Miralax dosing and response time

scoochmom

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I'm terrified now. I literally have no money for the vet and no one I can borrow from. There were two good sized poops in the basket this morning but I don"t know which cat they're from. I've been giving both of them 1/4 tsp twice daily. It doesn't seem to be working.
 

maggiedemi

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Oh man, that sucks that you don't know which cat pooped. Hopefully it was him. Only a vet would be able to tell for sure though. Can you do a payment plan with him? I don't have any more advise, since 3 times a day gave him diarrhea and 2 times a day gave him constipation. Maybe the vet can give him a different type of product?
 

scoochmom

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I went one day without giving him miralax and that was the day I gave him dry food. That must have done it. No, my vet won't do a payment plan, and neither will the er. I don't know what to do.
 

maggiedemi

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Can you try separating them in separate rooms so you can see which one is pooping? I don't know what else you can do unless you have a video camera.
 

scoochmom

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He just tried to go and just a little nugget came out. I just gave him more miralax. The two poops from this morning must have been from mooshie.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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How are things going today. Were you ever able to see if Scoochie produced a decent sized stool yete?

There is always Lactulose, which usually produces a bowel movement pretty quickly. Maybe you can ask your Vet for that without having to actually make an appointment. Then discuss whether or not the problem is from too little fiber, too much fiber, etc. then you can adjust their food accordingly, along with the right amount of miralax. Once you get them regulated you should be ok.

Have you applied for Care Credit? If you aren't familiar with it, just google it. It's a wonderful thing when you need veterinary care and funds are low.
 

scoochmom

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Scoochie has not gone for nearly a week. My friend is loaning me money to get him to the vet tomorrow for another enema. He has not responded at all to miralax. I will ask the vet about lactulose. I did have a Care card at one time but it went into collections and I couldn't get approved for another one. Thank god my friend is coming through for me.

Scooch is not showing any signs of pain, he hasn't even tried to go since yesterday when he passed one little nugget. Before I took him to the er, he was attempting to go numerous times without success. I think he'll be okay til tomorrow.
 

maggiedemi

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I'm so glad you are going to the vet today. Yeah, it sounds like he needs a different medicine. Let us know how it goes.
 

scoochmom

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Hi everyone, Scoochie had his vet appt yesterday and the good news is he wasn't constipated. The vet said I haven't been feedind him enough wet food to make any stools. I was surprised at this because I feed him 4 times a day and he eats like a horse! She said he should be eating up to two cans of 3 oz a day. They took an xray and found just a small soft stool in there so there was no need for an enema. The bad news is he still hasn't pooped yet, even with the increased food. Mooshie hasn't pooped since Saturday. She's a very small eater so it's probably the same problem, not enough food. I also don't think they like what I'm feeding them - Fancy Feast. I know, it's not good stuff but I can't afford premium food and the few times I did buy it for them they wouldn't touch it. I hope they both start pooping soon because my friend paid $275 for the vet visit and $400 for the er visit and I cannot ask him again and I'm dead broke so I can't take either of them back to the vet. I still can't understand why this has happened with both of them. Two weeks ago everything was fine. Scoochie's bloodwork came back perfect so it's not a parasite. It just doesn't make sense. My days are reduced to watching and waiting for them to go to the litter box.
 

maggiedemi

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How many ounces of food were you giving them before? Yeah, they need at least two of those small cans each a day if you are feeding all wet food. You can do a mix of wet and dry food. Right now I'm feeding one 3oz can wet and half a cup dry food each per day.
 

scoochmom

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I wasn't measuring in terms of ounces, I usually split two cans a day between the two cats. They always seemed satisfied and Mooshie rarely finished a whole bowl. I gave them a handful of dry food today, but the vet wants more wet than dry. She said after he's pooping a stool every 24 hours I can give more dry.
 

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I have not used the Miralax, but I have been putting pumpkin, olive oil, and tuna or chicken with my cats soft food. One has constipation issues and the oldest is not able to eat dry kibble much anymore. Unfortunately, I didn't feed them this combination for a couple of days. When I was, there were no problems. Something else is, we changed our litter to Blue Fresh Multi cat. Yes it clumps, but I don't think this causes a problem in cats while they are cleaning themselves. Other kinds, such as clay, I do believe causes a lot of problems in cats.

I am going to try the Miralax, but I wonder if it would be ok to continue with the pumpkin and olive oil or would that be overdoing it?

Something else, I have done, when Blue gets too plugged up, is to give him Epsom salts in cranberry juice with a syringe. Usually, within a day, he has results.

