Eight year old Maine coon with chronic constipation

[Joxer]

My eight year old Maine coon, Lindsey, has had episodes of constipation -- repeated litter box visits, little pieces of poop left outside the litter box, and more rarely straining to poop so much that she vomits -- for most of her life. She will not drink water from a bowl, so I add it to her food (both wet and dry, which I feed her in roughly equal proportions). Adding water to her food permanently cured her of the recurrent UTI infections that she used to get; she's now been free of those for five years. She gets enough water that she leaves many big urine clumps in her litterbox each day. However, this has not resolved her constipation problem.

I think that Lindsey is mildly overweight, though she hasn't been weighed in some time. She is lively, affectionate, and otherwise healthy. But her constipation problem has been getting worse, even with no change in diet. I tried moving her to an all-canned food diet (with extra filtered water added), but that actually made her constipation worse. The canned food I give her is Wellness Age Advantage 7+ Chicken Pate (a "grain-free" food), which according to the label and company's reputation is very high quality food. The dry food I give her is Purina Beyond Simply White Meat Chicken & Whole Oat Meal Recipe.

I also recently tried a probiotic supplement for her -- Proviable-DC. However, that did not help either. I have done some research online and am inclined to try pumpkin puree. Basically the kind sold in grocery stores, with no added seasonings (and organic if I can find it). I am wondering if anyone here has experience with pumpkin for constipation, or has any other suggestions.

 

[maggie101]

Have you tried other meat besideschicken? When was her last full blood check up?

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. She would be best served by a vet check. Often these cats need a prescription canned diet often high in fiber. The key to these cats is hydration. Sometimes SQ fluids help.

I have used canned pumpkin for my cats before. I give them a t with crushed temptation treats.

Often times constipated cats have a problem with carbohydrates. All dry food has allot of carbohydrates in it.

it would be best to have a veterinarian, hopefully feline only, help you get your cat on track.

 

[lisahe]

Hi. She would be best served by a vet check. Often these cats need a prescription canned diet often high in fiber. The key to these cats is hydration. Sometimes SQ fluids help.

I have used canned pumpkin for my cats before. I give them a t with crushed temptation treats.

Often times constipated cats have a problem with carbohydrates. All dry food has allot of carbohydrates in it.

it would be best to have a veterinarian, hopefully feline only, help you get your cat on track.

Agreeing with S silent meowlook on many points here, particularly carbs and a vet visit. Cats' motility can slow down as they age so it's worth consulting with your vet about dietary changes and other options.

One of our cats has tended toward constipation for years. Though pumpkin or egg yolk help many cats, they didn't do much for her. What's worked best for her is a combination of supplements: Vet's Best hairball relief tablets and Adored Beast's Feline Gut Soothe. I can't be sure but I suspect it's the slippery elm bark and marshmallow root (herbs that are in both supplements) that have made the difference for Ireland. She still has the occasional dingleberry but now eats better than she has in years and makes very regular (usually daily) contributions to the cats' litter boxes.

Constipation can be a tough one to crack. Good luck!

 

[Joxer]

Hi. She would be best served by a vet check. Often these cats need a prescription canned diet often high in fiber. The key to these cats is hydration. Sometimes SQ fluids help.

I have used canned pumpkin for my cats before. I give them a t with crushed temptation treats.

Often times constipated cats have a problem with carbohydrates. All dry food has allot of carbohydrates in it.

it would be best to have a veterinarian, hopefully feline only, help you get your cat on track.

You've been very helpful before, responding to several of my other threads. You may recall from one of them that my go-to vet clinic of 17 years botched what should have been a routine wound cleaning for my other cat, Casper. When I expressed concern about his apparent neurological damage -- tremors that lasted for months -- following that incident, the response of the clinic's medical director was to ban me from ever taking my cats there again (to punish my "lack of trust"). This had the effect of terminating my relationship with my cats' longtime regular vet, about whom I had only ever expressed praise (Casper was hurt by a different vet who only worked in the clinic's emergency department).

