Cat Constipation - Causes, Symptoms & Treatment of Constipation with Dr. Jean Hofve
Originally published on Jul 11, 2012God love Dr. Jean for taking the time to talk to Floppycats about Cat Constipation.Dr. Jean’s book, The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care: An Illustrated Handbook, will teach you more about the holistic approach to cat health and care.Dr. Jean also covers Constipation in Cats on her site as well.We've now done several interviews with Dr. Jean, feel free to check any of them out:- Cat Allergies with Dr. Jean
- Food Allergies in Cats with Dr. Jean Hofve
- Litterbox Questions with Dr. Jean
- Obesity in Cats with Dr. Jean Hofve, DVM
- Kidney Disease in Cats with Dr. Jean Hofve, DVM
- Cat Conjunctivitis and Cat Herpes with Dr. Jean Hofve
- Cat Constipation – Causes, Symptoms & Treatment of Constipation with Dr. Jean Hofve
- Feline Hyperthyroidism Interview with Dr. Jean Hofve of Little Big Cat
Interview with Dr. Jean Hofve about Cat Constipation - Causes, Symptoms & Treatment of Constipation with Dr. Jean Hofve:
You can Listen to the Podcast of Cat Constipation - Causes, Symptoms & Treatment of Constipation with Dr. Jean Hofve or read the interview below.Or listen to it on YouTube:[youtube]https://youtu.be/c_87nBIdZqo[/youtube]
A normal stool is Type 4; anything below that is moving toward constipation.
Bill Young
Dear Dr. Jenny. My cat is 6 years old. One week ago, I found the cat was constipation, occasionally one drop of liquid. But urinated normally. Meanwhile it eats a little food and water. I took my cat to pet hospital, doctors couldn't find a clear reason. They thought the anus was slimmer because my cat's anus is inflamed frequently. They give me Lactulose and let me to feed the cat twice one day. But no any improvement. Everyday I use cotton swab to clear it. The cat will shout sometimes. Could you give me some experience on curing these cases? Thanks in advance.
Jenny
What does your cat eat? If he eats dry food it's probably a dehydration issue - please read catinfo.org for more info on what is a proper diet for felines.
DeidreC
The other day when I got the email about this new article, I thought ... Constipation??? I've never had a constipated cat! I went about my work week and didn't give it another thought until early yesterday when I noticed my 1 yr old female, Seal Point scooting across the floor and going repeatedly in and out of the litter box. I knew that it wasn't a urine issue since I could tell that she had peed. I reluctantly left for work (new job), but left behind a credit card with lots of room and strict instructions to my adult daughter to watch her like a hawk and get ready to make a run to the vet if anything of an urgent nature developed while I was gone. I called the vet and made an appointment for that evening and they agreed to see her sooner if we needed to. My girl seems normal - is eating, not crying or acting strangely. So, off to the vet we go. He orders X-rays and we can see that she ate, and has poop in her. No temperature, vomiting. Nothing! So, he gives me a tube of Laxation and tells me come in again or call if it doesn't resolve by tomorrow. This morning, same deal ... she ate a bit and has been in and out of the litter box with no results a few times. I decided to check Floppycats website because I know that Jenny will have covered it at one time or another and here we are! Thank you, Jenny. This article couldn't be more timely. I'm going to read it now. I guess I should have done that the other day when it arrived! I'll keep you updated with our progress..
DeidreC
That was supposed to say "a tube of Laxatone".
Jenny
How is she doing now? What does she eat?
DeidreC
Hi Jenny, she is doing better now. She pooped a little earlier after I gave her a syringe of mineral oil this morning, since I didn't, at that time, have any vaseline in the house. Generally, she eats a mix of different brands of grain free canned food and freeze dried Primal Raw. The only thing that I can think of that might of caused it was some freeze dried chicken treats in a different brand than she usually eats, which she ate a few nights ago. We were so perplexed because we never have any digestive issues, but this girl hadn't poked since early Thursday, I think. She doesn't eat much to start with, she's a petite 9.4 lbs, so her poops are pretty small in general. It was easy to look in the litter boxes to see only those of my male, who is 18 lbs. I am going to continue to monitor this and I won't hesitate to give her vaseline if needed. The mineral oil seemed to work very well, too.
Big thanks to both you and Dr Hofve for always being there with info which is clearly on the money, and timely!!
Jenny
Cool, glad she finally went. Yay for mineral oil!
Patti Johnson
Wow! Thanks for re-posting this. Fascinating info, as usual, when you talk with Dr. Jean. 🙂 <3
Big hugs!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3
Teresa Reid
Great info and and am still giving my kitties 1/2 can water along with their meal. Little Gracie is such a messy eater, have to put a sweater on her because she was getting it all down her chest and it was a greasy mess. The sweater (made from a human sweater sleeve, was a great help and now no more greasy chest. She loves wearing it (kinda like a thundershirt). My vet also uses Vaseline to coat their stomach when they have a hairball and I use Petromalt, Laxatone with great results when they are shedding like mad. Great interview Jenny and Dr. Holve. Thanks for taking so much time to inform us.
Patti Johnson
And...Miss Gracie's Eatin' Sweater is adorable! I've seen it on Teresa's lovely "Heart of Grace" Facebook page. 🙂 <3
Dementia Boy
The third best thing I ever did for Jolie was switch her to an all wet diet.
The second best thing I ever did for Jolie was switch her to an almost all raw diet.
