Constipation (but not the usual kind)

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

"Sharon Bond" wrote in message
om...
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
Can't your vet prescribe a stool softener for when this happens?

"Sharon Bond" wrote in message
om...
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
Can't your vet prescribe a stool softener for when this happens?

"Sharon Bond" wrote in message
om...
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
Can't your vet prescribe a stool softener for when this happens?

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 12:14:30 -0700, Sharon Bond wrote:

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


How about small doses of mineral oil on a daily basis?

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 12:14:30 -0700, Sharon Bond wrote:

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


How about small doses of mineral oil on a daily basis?

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 12:14:30 -0700, Sharon Bond wrote:

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


How about small doses of mineral oil on a daily basis?

In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.health+behav",
(Sharon Bond) artfully composed this
message within
. com on 30 Aug
2004:

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)

Sad to say, this sounds like my Marley toward the end of his
megacolon. Chronic constipation caused scar tissue, or strictures,
in his rectum/anus. For megacolon, in addition to pumpkin in his
food, he was prescribed lactulose and cysapride(SP), which I
couldn't get into him at all. The vet could actually feel the scar
tissue when doing a "manual enema" and referred us to a surgeon who
recommended surgery to cut the scar tissue in order to make a
larger opening. Unfortunately they also said he needed removal of
some of his colon to treat the megacolon and the outcome didn't
sound good so I chose to not treat but he couldn't live that way so
he was put down. I hope your outcome isn't as serious.

--
Cheryl

In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.health+behav",
(Sharon Bond) artfully composed this
message within
. com on 30 Aug
2004:

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)

Sad to say, this sounds like my Marley toward the end of his
megacolon. Chronic constipation caused scar tissue, or strictures,
in his rectum/anus. For megacolon, in addition to pumpkin in his
food, he was prescribed lactulose and cysapride(SP), which I
couldn't get into him at all. The vet could actually feel the scar
tissue when doing a "manual enema" and referred us to a surgeon who
recommended surgery to cut the scar tissue in order to make a
larger opening. Unfortunately they also said he needed removal of
some of his colon to treat the megacolon and the outcome didn't
sound good so I chose to not treat but he couldn't live that way so
he was put down. I hope your outcome isn't as serious.

--
Cheryl

In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.health+behav",
(Sharon Bond) artfully composed this
message within
. com on 30 Aug
2004:

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)

Sad to say, this sounds like my Marley toward the end of his
megacolon. Chronic constipation caused scar tissue, or strictures,
in his rectum/anus. For megacolon, in addition to pumpkin in his
food, he was prescribed lactulose and cysapride(SP), which I
couldn't get into him at all. The vet could actually feel the scar
tissue when doing a "manual enema" and referred us to a surgeon who
recommended surgery to cut the scar tissue in order to make a
larger opening. Unfortunately they also said he needed removal of
some of his colon to treat the megacolon and the outcome didn't
sound good so I chose to not treat but he couldn't live that way so
he was put down. I hope your outcome isn't as serious.

--
Cheryl