So I don't currently have a vet. I don't even know anyone else in town with cats. Obviously I'll have to find a new vet, but I'm hoping that I can deal with Lindsey's constipation without veterinary assistance. She has never shown any sign of illness, aside from the UTI infections she got when she was much younger.

Honestly, my respect for the veterinary profession is not very high right now, having been told by multiple vets at the same clinic that there's no way they could have harmed Casper, though they acknowledge lying to me about the drugs they planned to use on him and how deeply he would be sedated. I'm supposed to believe that it was purely a coincidence that he went into anesthesia -- to which I never consented -- healthy except for an infected bite wound on a foot, and came out shaking all over.

I'll add that for Lindsey's UTI infections, I did take her to the vet -- this was in a different state from where I live now -- and that vet never told me about the simple, obvious solution of adding water to her food. I read that somewhere on the internet (maybe here; I don't remember). If I had not figured that out on my own, I would have been taking Lindsey to the vet for emergency antibiotics every month or two for her entire life. Instead, I add water to her food. I told that vet about adding water so she could pass on the idea to other clients, and she was completely uninterested. Makes sense. The water I add to Lindsey's food costs the veterinary profession a $200+ emergency visit every couple months. Why would a vet ever tell clients about such an easy, simple, free, and far more humane treatment option?

 

[Joxer]

Agreeing with S silent meowlook on many points here, particularly carbs and a vet visit. Cats' motility can slow down as they age so it's worth consulting with your vet about dietary changes and other options.

One of our cats has tended toward constipation for years. Though pumpkin or egg yolk help many cats, they didn't do much for her. What's worked best for her is a combination of supplements: Vet's Best hairball relief tablets and Adored Beast's Feline Gut Soothe. I can't be sure but I suspect it's the slippery elm bark and marshmallow root (herbs that are in both supplements) that have made the difference for Ireland. She still has the occasional dingleberry but now eats better than she has in years and makes very regular (usually daily) contributions to the cats' litter boxes.

Constipation can be a tough one to crack. Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to start with the organic pumpkin puree that I ordered last night and see if that works. From what I've read, it should at least be safe for Lindsey. If it doesn't work, I'll probably try one of the supplements.

 

[Joxer]

Have you tried other meat besideschicken? When was her last full blood check up?

No, just chicken. I've read that high levels of iodine in fish can contribute to feline hyperthyroidism. I'm hoping that Lindsey will be my first cat not to develop that condition. As for duck, beef, etc, it's just a question of finding a food that she will eat, that is relatively low in phosphorous (she doesn't have CKD; this is just a precaution) and is a high quality food in other ways.

I could be wrong about this, but my understanding is that food allergies would more typically manifest as diarrhea rather than constipation, and Lindsey doesn't have any of the other signs, like itchy skin.

Regarding blood tests, I usually wait until there's something visibly wrong to get those done. If Lindsey were losing weight, acting lethargic or otherwise unhappy, etc, then I would get comprehensive bloodwork done. But I'm not aware of a blood test that would help in the treatment of constipation.

 

[DeesCats]

Just a suggestion on the pumpkin puree, if it works for you as it did for me, you can freeze it in small 4 ounce Ball quilted crystal jelly jars or similar brands. I just used the regular metal lids and rings for the freezer and then bought the white plastic lids to store a jar in the refrigerator.

 

[lisahe]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to start with the organic pumpkin puree that I ordered last night and see if that works. From what I've read, it should at least be safe for Lindsey. If it doesn't work, I'll probably try one of the supplements.

Yes, if the pumpkin works well for you, it's certainly much easier and cheaper! (I wish it had worked for Ireland. But it didn't.) Fingers crossed.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. I am so sorry about the Vet situation. I worked for many vet hospitals over several decades, in emergency, specialty and feline only hospitals. There are some good ones out there, but it seams like they are getting harder to find.

