I was wondering if someone could shed some light on a reoccurring issue we have with one of our cats. It seems that every 2 months we have to take our 8yr old orange mix t the vet because of chronic constipation. They do an enema each time which solves the problem for 2 months. Last night was the 3rd time we have taken him to the vet for the same thing. After the 1st time (4months ago) the vet suggested canned pumpkin daily and Colace every other day, which we thought was working out great since his stool was a lot softer than previous. Now our vet wants to start him on Cisipride and prescription Hills W/D food. All of our cats already eat Hills Adult and we have always used Hills brand food since kittens. From what I have read in several previous posted forums this could be megacolon and high fiber could be making the issue worse. Any advice?
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Helping pet owners get health help For their pets
The current recommendation for constipation in feline medicine is a low residue diet (diet that produces less stool). Checking the kitty for pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, thyroid disease, kidney disease, and diabetes are also important.
At our hospital, we’ve had great results treating constipated cats with acupuncture and herbs.
Hope this helps!
Dr. Cherie Buisson, D.V.M.
All Cats Hospital
Largo, FL
Hi,
First of all, I would highly suggest that you wean all your cats off the hill’s diet. These are not real foods and are filled with many chemicals. These chemicals are very dangerous to both the kidneys and the liver. Instead, I would suggest to you that you feed her real raw organic food. There are many raw food diets out there. ( Hashan, primal, aunt jennie’s, bravo are good to name a few. Also Great Life Grain and Potato free cat food is also a very good diet which you can find on line. It is very important that you change his diet.
Pumpkin is usually great for diarrhea. Instead, I would suggest that you add more liquid and oils to his diet. Olive, salmon or coconut is good. With that, I would try to find a homeopathic remedy called Nux Vomica 30c. You can usually find this at your local health food store. I would suggest that you give him two pellets daily until improvement. This remedy does wonders for this problem. If for some reason this does not work, then you need to address the underlying cause. You can do this by having his homeopathic case taken. ( I can do this for you if you can not find anyone in your area. ) I would not suggest that you give him any Rx as this would only mask his symptoms and could produce dangerous side effects.
Thank you,
Dyanna McCain DVetHom.
Holistic Animal Healing
Los Angeles, CA
Greetings,
I generally see that this approach (which most conventional vets use) rarely works very well. Dry foods are not good for cats whether high or low fiber. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, I suspect your cat has poor spleen function and that is causing a lot of the digestive problems. High fiber (which is generally high carb) foods aggravate that condition. I would suggest seeking help from a vet that uses homeopathy or Chinese medicine to try to get to the real problem, not mask the symptom with poor quality, high fiber foods that will cause additional problems.
all the best
Russell Swift, DVM, HMC
Holistic Practitioner
The Right Remedy
Tamarac, FL
Cisapride and low residue diet
Phillip McHugh, DVM
Park Veterinary Hospital
Durham, NC
My cat had constant constipation too. Stools would often be bloody. I then used a petroleum jelly based hairball remedy. This helped a little bit. But what ultimately helped was the Menu foods pet food recall. I totally changed her diet to wet canned cat food. The moisture in canned cat food helped her immensely. No more bloody stools. I still occasionally use the hairball remedy. Dry cat food, especially high fiber,is the worst food for cats. CATS DO NOT NEED FIBER!!.
Constipation is a very frustrating problem for many cat owners. The cisapride can help if your cat has difficulty pushing the stool out. I feel that the higher fiber diets are not the answer for constipation either (and the most recent conference I attended reiterated that belief). I am advising my clients to use low residue diets now- i/d from Hill’s, low residue from Eukanuba, EN from Purina. If your cat will eat canned food, that would be even better, as the increased moisture helps as well. I also have clients give milk to increase the fluid pulled into the colon. If your cat won’t drink milk, then lactulose can be given as well. There is even a powdered version called Kristalose that can be mixed into canned food. Megacolon is generally verified by radiographs (x-rays) that show a very large colon full of stool. If cats with megacolon cannot be controlled with diet and medication, then surgery to remove the majority of the colon is a last resort (a subtotal colectomy). It is pretty radical, but most cats do well once they have recovered.
Good luck with your kitty!
Dr. Lori Coughlin
The Cat Practice
Oak Park, IL
On April 6, a stray cat I submitted to a lc s/n clinic was spayed. At 5 am I awoke to find she had eviserated (fat layer AND some bowel were hanging out).
At the Emergency facility, her ab area was lavaged, she was given SQ fluids, antibiotics (ampicillin) and temporarily stapled shut. She was then raed back to the lc clinic to be stitched up, they also gave fluids and injectable Baytril.
She continues to be on Clavamox, 1 ml,, 2x a day). Over the course of the next five days, she didn’t defecate. I took her to Emergency, she was given IV fluids, sedated and given two enemas until X-rays showed her intestine and rectum were clear. They did note a section of bowel that was “gas distended”. I brought her home and over the course of 4 days, all I “received” were 2 bm’s, the last after administering 2 ml of olive oil). I took her back to the GP who doesn’t seem concerned, suggested I keep her on a wet diet and add oil to her food. I’m doing that, plus giving her a high-quality Probiotic.
I’m worried about that Gas distended bowel loop/necrotic tissue and wonder if I should push for a laparatomy? In addition, I don’t want to end up with a cat that has chronic constipation or megacolon.
Question: Should I ask the vet about doing the Lap?
Question: Is there anything I can do to prevent this from turning into a chronic constipation problem? How best can I support her healing?
She eats moderately well, drinks water well and per a skin test, isn’t dehydrated. Her white blood cell count was slightly elevated (WBC=20.5k vs. normal range of 5.5-19.5k).
i don’t want to anger the vet by insisting on a lap, but I don’t wannt to wait until the problem becomes a crisis either.
I am very pro-alternative med, but open to all comments/suggestions…
She was supposed to be a Trap, Neuter, Release and Manage Kitty.
Please help me so I can make the right decision for this poor kitty who has been through alot.
I apologize for my English but I’m writing from Québec in Canada. I don’t trust our vets here so I thought to get advice from you guys before going back there if I have to. One of my cat had to go to the vet last month for constipation. They said it was probably caused by a hernia or a malformation of a bone between the butt and tail (he only has half a tail). I think they called it a mechanic obstruction. I have had him for a year and a half (was a stray cat) and it was the first time last month he was constipated. The vet removed 18 round stool (my 2 other cats have normal stool) and gave me some Lactulose and low residue food. I have a hard time giving the lactulose to him (he bites to the point of going to the Dr or his mouth is shut so close you can’t even open it) and he’s been sick the 2 last times I have given it to him. I tried some homeopathic remedies (laxo-plus and R37 Dr. Reckeweg). Also tried mineral and olive oil. I was wondering if you guys had any advice before I go back to the vet. He has been constipated for 2 days now. If you need more info, you can contact me at karineed@videotron.ca
dear Karine
I put my cat’s lactulose into some warm gravy along with the contents of the cisapride capsule. She laps it right up and doesn’t even notice
Priscilla
Raw food diet is one of the best diet that you can get since it does not involve artifical chemicals on the foods that you will eat. .:.“