hard stool, best medications to soften stool?

[Sama97]

Hello, this is a picture of my cat's backside taken a week ago, it is dilated and I can feel and see that it is a hard stool, it is usually back to normal when he passes it. He is on digyton plus a digestive stimulant and laxapet gel both prescribed by the vet, I feel like he needs a stronger and more effective stool softener, his stool is short and thick about 2 inches, he drinks water but not a lot, I add water into his wet food as well.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. You could ask the vet about OTC Miralax (ingredient is PEG 3350) and maybe use it either in conjunction with or instead of laxapet. A lot of folks use this product with their cats who experience hard stools/constipation. Dosage all depends on the cat but most start out with 1/8 tsp mixed with a small amount of water and then add it to their food. The 1/8 tsp can be given twice a day if once a day doesn't help, and you can work up to 1/4 tsp twice a day depending on results.

 

[Scaredpersianowner]

Hello!
Lactulose kinda worked for my cat, but what really helped was increasing moisture in the diet. My cat does not eat wet food but we started giving her a packet of Tiki Cat Fussy Meal Topper and it has helped a lot. They also have a digestion one that has pumpkin but none of my cats wanted it.
You can also try purchasing a water fountain. This has encouraged my cats to drink water way more often. Be careful of plastic ones though, we purchased ceramic ones for our house. Good luck!

 

[Sama97]

Hi. You could ask the vet about OTC Miralax (ingredient is PEG 3350) and maybe use it either in conjunction with or instead of laxapet. A lot of folks use this product with their cats who experience hard stools/constipation. Dosage all depends on the cat but most start out with 1/8 tsp mixed with a small amount of water and then add it to their food. The 1/8 tsp can be given twice a day if once a day doesn't help, and you can work up to 1/4 tsp twice a day depending on results.

I heard about miralax, but we don't have it in my country. I will ask the vet about it, and if I can order it online. Thank you!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I heard about miralax, but we don't have it in my country.

That is why I noted the ingredient as PEG 3350, as a lot of countries have it under other brand names.

 

[Sama97]

Hello!
Lactulose kinda worked for my cat, but what really helped was increasing moisture in the diet. My cat does not eat wet food but we started giving her a packet of Tiki Cat Fussy Meal Topper and it has helped a lot. They also have a digestion one that has pumpkin but none of my cats wanted it.
You can also try purchasing a water fountain. This has encouraged my cats to drink water way more often. Be careful of plastic ones though, we purchased ceramic ones for our house. Good luck!

I've tried lactulose before, another vet told me I could use it for only 3 days with a dosage of 3 ml. It did not work quite well for him, but will definitely check out a good water fountain!

 

[Sama97]

That is why I noted the ingredient as PEG 3350, as a lot of countries have it under other brand names.

Thank you for pointing that out! will let the vet know.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Stupid me - I should have explained what PEG stands for - Polyethylene glycol, in case that helps!!

 

[iPappy]

OP I hope you can get the miralax, as it really is helpful. Most cats take it really well as there is no smell or taste to it.
It looks like he is long haired. Will he allow you to brush him? I'm wondering if he's ingesting hair that is making the situation worse.

 

[Sama97]

OP I hope you can get the miralax, as it really is helpful. Most cats take it really well as there is no smell or taste to it.
It looks like he is long haired. Will he allow you to brush him? I'm wondering if he's ingesting hair that is making the situation worse.

pierre loves getting brushed, I brush him every day actually, it puts him in a good mood! I take him to the groomer for a shave every 3 months. but when I check his stool sometimes i see hair in it. also, the laxapet helps to eliminate ingested hair.

 

[daftcat75]

Adding water to his food won't help because that water will be handled by his kidneys. You need something that binds water and doesn't let it go. It brings the water along for the full ride. As mentioned above, Miralax does that really well. Pumpkin is another ingredient that brings moisture along for the full ride. You can either find a cat food that already adds pumpkin, a pumpkin pouch meant specifically for dogs and cats, or if all that fails, plain pureed pumpkin (no pie spices!)

On another note, egg yolk can help move hair along. A yolk or two a week should do it--raw or cooked. However he prefers it. But you can also make egg yolk powder in the oven and add some to every meal. Egg yolk can act like a laxative so you may want to start small and see how it goes.

Make Homemade Dried Egg Yolk Powder

 

[Sama97]

Adding water to his food won't help because that water will be handled by his kidneys. You need something that binds water and doesn't let it go. It brings the water along for the full ride. As mentioned above, Miralax does that really well. Pumpkin is another ingredient that brings moisture along for the full ride. You can either find a cat food that already adds pumpkin, a pumpkin pouch meant specifically for dogs and cats, or if all that fails, plain pureed pumpkin (no pie spices!)

On another note, egg yolk can help move hair along. A yolk or two a week should do it--raw or cooked. However he prefers it. But you can also make egg yolk powder in the oven and add some to every meal. Egg yolk can act like a laxative so you may want to start small and see how it goes.

