Help for constipated kitty

Lovely Rita Metermaid, our 3yo spayed female, has an occasional problem with
colitis. She had blood in her stools two weeks ago, and received meds for
10 days.

Starting Sunday, she began to vomit occasionally. The problem got worse,
and yesterday (Tuesday) I took her to the vet. An xray showed no sign of
blockage, but a lot of feces in her intestine. It also showed some
arthritis in her spine, in a localized spot, that is probably from an old
injury. (I don't remember her ever getting injured, but the vet said I
probably wouldn't -- Rita is a very active cat and may have injured herself
and never shown any problems; also there is a good possibility she was
injured before we adopted her, perhaps even at birth.)

At any rate, the theory is that the arthritis makes it painful for her to
poop and that's the root cause of her constipation. She's so constipated,
it's made her sick so that anything she eats she vomits.

We're giving her Laxaire. Well, actually, we're trying to give her Laxaire.
She won't eat it on her own, and the stuff I smeared on her paw last night
is still mostly on her paw. Does anyone have any ideas for helping her eat
the Laxaire? Failing that, any ideas for helping her poop?

We'll take her back to the vet tomorrow or Friday if she's no better, but
I'd like to give the Laxaire a chance.

(If it matters, Rita is a 100% inside cat.)

Anny

In article m,
enlightened us with...
We're giving her Laxaire. Well, actually, we're trying to give her Laxaire.
She won't eat it on her own, and the stuff I smeared on her paw last night
is still mostly on her paw. Does anyone have any ideas for helping her eat
the Laxaire? Failing that, any ideas for helping her poop?


Get a syringe for feeding. It looks like a normal syringe, but has a
much wider (relatively speaking) opening. Put some in there. Squirt in
her mouth as far back as you can. Hold her mouth shut gently and rub her
throat to make her swallow. This is about as easy as pilling a cat. *G*

If your local pet store doesn't carry feeding syringes, you'll have to
make do with your finger. Be careful she doesn't bite it. Smear the
Laxaire towards the back of her tongue with your finger and massage her
throat to make her swallow.

If all else fails, ask the vet for a suppository laxative instead of one
that you have to feed her.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In article m,
enlightened us with...
We're giving her Laxaire. Well, actually, we're trying to give her Laxaire.
She won't eat it on her own, and the stuff I smeared on her paw last night
is still mostly on her paw. Does anyone have any ideas for helping her eat
the Laxaire? Failing that, any ideas for helping her poop?


Get a syringe for feeding. It looks like a normal syringe, but has a
much wider (relatively speaking) opening. Put some in there. Squirt in
her mouth as far back as you can. Hold her mouth shut gently and rub her
throat to make her swallow. This is about as easy as pilling a cat. *G*

If your local pet store doesn't carry feeding syringes, you'll have to
make do with your finger. Be careful she doesn't bite it. Smear the
Laxaire towards the back of her tongue with your finger and massage her
throat to make her swallow.

If all else fails, ask the vet for a suppository laxative instead of one
that you have to feed her.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

kaeli writes:

If all else fails, ask the vet for a suppository laxative instead of one
that you have to feed her.

Uh.... does anybody really think it would be any easier to give a cat
a suppository than oral medication? One of my cats has occasional
problems with her anal sacs, and she definitely does *not* like people
messing with her butt.

BTW, anal sac problems are another reason why cats become constipated.
When the sacs become clogged, it hurts to poop.

-Sandra

kaeli writes:

If all else fails, ask the vet for a suppository laxative instead of one
that you have to feed her.

Uh.... does anybody really think it would be any easier to give a cat
a suppository than oral medication? One of my cats has occasional
problems with her anal sacs, and she definitely does *not* like people
messing with her butt.

BTW, anal sac problems are another reason why cats become constipated.
When the sacs become clogged, it hurts to poop.

-Sandra

"Sandra Loosemore" wrote in message
...
kaeli writes:

If all else fails, ask the vet for a suppository laxative instead of one
that you have to feed her.

