Ugh - End of our rope with constipation...

Hi,

We are new to this group, and from what we've read it's a great
forum... Nice to see so many like-minded people!

My Miss worked at a vet clinic until recently and this problem predates
her leaving - we've never had success with it through the vet and we're
hoping to find a second opinion here.

We have a male, neutered and declawed. 5 years old and king of the
roost.

Well, hestarted having trouble with #2 a while back. An enema and a
switch to soft food seemed to solve the problem.

Then he needed another trip to the Doc and that was followed by the
addition of 2 doses of Lactalose to his diet. Worked for a while.

Then another trip was required... A dose of Cisapride was added to the
diet twice daily along WITH the Lactalose.

This guy is the envy of the other cats as he munches on MediCal Weight
Control soft cans to which his medicine is added.

Before my girlfriend finished at the vet, they gave her the materials
to give enemas at home. We gave one two Saturdays ago, noticed a bowel
movement that day and the following Tuesday, but that was it.

Another enema followed the next Saturday, and we think he went #2 again
on Tuesday or Wednesday... But now we're back to Saturday again and I
know what that brings....

With these two doses of two medicines every day as well as a soft food
diet - what are we to do???

Help is appreciated... Our two other beasts are healthy and probably
quite happy they're not held down on the bathroom floor once a week!


Thank you,

C&L

What kind of litter are you using? This is very important.

Hope you are not using clumping silicone clay....if so...switch
immediately...I would recommend a natural litter such as feline Pine
clumping (looks like a bag of sawdust) or even the pellets...could be
that kitty is injesting some of the clay litter when
grooming....Clumping litter can cause problems for some cats - maybe
your kitty is injesting the litter?

What kind of dry food are you using, I really like Nutro Natural
choices -


Us wrote:
Hi,

We are new to this group, and from what we've read it's a great
forum... Nice to see so many like-minded people!

My Miss worked at a vet clinic until recently and this problem predates
her leaving - we've never had success with it through the vet and we're
hoping to find a second opinion here.

We have a male, neutered and declawed. 5 years old and king of the
roost.

Well, hestarted having trouble with #2 a while back. An enema and a
switch to soft food seemed to solve the problem.

Then he needed another trip to the Doc and that was followed by the
addition of 2 doses of Lactalose to his diet. Worked for a while.

Then another trip was required... A dose of Cisapride was added to the
diet twice daily along WITH the Lactalose.

This guy is the envy of the other cats as he munches on MediCal Weight
Control soft cans to which his medicine is added.

Before my girlfriend finished at the vet, they gave her the materials
to give enemas at home. We gave one two Saturdays ago, noticed a bowel
movement that day and the following Tuesday, but that was it.

Another enema followed the next Saturday, and we think he went #2 again
on Tuesday or Wednesday... But now we're back to Saturday again and I
know what that brings....

With these two doses of two medicines every day as well as a soft food
diet - what are we to do???

Help is appreciated... Our two other beasts are healthy and probably
quite happy they're not held down on the bathroom floor once a week!


Thank you,

C&L

What kind of litter are you using? This is very important.

Hope you are not using clumping silicone clay....if so...switch
immediately...I would recommend a natural litter such as feline Pine
clumping (looks like a bag of sawdust) or even the pellets...could be
that kitty is injesting some of the clay litter when
grooming....Clumping litter can cause problems for some cats - maybe
your kitty is injesting the litter?

What kind of dry food are you using, I really like Nutro Natural
choices -


Us wrote:
Hi,

We are new to this group, and from what we've read it's a great
forum... Nice to see so many like-minded people!

My Miss worked at a vet clinic until recently and this problem predates
her leaving - we've never had success with it through the vet and we're
hoping to find a second opinion here.

We have a male, neutered and declawed. 5 years old and king of the
roost.

Well, hestarted having trouble with #2 a while back. An enema and a
switch to soft food seemed to solve the problem.

Then he needed another trip to the Doc and that was followed by the
addition of 2 doses of Lactalose to his diet. Worked for a while.

Then another trip was required... A dose of Cisapride was added to the
diet twice daily along WITH the Lactalose.

This guy is the envy of the other cats as he munches on MediCal Weight
Control soft cans to which his medicine is added.

