Constantly Constipated Cat.

For those seeking advice on caring for incontinent pets and animals with kidney-related problems.
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nkn_1
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Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by nkn_1 »

I am so glad to have found this site. My cat Bruce Wayne was found on the street with a broken tail and covered in mace. We took him into out home after he was cleaned up by a friend who could not "deal" with taking care of him anymore and was going to put him on the street (no longer friends). He is still the sweetest cat after all he has gone through. His tail had to be amputated and since we have had him he has been both bowel and urinary incontinent. It has been very trying, but we love him so much that we are willing to do what it takes for him.

The problem we are facing now is that he is constantly becoming constipated. He will be good for a few weeks and then we will have to take him to the vet to clean him out. The cycle then repeats. We have Bruce on 3ML of luctalose twice a day and only feed wet food. Yet, he still gets blocked. His stools are just so big. I have heard of low residue food, but not sure which to get or if it will help. Our vet said he seems to have had trauma to his pelvis area which seems to be smaller than it should be. I am looking for any advice or help. From time to time I have to give him enemas, which is what I just did about an hour ago. I also manually insert my finger to pull stool out, but when it is too far I do not want to risk injury and go with the enema. Is the "lobster" claw maneuver easy to do? Is it possible I could injure him?

Any suggestions would be wonderful. If you have any questions that would help please ask. We are desperate to get Bruce back on track.
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CarolC
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by CarolC »

http://www.iams.com/cat-food/VeterinaryFormulasCat.aspx

This is a link for the low residue food. I have done the "lobster claw" massage on my cat (she was constipated but did not have megacolon) and it helped, but I recommend asking your vet because I do not know if it is different with megacolon. I think it would help mobilize the stool toward the anus so you could remove it more easily. Someone here said it also helps to do sub-Q fluids (you are already feeding wet food and giving a lot of lactulose to draw moisture into the stool) so you might ask the vet about that. They can do surgery and remove the stretched section of the colon for cats with megacolon. I do not think there is much risk of injury sweeping out stool manually if you put some lubrication on your finger, because the diameter of your finger is probably smaller than the stool you are removing. (I am not a vet.) Are you also expressing his bladder?

:gang:
nkn_1
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by nkn_1 »

Thank you for the link and your response. I fortunately have not had to express his bladder that often. That is the one thing that "flows." Only have to do it when he gets very blocked up and constricts the bladder. Vet does not think he has megacolon, but a small pelvis. He does move his bowel on his own. Actually, they usually just fall out, but recently they are getting stuck. I can feel them when I try to manually remove, but they are to far up for me to get which I why I would then give an enema. The last enema (last night) produced nothing. I will have to take him to the vet to get him flushed out. Stool is so big. I will speak to vet about sub-Q. I tried the lobster claw last night, but nothing moved out. I guess it takes practice.

Thank again.
Diana R.
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by Diana R. »

I have a cat Glory who was thought to have some kind of compression injury at birth. Her back legs are paralyzed but she typically poops and pees on her own. Last year she got very constipated which I understand can happen even years later with injuries to the pelvis which heals such that the pelvic canal through which the stool has to pass is narrowed. I had to have the vet clean her out and she got numerous enemas. She is a 10# cat and I have her on 2 ccs of lactulose twice a day so you may want to consider uping the lactulose. You might also want to try cisapride which increases the ability of the large intestine to contract. Mineral oil, which I have heard people use,should not be used since it can be inhaled accidently into the respiratory tract and it cannot be removed then; the immune system will try to wall it off. You can also try increasing fiber with canned pumpkin or metamucil. I have also used the poop on demand techniques on this board and at least once a day I rub her anus with a baby wipe and see if she can go and then when the poop gets beyond the pelvic inlet just kind of pinch it out. So far this has worked for her and she has had no recurring episodes of constipation. Diana
nkn_1
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by nkn_1 »

I am going to the vet tomorrow. The stool is so hard that nothing came out after last nights enema. He is so cool about it. Still eating and drinking water. I will ask the vet about cisapride and will try the poop on command trick, but I think right now since the stool is so large that it will not work. The pet enema did soften the stool and it is closer to the anus I jsut can't get to it. i will just get him flushed out and start the new diet with more fiber. Maybe the poop on command trick will work as well. I think he may also have nerve damage from his accident. He does not really seem to know he is even pooping sometime and it is just hanging out. He does try and use the litter box though. He is always disappointed and givse me the saddest look as if saying " i tried."

Thank you all.
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CarolC
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by CarolC »

Were you able to actually feel the colon? When it is dry stool, your fingers are looking for something that is so firm it could be mistaken for bone. It may be higher up toward the spine than you expected. Did the vet actually do an xray or imaging to determine the pelvis was affected? Also, when you said he was covered with mace, do you mean mace like pepper spray? :? :shock:
nkn_1
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by nkn_1 »

I could feel the stool far up inside, but could not extract it manually. I had to take him to the vet. again. He has been fully "cleaned" out. We are starting him on a raw food diet to try and create as little waste as possible. Mix the raw food with the lactulose and I am hoping this will be his regiment. We did not get an xray though. When the vet was cleaning him out he immediately told us about his pelvis. Most the time his stool just falls out and others times it gets to be too much. Do you think it would be a good idea to get an xray and if his pelvis is irregular (probably from his accident) to perform surgery?

