We've been having some problems with constipation in our kitty Miles
but it's not the usual kind of constipation. What's happening is that
the matter is going through, but the anal opening is somehow so
constricted that it's all backing up between the pubic bone and the
opening and not getting eliminated. Eventually it gets to the point
where she stops eating anything, and you can just see the whole area
swelling up. We can tell when it's starting because she starts to hold
her tail up.

Miles was diagnosed with the beginnings of chronic renal disease in
December 2001. She went from around 10 pounds weight to around 7 over
a period of 3 months, which was our clue to get her to a vet. We
switched her over to the Eukanuba multi-stage renal dry food, and
between that and occasional fluid treatments, she was doing fabulous.
Until this past Christmas, when she developed a mast-cell tumor on her
head. She came through the surgery for that just fine, but then
developed a badly infected hair/whisker follicle on her right cheek
during recovery from the surgery. We also had that one removed because
we were afraid it was another tumor, but biopsy said it was an
infection. Because of the location of the second surgery, she just
didn't want to eat anything (it *hurt*) and we switched her back to
regular canned food (you know, the kind that tastes good :-) just to
get her to eat. Since then, we haven't been able to get her back on
the dry food completely. The other issue is that she has some
arthritis in her spine, so we've been giving her glucosamine sprinkled
on her food and it goes better on the canned food. She's around 14/15
years old.

The usual suggestions for adding fiber and giving extra fluids don't
really help in Miles' situation - the stuff is moving through her
system just fine, only getting stuck because the end of the pipe seems
to be welded shut. So about every few weeks we call in our vet, who
does a poop-ectomy. Then she'll be fine and eliminating just fine
until something causes the backup to start again. So if anyone has
been through this and has suggestions for getting it completely
through, I'd really appreciate hearing them (already trying in
different combinations: crushed bran flakes, pumpkin, and metamucil)

Sharon