Help - Desperate Can Miralax Make Your Cat Really Ill?

[Timmer]

I've had a couple of constipated cats in my life time and eventually things just stop working no matter what you do. I don't think you told us why your cat has been on lactulose in the first place. Five years of it is a long time. I had a cat with mega colon that I gave enemas to nearly every single day. When she pooped it would be one hard turd the size of your thumb. That's it. I kept her going way too long. That poor cat was suffering and I was really only thinking about myself. Tho nothing else was wrong with her medically other than mega colon. What happened was one Friday night I gave her the usual enema and nothing would come out. That poor cat strained the entire weekend and she couldn't go any more. I said good bye to her that monday. She was 18 years old and had a good life.

I just lost my Timmer three weeks ago to IBD and he couldn't poop in the end. Nothing worked but having an enema and manually pulling the stool out of him. I had that done. Have you ever had that done with your cat? I spent thousands of dollars on Timmer having him diagnosed only to find that none of the medications worked on his for his IBD. Sometimes our pets do not respond to meds. Either their bodies adapt and it no longer works and you have to find something else, or else it's just a situation where they don't respond. Same with people. Lots of people can have the same disease and one person responds to treatment and another person doesn't.

While I do believe our vets care, I also believe that some of them (not all) will run up a huge tab if you let them. Tests and more tests. Your vet should already know what the problem is after all these years. I don't mean to sound harsh so forgive me please.
Trust me, you are doing a fantastic job caring for your cat. I can tell from these posts how worried you are and it's frustrating when they don't go but your cat is going, just not daily like you want her to.

 

[Furballsmom]

but your cat is going, just not daily like you want her to.

Hi - I guess that's my question and I think it's yours as well, does she have to go every day? --as you mentioned, you know your cat better than anybody. Before she got sick (as Timmer was wondering - you said she got sick from a stray? What happened?), I'm assuming she was pooping daily and you were working to stay on that schedule.
But, since she's not eating the same quantity as she was prior to getting sick, --I'm not a vet, but I think your idea to wait 2-3 days inbetween could be a good one.
Let us know what the new place/doctor says.

 

[Furballsmom]

bummer about the water fountain! but is she just not thirsty because she doesn't feel good? If you can, leave the water fountain out for her, maybe later she'll try it out and decided it's great.
Have you had a chance to get her to eat something with more moisture in it?

 

[jwhite]

Hi Timmers parent...

Oh gosh.. I am so sorry to hear that you lost Timmer three weeks ago. That is so sad. Timmy looks beautiful with the most gorgeous eyes. Are you okay? My thoughts are with you.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have never done this before online ever and the people that respond are so nice and caring and full of information.

When you say you did enema's yourself do you mean the stimulant up the bottom like Microlax (not sure what it is called there as you seem to have more drugs than here and different ones). You also do more treatments over there as when my other cat Baxter had kidney and liver disease they could only do transfusions in America and not in NZ but it was too much for her to go over there and she was so sick I ended up having to say goodbye to her.

Scoobie always had gastro problems from when she was a kitten. She threw up here and there and I took her to a vet who nearly killed her by giving her a berium test (meant for humans) and got all the berium in her lungs and she got pheumonia and had 50% chance of living. She still has white all through her lungs if you take an exray 12 years later. Anyway she seemed to get better on her own over the years. Then I tried to save some stray cats from being put down and took them home and Scoobie got really sick. I rushed her to the emergency vet and they gave her strong antibiotics. Since then she never went number 2's without laxative.

Since the laxative was working and Scoobs was happy and putting on weight we just kept going with the treatment. I suppose I should have had a biopsy done then but it always seemed quite a big invasive thing to do and then there was a chance of loosing her due to the general. The vet said she seemed happy.

Now with being diagnosed with high calcium - it could be making her IBD worse. I have done an ultrasound and they said her small intestines looked "inflammed".

Anyway that is where I am at. I suppose I really do need to go through with that biopsy now.

Once again thanks for your help. And i am sorry to hear about Timmer.

Julie

PS I gave Scoobs 2mls in the end last night with much anxiety. I have noticed her breathing goes mad - must be a side effect. Freaks me out a little. Today she is a happy cat and has already eaten 40 biscuits. So the 2ml doesn't make her ill - I'll just wait and see if 2ml twice a day works.

 

[Furballsmom]

Today she is a happy cat and has already eaten 40 biscuits

Bless her little heart for having an appetite - that's a huge thing! But can you get her to eat something with a higher moisture content? What if you mashed those biscuits up with a little water?

