Sheba's IBD/Megacolon Thread

[shebaa]

so every now and then i will post threads about shebas vomiting. i decided just to make 1 thread for now on.
it was believed that she may have ibd. i started her on venison diet. from time to time she also gets constipated but the main problem was vomiting. last year she tried z/d, didnt work and then fiber response, worked a little. and then i tried a venison diet, it worked. in december she had 2 major constipation episodes. her vet recommended to take her to see a specialist since obviously theres a gi problem. that appt was on monday. they did an ultrasound, nothing showed that would confirm ibd. what did show was that she was full with poop. vet said possibly has megacolon. i had already started her on miralax in december, 1/4tsp daily. vet increased it to 3x daily. now i started thinking back on her notes ive been keeping on the days she throws up and the changes ive made. i saw she did a little better on fiber food. and when i started her on venison, it was just a week later when i started her on miralax. so now im thinking maybe its the miralax thats also helping the vomiting and that its constipation the issue here and not ibd. maybe venison is playing no part in this. maybe the fiber food worked a little cause it wasnt enough, maybe if i put her on that again WITH miralax. shes not pooping as much as i would like considering the amount she has inside of her (vet showed me the ultrasound image) vet said she will email me by today, hasnt yet. but in the meantime, im asking for opinions, should i go back on fiber food?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I am sorry no one has responded to your post yet. If you haven't already done this yourself, here is a link to previous threads related to megacolon in case anything in any of them might be of help to you.
Search Results for Query: megacolon
Hopefully other members will see your post soon and offer their first hand experiences.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Is this fiber food strictly kibble? I have one cat who has issues with constipation, and one thing I know for certain is that he needs more water, so I always add lots of water to any meal I feed him, no matter what I'm feeding (that being said, I do NOT feed any kibble). But I DO agree that vomiting and constipation can go hand in hand. If my guy is struggling to go, I will often find vomit fairly close to the litter box, and I've witnessed this with other older cats who've struggled with chronic constipation...they would be in the box straining so hard, then jump out and throw up right outside the box

Of course, you could try adding additional fiber to her existing food, but you might check with your Vet first on that, because IF it's Megacolon, extra fiber might not be advisable. When did you increase the Miralax? Just today or Monday? You know it takes a little while to work, so I'd give a day or two before you start seeing more results. And if you possible can (and aren't already), I'd try to get her on as much wet, wet, wet food as possible. I actually add about 2 tablespoons of water to every single meal for both my cats to make sure they are plenty hydrated. If she want eat wet food, they you need to try to encourage her to drink LOTS of water. Doe she have a fountain? Here's an article with tips on getting them to drink more: Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake – Cat Articles

 

[shebaa]

Is this fiber food strictly kibble? I have one cat who has issues with constipation, and one thing I know for certain is that he needs more water, so I always add lots of water to any meal I feed him, no matter what I'm feeding (that being said, I do NOT feed any kibble). But I DO agree that vomiting and constipation can go hand in hand. If my guy is struggling to go, I will often find vomit fairly close to the litter box, and I've witnessed this with other older cats who've struggled with chronic constipation...they would be in the box straining so hard, then jump out and throw up right outside the box

Of course, you could try adding additional fiber to her existing food, but you might check with your Vet first on that, because IF it's Megacolon, extra fiber might not be advisable. When did you increase the Miralax? Just today or Monday? You know it takes a little while to work, so I'd give a day or two before you start seeing more results. And if you possible can (and aren't already), I'd try to get her on as much wet, wet, wet food as possible. I actually add about 2 tablespoons of water to every single meal for both my cats to make sure they are plenty hydrated. If she want eat wet food, they you need to try to encourage her to drink LOTS of water. Doe she have a fountain? Here's an article with tips on getting them to drink more: Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake – Cat Articles

sorry for the late reply. she is not eating her fiber response food. after testing so see if it was the fiber food or just dry food in general i saw it was fiber food, weird because she was on this last year and had no problems at that time. i increased the miralax on jan 11th. im not seeing much improvements, still only going to the bathroom once every 2-3 days. and was constipated once since the 11th. so far wet food is not much help, i even add plenty of water to it to where its all soupy (she still eats it) she goes pee more a whole lot more now so more wet food wont solve it, vet didnt think so either. i called the specialist vet a little while ago and left them a message on what to do now. i asked if maybe hills gastrointestinal biome fiber care would help. im waiting for a call back.
for the fiber response ive been very slowly transition her. at 8 days, she still only at maybe 15-20% eating fiber food. UNLESS i hand feed her it. only way she will eat it. so weird