Yes, he was covered in pepper spray. People can be so cruel.
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CarolC
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by CarolC »

I don't know what would be involved if he needed surgery on the pelvis, but it seems like it would help to at least know for sure if there is an irregularity. Perhaps your vet has seen a lot of cats or dogs hit by a car and can reliably tell there is something wrong with the pelvis, I don't know. To me it still sounds like megacolon. That can happen with a normal pelvis, if the nerves in the tail area are damaged. Your description of the super large stool makes me think the colon is becoming stretched. The fact that he is dropping some stools at times does not mean megacolon has not developed or is not developing. If you get an x-ray of his hindquarters, I think it would show the pelvis and also the shape of the colon if it is full of waste. The thing is, they can do surgery for megacolon and basically fix it. I have not had any personal experience with this surgery, you probably need to research it as best you can and get all possible information from the vet, but my impression is the surgery is pretty effective. I am honestly pretty alarmed that there have been times he has been unable to urinate due to waste pressing on the urinary tract. He could severely damage his kidneys or die if you didn't catch that right away when he blocks. I am not an alarmist, but this is a very serious concern to me. I do think it would be better to know for sure what is causing the constipation, and not just assume without checking. Just my :2cents:.

This article suggests megacolon can result from a pelvic injury or nerve injury.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... 2&aid=3471

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Conten ... ourceID=42
nkn_1
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by nkn_1 »

We are now expressing his bladder twice a day and have started him on a raw food diet. So far he has already gone and it was very little (which is what I heard happens) fingers are crossed that this can be the start of something. I am going to get an xray and see what his colon looks like.

Thank you for the links and all the information. One of the best things to know is that there are other people dealing with these issues.
happyfeet
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by happyfeet »

how did the xray look? It does sound like it could be megacolon. pelvic injury will often lead to that condition. My cat also had an injury to her pelvis that narrowed her pelvic canal. The best thing I did was switch her from lactilose to Miralax. It's tasteless and odorless and draws less moisture from the body. There is a yahoo group dedicated to this issue. I am very glad I was able to get the tip about Miralax because lactilose was not working very well for my cat. Sounds like you are doing everything else perfectly. If megacolon is involved then he will need another medication to help with colon mobility. Poor little guy. Was good of you to take him in.
nkn_1
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by nkn_1 »

Have not gone with an xray yet. We switched him to raw food and the lactulose and so far he goes every two days. Little balls just fall out. He loves the food too. He used to take a few bites of the other then try and cover it. Now, he eats the whole thing and then goes to groom or the litter box. He is trying. Been two weeks like this. If we fall into the same full colon, it will be xray time and then see our options. This cat has better health care than all of us :) Could not imagine being with out him. I will check out the miralax as well. Thanks for the tip on it. Everyone here has been so helpful.
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CarolC
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by CarolC »

Image Happyfeet

Glad you are here!
nkn_1
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by nkn_1 »

Thanks CarloC
rubyraquelita
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Re: Constantly Constipated Cat.

Post by rubyraquelita »

Hi! My female cat Mimi has the same issue than Bruce. I think she is worse because she needs to be manually pee expressed otherwise she gets UTI. The constipation has became a serious issue in the last 6 monts. yesterday was the fourth timewe take her to the vet to get manually unplugged. She gets sedated, it is such a trauma. I did a glycerine enema, gave her lactulose, nothing, so we had to take her. Doctor used COCA COLA! For her enema. And it destroyed the hard a rock poop she had inside, it was just liquid poop coming out after. The issue is that she only eats fancy feast. In Peru that is one of the few cat canned foods we get. We have Whiskasas well. The issue with fancy feast is that is not moist or jellied enough. And also I see ghe second larger ingredient is liver. The doctor asked me when he was unplugging her: does she eat liver? I said no! Only fancy feast but after I got home and read the ingredients, she is getting liver there. Is this an issue?
He did mention megacolon. We will xray her. She can't eat dry food because is too dry. And the canned food is not good enough. What do you mean by raw food? Like raw fish? Raw chicken?
I wish I didnt have to feed her anymore so we didnt startthe issue again :( this is so sad and traumatic for Mimi.
Her stool is big compared to my other ("normal") larger cat.
Sometimes when poop is felt in her anus, I press and it comes out. But sometimes I can feel it inside, not yet into the anus but almost there, I press and I feel I am just clumping it all together! And it does not come! Then thr urine blockage occurs and our drama starts!
Can she eat the Hills for gastrointestinal issues? Canned or the dry food?
Thanks from a distressed mother :(
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