 

[jwhite]

Hi - I guess that's my question and I think it's yours as well, does she have to go every day? --as you mentioned, you know your cat better than anybody. Before she got sick (as Timmer was wondering - you said she got sick from a stray? What happened?), I'm assuming she was pooping daily and you were working to stay on that schedule.
But, since she's not eating the same quantity as she was prior to getting sick, --I'm not a vet, but I think your idea to wait 2-3 days inbetween could be a good one.
Let us know what the new place/doctor says.

Hi there

She was only going every 4 / 5 days with the assistance of a huge amount of lactalose which in turn made her ill in herself. She was loosing a lot of weight too. She was down to 2.5kg from 3.5kg. That made us do blood tests where the high calcium came back (hypercalcemia). So I changed to Miralax (the vet had never heard of it before). She did do a 2/3cm poo each day which was really hard and dark and a big strain to get it out (from reading it still seemed like she still had constipation). I was going to increase the dose as others said it is usually sloppy - she then got ill on miralax and stopped eating. I am now back on lactalose as at least she has runny poo but it is now making her ill as well.

Anyway I am happy if she goes every 3rd to 4th day. It is the specialist that wants her to go more than that.

She is on a special diet which I picked up yesterday. One for digestion and high calcium. Combats both. She likes the dry biscuits but won't eat the wet version. The holistic vet said she should be on carbo free biscuits - ie high protein if there are IBD issues but I will try this other diet first.

Anyway I am taking up a lot of your time. I thank you once again for all your help.

Julie

 

[jwhite]

hi
i have tried wetting the biscuits and she wouldn't eat them but i will try again

 

[Furballsmom]

You are totally welcome to take as much time as you need - no worries about that at all!
Can you get the specialist to compromise and not require every day?
What about wetting the biscuits with tuna juice, or maybe some slightly warmed up broth (with no salt garlic or onion)? You could maybe also try goat milk either by itself, or mixed into the wet or dry food.
A number of people have had some luck with these toppers for canned food, maybe you could see if you can get her more interested; tuna, tuna juice, no garlic or onion baby food--either alone or mixed in, kitten food, kitten milk replacement powder or liquid-there's a recipe on the internet, or even try heating the food itself a little bit.

 

[Timmer]

Julie, thank you. I miss Timmer a lot. That goes without saying, really.
I am going to contradict what your holistic doctor said. Tim's GI specialist told me do not go grain free on him. She said cats with digestion issues should not be on high protein diets because it's too hard for them to digest. That makes sense to me.
I guess I really don't know about calcium levels and what that means or if that is even the issue. But your kitty has had problems since it was young so this is a chronic issue.
I gave my cat Pickles enemas with a children's ear syringe and warm water. That was all I used. For a while I was giving her baby glycerine suppositories too but then it only got to the point where she would poop out the suppository. As you can tell, she was a very compliant cat and never gave me issues with doing things to her backside.

 

[Furballsmom]

Anyway I am happy if she goes every 3rd to 4th day. It is the specialist that wants her to go more than that.

I'm sure the specialist has her reasons, so I'm not saying that she's wrong, please don't think that. I was just thinking that for your peace of mind, maybe you could talk to her more and find out why, and whether she could consider your concerns to the point that she's less adamant about daily.

 

[jwhite]

Hi all you lovely people

My laptop died so I had to go by another. So I am back

I went to a new vet this morning. She is American and so kind and has a lot of knowledge (more than my specialist it seems).

She told me that from all the symptoms and tests Scoobie has had done and going from the amount of lactalose she needs to go poo (14mls over 13 hours) Scoobie could well have lymphoma of the GI tract.
I need to keep Scoobie comfortable and talk to my specialist about the effects of chemo and whether it is something I want to do to her (ie quality of life) otherwise there is no point putting Scoobie through a biopsy. I had a cry and so did she!!!!!! It was the first time she had met Scoobie and she was in tears. She said she really cares about old pets.
For now.. I am to up her dose of lactalose. I am going to 3mls 3 x day (the most the specialist said I could do). She has quite a lot of poo inside but it is all soft which is good and is ready to come out it. It just isn't coming out. It seems her insides have packed up.

If she does not go by Thursday morning (it is Tuesday here) I am taking back in for a "wash out" up her bum with water and something else which should get the end stuff out. She will also send me home with Metoclopramide which Scoobie has not been on before - it moves things through quicker.

This new vet is also the only one here that says yes lactalose can cause high calcium (which Scoobie has also got).

So we will just see

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my goodness, we've been thinking about you!
Hang in there, we're sending loads of thoughts and prayers your way!!

