Cat Constipated

[Hopsteiner]

I have taken in an outdoor cat who has numerous problems. This cat, a male polydactyl named Lynx. He has Feline Immunodeficiency, and kidney problems. His age, I don't know, at least over 10 years. But he was so hungry, he was eating bird seed under our bird feeder in the middle of Winter. Who could resist taking this determined fellow in. Well, from an outdoor insulated Kitty Tube, he gradually became an "indoor" cat. Long story short, he is constipated seriously for the second time in six months. He went to the vet this last Friday. Three enemas later, nothing. Well, when I picked him up, I got the "quality of life" speech. I'm not ready to put him down. We've taken care of him for 4 years. Ive had him on 1.5 ml of Lactulose and the same Cisapride, twice a day. This has been bumped to three times a day. I've been mixing in a fiber supplement, equate from Wal mart, in his wet food. Is there a good stool softener out there to get things moving. Ive read everything I can on cat constipation and have not seen a good solution. Oh, I also just ordered some Lax ese on line. Not ready to give up yet on Lynx.

 

[daftcat75]

That equate fiber product? Is that something the vet recommended? I wouldn’t use it. Cats have a different digestive tract than humans and you shouldn’t assume that human fiber products will work the same way. You can use 1 tsp of raw egg yolk (not the whites) to unstop your boy naturally. Give it 12 to 24 hours to work before offering more. You can use egg yolk or egg yolk powder as a maintenance dose to keep constipation at bay. 1/8 to 1/4 tsp twice a day. Start with 1/8. Alternatively, you can add 1 tsp pumpkin purée (just pumpkin, no other ingredients) to his food. This is a cat appropriate source of fiber. I would use the egg yolk to unstop him and then you can add pumpkin to his meals or even buy a pumpkin based food like Tiki Cat Aloha Friends to put into his food rotation.

 

[duckpond]

I have never had this problem with a cat, so no first had experience. Im sure some others that have will post.

You are feeding him wet, i know thats a good thing! Just wondering could he be getting too much fiber? I know they need some, but it may be that too much could cause worse constipation? What does your vet say about this?

Sending you guys my best wishes that he gets better soon!

 

[FeralHearts]

I'm going to start by saying I'm not a vet, nor a nutritionist.

I have three cats with constipation - one chronic, one who knows why but appears ok now, and one with a blockage.

Three enemas and nothing concerns me. Did the vet do an X-ray to make sure there was no blockage?

Lactulose didn't seem to help any of them very much, what did was RestoraLAX (I believe in the USA it's called MiraLAX?) Powered formula mixed into their wet food with a bit of extra water. You start with 1/4 - 1/8 twice a day. Start with a low dosage first and work your way up so you don't give him diarrhea. It's often taken a few days for me to see results and then I would adjust accordingly.

Since kitty is on other meds I would also make a quick call to the vet just to make sure that it won'y interfere with other medication. You can never be too careful.

Lactulose, MiraLAX and RestraLAX all pull water into the digestive track to try to lossen the poop so it is very important to make sure the cat is drinking water, or getting more water so he doesn't end up dehydrated.

As my vet said to me - don't over do the water, her words "Remember we are not making soup!" so just a bit of extra water in the wet food to make it mushier.

Let us know how you are doing.

I know the love of the kitties so it's hard when they get unwell. XOXOXOXOX

 

[neely]

Welcome to TCS! Thank you for rescuing Lynx from the outdoors and giving him his forever home. I thought this Article that discusses what you need to know about constipation in cats might be helpful:
Everything You Need To Know About Constipation In Cats

Best of luck, sending special thoughts to Lynx, please keep us updated on his progress.

 

[kittyluv387]

Miralax has worked for us. 1/8 txp mixed in with wet food and extra water 2x a day. You can increase if needed. Worked better than lactulose.

 

[RCM mom]

Agree with the Miralax, it was a life saver for my Rupert. Vet said mega colon after many many enemas, more fiber, lactulose, meds, vet talked about surgery to take out colon and also quality of life. I was not ready to do either without a bit of research, so I read up about Miralax and thought what can it hurt to try. Vet did not know anything about it(that was almost 9 years ago). It works wonders! 1/8-1/4 tsp sprinkled on wet food once or twice a day to start, with a bit of extra water once things get moving you can adjust daily/ weekly. Wet food only but Rup gets about 10 crunchy kibble before bed, and no fiber additives. Lots say more fiber for constipation but that can cause more problems as it did for us. That was 9 years ago and Rupert goes every day now and only give Miralax when I don't find a poop after two days but did give daily/every other day for a few years. Give it a try and hope it helps, it may take a few days until you see results and first ones may be tough to pass or runny but that will get better once it all starts moving regularly. Hope this helps and it is so wonderful your are doing so much for this kitty, not everyone would.

 

[kmoulus]

Miralax worked for Speedy too. The only thing I would add is to maybe check with your vet on dosage, if your cat has complications. Speedy is elderly, underweight for her size (6.8 bs) with HCM/CHF. My vet was adamant that Speedy could have a pinch, and only a pinch, of Miralax. I was nervous but after two days it worked like a charm.

I spent $12 on a bottle that contains 14 human-sized doses, and used two pinches. The things we do...

 

[molly92]

Fiber is always tricky with constipation. It's the go to home remedy as well as the big ingredient in prescription constipation foods, but I think it is risky to add bulk to stool that is already difficult to pass. It can help, but be careful with amount and type of fiber.

Miralax is often helpful as others have mentioned, sometimes more so than Lactulose, although they work similarly.

My godsend in dealing with constipation is probiotics. I don't have to do anything else, just add probiotics to my cat's food with every meal, and she stays constipation-free. If I forget the probiotics and she will have difficult to pass stool very reliably. It doesn't hurt, and you cannot overdose. I do half a capsule of a human probiotic (lactobacillus based) every meal, and keep the bottle refrigerated.