a seriously constipated kitty - Vaseline?

[anie]

And to answer your question - yes plain vaseline will help too. It is just not as palatable as laxatone, which is mainly vaseline anyway laxatone has some other things added, also flavors so cats eat it.
so before you get anything esle just take teaspoon of vaseline and spread on your kitty paw so she will lick it.



one more important thing I forgot to add about laxatone and vaseline - give to your cat between meals, not with meals, because it prevents absorption of some nutrients (since it covers stomach and intestines with greasy layer). I give it to my cats 3 hours after last meal and at least 3 hours before next meal.


Also, you may try to give her canned pumpkin (plain canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling). One spoon per day. It helps to prevent constipation. however it will not help that much with existing problem, but will help avoid future issues.
so first I would go for laxatone/vaseline.

sorry if my posts are chaotic, I am in hurry

[librarychick]

I would be much more likely to give my cats a bit of vegetable oil before I tried any vaseline!

The other thing to look at would be the food that you're feeding. If she's becoming constipated on it a switch to a different type of food might help. If you can do it I'd switch to all wet if you aren't already doing that, and I'd add water to it as well to make a sort of cat-food soup.

The mild UTI and the constipation both point to a possible dehydration issue for me. Adding more water seems simple, but it might help.

The other easy home remedy for constipation (not just the runs!) is canned pumpkin. If you can get her to eat it...

IMO before you start putting processed oil products into her body you should give the gentler remedies a shot first.

I hope she starts feeling better soon, poor kitty.

[anie]

Originally Posted by librarychick

IMO before you start putting processed oil products into her body you should give the gentler remedies a shot first.

I agree, vaseline/laxatone is not as natural as olive or any other kind of edible oils, but spirite says cat has been constipated from Thursday (at least, they took her to emergency vet Thursday so the constipation problem is probably going on for longer..). It's been at least 5 days since then, I think it's time for something stronger that will resolve the problem. And spirite says they tried other kinds of remedies already...

Laxatone/vaseline will just be pooped out. As I mentioned before it's important however to give it separately from meals since it may interfere with absorption of nutrients.

[spirite]

Thanks to all for the information and suggestions!

I tried laxatone (or one of those) in malt, chicken, and tuna flavors a few months ago. Celia licked a little the first time, then backed away every time I got near her after that. She's so small and fast that when I tried to smear some on her paw, she ended up with a tiny bit on her fur and I ended up with a goopy finger. I tried canned pumpkin too. And Metamucil. And I don't remember what else. I put a few drops of mineral oil in her food with some success, but I don't think it did very much. Since she never licks her plate clean, no matter how little food I put on it, it's hard to get a whole dose of anything in her.

She drinks quite a bit of water, and lately, she only wants wet food - maybe she senses that kibble is making her problem worse . I always mix a little warm water in (and sneak the Miralax in that way), so she should be getting plenty of fluids. Tonight she got a bath, and wouldn't let me dry her, so I'm sure she's pretty well hydrated. Of course, tomorrow she'll probably be throwing up hairballs all day. The vet says she is concentrating her urine very well (despite the slight UTI).

Well, I smeared a little Vaseline on her yesterday. Tried for the nose and ended up somewhere on her neck. Oops. She hated it. Have you ever seen a cat try to run away from herself? It's so funny. Anyway, maybe a coincidence, but she pooped very soon afterwards. I'm going to take tonight off; she's so stressed by her bath, and her hind legs are still wet. She looks so scrawny and miserable.

[MyBabiesDaddy]

How do you know your kitty was constipated? Just not finding as much poop in the litter box? Or was he unable to poop? How do you get them to drink enough fluid for the stool softener to work? One of my cats barely drinks!

[LaurulFeatherCat]

Do NOT use vaseline or mineral oil; they interfere with gut absorption and can cause the intestinal flora to die off and cause more problems than it solves. If you look hard enough, you can get unflavored, unsweetened psylium fiber (metamucil) which you can mix with her wet food. Make sure the psylium does not have an artificial sweetner in it; read the ingredient list. I used psylium for years for hairbal control when I was breeding Maine Coons and it worked wonders.

