BARNEYS CONSTIPATION - SHOULD I CONTINUE WITH LAXATIVE ?

[JulieandBarney]

Hi everyone, today, after almost a year of Barney being fine with his constipation (last problem was New Years Eve 2013) Barney struggled this morning and could not 'go' for a long time, resulting in him trying different places and straining, having managed to give him his 'Lax o Paste" by putting it on his paws, as he did not want to eat, as he was a little distressed, he licked it all off and consequently managed to pass his motion fine, actually twice since !! He seems as bright as a button again, I always put warm water in his food in any case, but should I continue giving him a little more of his lax o paste now he has 'been' ? or maybe just give him a little every other day or so, as I don't want to give him the opposite problem !! The only difference in his diet, which I gave him yesterday, was some plain boiled chicken, he is allergic to fish, so can only eat one sort of chicken based food, plus a little of the Royal Canin Intense Furball' biscuits which contains Pysilium. Any help from you lovely people gratefully received . thank you all again...

[Crewella]

Sorry Julie, I have no experience, but my feeling would be to just wait and see how he gets on now on his own, and perhaps avoid the boiled chicken for a while. You can always give him more laxative if he shows signs of struggling again.

I hope he's feeling better and able to 'go'. xx

[JulieandBarney]

Thanks Val, He seems ok this morning, touch wood, so just have to keep an eye on him, awkward little wotsit usually loves boiled chicken, as it's so bland...oh well, here we go again, hopefully I can avoid the dreaded vets trip. as he is absolutely terrified of having his temperature taken, and creates chaos, so that would be fun, for all of us !!.... x

[Jacks]

Julie! Firstly congratulations for dealing so sensitively and so well with Barney's constipation. Is it really that long since he first had problems? Wow. I don't have ANY experience with this, but thinking of him just like any other creature (i.e. humans) I would say maybe give him a bit more to lick tomorrow then intermittently, and keep an eye on him. I wouldn't rush to give it to him every day as firstly you don't want him to get runny motions but also you don't want him to get dependent on it to go... Fusses to the lovely boy x

[JulieandBarney]

I know, I honestly can not believe how fast this year has gone !! I will just keep up with the warm water mixed in his food, he has a very temperamental tummy, to say the least, even though he eats very well

It was such a shame to see him insist on running out into the rain to try and 'go', obviously his litter tray reminded him of feeling some pain when he tried to use it initially, I could have cried for the big fella, as he would not come back in, he just kept trying different spots in the garden, I was also just heading out to work which made my worry worse ! Thankfully, hubby was at home and got some more lax o paste onto his paws, half an hour later, I got a call at work to tell me that he had finally 'been' ! I was so relieved, thankfully my work mates are animal lovers too, so I didn't sound TOO much like the mad catwoman !