There was a big shift in attitudes after COVID. I had to stop working in vet hospitals and now work with horses. When it used to be a device based, “ how can we help?” type of profession, it now seems to me anyway, that it is much more a pick and chose situation. It disgusts me actually. While I understand self care and boundaries, I cannot understand how anyone can think it’s okay to let an animal suffer. Or turn one away because you want to go home. I don’t see the passion for the field like I used to. I never stopped caring. Sure, I would get tired and burnt, but I never could put myself before an innocent animal that needed me.

Anyway, off my soap box.

IBD can also cause constipation. It isn’t always diarrhea. My own cat has IBD, now it’s lymphoma, and never had diarrhea. But, she does get constipated. I give subcutaneous fluids as needed to make sure her hydration is good.

A dehydrated cat will have a delayed skin turger. When you pick the skin of the scruff up and let go, it stays tented or doesn’t snap right back. No test is 100%, as if the cat is overweight, the skin still might snap right back even if they are dehydrated. If the cat is old, the skin may have a delay in going back into place because they have lost the resilience due to age, and not dehydration.

You can feel their gums and if they are dry and tacky to the touch, that would lead me to think dehydration. If the gums are moist and there is ample saliva, you could think not dehydrated. Although a dehydrated cat with dental disease still might have allot of saliva in their mouth and still be dehydrated.

Sunken eyes are usually a sign of severe dehydration.

A cat with IBD that causes constipation, can have a food allergy. Food allergies can present at anytime in their life, but once there, don’t go away. The food that they are allergic to can be anything, but usually it is a protein source. Chicken, beef, and fish are often a cause. But, it can also be one of the fillers. Some cats cannot handle any carbs.

Trying to find a novel protein cat food that isn’t prescription is hard. Many of the cat foods in the pet stores claim to be duck, rabbit, or venison, but if you read the ingredients they also have chicken meal or fish or beef as well. I found this out when my cat’s prescription food was on back order. I did find a rabbit food made by RAWZ, that didn’t have another protein source besides the rabbit. But, they put other crap in there I wasn’t thrilled about. I did feed it for a short while without too much problems.

I do use the organic canned pumpkin for my cats. I give about a tablespoon with temptation treats powdered and sprinkled on top. Of course the treats mess up the entire no carbohydrates novel protien source feeding but the world isn’t perfect. You can use Forte Flora as well. It also has flavor attraction to it.

With a novel protein diet, you have to give it for at least a couple of months before you see results. And you have to not give any other protien source during that time. It also has to be a protien source the cat has never had before. It ticks me off that these cat food companies like to add novel protein sources to their chicken cat food.

If you try the pumpkin, start off small, like a teaspoon and gradually work up to a tablespoon.

Some people have luck with Miralax. You have to use the unflavored variety and always check labels for any kind of artificial sweetener, as those are bad for cats. I have given Miralax at 1/4 teaspoon, mixed with water very well and put on food.

I don’t use any of the petroleum products like cat lax etc. I don’t think petroleum should ever go into a cat.

The most important thing to remember is that everything needs to be done gradually. You don’t want to upset the natural gut Flora with a drastic change.

Often times cats will need a low dose steroid like Prednisolone before they show improvement. My cat was prescribed Prednisolone when she was first diagnosed with IBD. I didn’t give it to her though. I just didn’t want her taking steroids and she didn’t seem “ that bad” to me. I wish I would have as all that inflammation led to small cell lymphoma. So now she takes steroids and chemo.

I am always cautious about anesthesia and my cat was only anesthetized when she was spayed. All of the diagnosis were done via ultrasound instead of surgery. I did do a mild sedation for one of the ultrasounds, and it took days to wear off. It was a half dose of Midazolam and a tiny bit of torbugesic. It made no difference in the hospital, but once home it kicked in. Frightened cats override sedation but once the adrenaline wears off, it hits them hard. My cat also has a laundry list of health problems which also affect clearance of drugs.

