LACTULOSE FROM PHARMACIST - IS THIS SAFE FOR BARNEY PLEASE ?

[JulieandBarney]

Hi everyone, once again, Barney has an issue with constipation this morning, he tried and tried until he was sick and nothing happened, he did pass a small stool yesterday and up until this morning was as happy as Larry, until he walked into his litter tray.

I don't want to stress him straight away with a trip to the vet unless obviously there is no movement, as he gets extremely agitated. I have ordered a tube of Lax o Paste for delivery in the morning, I have heard, that should pumpkin not be available, then butternut squash has just as much benefit, also lactulose in very small amounts, could I give him a little of the lactulose from a pharmacy ? Any help would be really, really grateful for.............

Thank you once again... :

PS: I have just ordered some Miralax powder, which I think MarkB uses, any advise on dosage would be helpful, also expecting tomorrow.

[Crewella]

Sorry Julie, no experience, but I hope he's better soon. xx

[JulieandBarney]

Thank you...he gets this every month or so, have decided to try keeping him on Miralax if it suits, as I have read many good reports, just hope he is ok when I get home tonight, hubby has been with him during the day, as he works nights. I will just tend to panic if he is going to be in discomfort when I am alone with him this evening...

[JulieandBarney]

Just an update, hubby stayed up with him all day, (he's now worn out through lack of sleep and gone to work !)...he has been sick quite a lot as he strained to do a pooh and obviously hurt his tummy...bought some lactulose, as Miralax etc not due till in morning, he would not take it so wiped a little around his mouth to encourage him to lick it off....he managed a motion soon afterwards, not a massive amount, but far more than has been today, do I kust let him sleep this off now until he feels ready to eat again ?....Its awful as though he is resting, he looks so tired out it hurts me to see him, obviously I am alone now with hubby at work and rely on you lovely people...

I have the cat carrier ready to go with blanket should an emergency vet trip arise, but feel very on edge for the poor fella .......any advice please ?.........x

[meriad]

Oh poor boy and what a worry for you. As a matter of interest, what does he usually eat?

Re the Lactulose, I'd have thought it would be OK but why not give the vet a quick ring and ask them. Barney's been to them before for the same problem so they should be able and willing to advise over the phone or even give you something to collect from them without you having to take him in

Fusses to your lad x

[JulieandBarney]

Thank you Meriad....

Usually, he eats Lilys Kitchen, chicken flavour and Hi Life chicken, he can not tolerate any form of fish at all and is very sensitive to most foods, so I have to be very careful, strangely enough theonly other food he can tolerate is the Whiskas' pouches "Oh so ..Chicken". Also a little RC Intense Furball, though I do worry about giving him any dry food even though it is meant for this problem ?

Last night he slept all night in bed, he was literally worn out, I have never known him be so sick, this morning, he strolled downstairs and was ravenously hungry and thirsty, so I have given him a little of his food with warm water and a tiny bit of lactulose. He also wolfed down his cat milk, poor fella must have been so tired. His other items should be arriving today ( Miralax and Lax a paste) so from now I will need to give him this maybe once or twice a week, to prevent this. Having managed about 2 hours sleep myself last night, just sitting watching over him as he slept, I feel pretty rotten myself !!!!!

[Crewella]

That's a good plan, by the sound of it, Julie - prevention is the key. Hopefully the lactulose will do the trick today.

Glad he got some sleep and is feeling OK, hope you manage to get some sleep yourself tonight! xx

[Crewella]

How's Barney doing, Julie?

[JulieandBarney]

Hi Crewella,

Well, it was great to see him tonight, behaving like his usual self aagain and asking for food andf being his usual bouncy self, so I fed him a little of his food, with some lax o paste which arrived today (Miralax now due tomorrow), so he happily ate his food and drank his cat milk ...BUT.....then he went to his litter tray....once again straining, I couldn't believe it.... he did have a small movement however, he then went upstairs and had another small one, I put some more lax a paste on his paw and around his mouth, for which I was hissed at !! He hates being forced to do anything he doesn't want. I left him alone upstairs to calm down, watching him from a distance, he had a good wash then lay down and went to sleep and looks settled again.