Uh.... does anybody really think it would be any easier to give a cat
a suppository than oral medication? One of my cats has occasional
problems with her anal sacs, and she definitely does *not* like people
messing with her butt.

I'm sure it would be harder to give Rita a suppository, but I suggested it
to the vet yesterday. If she's not doing better tomorrow, I'll call again
and ask for one.

The thing is, she's vomitting everything she eats. How can the laxative do
her any good if she throws it up?

Anny

"Sandra Loosemore" wrote in message
...
kaeli writes:

If all else fails, ask the vet for a suppository laxative instead of one
that you have to feed her.

Uh.... does anybody really think it would be any easier to give a cat
a suppository than oral medication? One of my cats has occasional
problems with her anal sacs, and she definitely does *not* like people
messing with her butt.

I'm sure it would be harder to give Rita a suppository, but I suggested it
to the vet yesterday. If she's not doing better tomorrow, I'll call again
and ask for one.

The thing is, she's vomitting everything she eats. How can the laxative do
her any good if she throws it up?

Anny

You need to watch her very carefully for the rest of her life,
this could be, or easily become, megacolon.
If she's prone to furballs, dose her religiously with furball
prep, but not in excess of directions. It can be harmful used
in excess. Adding fiber to the diet may help the constipation.
Mixing a little canned pumpkin into her food, or flavring the
pumpkin so she eats it alone. Bran, bought at a health food
store, inexpensive, maybe .50 a lb, another source of fiber.
Then again, some cats do better on a low fiber diet. It takes
experimentation. Encourage her to drink water. Add more water
bowls, and keep the water fresh.

Ask the vet about using lactulose, perhaps
2cc twice a day. A liquid, that you can often
get them to lap up by floating it in the liquid
from canned food. Some will lap it up if its in
a bit of milk. You have to get creative.
Also, you can have your medication flavored by
a compounding pharmacy. Fish, chicken, liver,
and a dozen other flavors. Tends to be best
you buy samples of a few flavors, and learn
what she likes/doesn't like. Call your local
pharmacies, if one doesn't "compound", ask
if they know who in your area does. Barring
that, there are online contacts for flavoring
agents and compounding pharmacies.

There are supplements for arthritis. You should
put her on NuCat and Glucosamine. Takes a couple
months to really start having an affect and needs
to be continued uninterrupted for months but helps
greatly with arthritis.

NuCat 240 count most economical.
4 tabs a day, 2 in am, 2 in pm.
Chewable. But, if the cat doesn't like them,
they crush to powder with a spoon and can be mixed
in canned food.
http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/search_re...=false&GiftID=
Cosequin, or GP Glucosamine with Chondroitin Sulfate here
http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/dept.asp?...5EFD2D7 4A176

As with most meds, lactulose, can be ordered online less
expensively than you can get from your vet if you reach
the point of needing to use it, or something like it,
regularly. Local pharmacies carry most meds, and are less
expensive also. Once they do have a chronic problem with
constipation, their daily meds are very important. Even
when you think it's going well, and you can lighten up,
you may well only cause problems. Keep track of what's
in the litter box, and how frequently.










"Anny Middon" wrote in message gy.com...
Lovely Rita Metermaid, our 3yo spayed female, has an occasional problem with
colitis. She had blood in her stools two weeks ago, and received meds for
10 days.

Starting Sunday, she began to vomit occasionally. The problem got worse,
and yesterday (Tuesday) I took her to the vet. An xray showed no sign of
blockage, but a lot of feces in her intestine. It also showed some
arthritis in her spine, in a localized spot, that is probably from an old
injury. (I don't remember her ever getting injured, but the vet said I
probably wouldn't -- Rita is a very active cat and may have injured herself
and never shown any problems; also there is a good possibility she was
injured before we adopted her, perhaps even at birth.)