I remember talking to you about Casper before. Absolutely disgusting, how you were treated. That is such a messed up thing they did. I am sorry for that entire situation.

Of course, I am not a vet and am just stating some things I have used on my cat, and my personal views on others. I am not offering medical advice here. Just my own experiences. I am sure I have repeated myself a bit and I am sorry if I did.

Super long day with a bunch of horses that were acting like clowns. I swear they know what they are doing and it’s a conspiracy with them at the barn so days.

 

[IzzysfureverMom]

I agree with silent meowlook and others above that a vet visit is in order. I completely understand that you are having difficulty finding a vet you are comfortable with.Bloodwork at this point is really important I think. I do bloodwork regularly after a certain age. Often they do not show any signs of a problem and you do the bloodwork and find a problem. Our one and only cat vet here refused to do blood on our 10 year cat because ' she looked fine'. Told me I would have to wait to do bloodwork when she was 13 1/2! Found out she had elevated WBC
Food issues are tough and constipation can be to. We tried many remedies for a cat with constipation after she was tested for IBD, lymphoma etc. Vet recommended Miralax, she only gets 1/8 tsp once a day.Her bowels are the best they have ever been.
Our one cat has a laundry list of food ingredient issues.There is very little we can feed. We do feed her RAWZ rabbit as silent meowlook mentioned above as it void of gums which she has a major issues with. Like silent meowlook said it still has ingredients that we are not happy with. That being said it is the food she has done the best on in recent months.
I hope you find a vet soon that you are comfortable with. I understand your frustration I have been there, but good consistent vet care will help you help Lindsey live her best life.

 

[lisahe]

<snip!> Our one cat has a laundry list of food ingredient issues.There is very little we can feed. We do feed her RAWZ rabbit as silent meowlook mentioned above as it void of gums which she has a major issues with. Like silent meowlook said it still has ingredients that we are not happy with. That being said it is the food she has done the best on in recent months.
I hope you find a vet soon that you are comfortable with. I understand your frustration I have been there, but good consistent vet care will help you help Lindsey live her best life.

Seconding S silent meowlook 's thoughts as well as IzzysfureverMom , particularly what I quoted above!

Our cats also have lots of ingredient issues. Our IBD cat (whose symptom has traditionally been stomach inflammation and vomiting) can't eat lots of stuff: potato, agar-agar, and mussels. There's also a (longer) list of other things -- fish, xanthan gum, and maltodextrin among them -- that I suspect cause problems so have eliminated. Our cat with constipation and lung issues also has food issues with agar-agar being her worst ingredient. I try to feed them the simplest possible foods; I make a lot of their foods!

Another factor: the cats are rescues who were underfed as kittens. They are much more relaxed than they used to be but things like weather and noise can really agitate them, worsening their symptoms.

I, too, hope you're able to find a vet you can work with.

 

[andrea and coco]

hi, our 15 year old maine coon has been taking a teaspoon of lactulose (constulose) every day for the last few years. we mixed the liquid version into her food. until then nothing was helping w her constipation. tried miralax and pumpkin; she eats no dry food except for a few treats; and we add water to her food to make sure she's hydrated as this laxative is an osmotic stool softener (absorbs water from colon). it's also sugar based, more of a natural thing from what i understand. google lactulose and cats. GOOD LUCK! i know how worrisome this is.

 

[orangie]

We’ve tried a variety of suggested options, pumpkin, miralax, etc. but what works the best, and is a vet approved plan for him, is 3 ml (given 1 ml at a time mixed into his food) of lactulose along with about a teaspoon of pre-gelled chia seeds once a day. And when there’s a hiccup in his poop game we add egg yolk into the rotation until he’s back to going properly daily.

I hope that you can find a vet that you trust - it’s such an important piece of the puzzle. Please keep looking until there’s someone that answers all your questions patiently and genuinely cares about you and your cat. Everyone here is great and will help with whatever advice they can, but a vet who sees your kitty in person is really the best for getting an assessment about what might be going on.