Before my girlfriend finished at the vet, they gave her the materials
to give enemas at home. We gave one two Saturdays ago, noticed a bowel
movement that day and the following Tuesday, but that was it.

Another enema followed the next Saturday, and we think he went #2 again
on Tuesday or Wednesday... But now we're back to Saturday again and I
know what that brings....

With these two doses of two medicines every day as well as a soft food
diet - what are we to do???

Help is appreciated... Our two other beasts are healthy and probably
quite happy they're not held down on the bathroom floor once a week!


Thank you,

C&L

Using canned food is helpful. Do you groom him? The more hair he
injests, the more constipated he will become. Cats are like people -
some have no constipation and some do. Also, I have great success with
Temptations Treats for Hairballs. Give 5-8 per day and they do the
trick. They come in little foil packs at Pet Smart, etc. and some
grocery stores.

Also some cats just don't go daily. Some may be every other day. But
with canned food, keeping him groomed and giving him daily Temptations
[my cat loves them] you should be constipation free. Let us know.


Us wrote:
Hi,

We are new to this group, and from what we've read it's a great
forum... Nice to see so many like-minded people!

My Miss worked at a vet clinic until recently and this problem predates
her leaving - we've never had success with it through the vet and we're
hoping to find a second opinion here.

We have a male, neutered and declawed. 5 years old and king of the
roost.

Well, hestarted having trouble with #2 a while back. An enema and a
switch to soft food seemed to solve the problem.

Then he needed another trip to the Doc and that was followed by the
addition of 2 doses of Lactalose to his diet. Worked for a while.

Then another trip was required... A dose of Cisapride was added to the
diet twice daily along WITH the Lactalose.

This guy is the envy of the other cats as he munches on MediCal Weight
Control soft cans to which his medicine is added.

Before my girlfriend finished at the vet, they gave her the materials
to give enemas at home. We gave one two Saturdays ago, noticed a bowel
movement that day and the following Tuesday, but that was it.

Another enema followed the next Saturday, and we think he went #2 again
on Tuesday or Wednesday... But now we're back to Saturday again and I
know what that brings....

With these two doses of two medicines every day as well as a soft food
diet - what are we to do???

Help is appreciated... Our two other beasts are healthy and probably
quite happy they're not held down on the bathroom floor once a week!


Thank you,

C&L

I personally had a constipation problem until I added more fiber to my
diet. Maybe your cat needs more fiber. You might try canned pumpkin if
he will eat it.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

"Us" wrote in message
oups.com
[S]
|| With these two doses of two medicines every day as well as a soft
|| food diet - what are we to do???
||
|| Help is appreciated... Our two other beasts are healthy and probably
|| quite happy they're not held down on the bathroom floor once a week!

*My guess is* a lack of lactobacillus acidophilus (often killed off by
anti-biotic treatment)

I'm told Yakult is not available in USa?
The advantage of using Yakult is that it has hundreds of millions of *live*
bacteria which will instantly replenish the good bacteria which go to work
ensuring that a cat's digestive system is then working efficiently and
effectively. Which means the cat will have a shine on it's number two :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakult
This is actually for humans possibly sold under different name in your
supermarket fridge 100 mls (Tablespoon) is more than enough It is cheap
(single bottle/dose under a dollar) but effective and cannot harm your cat,
Will only do good (once done then followed by normal diet with fresh water
available should not need repeating unless your cat or cats start showing
symptoms of bad breath (check teeth) or constipation

Or try home made recipe (next is will cats eat it?)
1. 1 can of evaporated milk
2. ½ can of water
3. 1 small container of plain yogurt, make sure it's an active culture and
use only plain yogurt.
4. 2 egg yokes (not the whites)
5. 1 small jar of strained baby food chicken meat.
Blend this all and refrigerate. It lasts about a week in the refrigerator

An Infomercial about a lactobacillus acidophilus product to give you the
idea
http://www.wellvet.com/spogogenes.html Not associated with this product
and there are probably a number of similar types

--
Petzl
--
Check your computers security (free)
http://security.symantec.com

On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 10:17:00 +1000, Petzl wrote:

"Us" wrote in message
oups.com
[S]
|| With these two doses of two medicines every day as well as a soft
|| food diet - what are we to do???
||
|| Help is appreciated... Our two other beasts are healthy and probably
|| quite happy they're not held down on the bathroom floor once a week!