The first best thing I ever did for Jolie was give her sub-q fluids, when no vet had ever suggested them for IBD w/ulcerative colitis and "idiopathic" (grrr...) vomiting.
Teresa
What a great interview/article! Thanks so much Jenny and Dr. Holve for the abundance of good info.
In the 30 years I've had cats, have learned much about these problems by experience am sad to say. Am so thankful that others can now learn here on Floppycats from Jenny and Dr. Holve and have a lot of these problems prevented, especially by not putting kitties on a dry food diet. When I first had cats when I was in my 20's, didn't have any info like what is offered today, and saw the results of a dry food diet in my older cats who almost all succumbed to renal failure.
Also, had a pet store cat, Sammie, who was my daughter's birthday present from her Dad. Oh the horrors of inbreeding -he had many deformities like a huge overbite, hyperextended feet which caused him to walk on his heels and shuffle along stiffly, he was always just "there" mentally, and lastly, the dreaded megacolon. Was able to manage it well by putting him on a wet food diet only together with daily lactulose (a powerful laxative), propulsid (a med that makes the intestines move that had to be specifically made by a compounding pharmacy for his small weight and size, and pumpkin which is a great fiber and he loved it. He had a good life despite his problems and lived to age 14. So, even though it was a lot of work and always had to monitor his BM's closely, it was totally workable and so worth it. He was a sweet, humble little soul who was a testament to humans on how to live every day to the fullest no matter what trials you have. Sadly, he passed away in 2012.
Now, because of all the new info out there just like what Jenny and Dr. Holve are saying, our kitties are able to have a better chance at a healthier life. They eat wet food only that is supplemented with 1/2 can of water in their food at each feeding. They seem to love sipping up the juice and drink that first before they even bite into their food. Also, they have a circulating water fountain. Thanks so much Jenny and Dr. Holve for helping educate us in better ways to keep our precious kitties healthy and happy.
Jenny
Thanks, Teresa!
Michelle
You know, for years my cat's chronic constipation was diagnosed as mega colon, and it wasn't until he required steroids for another condition that it was determined that he had IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease). I'm talking about cat specialists, ER Vets, regular Vets, you name it. Nobody even considered the fact that it might be IBD with constipation, instead of diarrhea.
I would strongly encourage anyone with a cat that has chronic constipation to see an internal medicine Veterinary specialist.
Jenny
Michelle - what was his diet?
Linda
Hello. This article is by far the most informative I have read regarding constipation. I have the most wonderful kitty.......who suffers from constipation. He is 13 and has fought the battle for 10 years. Today he is on day 5 of not defecating. I am trying Miralax. I will try Petromalt again. We are at our wits end.
Jenny
Hi Linda, Sorry to hear about that for you and for your kitty! Is he on dry food?
Teresa
Hi Linda,
Yes, I understand what you are going through and if you read my post below, you will see what I mean. Sounds like he may have megacolon where the colon itself does not have the "waves" that usual intestines have that move the contents of the bowel along. Would definitely take him in to the vet and not wait any longer as the weekend is here and he could become dangerously impacted, not to mention all the pain he must be in. They can give him an enema and get the impacted, hard stool out.
The Miralax is good to bulk up the contents, but if the colon is not moving (peristalsis), it will just sit there and become hard.
Once the impaction is out, he will probably need to be on a special diet of wet food and absolutely no dry food, together with meds that help the gut to actually have strong pulsations to move the contents along. One of those meds is Propulsid that you get from the vet or a compounding pharmacy according to his weight and size. Also, they might give him lactulose (a really strong laxative). These are just some of the things that can be done, so it is not hopelss and I know you are so frustrated and upset, but there is hope to get him back on track and be well again. Also, you can add a little (maybe a tsp) of pure pumpkin puree to his wet food together with a little water. Just make sure it is the pure pumpkin and not the pumpkin pie mix. Those are two very different things. This does the same thing as Miralax but in a more natural form and my kitty loved the taste. So, the first thing is to get him unstopped immediately and then you have these options that are above. It is a very workable situation, but you just have to stay on top of it and monitor his output (poo) for consistency and frequency like you are doing already. Best wishes and please let me know if you need more info. My kitty lived for 14 years and had a very good and normal life on this regimen despite his other deformities and problems, so please know it will be OK, you just need to get him past this blockage right now and then you can manage it to prevent this from happening again. Teresa♥
Nan
Magnesium gluconate powder is OK to give if a cat is constipated. It's often hard to find, but most pharmacy's can order it in powder form for you. Powered form is always better as it has less or no additives in it.
Geo
Excellent article-- very informative! The Stool chart made me giggle I admit, but it is so helpful to know what is normal and what to do if things aren't coming out right.
Jessy Walker
My cat Squid - who is a tortie point Siamese and about 15lbs - got real constipated a while ago. Poor girl was just trying and trying to poop and maybe a little nugget would come out, and I could tell she didn't feel well At All. She loves her dry food and eats like a little piggy. But I gave her wet food for a couple days and some big blobs of Petromalt a couple times a day and now she's back to pooping normally. And today I managed to finally brush her! She doesn't let me normally - she hates it - so I scruffed her and she just went limp. After a few minutes I think she even started to like/appreciate it. I talked to her nicely and went to town with the Furminator and HOLY COW you should have seen the amount of fur that came off her!! Unbelievable. It was ridiculous. I figure that's gotta help her insides - as well as my house and clothes! So that and the Petromalt and some wetfood everyday and she should be good to go 😉 (BTW, Lucy *loves* being brushed 😉 )