn't know it! Plus I've had two chronically constipated cats in the past, and this was the only thing that got them through life. Miralax dissolved in a little bit of water, then added to just a little bit of food to make sure they got it before giving them the rest of their food. 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon twice a day is what worked for them. I couldn't skip a day or they would plug right up.

As to the slippery elm bark, it has a definite odor and taste. I've tried it for my guys, and NONE of them will willingly imbibe it, even if I mix it in tuna water

 

[Elvgrengrl]

I think any wet food he would eat right now would be good. Does he like any of it? What was he eating before? Im not sure i would go higher fiber right off the bat, especially since his surgery, without the vets recommendation?

He likes Fancy Feast and Friskies. He didn't have surgery. Sorry if I mistyped something. Just a bunch or random things. Currently I give him Purina U/R due to a past urinary blockage - .25 cup twice a day, but this past week it's been more .25 c in the am + a small can of wet in the evening. I def don't want him blocked up again with crystals. I also don't think the amount of wet I'm giving him is really enough (or honestly any good for him #cheapfood).

 

[Elvgrengrl]

Is he still on the Buprenex? That can cause constipation, so if he's on it, you may NEED to start using Miralax, or a generic thereof, simply to offset the pain meds. The one good thing about Miralax is that it's completely odorless and tasteless and doesn't gel up, therefore cats don't know it's there. Believe me, I have one of the pickiest eaters in the universe, and I've given this to him before and he didn't know it! Plus I've had two chronically constipated cats in the past, and this was the only thing that got them through life. Miralax dissolved in a little bit of water, then added to just a little bit of food to make sure they got it before giving them the rest of their food. 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon twice a day is what worked for them. I couldn't skip a day or they would plug right up.

As to the slippery elm bark, it has a definite odor and taste. I've tried it for my guys, and NONE of them will willingly imbibe it, even if I mix it in tuna water

I wasn't aware that Buprenex caused constipation. I only gave it to him 3 days and the last dose was over a week ago. Good to know about slippery elm having an odor. Wouldn't Miralax do the same thing in cats that it does in humans - cause dependency? I don't want to make a permanent problem out of a temporary situation. Maybe I'll try it tho. Thanks for the info!!!!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Doesn't that Purina U/R come in canned also? Have you tried that with him? If you feed him Fancy Feast CLASSICS, they aren't that bad. Same with the Friskies PATE, although for urinary health I would certainly try to add in some additional water to his wet food. Does he drink plenty of water?

 

[Lotusflwr79]

Take him off dry food completely for a little while. My cat has constipation issues and she hasn’t had dry food in about a year and a half. She gets “soup” twice per day. Half a can of wet Hills SD hairball control, mixed with 1/4 tsp miralax, enough beef broth to make it soupy and a dash of olive oil. I give her this morning and night. Make sure to really clean out the water bowl so it doesn’t have a film on the bottom of it and give fresh water 2x’s per day. My cat won’t touch the water bowl if it’s not spotless and clean, fresh water. Cats are really finicky and won’t go near something if it’s dirty or tastes different.

 

[Lotusflwr79]

I learned the hard way that spending a little extra on better food, beef broth, olive oil and the miralax can save you hundreds and possibly thousands on vet bills. The dry food is very dehydrating and my vet told us to just give my cat wet food bc of that. There is a prescription dry food that helps with constipation and you could talk to the vet about that. It’s also science diet.

 

[Timmer]

My cats would never eat pumpkin or anything you listed either, so I had to use Miralax which for mine worked within 24 hours. 1/8 of a teaspoon once a day. I think the dependency comes with using it all the time. You would only be doing it to prime the pump so to speak. I also used psyllium husk frequently. Just broke open a capsule and mixed half of it in with canned food. I agree, get him off the dry til things settle down. Give him some yummy canned food. Anything he will eat. My cats also eat Fancy Feast.

You can get through this but I believe the key is adding moisture and water. If you could make a slurry of the canned food that would be good. My cats wouldn't eat it if I did that so I would mix the miralax in some tuna water and they lapped it up....then I'd eat a tuna sandwich for lunch.
I hope you find something that works.