 

[louisstools]

Doesn't drink from bowls...have you tried a fountain? Have you tried multiple bowls/fountains in different rooms/areas of the house?

 

[Joxer]

Hi. I am so sorry about the Vet situation. I worked for many vet hospitals over several decades, in emergency, specialty and feline only hospitals. There are some good ones out there, but it seams like they are getting harder to find.

There was a big shift in attitudes after COVID. I had to stop working in vet hospitals and now work with horses. When it used to be a device based, “ how can we help?” type of profession, it now seems to me anyway, that it is much more a pick and chose situation. It disgusts me actually. While I understand self care and boundaries, I cannot understand how anyone can think it’s okay to let an animal suffer. Or turn one away because you want to go home. I don’t see the passion for the field like I used to. I never stopped caring. Sure, I would get tired and burnt, but I never could put myself before an innocent animal that needed me.

Anyway, off my soap box.

IBD can also cause constipation. It isn’t always diarrhea. My own cat has IBD, now it’s lymphoma, and never had diarrhea. But, she does get constipated. I give subcutaneous fluids as needed to make sure her hydration is good.

A dehydrated cat will have a delayed skin turger. When you pick the skin of the scruff up and let go, it stays tented or doesn’t snap right back. No test is 100%, as if the cat is overweight, the skin still might snap right back even if they are dehydrated. If the cat is old, the skin may have a delay in going back into place because they have lost the resilience due to age, and not dehydration.

You can feel their gums and if they are dry and tacky to the touch, that would lead me to think dehydration. If the gums are moist and there is ample saliva, you could think not dehydrated. Although a dehydrated cat with dental disease still might have allot of saliva in their mouth and still be dehydrated.

Sunken eyes are usually a sign of severe dehydration.

A cat with IBD that causes constipation, can have a food allergy. Food allergies can present at anytime in their life, but once there, don’t go away. The food that they are allergic to can be anything, but usually it is a protein source. Chicken, beef, and fish are often a cause. But, it can also be one of the fillers. Some cats cannot handle any carbs.

Trying to find a novel protein cat food that isn’t prescription is hard. Many of the cat foods in the pet stores claim to be duck, rabbit, or venison, but if you read the ingredients they also have chicken meal or fish or beef as well. I found this out when my cat’s prescription food was on back order. I did find a rabbit food made by RAWZ, that didn’t have another protein source besides the rabbit. But, they put other crap in there I wasn’t thrilled about. I did feed it for a short while without too much problems.

I do use the organic canned pumpkin for my cats. I give about a tablespoon with temptation treats powdered and sprinkled on top. Of course the treats mess up the entire no carbohydrates novel protien source feeding but the world isn’t perfect. You can use Forte Flora as well. It also has flavor attraction to it.

With a novel protein diet, you have to give it for at least a couple of months before you see results. And you have to not give any other protien source during that time. It also has to be a protien source the cat has never had before. It ticks me off that these cat food companies like to add novel protein sources to their chicken cat food.

If you try the pumpkin, start off small, like a teaspoon and gradually work up to a tablespoon.

Some people have luck with Miralax. You have to use the unflavored variety and always check labels for any kind of artificial sweetener, as those are bad for cats. I have given Miralax at 1/4 teaspoon, mixed with water very well and put on food.

I don’t use any of the petroleum products like cat lax etc. I don’t think petroleum should ever go into a cat.

The most important thing to remember is that everything needs to be done gradually. You don’t want to upset the natural gut Flora with a drastic change.

Often times cats will need a low dose steroid like Prednisolone before they show improvement. My cat was prescribed Prednisolone when she was first diagnosed with IBD. I didn’t give it to her though. I just didn’t want her taking steroids and she didn’t seem “ that bad” to me. I wish I would have as all that inflammation led to small cell lymphoma. So now she takes steroids and chemo.