A question I have is, have you ever had a cat throw up just water when constipated? We found a large amount of liquid on our quilt down to our sheets. He had been getting sick so I think that is what happened, not urine.
Yes, The throwing up is a symptom that the cat needs an enema.. get him to the vet
 

TootiesMom

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Whether your cat is constipated or having diarrhea issues look into more natural remedies for your babies. I’ve been giving my baby pumpkin Which is actually very very good for them. Helps with both diarrhea and constipation and my two fur babies love it and my first is actually a very very picky eater and also has gone through seizures specially when given cheap or wrong foods or meds from the vet. I’m very weary and highly on top of every single thing that my baby consumes considering the seizures can be triggered by just about anything so I went for a more natural organic approach and they definitely do help. Do your research and look into natural remedies. I hope your babies are doing just fine and are healthy. Also, Happy New Year to you and yours.
 

catsilky

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Hi there!

After trying two different prescriptions for my cat’s constipation issue, I’ve deciddd to go the Miralax route. However, I haven’t found out how much water to mix w/the 1/4 tsp. I plan to administer it w/a syringe that’ll hold up to 3 ml of liquid. Does anyone have the answer? As a side note, no, I can’t put it in her food. She won’t eat wet food & sprinkling the powder over dry food isn’t an option because she’s a nibbler never sitting down to eat a full meal at one time. She’s 15 years old, extremely set in her ways and not the type of cat that I can “train” or force to eat differently than she currently does.

Thanks for your help!
 

1 bruce 1

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Hi there!

After trying two different prescriptions for my cat’s constipation issue, I’ve deciddd to go the Miralax route. However, I haven’t found out how much water to mix w/the 1/4 tsp. I plan to administer it w/a syringe that’ll hold up to 3 ml of liquid. Does anyone have the answer? As a side note, no, I can’t put it in her food. She won’t eat wet food & sprinkling the powder over dry food isn’t an option because she’s a nibbler never sitting down to eat a full meal at one time. She’s 15 years old, extremely set in her ways and not the type of cat that I can “train” or force to eat differently than she currently does.

Thanks for your help!
I would add just enough to make the miralax dissolve and turn into a liquid. It's much easier to syringe in 1 ML vs. 2-3 ML, and is quicker which usually = happier cat =)
Add enough so it's not a paste. That's a pain to syringe!!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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1/4 teaspoon Miralax might be too much to start with. I've had a couple of chronically constipated cats in the past, and we always started with 1/8th teas. dissolved in about 1/4 teas. water. to start. Then if that didn't work we'd go up to 1/4 teas.

We found that giving it everyday, like clockwork, was best. Miss a day, and there were issues :frown:. Also, if you can find a way to get your old girl to drink more would be very helpful. This article might help you out there: Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake
 

catsilky

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Hi Bruce & Mrs Greens!

Thanks so much for your answers & suggestions. I’ll give it a try.

Much appreciated!
 

Missxeeena

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My vet told me to give my cat one half to one tablespoon of miralax but didn't say how much water to add. I have to give it to her with a syringe, I can't put it in her food. Does anyone know how much water I would use with those amounts? Also, I'm seeing people are only giving 1/8 or 1/4 . What is a good dosage and how much water?
 

mrsgreenjeens

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My vet told me to give my cat one half to one tablespoon of miralax but didn't say how much water to add. I have to give it to her with a syringe, I can't put it in her food. Does anyone know how much water I would use with those amounts? Also, I'm seeing people are only giving 1/8 or 1/4 . What is a good dosage and how much water?
Are you ABSOLUTELY certain your vet said TABLESPOON? That is a HUGE amount for a cat!!!!! The amounts you are seeing people give their cats is 1/8 to 1/4 TEASPOON, not Tablespoon. As to the amount of water, for 1/8 teaspoon, we usually dissolve that in about 1/2 teaspoon water if giving it via syringe. Not much water is needed at all, just enough to dissolve it. But please double check your Vets instructions because that much could cause your furbaby to suffer stomach pains, bloating, dehydration and of course diarrhea!
 

MayBinky

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I'm worried I hurt my cat with miralax. I gave him a little under 1/4 tsp of miralax last two days only once a day. He did have a bowel movement The first day I gave it to him on Saturday, but I gave it to him again next day just to make sure he was all clear because it had been four days since going and he had been eating more than usual because he is having some bad side effects from a steroid injection. Last time he went was Saturday evening and I'm worried that second dose of miralax was just hitting an empty colon and he didn't need it. His stomach is grumbling so much for hours. Should I be worried?
 
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