How Do You Manage Your Cat's Constipation?

[sidneykitty]

Hi! I have been on a constipation prevention adventure with my 14 year old cat, Amber.

She tended to sometimes have recurring bouts of decreased appetite and vomiting. We took her to the vet and had her all checked out, they found nothing wrong and thought maybe IBD. Now, we're trialing the idea it may just be constipation and not IBD and so far, its going well.

I'm wondering - how do you all manage your cat's constipation? I'm wondering more about a day-to-day management. Like how do you decide to increase or administer a treatment such as pumpkin, Miralax, lactulose, etc. from one day to the next? If the poop is smaller? If it looks drier? Basically I'm wondering how do you decide to increase or decrease dosages?

I'm curious about your experiences as I try to manage Amber's. Amber is currently getting 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Miralax in her evening wet food and started in the Royal Canin Fiber dry food. We also have lactulose we can give if needed. This seems to be working for now... But I am curious how everyone else decides and manages.

(Mods please move to another forum if better suited. I wasn't sure!)

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I have one guy who has this issue, so I just give him 1/8th teas. Miralax everyday with his 2 p.m. meal to try to soften up his stools. I also add quite a bit of water to his wet food only.

Constipation seems to be a problem as cats get older. Extra water can help a LOT. I've heard good things about that Royal Canin Fiber, but I don't want to feed my guys dry food, so will try other things first. I'd do pumpkin too if he'd eat it

I'm glad what you are doing now seems to be working!

 

[kittyluv387]

The base dosage for my boy is 1/8tsp. I increase or decrease a teeny bit depending on how his anus or poop looks. If his anus looks red or poop looks very ball like then I know I need to increase a tad. If his poop looks shiny or his butt starts needing wipes after his bowel movement then I know I need to cut back on the miralax a tiny bit.

 

[P+P's Meom]

Pitter used to have horrible constipation problems. His vet recommended miralax and he ended on a dose of 1/4 teaspoon twice a day for a while there. Along with that, I added a smidge of probiotics to his food.

We switched his food which mostly solved the problem and took him off miralax, but kept the probiotics. Also added a smidge of benefiber.

 

[stephanietx]

Increase or add wet food if possible and transition to a majority of wet food with dry food "snacks'. Miralax works well, but you can also try slippery elm bark.

 

[sidneykitty]

Interesting responses from everyone. Thanks!

mrsgreenjeens - I'm glad you've found something that works for your boy! Amber is eating more wet food lately but the dry is just for the AM and only getting a small amount. Probably about half her diet now is wet food. She also gets probiotics and egg yolk powder to help her digestion.

kittyluv387 - that's something I wondered about. What if it starts to look like little balls connected together but with distinct segments? I'm wondering if that means her's is getting a little to constipated. I'd say according to this chart (What your Cat's Poop Says about its Health | Meow Lifestyle) it looks like a 2 but with more segments. I'm trying to gauge if that tells me much.

P+P's Meom wow that's great you were able to wean off the Miralax! I'm sad I don't think we'll ever get there with Amber.

stephanietx - Right I had forgotten about slippery elm bark! How is it usually used?

 

[kittyluv387]

Interesting responses from everyone. Thanks!

mrsgreenjeens - I'm glad you've found something that works for your boy! Amber is eating more wet food lately but the dry is just for the AM and only getting a small amount. Probably about half her diet now is wet food. She also gets probiotics and egg yolk powder to help her digestion.

kittyluv387 - that's something I wondered about. What if it starts to look like little balls connected together but with distinct segments? I'm wondering if that means her's is getting a little to constipated. I'd say according to this chart (What your Cat's Poop Says about its Health | Meow Lifestyle) it looks like a 2 but with more segments. I'm trying to gauge if that tells me much.

P+P's Meom wow that's great you were able to wean off the Miralax! I'm sad I don't think we'll ever get there with Amber.

stephanietx - Right I had forgotten about slippery elm bark! How is it usually used?