 

[Columbine]

I'm so glad that this new vet is a good one, and that she really understands what you and Scoobie are going through. Mega that she can help

 

[laura mae]

If you did the Miralax and the lactolose at the same time, it could have caused some cramping. Miralax is safe to give to a kitty every day. For my cat, I have to give a fairly large dose 1/2 teasp.I mix it with water and then mix it in his wet food. He loves the dry food one of my other cats gets to supplement his canned food. Unfortunately, the dry food (biscuits) are a huge contributor to his constipation.

 

[jwhite]

howdy everyone!!!!

scoobie went poo!!!!!! yipee!!!!! all your thoughts and prayers worked. THANK YOU!

she did 2 x 6cm ones... perfectly formed and soft! and i hadn't even increased her lactalose.. she went on 3mls twice a day.... so i am sticking to that! fingers crossed.....

AND scoobie ate her biscuits after i soaked them in water.... the first time ever... i have also started syringing water into her... as i was told today by a pet acupuncture person.. that sub cut fluids does not go into the gut...

maybe just maybe... she doesn't have lymphoma????

she has bad arthritus too.. which apparently does not help constipation issues.. so she starts laser acupuncture treatment on monday...

laura mae.. if all goes well for the next couple of weeks i might go back to miralax.. as lactalose could be causing this high calcium.. which in turn causes further constipation.. were you giving 1/2 a teaspoon once or twice a day? and was it usually soft or hard and hard to get out?

thanks all
julie

 

[jwhite]

oh and i forgot to say i didn't give lactalose and miralax together.. BUT i have realised she goes downhill before she does a poo... and for quite a few hours afterwards.. but with not giving her 14mls over 14 hours.. she has kept eating... so there must not be as much cramping as before

 

[artiemom]

So glad Scoobie had a great POOP!!

If her stools were soft enough, in her colon, yet backed up; it probably means there is a motility issue. The colon cannot squeeze the softer poop out. This is what happens to my guy. You have to find the proper consistency and formula to get it out.

Scoobie is probably going downhill, just before pooping, because she feels so rotten..
think of yourself, being constipated.. you feel gross..

I did, before the hypercalcemia diagnosis, use a combo of lactulose and miralax. I used the lactulose as my 'big gun'..

Now, since Artie is on 'junk' food, wet, I am using miralax and if needed, a pediatric dose of Colace. The junk food-- chicken-- effects his IBD, making his stool soft. You can see the huge difference..

Have you tried or suggested trying the Royal Canin Fiber Response food? It is dry food, and provides a lot of fiber. You could start slowly, adding a bit at a time to Scoobie's regular food. That food did wonders for my guy.

Some cats with MegaColon, do not respond favorably to it.. so it is trial and error..

The reason I am giving the daily sub-q's is this theory: Artie may be dehydrated. Let's keep him hydrated by giving him sub-q's.. It does seem to work in Artie.. but each cat is different..
The hard stool is contributing to the constipation.. by giving the sub-q's, it is keeping it moist and easier to pass..

No, there is not a direct route from the sub-q's to the colon, but a more circuitous route.. which does make sense.. When hydrated correctly, you body is functioning better..
And dry food is not species appropriate to cats.. they need the moisture they get from wet food, (prey in natural habitat).. dry food dehydrates a cat.. no matter how much water they drink or how much water you syringe in them.

off my soapbox, now...

I do, very strongly believe, that each time a cat has an enema, he needs to be hydrated with some sub-q fluid. What comes out, has to be replaced.

Great about Scoobie!!!

 

[jwhite]

artiemom.. i love the icons you do if that is what you call them? one day i will figure out how to do that...

that is so informative about the food... i wish scoobs would eat wet food.. i might try some broth that a place called "raw essentials" does here ...

i have forgotten artiemom.. do you use cisapride as well? i was getting it from america but have sinced learned that customs here has a problem with it

when you say you were giving artie miralax and lactalose .. was it miralax twice a day.. and then lactalose if artie hadn't gone for 3/4 days?

everyone.. how much do you think it too much miralax? if i go back on that .. i think i need to increase it to at least 3/4 teaspoon a day.. maybe 1 teaspoon a day.. can you do it just once a day?

thanks
julie

 

[Furballsmom]

AND scoobie ate her biscuits after i soaked them in water.... the first time ever

!!YES!!
I would just caution for you to be sure to keep your vet and specialist in the loop of whatever you do, and like artiemom said, every cat is different. Your scoobs is fortunate to have you!!

 

[Furballsmom]

i hadn't even increased her lactalose.. she went on 3mls twice a day.... so i am sticking to that! fingers crossed.....

AND scoobie ate her biscuits after i soaked them in water....

I guess I'm just wondering, since this worked so well, why wouldn't you want to stay with this instead of switching things up regarding miralax, other quantities of lactulose, etc?