Does your cat like tuna? If so, instead of buying tuna in water, buy tuna in OIL. You can also take olive oil and grind up the tuna in a food processor and mix together to encourage oil intake to keep the stool lubricated. It really does work; I had a cat with diverticulitis and it was the easiest way for me to get oil into her diet.

[spirite]

Originally Posted by MyBabiesDaddy

How do you know your kitty was constipated? Just not finding as much poop in the litter box? Or was he unable to poop? How do you get them to drink enough fluid for the stool softener to work? One of my cats barely drinks!

Not finding poop in the litter box is definitely the big sign. She's usually not hungry when she hasn't pooped and can't even be tempted by treats. I sometimes hear scratching in the box, then go check and there's nothing there. If it goes on for 48 hours or more, she looks miserable and just wants to sleep.

She drinks plenty of fluids, but I dissolve the Miralax in a little warm water and mix it into her wet food. If you tried to put it in kitty's drinking water, it would take an awful lot for kitty to get enough. If your kitty likes tuna juice, you could add it to that. But you have to be sure to mix it really thoroughly, so no little granules are left.

Hope you don't have to deal with this problem!

[spirite]

Originally Posted by LaurulFeatherCat

Do NOT use vaseline or mineral oil; they interfere with gut absorption and can cause the intestinal flora to die off and cause more problems than it solves. If you look hard enough, you can get unflavored, unsweetened psylium fiber (metamucil) which you can mix with her wet food. Make sure the psylium does not have an artificial sweetner in it; read the ingredient list. I used psylium for years for hairbal control when I was breeding Maine Coons and it worked wonders.

Does your cat like tuna? If so, instead of buying tuna in water, buy tuna in OIL. You can also take olive oil and grind up the tuna in a food processor and mix together to encourage oil intake to keep the stool lubricated. It really does work; I had a cat with diverticulitis and it was the easiest way for me to get oil into her diet.

Wow, thanks. I read that Vaseline was better at getting stool to pass - something about it going all the way to the end of the colon. She does like tuna juice, so I'll try tuna in oil. She wouldn't go near Metamucil; does psyllium by itself have any smell or texture that she might detect? She's super clever when it comes to sensing something that's different about her food.

For the past 3 days or so, I've gotten the Miralax into her wet food, and she's been pooping - regularly, apparently. I found a little poo under the coffee table a few days ago. Then yesterday, I found 2 more there. Today, poo in the litter box, which means it's not painful for her to poop. So maybe I won't need anything else. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[spirite]

Originally Posted by anie

Also, my wet recommended this food supplement for my cats:

Amazon.com: NaturVet Digestive Enzymes with Prebiotics & Probiotics - 4 oz: Pet Supplies

he says it many cases it really helps to keep gastrointestinal issues at bay for cats (and dogs), especially older cats with constipation and/or diarrhea.

I just ordered it for my cats but haven't tested yet. It has great review all over internet though.


good luck!

Anie, I forgot to respond to this. I'd just ordered Feline Digestive Upsets by HomeoPet, which came today. It had better work, because it was $15 for a tiny bottle (15 ml. - 1/2 oz.)! If it doesn't, I'll try the NaturVet.

I've been giving my other kitty Vet's Best Hairball Relief Digestive Aid, and I just noticed that the ingredients include psyllium seed and slippery elm. It also has marshmallow. (?) But the constipated kitty won't touch it.

[anie]

Originally Posted by LaurulFeatherCat

Do NOT use vaseline or mineral oil; they interfere with gut absorption

yes, it's true that vaseline/vaseline-based products and mineral oil interfere with absorption of food in intestines, but isn't that the reason those products should be given on empty stomach? then the chances of interfering with absorption are very low (since there is no food in stomach and vaseline/mineral oil itself does not absorb through intestinal walls) and vaseline/mineral oil will just coat the hair (if the problem is a hairball) or the poop (in case of constipation) and get out from the other end of cat completely undigested. then there is no problem.

of course all those vaseline based products shouldn't be overused if not needed. and if used, then given few hours after and before meal.


and thanks for info about psylium, will look for it!