Make Homemade Dried Egg Yolk Powder

can I mix the egg yolk with his wet food? sometimes when I add something new to his food he eats around it or he simply does not eat it. If mixing it with food doesn't work out, is it ok if I feed it to him through a syringe?

 

[daftcat75]

can I mix the egg yolk with his wet food? sometimes when I add something new to his food he eats around it or he simply does not eat it. If mixing it with food doesn't work out, is it ok if I feed it to him through a syringe?

You can mix it in his food. If he doesn't like raw or cooked yolk, I recommend trying the powder. Additionally, rather than syringing it, I would see if you could mix the powder into a treat he enjoys. Most cats don't like to be fed anything by syringe. So I would reserve syringe feedings for emergencies. Now if he doesn't mind, if you've got a weird cat like that (and really, aren't all cats weird?), or you have something to back it with in the syringe to make it enjoyable for him, then sure. But I'm thinking if egg yolk is something that's helpful for him that he may need the rest of his life, he should enjoy eating it. If you have something he enjoys like a Churu treat, you can make a parfait where where it's Churu, meds, and more Churu. He'll start with yum, and he'll be back to yum in barely any time to recognize the yuck in the middle.

Parfait is about 4:48 on this video. But I recommend watching the whole thing as it may give you ideas on how to make meds and supplements he's already receiving that much easier. (There's a spot in the middle where it loses audio. Just keep watching. The audio does eventually come back. It's the video itself, not your computer or connection.)

 

[Sama97]

the video is very helpful thank you so much, but does he have to eat the whole yolk? or a tsp or tbs?

 

[stephanietx]

Wet cat food and plain canned pumpkin puree might help. Mix about 1 teaspoon of pumpkin into the wet food. Also, try adding a little bit of water to the food to make it the consistency of thick oatmeal or gruel. The water helps to soften stool as well. You can also try slippery elm bark. Here's an older thread with a lot of info related to slipper elm bark. Slippery Elm Bark, Wet food, Managing Constipation

 

[Sama97]

You can mix it in his food. If he doesn't like raw or cooked yolk, I recommend trying the powder. Additionally, rather than syringing it, I would see if you could mix the powder into a treat he enjoys. Most cats don't like to be fed anything by syringe. So I would reserve syringe feedings for emergencies. Now if he doesn't mind, if you've got a weird cat like that (and really, aren't all cats weird?), or you have something to back it with in the syringe to make it enjoyable for him, then sure. But I'm thinking if egg yolk is something that's helpful for him that he may need the rest of his life, he should enjoy eating it. If you have something he enjoys like a Churu treat, you can make a parfait where where it's Churu, meds, and more Churu. He'll start with yum, and he'll be back to yum in barely any time to recognize the yuck in the middle.

Parfait is about 4:48 on this video. But I recommend watching the whole thing as it may give you ideas on how to make meds and supplements he's already receiving that much easier. (There's a spot in the middle where it loses audio. Just keep watching. The audio does eventually come back. It's the video itself, not your computer or connection.)

the video is very helpful thank you so much, but does he have to eat the whole yolk? or a tsp or tbs?

 

[daftcat75]

the video is very helpful thank you so much, but does he have to eat the whole yolk? or a tsp or tbs?

I would start with a tsp and see if he even likes the stuff. And also see how it treats him on the back end. Giving him a whole yolk to start may turn into a litter box disaster. This is where the powder becomes easier. You can give him doses that are less than a yolk without having to eat or dump the rest. He may be a yolk fan but it may be too much for him. In that case, make and use the powder and get him used to it. You can use it whatever amount that works for him. One or two yolks per week is an upper amount. Not a required amount. He may get on just fine with a much smaller daily amount.

 

[Sama97]

Alright, so i should start with a tsp two times a week?

 

[Sama97]

I would start with a tsp and see if he even likes the stuff. And also see how it treats him on the back end. Giving him a whole yolk to start may turn into a litter box disaster. This is where the powder becomes easier. You can give him doses that are less than a yolk without having to eat or dump the rest. He may be a yolk fan but it may be too much for him. In that case, make and use the powder and get him used to it. You can use it whatever amount that works for him. One or two yolks per week is an upper amount. Not a required amount. He may get on just fine with a much smaller daily amount.

lright, so i should start with a tsp two times a week?

 

[catloverfromwayback]

Adding my two cents to the PEG recommendations. What's called Miralax in the US is called Osmolax in Australia, so it might be available under another name in your country. It's a laxative for humans, sold at pharmacies, not a pet-specific product, which hopefully may make it easier to find. It certainly works better for Daisy than either the pet laxative paste or lactulose did. On top of that, being powder it's easy to measure an adjust the dose, it's not sticky like lactulose, and as a bonus Daisy has decided she likes its barely-noticeable flavour, and drinks it out of the mixing spoon! She hasn't had any dry poos since starting it - I can see the moisture on them. Good luck!