Yeah if it's looking like a more ball-like/beady looking thing I would start increasing dosage a tad. Are you able to sneak in a little extra warmed up water into her wet food? Might be helpful since she's eating a little bit of dry.

 

[stephanietx]

This thread has a lot of great information on using SEB.

Slippery Elm Bark, Wet food, Managing Constipation

 

[P+P's Meom]

P+P's Meom wow that's great you were able to wean off the Miralax! I'm sad I don't think we'll ever get there with Amber.

I should add that stopping the Miralax wasn't a quick thing. We thought Pitter was going to be on it for the rest of his life.

It was prob'ly about 3.5 - 4 years from when he started it to when he was totally off. I still keep a close eye on the litter box and slip a small dose into his food once in a while.

As far as a long term med, Miralax seems to be pretty benign as far as side-effects go.

<P+P send behind the ear skritches for Amber>

 

[FeralHearts]

oh how I've missed you sidneykitty and Amber too !!!

Remember that Miralax can take a few days to really kick in. Then I do what kittyluv387 does and check out the poop and butt to see how we are doing.

I've made the bone broth that @daftcat75 taught us about, a regular thing for all the cats. I mix it in with their food every day and it seems to help as well.

XOXOXO

 

[verna davies]

I've had a problem with one of my cats off and on for a few months. I keep a diary and know when to expect her to poop. I sprinkle a pinch of psyllium on her good twice a day and syringe water into her several times a day when she hasnt produced anything. All cats are different but mine seem to respond to psyllium.

 

[sidneykitty]

kittyluv387 - good to know, thanks! that's what I thought but I wanted to hear it from someone else to help confirm. I've added water to her food in the past with mixed results, so we'll see. She's been doing well, though!

stephanietx - thanks for the link!

P+P's Meom - did you change anything else that you remember during that time when he was able to go off it? I'm not really worried about her being on it, but she has been on it for a few years now although it was not always effective I believe because she wasn't eating all her wet food with it mixed in. Now that she is, I can feel a bit more relaxed about it. Thanks for the skritches!! She said oh that's just the spot!!

F FeralHearts - aw thanks! we've missed you, too! hope you and Charlie are doing well. we'll check in on your thread later Good to know! Ohh I wish she would eat her food with the bone broth in it, but no luck so far. And she's getting a lot added to her food now (Miralax, probiotics, egg powder, glucosamine) so I'm really hesitant to add anything else or there'll be more supplement than food. thanks for the well wishes!

V verna davies - thanks for sharing! I think its helpful to see what works for some and not for others, just sharing experiences. I'm glad the psyllium does the trick for you. I'm keeping a log of what food/supplements she's eating and what's coming out the other end as well. It is actually helpful to look back and check because I can't always remember if the poop from the day before was a 10/10 or only a 7/10 or whatever, so it helps to know how much Miralax to add.

 

[neely]

sidneykitty Actually TCS has an informative Article on constipation in cats that I hope is helpful for you:
Everything You Need To Know About Constipation In Cats

 

[FeralHearts]

F FeralHearts - aw thanks! we've missed you, too! hope you and Charlie are doing well. we'll check in on your thread later Good to know! Ohh I wish she would eat her food with the bone broth in it, but no luck so far. And she's getting a lot added to her food now (Miralax, probiotics, egg powder, glucosamine) so I'm really hesitant to add anything else or there'll be more supplement than food. thanks for the well wishes!

We're hanging in there - like you - fighting the good fight!

Yeah the MiraLAX / RestoLAX 3 -4 days often before it really gets into the system and you can start sorting out dosages. So don't give up. It was literally a lifesaver for Mia. Even now I have to play with dosages for her depending on the week. Always adding more water mixed in to make sure she's getting enough.

I know the feeling - feel like a drugstore / drug pusher for the kitty huh? I can boil water and make tea as I'm getting the food ready - that's how long it takes to get everything in and then make sure there is still actual food! Oh the insanity of it all.

Keep strong and keep going as it will all come together. XOXOXOXOXOXX