*My guess is* a lack of lactobacillus acidophilus (often killed off by
anti-biotic treatment)

I'm told Yakult is not available in USa?
The advantage of using Yakult is that it has hundreds of millions of *live*
bacteria which will instantly replenish the good bacteria which go to work
ensuring that a cat's digestive system is then working efficiently and
effectively. Which means the cat will have a shine on it's number two :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakult
This is actually for humans possibly sold under different name in your
supermarket fridge 100 mls (Tablespoon) is more than enough It is cheap
(single bottle/dose under a dollar) but effective and cannot harm your cat,
Will only do good (once done then followed by normal diet with fresh water
available should not need repeating unless your cat or cats start showing
symptoms of bad breath (check teeth) or constipation

Or try home made recipe (next is will cats eat it?)
1. 1 can of evaporated milk
2. ½ can of water
3. 1 small container of plain yogurt, make sure it's an active culture and
use only plain yogurt.
4. 2 egg yokes (not the whites)

It's not safe to use raw eggs in the United States, particularly the
yolks. Even if the shell is intact, there is a risk of salmonella
contamination.

5. 1 small jar of strained baby food chicken meat.
Blend this all and refrigerate. It lasts about a week in the refrigerator

An Infomercial about a lactobacillus acidophilus product to give you the
idea
http://www.wellvet.com/spogogenes.html Not associated with this product
and there are probably a number of similar types

--
Petzl

"Ann" wrote in message
news || On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 10:17:00 +1000, Petzl wrote:
||
||| "Us" wrote in message
||| oups.com
||| [S]
||||| With these two doses of two medicines every day as well as a soft
||||| food diet - what are we to do???
|||||
||||| Help is appreciated... Our two other beasts are healthy and
||||| probably quite happy they're not held down on the bathroom floor
||||| once a week!
|||
||| *My guess is* a lack of lactobacillus acidophilus (often killed off
||| by anti-biotic treatment)
|||
||| I'm told Yakult is not available in USa?
||| The advantage of using Yakult is that it has hundreds of millions
||| of *live* bacteria which will instantly replenish the good bacteria
||| which go to work ensuring that a cat's digestive system is then
||| working efficiently and effectively. Which means the cat will have
||| a shine on it's number two :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakult
||| This is actually for humans possibly sold under different name in
||| your supermarket fridge 100 mls (Tablespoon) is more than enough It
||| is cheap (single bottle/dose under a dollar) but effective and
||| cannot harm your cat, Will only do good (once done then followed by
||| normal diet with fresh water available should not need repeating
||| unless your cat or cats start showing symptoms of bad breath (check
||| teeth) or constipation
|||
||| Or try home made recipe (next is will cats eat it?)
||| 1. 1 can of evaporated milk
||| 2. ½ can of water
||| 3. 1 small container of plain yogurt, make sure it's an active
||| culture and use only plain yogurt.
||| 4. 2 egg yokes (not the whites)
||
|| It's not safe to use raw eggs in the United States, particularly the
|| yolks. Even if the shell is intact, there is a risk of salmonella
|| contamination.

If this is the case there is something seriously wrong with USa health
administration?
I would only expect this from contact with wild birds. Not fresh eggs from a
domestic supplier (Supermarket)?
For years I have eaten "sushi" dipped in raw VERY fresh eggs

||| 5. 1 small jar of strained baby food chicken meat.
||| Blend this all and refrigerate. It lasts about a week in the
||| refrigerator
|||
||| An Infomercial about a lactobacillus acidophilus product to give
||| you the idea
||| http://www.wellvet.com/spogogenes.html Not associated with this
||| product and there are probably a number of similar types
|||
||| --
||| Petzl

Us wrote:
Hi,

We are new to this group, and from what we've read it's a great
forum... Nice to see so many like-minded people!

My Miss worked at a vet clinic until recently and this problem predates
her leaving - we've never had success with it through the vet and we're
hoping to find a second opinion here.


Oh boy, we know this problem! We have a former-feral cat (11 years old)
who lives under the bed. She could have had problems for awhile and we
wouldn't have known, since other cats use the box.

