Constipation problem....desperate for help

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M S - 15 Nov 2004 06:26 GMT

hello,
i'll try to make this short. my cat fred is 8 yrs old. he's had
constipation before but he always seemed to be ok after some laxa-stat.
this time he isnt going and i dont know what to do. i took him to a vet
and the vet took xrays(he's backed up with stool),gave him some
fluids(he was somewhat dehydrated),and sent him home with some laculose
and ordered a drug called cisapride?(which i started giving him a few
days later)... he passed just a few inches of stool at the vet and
another few inches at home. i took him back for a follow up visit to the
vets 2 days later and she felt him and said he seems to be ALOT
better(he seemed somewhat better). i was asked to bring him back a week
later for another follow-up visit and by then he seemed to be getting
lathargic and listless again but not real bad. the vet felt him out
again and said he felt like he was backed up as bad as the first time i
brought him in. she talked with me awhile and ended up giving me more
laculose and ordering more cisapride...which is breaking me financially
not to mention the almost $700 ive been giving her. she then said she'd
like to see him in a couple more weeks (as if he was doing well!). im
wondering if i should find a new vet since it seems like she doesnt know
very much of what she is doing. is there any advice anyone can give me
on how to treat him at home to pass the stool. i will go back to the vet
for future treatment on how to keep him clear but for now i just want to
help him out without spending my whole life savings to get him cleared
out. any help is greatly appreciated.

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MaryL - 15 Nov 2004 10:07 GMT

> hello,
> i'll try to make this short. my cat fred is 8 yrs old. he's had
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> help him out without spending my whole life savings to get him cleared
> out. any help is greatly appreciated.

I would be very concerned about this, and I do think it's time to try
another vet. However, I think you should also make sure that you are
carefully following instructions for the medication you were given. For
example, you said you started giving him the cisapride (something I am not
familiar with) "a few days later." This sounds like you need to be much
more aggressive in taking care of the problem. I haven't had much
experience with constipation in my cats, but many people have found it
helpful to add canned pumpkin (*not* pumpkin pie mix with spices) to canned
cat food. You might also try a small amount of olive oil. There are a
variety of supplements available for furballs that also serve as laxatives,
such as Laxatone. Have you tried any of them?

What type of tests did the vet run? You mentioned X-rays and manual
palpation, but there surely must have been other procedures for $700.00. If
not, run -- don't walk -- to another vet!

What food are you using? If you are using dry food, *immediately* switch to
good-quality canned food. That will help with the dehydration problem. I
use Wellness canned and Felidae canned (which you can order from
www.petfooddirect.com, if it is not available near you). I think it's
essential to shift from dry to canned food ASAP and would even favor using
supermarket canned food for a few days if you have to place a telephone or
online order (as I do). I stress the need to acting quickly because Fred
has apparently been constipated for some time, and you will have a very
serious problem to deal with if he becomes impacted.

MaryL

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Diana - 15 Nov 2004 17:11 GMT

MaryL at carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER wrote on11/15/04 5:07 AM:

> I would be very concerned about this, and I do think it's time to try
> another vet. However, I think you should also make sure that you are
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
> MaryL

I agree with MaryL. Would just add that many cats will eat canned pumpkin
straight, and if Fred happens to like it that way it might work faster. If
he doesn't care for it, do try mixing it into canned cat food or even mixing
it with a little butter. Let him have two tablespoons twice a day until he
gets cleaned out, then reduce to one tablespoon per day for maintenance.

One-eighth teaspoon of Metamucil (or less expensive psyllium hydrophilic
mucilloid such as Wal-Mart's Equate) mixed with wet cat food once or twice a
day is good, too. After he gets to functioning more normally, reduce to a
single dose every few days.

Oil-bases products, such as hairball remedies, do help the fecal matter
slide through more easily, but they don't bring water into the colon as do
the pumpkin and the Metamucil, so are not very effective for constipation
all by themselves.

Do feed him canned food, as MaryL advised. Serve it twice a day. If he's a
nibbler who won't consume his day's caloric needs in two feedings, keep a
bowl of dry food available as well. Get hairball control formula dry food,
which has more fiber.

To hydrate him more, see if he will drink the liquid from water-packed
canned tuna, mixed with an equal amount of plain water. DON'T give him the
tuna, eat it yourself.

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Diana

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Ashley - 15 Nov 2004 19:44 GMT

> MaryL at carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER wrote on11/15/04 5:07 AM:

> To hydrate him more, see if he will drink the liquid from water-packed
> canned tuna, mixed with an equal amount of plain water. DON'T give him
> the
> tuna, eat it yourself.

Also, I find my cats drink *much* more when they have lactose-free pet milk,
which they have about 3-4 days a fortnight. They drink it because they love
the taste, not just because they need to drink, so it's a very effective way
of getting more moisture into them.

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Amy Gray - 15 Nov 2004 17:00 GMT

>hello,
>i'll try to make this short. my cat fred is 8 yrs old. he's had
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>help him out without spending my whole life savings to get him cleared
>out. any help is greatly appreciated.