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Ok, so i she on any meds for Megacolon, if she truly has that? They have drugs that can help with the motility of the colon to help her push the stools out (as I understand it)

How's her vomiting? Still happening a lot?

 

[shebaa]

Ok, so i she on any meds for Megacolon, if she truly has that? They have drugs that can help with the motility of the colon to help her push the stools out (as I understand it)

How's her vomiting? Still happening a lot?

just the miralax. 1/4 tsp 2-3x daily. hasnt vomit almost 4 weeks (this thursday) she broke her record! . so it might be the venison food shes on or the miralax, cant tell since i started both just a week apart. im desperately trying to get her to eat her fiber response cause it has chicken by product and chicken fat, and based on what i read that has less or no protein (correct me if im wrong) in it so wont cause much of a reaction if she was allergic to chicken. where as the hills PD fiber care food, the main ingredient is chicken.
vet wanted to see if increasing miralax first to see if that helps before trying another med. i asked what about fiber pills (vetasyl) since i already know fiber response works for her cause she was on it last summer. but she doesnt agree with fiber pills. weird since it has so many good reviews.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

By-products are not necessarily low in protein. They can actually be quite high in protein. Here's an article I found on the topic: https://thecatsite.com/c/by-products-in-cat-food-5-facts-you-need-to-know/ Of course, depending on who you're talking to, you will get a variety of opinions on this, just like everything else

Chicken fat, on the other hand, doesn't contain protein and should not cause any allergic reactions.

Now I understand why she isn't on any other meds...YET.

So glad the vomited has ceased for now. Hope it stays that way.

 

[MissClouseau]

My Hima has some grain intolerances and she's on a grain-free diet almost totally. She used to get constipated sometimes. She still eats the same foods as they work for her and the others I've tried did far worse in different ways. I use GimCat Soft Extra Malt Paste every day/every other day to prevent hairball issues but that helps also with her constipatiton a lot as hairball pastes are fat and fiber basically. When I give daily I give half the amount of the recommended amount (also because Hima is short-haired.)

Swallowed hair may not be the main reason of constipatiton of course but minimalizing that hair with brushing every day, and the cat getting enough hydration always help.

 

[shebaa]

i totally forgot i had hairball paste. i will start using that again

and she didnt make it to her 4 week throwing up anniversary, she threw up last night. but i have reasons to believe it was constipation. now she ate all her breakfast (with a little more added fiber food to it), something she hasnt done in a while.

 

[shebaa]

heres an update!
sheba has not been constipated in a while since shes been on fiber response. but shes been very picky about it, she prefers her venison food. and her throwing up has returned so here i am stuck with choosing with helping with the constipation problem OR the food allergy.
im tempted to put her back on the venison (since thats what she prefers anyways) and maybe trying fiber pills? but a while ago the vet said she isnt a fan of fiber pills. but since i know fiber response food works, maybe the pills will too? i dont know what to do
also shes still on miralax. without that AND fiber response she gets constipated

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

What did you decide to do? If the Fiber Response is making her vomit then obviously that's not good, but of course being constipated isn't good either. Is psyllium husk as option for fiber?

 

[shebaa]

i think im gonna continue the fiber response for a couple weeks. since its only been 2 weeks since shes been on it full time. (it took a whole month to transition her). i would imagine psyllium will help since that is what is in the fiber response. but vet wasnt too into that idea. i wonder why?? where would i get psyllium?
im gonna wait a couple more weeks then call the vet if the vomit continues.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

you should be able to get psyllium at any drug store (CVS, Walgreen, Walmart), including on-line. Even Amazon should have it, since they have pretty much anything. But also places like IHerb, Swanson.com, etc. Just google it.