At any rate, the theory is that the arthritis makes it painful for her to
poop and that's the root cause of her constipation. She's so constipated,
it's made her sick so that anything she eats she vomits.

We're giving her Laxaire. Well, actually, we're trying to give her Laxaire.
She won't eat it on her own, and the stuff I smeared on her paw last night
is still mostly on her paw. Does anyone have any ideas for helping her eat
the Laxaire? Failing that, any ideas for helping her poop?

We'll take her back to the vet tomorrow or Friday if she's no better, but
I'd like to give the Laxaire a chance.

(If it matters, Rita is a 100% inside cat.)

Anny

You need to watch her very carefully for the rest of her life,
this could be, or easily become, megacolon.
If she's prone to furballs, dose her religiously with furball
prep, but not in excess of directions. It can be harmful used
in excess. Adding fiber to the diet may help the constipation.
Mixing a little canned pumpkin into her food, or flavring the
pumpkin so she eats it alone. Bran, bought at a health food
store, inexpensive, maybe .50 a lb, another source of fiber.
Then again, some cats do better on a low fiber diet. It takes
experimentation. Encourage her to drink water. Add more water
bowls, and keep the water fresh.

Ask the vet about using lactulose, perhaps
2cc twice a day. A liquid, that you can often
get them to lap up by floating it in the liquid
from canned food. Some will lap it up if its in
a bit of milk. You have to get creative.
Also, you can have your medication flavored by
a compounding pharmacy. Fish, chicken, liver,
and a dozen other flavors. Tends to be best
you buy samples of a few flavors, and learn
what she likes/doesn't like. Call your local
pharmacies, if one doesn't "compound", ask
if they know who in your area does. Barring
that, there are online contacts for flavoring
agents and compounding pharmacies.

There are supplements for arthritis. You should
put her on NuCat and Glucosamine. Takes a couple
months to really start having an affect and needs
to be continued uninterrupted for months but helps
greatly with arthritis.

NuCat 240 count most economical.
4 tabs a day, 2 in am, 2 in pm.
Chewable. But, if the cat doesn't like them,
they crush to powder with a spoon and can be mixed
in canned food.
http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/search_re...=false&GiftID=
Cosequin, or GP Glucosamine with Chondroitin Sulfate here
http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/dept.asp?...5EFD2D7 4A176

As with most meds, lactulose, can be ordered online less
expensively than you can get from your vet if you reach
the point of needing to use it, or something like it,
regularly. Local pharmacies carry most meds, and are less
expensive also. Once they do have a chronic problem with
constipation, their daily meds are very important. Even
when you think it's going well, and you can lighten up,
you may well only cause problems. Keep track of what's
in the litter box, and how frequently.










"Anny Middon" wrote in message gy.com...
Lovely Rita Metermaid, our 3yo spayed female, has an occasional problem with
colitis. She had blood in her stools two weeks ago, and received meds for
10 days.

Starting Sunday, she began to vomit occasionally. The problem got worse,
and yesterday (Tuesday) I took her to the vet. An xray showed no sign of
blockage, but a lot of feces in her intestine. It also showed some
arthritis in her spine, in a localized spot, that is probably from an old
injury. (I don't remember her ever getting injured, but the vet said I
probably wouldn't -- Rita is a very active cat and may have injured herself
and never shown any problems; also there is a good possibility she was
injured before we adopted her, perhaps even at birth.)

At any rate, the theory is that the arthritis makes it painful for her to
poop and that's the root cause of her constipation. She's so constipated,
it's made her sick so that anything she eats she vomits.

We're giving her Laxaire. Well, actually, we're trying to give her Laxaire.
She won't eat it on her own, and the stuff I smeared on her paw last night
is still mostly on her paw. Does anyone have any ideas for helping her eat
the Laxaire? Failing that, any ideas for helping her poop?

We'll take her back to the vet tomorrow or Friday if she's no better, but
I'd like to give the Laxaire a chance.

(If it matters, Rita is a 100% inside cat.)

Anny