She recently stopped going altogether. I saw her struggling in the
litter box. The vet worked with her for just over a week with no luck at
all. We finally went to a surgeon at her suggestion. Sweeter had her
colon removed and is now recovering.

The surgeon said when he sees cats with this problem, many times they
have been struggling for years. The colon can lose its elasticity and
just get huge. It doesn't have the muscle capacity any longer to push
the stuff out and the cat gets mega-colon. (Google cat and maga-colon if
you haven't already, there's some good info on the web.)

With Sweeter's operation, she now has her small intestine doing the work
as best it can. The surgeon said her colon actually tore when he touched
it -- it was so thin. I'm glad we had it done, even though it's not been
an easy ride.

If you've been working with this for awhile without luck, you might take
your cat's x-rays and history to a good surgeon and at least talk about
it. It's not something to take lightly, but neither is a cat in constant
discomfort.

Our vet had us giving Sweeter sub-cu fluids every day until surgery,
trying to flush out some of the toxins building up.

Good luck,

Rhonda

On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 11:55:34 +1000, Petzl wrote:

"Ann" wrote in message
news || On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 10:17:00 +1000, Petzl wrote:
||
||| "Us" wrote in message
||| oups.com
||| [S]
||||| With these two doses of two medicines every day as well as a soft
||||| food diet - what are we to do???
|||||
||||| Help is appreciated... Our two other beasts are healthy and
||||| probably quite happy they're not held down on the bathroom floor
||||| once a week!
|||
||| *My guess is* a lack of lactobacillus acidophilus (often killed off
||| by anti-biotic treatment)
|||
||| I'm told Yakult is not available in USa?
||| The advantage of using Yakult is that it has hundreds of millions
||| of *live* bacteria which will instantly replenish the good bacteria
||| which go to work ensuring that a cat's digestive system is then
||| working efficiently and effectively. Which means the cat will have
||| a shine on it's number two :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakult
||| This is actually for humans possibly sold under different name in
||| your supermarket fridge 100 mls (Tablespoon) is more than enough It
||| is cheap (single bottle/dose under a dollar) but effective and
||| cannot harm your cat, Will only do good (once done then followed by
||| normal diet with fresh water available should not need repeating
||| unless your cat or cats start showing symptoms of bad breath (check
||| teeth) or constipation
|||
||| Or try home made recipe (next is will cats eat it?)
||| 1. 1 can of evaporated milk
||| 2. ½ can of water
||| 3. 1 small container of plain yogurt, make sure it's an active
||| culture and use only plain yogurt.
||| 4. 2 egg yokes (not the whites)
||
|| It's not safe to use raw eggs in the United States, particularly the
|| yolks. Even if the shell is intact, there is a risk of salmonella
|| contamination.

If this is the case there is something seriously wrong with USa health
administration?
I would only expect this from contact with wild birds. Not fresh eggs from a
domestic supplier (Supermarket)?

My guess is that the reverse is true. Commercial laying hens are
routinely fed antibiotics which enable some to survive and pass on the
infection, but infected wild birds would likely die.

For years I have eaten "sushi" dipped in raw VERY fresh eggs

From the U.S. Centers for Disease Control website:
"Salmonella enteritidis Infection
Egg-associated salmonellosis is an important public health problem in the
United States and several European countries. A bacterium, Salmonella
enteritidis, can be inside perfectly normal-appearing eggs, and if the
eggs are eaten raw or undercooked, the bacterium can cause illness. During
the 1980s, illness related to contaminated eggs occurred most frequently
in the northeastern United States, but now illness caused by S.
enteritidis is increasing in other parts of the country as well.
....
How eggs become contaminated
Unlike eggborne salmonellosis of past decades, the current epidemic is due
to intact and disinfected grade A eggs. Salmonella enteritidis silently
infects the ovaries of healthy appearing hens and contaminates the eggs
before the shells are formed.
.... "
http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/DBMD/DISEA.../salment_g.htm

||| 5. 1 small jar of strained baby food chicken meat.
||| Blend this all and refrigerate. It lasts about a week in the
||| refrigerator
|||
||| An Infomercial about a lactobacillus acidophilus product to give
||| you the idea
||| http://www.wellvet.com/spogogenes.html Not associated with this
||| product and there are probably a number of similar types
|||
||| --
||| Petzl