 

[maggiedemi]

Hi. Is .25 cup the same as 1/4 cup? If so, that plus 3oz of canned food might not be enough to make a poop every day, more like every other day. I know this because I've experimented with all different amounts of food with my cats and they need more food than that to make a poop every day.

 

[Elvgrengrl]

Doesn't that Purina U/R come in canned also? Have you tried that with him? If you feed him Fancy Feast CLASSICS, they aren't that bad. Same with the Friskies PATE, although for urinary health I would certainly try to add in some additional water to his wet food. Does he drink plenty of water?

He wouldnt touch the Purina U/R wet. Ugh. I'll try adding some water to the FF and Friskies. I do feed him those varieties you mentioned. He does drink a plenty of water, but I might try to add a little more.

 

[Elvgrengrl]

Take him off dry food completely for a little while. My cat has constipation issues and she hasn’t had dry food in about a year and a half. She gets “soup” twice per day. Half a can of wet Hills SD hairball control, mixed with 1/4 tsp miralax, enough beef broth to make it soupy and a dash of olive oil. I give her this morning and night. Make sure to really clean out the water bowl so it doesn’t have a film on the bottom of it and give fresh water 2x’s per day. My cat won’t touch the water bowl if it’s not spotless and clean, fresh water. Cats are really finicky and won’t go near something if it’s dirty or tastes different.

Thanks! He gets fresh water daily in a clean bowl. I don't think he'll really eat the watered down wet food. I believe I tried that before. He def had an aversion to olive oil.

 

[Timmer]

If he likes dry you may want to try the Royal Canin Hairball formula. My little girl has dry hard stools and infrequent constipation so I switched her, and she goes every day now. We were just talking about this on one of the other constipation threads. Someone there suggests the Royal Canin Gastrointestnal formula and it has amazing reviews but you need a vet prescription for it. It comes canned and dry. I suggest the Royal Canin Hairball dry because you can get it at Petsmart so it's readily available and it's dry. It works.

 

[Lotusflwr79]

Thanks! He gets fresh water daily in a clean bowl. I don't think he'll really eat the watered down wet food. I believe I tried that before. He def had an aversion to olive oil.

If you do decide to “water” it down, use beef broth or chicken broth for flavor. I mix the olive oil well in the food. I add it for extra calories and to keep the coat shiny.

 

[Elvgrengrl]

If he likes dry you may want to try the Royal Canin Hairball formula. My little girl has dry hard stools and infrequent constipation so I switched her, and she goes every day now. We were just talking about this on one of the other constipation threads. Someone there suggests the Royal Canin Gastrointestnal formula and it has amazing reviews but you need a vet prescription for it. It comes canned and dry. I suggest the Royal Canin Hairball dry because you can get it at Petsmart so it's readily available and it's dry. It works.

Thanks! My only worry is that he's currently on Rx food for his urinary health. We do NOT want to go through that surgery again. I have an email out to my vet, but I'll be perfectly honest .. she hasn't been much help.

 

[maggiedemi]

Make sure no onions or garlic if you use chicken broth or beef broth.

 

[duckpond]

He likes Fancy Feast and Friskies. He didn't have surgery. Sorry if I mistyped something. Just a bunch or random things. Currently I give him Purina U/R due to a past urinary blockage - .25 cup twice a day, but this past week it's been more .25 c in the am + a small can of wet in the evening. I def don't want him blocked up again with crystals. I also don't think the amount of wet I'm giving him is really enough (or honestly any good for him #cheapfood).

sorry, guess i misunderstood something about surgery. Fancy feast has quite a bit of fiber in it. I think any wet, fancy feast, friskies will help with the constipation, just more fluids. I can usually add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water to something like fancy feast. start small and work up, see how much he will tolerate.

Royal Canin, and most likely science diet have a wet food that would work for the prescription he needs. maybe ask the vet about one of those? Royal Canin especially seems to be a fav of a lot of cats, flavor wise.

 

[Elvgrengrl]

Hey, guys!!! Thanks for all your help! Mr. Bert passed a couple of poops yesterday and one again this morning. I gave him a tiny amount of Miralax and have started transitioning him to wet food with more water and will resort to Miralax as needed.