Ongoing Issues Related To Eating, Constipation (long)

[foxxycat]

you can make the miralax in hot water in a tiny glass and feed it via syringe once it cools off. I use a shot glass. I nuke a coffee cup of water halfway filled for a minute-then pour some of that water into the shot glass then add miralax. so you can see if syringing it into her would work. Also if she likes babyfood meat like turkey=make up the smallest batch of mira and add to babyfood and see if she will lick it up that way.

 

[MDad1234]

It felt like a small miracle, but thanks to the butter advice and a gel cap (and water syringe), I was able to get her evening prednilosone and a dose of mirtazapine into her, and she's kept it down!

She definitely has a reaction to the mirtazapine - pacing a bit, on and off the couch to eat a little more, following me around - but it doesn't seem as extreme as I've seen some report. No crying or disorientation or anything. I may try a smaller dose next time, but I'm just happy she's eating. I think she did this after the first dose as well, and it evened out after a few hours. Thank you for recommending the baby food. I will get some of that for the next time her appetite flags and I need to get some Miralax into her. Now here's hoping all this activity inspires her to poop...!

 

[MDad1234]

Oof, well she pooped. A large amount of loose poop, with some audible gas as she was going. Not watery diarrhea per se, but pudding-like. Good color at least. Hoping that there isn't still something up there she's pooping around, but I'm glad she went. I'm going to try to dial back the Miralax a hair and just make sure she always eats all of it before giving her more food.

And she did calm down a bit after being a somewhat wired in the first couple of hours after the mirtazapine.

 

[MDad1234]

I thought I would give a short update. She pooped again last night (two nights in a row!), but it was still loose and unformed. Not watery diarrhea per se, but the pudding, cow-patty sort. Normal color. I've dialed back the Miralax after perhaps going overboard when she hadn't gone at all for several days, so we'll see if that helps.

Whether the prednilosone, mirtazapine, or a combo of both, she has been eating extremely well the last couple of days. As in, finishing a 3 oz can within a couple of hours and sometimes asking for more! She's eaten over two whole cans in the last 24 hours. I'm thrilled, and I hope that it continues. I'll let the last dose of mirtazapine get out of her system (given 48 hours ago now) and see how it goes.

The prednilosone does seem to be having a positive effect. I can see it in her eyes. She sits up straight, looks alert, lays down comfortably, gets up and down off the couch more, and overall just looks like the feels notably better. Some of that could be the mirtazapine, which does wind her up a bit for a few hours at least, but fingers crossed this continues.

I should receive the chlorambucil next week and will start her on a 6mg dose once every two weeks, with bloodwork at the end of each two weeks at least for the first few cycles.

 

[MDad1234]

After a weekend of loose poops, I tried adjusting down her Miralax from 1/4 tsp twice a day to one, and now she hasn't pooped in almost two days. I'm beginning to fear that she's got something in there that just won't come out, and the loose poops were just moving around it. She's still eating well, and it's over three days since mirtazapine, so we'll see how that goes. I need to talk to the vet tomorrow in anticipation of the chlorambucil (want to get some anti-nausea and more mirtazapine before the holiday weekend), so I'll mention this. My home vet emailed to check on her, and after I told her what was going on, she recommended pumpkin. I might try that, but it sounds like it could either help or hurt, depending on the situation. Here's hoping kitty goes overnight.

 

[foxxycat]

I think it just takes time for the food to build up in the colon=it takes about 3-4 days from mouth to other end-so becareful with giving too much miralax. As long as there's a bowel movement once every 48 hours=then like you said-dial it back=you said she pooped a ton a few days ago-more than likely takes time to build up. I would stick with one dose for at least 4 to 6 days so you can see results. I wouldn't go drastic up or down. You can try canned pumpkin for loose poop too.

thank you for posting an update.
the mirtaz can make them restless and yes it wears off after a few hours. pred also helps perk them up. Hoping things continue to go well=keeps eating and pooing to keep our anxiety at bay!

 

[foxxycat]

If you think something is still stuck inside=maybe try a bit more of butter, olive oil or coconut oil to help give lubrication to get things moving. Pumpkin also helps--a small amount- less than 1 teaspoon is usually the amount to help keep things regular-it's strange how it helps both loose and hard stool move through.