I am always cautious about anesthesia and my cat was only anesthetized when she was spayed. All of the diagnosis were done via ultrasound instead of surgery. I did do a mild sedation for one of the ultrasounds, and it took days to wear off. It was a half dose of Midazolam and a tiny bit of torbugesic. It made no difference in the hospital, but once home it kicked in. Frightened cats override sedation but once the adrenaline wears off, it hits them hard. My cat also has a laundry list of health problems which also affect clearance of drugs.

I remember talking to you about Casper before. Absolutely disgusting, how you were treated. That is such a messed up thing they did. I am sorry for that entire situation.

Of course, I am not a vet and am just stating some things I have used on my cat, and my personal views on others. I am not offering medical advice here. Just my own experiences. I am sure I have repeated myself a bit and I am sorry if I did.

Super long day with a bunch of horses that were acting like clowns. I swear they know what they are doing and it’s a conspiracy with them at the barn so days.

Thank you very much for the detailed reply. I appreciate the time you put into that. The organic pumpkin should be here tomorrow (I had to order it online if I wanted it to be organic, as that wasn't sold locally). It sounds like lactulose might be worth a try if pumpkin doesn't do the trick, though it appears that I would need a prescription for that.

Lindsey seems really, really healthy otherwise. I've been trying to keep her away from vets mostly to avoid the mandatory vaccinations that serve no purpose in an indoor-only cat. However rare side effects might be, the offsetting benefits would be literally zero. Casper, of course, gets the legally required vaccinations, but I don't let Lindsey go outside. I'm not trying to be mean; the issue is that the neighborhood has deteriorated significantly in recent years, and I'm not sure it's safe for cats anymore. Casper has been going outside his entire life, and would go crazy if kept indoors, but Lindsey doesn't seem to mind it.

I don't think we have a cat-only vet in the area, but I'll look into it. I noticed at the vet hospital that dogs outnumbered cats by 10 to 1. Maybe even more than that. I think that I only once ever encountered another client with a cat there. Perhaps unfamiliarity with cats contributed to the mistakes they made with Casper.

I don't really understand the lack of cats at the hospital. I know that there are about as many cats as dogs in the USA. So do dogs get sick or injured much more often for some reason?

 

[Joxer]

Doesn't drink from bowls...have you tried a fountain? Have you tried multiple bowls/fountains in different rooms/areas of the house?

I have three water bowls available to her, each in a different room, changed daily with fresh water from a Brita pitcher (same as I drink). Maybe a fountain is worth a try. I've never had a cat before who would not drink water on her own.

I add a lot of water to her food. Initially she hated that and complained about it, but now she just accepts that she needs to drink the water so the food stops floating around and she can eat it. Judging by what she leaves in the litter box, I think she's getting enough water. The skin turgor test is tough to do, since she has so much fur that I can't easily tell where her skin is, but it seems like her skin snaps right back. Lindsey is basically a feline Chewbacca (I would have named her that if she'd been a boy).

 

[louisstools]

I have three water bowls available to her, each in a different room, changed daily with fresh water from a Brita pitcher (same as I drink). Maybe a fountain is worth a try. I've never had a cat before who would not drink water on her own.

My cat wouldn't drink from a bowl but she loved a fountain b/c it's moving. Go figure, right?

 

[orangie]

lactulose might be worth a try if pumpkin doesn't do the trick, though it appears that I would need a prescription for that.

Not sure where you’re located, but in Canada lactulose is actually sold at every pharmacy for a lot cheaper than at the vet. No prescription needed, and the products are exactly the same except for the packaging. (We had the pharmacist compare it for us)

 

[Joxer]

Not sure where you’re located, but in Canada lactulose is actually sold at every pharmacy for a lot cheaper than at the vet. No prescription needed, and the products are exactly the same except for the packaging. (We had the pharmacist compare it for us)

I'm in the USA. Chewy.com wants a prescription for lactulose.