I would find a new vet. (maybe a specialist in digestive problems?)

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Erik - 17 Nov 2004 14:33 GMT

what was the vets diagnosis for the cause of this obstipation?
now for the one and only time, I'll give a free elektronic consult: let's
find out the cause of the constipation:
the total differential diagnosis of obstipation is like this:
a.. nutritional: hair, bones, fibres,...
b.. orthopedic: pelvic fracture, trauma back legs or back
c.. obstructive: rectal stricture, tumour (in cats mostly lymfosarcoma),
hernia perinealis
d.. "common": obesity, not enough movement...
e.. drugs: opiates, bariumsulphate, sucralphate,...
f.. neurologic: parese, neurological trauma of nervus pelvis, megacolon
(colon on RX is then about 5cm)
the cat top 3 of causes (from this list) is
1.. nutritional/alimentary : yep: too much hair, mostly seen in begin
winter or begin summer
2.. obstructive: lymfosarcoma
3.. neurologic: megacolon
now we need to select the real cause of course, this we'll do by treating
the cat:
1.. a severe nutritional constipation is normally treated by
lactulose/cisapride (as your vet did right) the dose of lactulose (liquid)
is 1 - 3 ml/kg 2x/day orally ; cisapride is given also orally at a dose of
2,5mg / cat 2-3x/day effect of cisapride is only seen after 1 - 2 weeks!
2.. when the treatment of above doesn's work, your cat has a constipation
from another cause, then the prognosis is very bad, so the best you can do
is to put your cat asleep
more possible treatments of alimentary constipation (although the above is
really the best method) are:
1.. emollientia: like dioctylnatriumsulfosuccinate 50mg 1x/day po or
dioctylcalciumsulfosuccinate 100mg 1x/day po
2.. lubricantia: liquid paraffinum 5-25ml 2x/day or paste: 1-5ml given
rectally
3.. bulk-forming laxantia: (like lactulose), psyllium powder 1-3 teaspoons
in feed 1-2x/day
4.. cathartica (= irritating laxantia): bisacodyl tabl. 5-10mg / day po or
rectal 5mg/day (in 1x)

so, I hope I could help you out and that your cat suffers from an alimentary
form of constipation
best wishes for good luck !

Erik De Groef, veterinarian, Belgium (Europe) (-> that's why I didn't give
product-names but working elements)

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Erik - 17 Nov 2004 15:03 GMT

what was the vets diagnosis for the cause of this obstipation?

now for the one and only time, I'll give a free elektronic consult: let's
find out the cause of the constipation:

the total differential diagnosis of obstipation is like this:

a.. nutritional: hair, bones, fibres,...
b.. orthopedic: pelvic fracture, trauma back legs or back
c.. obstructive: rectal stricture, tumour (in cats mostly lymfosarcoma),
hernia perinealis
d.. "common": obesity, not enough movement...
e.. drugs: opiates, bariumsulphate, sucralphate,...
f.. neurologic: parese, neurological trauma of nervus pelvis, megacolon
(colon on RX is then about 5cm)
the cat top 3 of causes (from this list) is

1.. nutritional/alimentary : yep: too much hair, mostly seen in begin
winter or begin summer
2.. obstructive: lymfosarcoma
3.. neurologic: megacolon
now we need to select the real cause of course, this we'll do by treating
the cat:

1.. a severe nutritional constipation is normally treated by
lactulose/cisapride (as your vet did right) the dose of lactulose (liquid)
is 1 - 3 ml/kg 2x/day orally ; cisapride is given also orally at a dose of
2,5mg / cat 2-3x/day effect of cisapride is only seen after 1 - 2 weeks!
2.. when the treatment of above doesn's work, your cat has a constipation
from another cause, then the prognosis is very bad, so the best you can do
is to put your cat asleep
more possible treatments of alimentary constipation (although the above is
really the best method) are:

1.. emollientia: like dioctylnatriumsulfosuccinate 50mg 1x/day po or
dioctylcalciumsulfosuccinate 100mg 1x/day po
2.. lubricantia: liquid paraffinum 5-25ml 2x/day or paste: 1-5ml given
rectally
3.. bulk-forming laxantia: (like lactulose), psyllium powder 1-3 teaspoons
in feed 1-2x/day
4.. cathartica (= irritating laxantia): bisacodyl tabl. 5-10mg / day po or
rectal 5mg/day (in 1x)

so, I hope I could help you out and that your cat suffers from an alimentary
form of constipation

best wishes for good luck !

Erik De Groef, veterinarian, Belgium (Europe) (-> that's why I didn't give
product-names but working elements)

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L. Kuller - 18 Nov 2004 20:24 GMT

My cat had a similar problem, switiching her to eukanuba low residue food
helped and she hasn't had an episode in almost a year now. Also did the
vet do an enema to clear out the compacted stool in the first place? My
vet did it for my cat and she started eating the next day.

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