The thing to keep an eye on is vomiting=we don't want to give too much food too soon-small often meals are best for digestion issues=this gives the colon time to move the food along-so it's not one big pile. May help alleviate any nausea doing it this way. It never hurts to ask about Pepcid and Cerenia=especially the days of chemo. The day before the day of and two days after are when we treat for anti nausea, fluids- sometimes pain meds if needed- and of course appetite stimulant if needed. to help relieve any side effects from the chemo pill.

 

[MDad1234]

Thanks! I'm going to try to be patient and keep the dose at 1/8 tsp twice a day for the time being, which was my home vet's initial recommendation when this all started a couple of months ago. I'll also try a little pumpkin tonight. I received the chlorambucil today and am planning to come home from work early tomorrow and give it to her, then take Friday off to see how she does. I put a call in to the vet to see if I could preemptively get something for nausea or any other side effect she thought might occur, and she hasn't called me back yet :\ Maybe in the morning. I'll certainly post once I've given kitty the first dose.

 

[MDad1234]

I did give her 1/2 tsp of pumpkin mixed into a can's worth of FF that I left out overnight. This morning I saw that she had polished off the food AND had had a big, normal-looking poop! Firm, but not hard/dry. I'm not sure if the pumpkin would've had time to affect this BM, but I'm glad to know that she will eat it. I'll stick to the lower dose of Miralax and see if maybe she just needs a little longer than the usual 24 hours to produce a normal poop.

 

[foxxycat]

That's great! Some cats love pumpkin. You can even try to back off more on the miralax if you want-but I would wait a few days=my girl Honeybee licks it right off my finger-she loves it. my other cat=forget it! She runs away when I open the container-she really hates it so I use miralax with Pumpkin Face.

 

[MDad1234]

She just had another normal BM. I've never been so happy about poop Fingers crossed it keeps up. I'll keep the miralax at the current level (1/8 tsp twice a day) and see what happens. How often to people generally give pumpkin?

She also had her first dose of chlorambucil about 7 hours ago. So far she seems fine. Still early I know, but I was happy she didn't have a bad immediate reaction. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

 

[foxxycat]

I give pumpkin every day if I remember but it's more like every other day.

Did they send you home with Cerenia? I am surprised they didn't give Cerenia before the chemo pill. Fingers crossed that it helps what's going on.

 

[MDad1234]

It's been almost 24 hours, and she's still acting fine, eating well, etc. I have to admit, I spent about 10 minutes on my hands and knees earlier checking the floor, under the furniture, and such, to make sure she hadn't spit the pill out yesterday! I don't think she was ever out of my sight after I pilled her, and I immediately gave her some food to wash it down, but I have to find something to worry about.

I'm a little surprised they didn't give me something like Cerenia either. I'm not 100% thrilled with the vet right now. I called Wednesday to ask that very question - do I need to preemptively get something for nausea or other side effects - and she never called me back. I did pick up some pepcid just in case, and if I have to have the vet's office (which is 24hr) interrupt her weekend to get a prescription for something so be it!

 

[MDad1234]

Well, after all that good news the other day, we're now over three days without any poop. I've given her a little pumpkin a couple more times and did bump up her miralax a tad this morning, and tried to put as much extra water in the food as I thought she would tolerate (2-3 tablespoons usually). I get so worried around the 3-4 day mark, but then she usually goes, so fingers crossed.

About 24 hours after the first dose of chlorambucil, her appetite seemed to flag for 12 hours or so and she looked a bit nauseous (though didn't vomit), so I gave her some prilosec and mirtazapine, and she's been pretty much fine since then. Maybe that, plus the chlorambucil itself, could have thrown her off a bit, or she's just getting into a once-every-three or so-days schedule.

 

[MDad1234]

And, of course, she made a big ol' poop about an hour after my previous post. I sat down in a chair next to her box, she came over and eyed the box for awhile, and then went. I dunno. I'm just going to keep on with the Miralax and occasional pumpkin and see what happens. Maybe the prednilosone/chlorambucil combo will do good things for her in the long run.

 

[WMM201]

M MDad1234 Hi there, I know its' been a long time since your last post, but I was wondering how your kitty is doing now? When I read this thread, it was almost like you were describing my own cat, who has been dealing with these bouts on constipation and not eating in the last couple of months. It is almost exactly the same. So of course, I'm thinking that my cat might have the same condition as your kitty. Regardless of where your kitty is, I hope she is peaceful.