chronic constipated cat; low-residue diet

On August 4th I brought one of the cats at work, Harriet, to the vet
because she was having trouble going to the bathroom. She would end up
going outside the box, and her feces were very large. She had the same
problem last year, May 2004. Last year she had been kept overnight at
the vet, given fluids & enemas, and came back the next day. Last year
she went to a different vet/hospital, because I couldn't get an
appointment at the one we're currently using.

This time I brought her in to the regular vet and she was kept for two
nights. Also given fluids & enemas in addition to x-rays & blood
tests. Her blood tests were all normal and the x-rays showed nothing
unusual except for the large amount of feces/hair blocking her.

When I picked her up from the hospital on August 6th, exactly two weeks
ago, they gave me a bottle of Lactulose (1ml per day) and Eukanuba Low
Residue food. They gave me a bag of dry and when I asked about wet
food, they gave me some cans to try. Harriet isn't a big fan of wet
food but I can get her to eat it sometimes.

The last couple of days I noticed that she was going into the litterbox
and trying to go, but she either couldn't or it would take her awhile
and she'd just pass one turd. I've been coming in to work on Saturdays
because neither person who works on Saturdays is willing to give her
the medication (Sundays are covered, though). So I get in this morning
and saw that she had pooped on the rug in the basement, as well as in
her bed! There were 2 large turds in the bed and one on the rug.

I called the vet and I got an appointment for Monday morning.

My questions:
1. The Lactulose doesn't seem to be doing anything. It's not making
her stools any smaller or easier to pass. Is there something better?
Would a higher dose help?

2. Someone had given me a link to an article about low residue foods,
and the article singled out the brand Harriet ended up getting
(Eukanuba) as still having too much carbohydrate in it, even the canned
version. Is there a better food she could have? Are any
over-the-counter brands just as good as the prescription foods? I am
willing to put her on a canned-only diet, which will annoy her but I'm
sure she'll get used to it. My cat Otto at home initially resisted an
all wet food diet for a couple of weeks and now he loves it.

3. This seems to be a recurring problem with Harriet. As I said, the
x-rays showed nothing unusual or wrong with her anatomy so will we just
have to deal with this as an ongoing problem? Last year she seemed to
have a LOT of hair blocking her, but this time it was mostly hard
feces.

I feel awful for her. She's still eating her dry food and eats a
little wet food each day. She loves her Drinkwell and gets plenty of
water.

--
Liz

Elizabeth Blake wrote:
My questions:
1. The Lactulose doesn't seem to be doing anything. It's not making
her stools any smaller or easier to pass. Is there something better?

I am not a fan of Lactulose. Talk to your vet about alternatives. I
use hairball remedy lube pretty frequently, along with natural oils.

Would a higher dose help?

Possibly.


2. Someone had given me a link to an article about low residue foods,
and the article singled out the brand Harriet ended up getting
(Eukanuba) as still having too much carbohydrate in it, even the canned
version. Is there a better food she could have? Are any
over-the-counter brands just as good as the prescription foods? I am
willing to put her on a canned-only diet, which will annoy her but I'm
sure she'll get used to it. My cat Otto at home initially resisted an
all wet food diet for a couple of weeks and now he loves it.

My cat Peewee has this problem. I have found a combo of low-residue
combined with occasional non-low-residue food keep the feces passing
more frequently. He likes Purina Diabetic diet (canned) the best.
It's high in protein and fairly low in carbs. I also give him tuna
once every couple of weeks to help keep things "passing along".
Feeding cooked meat (turkey, chicken) helps too.



3. This seems to be a recurring problem with Harriet. As I said, the
x-rays showed nothing unusual or wrong with her anatomy so will we just
have to deal with this as an ongoing problem?

Probably yes.

Last year she seemed to
have a LOT of hair blocking her, but this time it was mostly hard
feces.

She probably has low muscle tone in the bowel, along with the hairball
issues. Not much you can do but try to keep the stools passing along.
I have found varying the diet helps a lot with this.


-L.

Liz:

I have an older very constipated Siamese and my Vet recommend
Metamucil(original texture) (no flavor). I give him 1/2 teaspoon twice
aday mixed in meat babyfood...(no onion in it). Its helped him alot!
Ask your Vet about it to see if it might be okay for your Kitty. I also
got my cats a Drinkwell too! Good Luck!

Yours in Purrs:
Leslie

Hi, just a little olive oil or butter on a plate, he'll love it and
it'll help losen things up a little every once in awhile.
-J