As we speak, I have a butternut squash simmering away on the stove, which I have researched and is as good as pumpking for cats who suffer with constipation, I will see if he awakes later and if hungry I will mash a little into his food......My stomach goes into knots every time I see him walk towards his litter tray, I just hope that this bout will pass as soon as the paste takes effect, I am not too sure how long that may take though.....they cause us so much worry when they are out of sorts as you feel totally helpless..........

[Crewella]

Well, a couple of small 'results' is progress. You're doing all you can and I'm sure he will be better soon. xx

[JulieandBarney]

Thankyou, yes small steps I think......he has now come downstairs and is headbutting me for fuss, bless him, he was in so much discomfort yesterday, he is asking for food again but I will wait a few hours until paste takes effect, else I think we will be back to square one again.......Ive give him lots of fuss and a little lick e lix, he's on the sofa now snoring away....fingers crossed for his poor aching stomach ....x

[HRHFluffy]

Sorry Julie, I've only just caught up on this. Poor Barney. I use Miralax for Fluffy when she needs a little help. The dosage I give is one eighth of a teaspoon. It can be increased to a quarter of a teaspoon if needed. It is tasteless and Barney shouldn't notice it. Have a look at this link. Scroll down to Miralax and you'll find all you need to know.

http://www.felinecrf.org/constipation.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I refer to this site often as it has a wealth of information about kidney disease and all related conditions. Constipation being one of them. Lately I've been giving Fluffy some slippery elm bark powder each day which helps prevent the constipation. That information is also on this website. Really hope that Barney will be feeling better soon. It must be such a worry to see him so uncomfortable.

Just read your update. Glad he's settled enough to get into snoring mode Xx

[JulieandBarney]

Carol, bless you....thank you so much.........

I am awaiting the Miralax and that link is invaluable I had no idea how much to give, sorry to be a pain, but where do you get your slippery elm from ? I can't go through what we went through yesterday with him again, he was so sick because he was constricting his sides trying to 'go' he must have been sick in every room of the house poor lad .......

Hope HRH Fluffly ok.....xxxx

[Hazel]

Hi, sorry I've not been on CC for a while so I've just seen this.
Max used to get constipated quite often and we used lactulose from the chemist, this is what our vet recommended to us. I think it's quite sweet so cats either like it or don't (Max luckily did). I can't remember but I think we put 0.5 or 1 teaspoon full on his meat and I think this was just once a day.

Do you get his bloods checked? I'm sure I remember with Max the vet thought the constipation was linked to muscle wastage due to hyperthyroidism. Also not helped by his poorly kidneys and the fact that cat's don't drink a lot! Poor thing, his constipated Siamese yowls were really heartbreaking (and loud!)

Hope Barney is OK.
Hazel x

[HRHFluffy]

Always happy to help the lovely Barney. If you go back to that link and scroll down to "other treatments for chronic constipation", it lists slippery elm bark. Click on that and then go to the link that lists the UK suppliers. I decided to use the powder rather than the capsules to avoid fillers. So I got it from Green Life. I've just tried to copy the link but it won't let me. I got the 50g bag just in case her ladyship didn't like it. It can have a bitter taste but with a bit of handfeeding she doesn't seem to notice it. I add an eighth of a teaspoon to her food. It has to be given several hours before or after other meds. I think a higher dosage can be given but I haven't increased Fluffy's dosage yet.

After reading Helen's link that she posted a few weeks ago about constipation, I'm all the more aware of just how potentially dangerous it can be especially if there are other issues going on. So prevention is what I'm aiming for with the little girl. She's doing quite well at the moment despite her ailments. She's happy which is the main thing. And bossy too!!

[JulieandBarney]

Thanks Hazel....his bloods were all ok, so basically just looks like every now and then, (and can be anything from one one month to 3 months,) he has a couple of days bout of constipation, to the point he is very poorly for about 24 hours.....he is now sitting on my lap purring away again.....will give him his pureed fresh butternut squash with his food and a little lactulose in the morning, I dont want to pump him with lots of food now after he was so poory yesterday, I think it would be too much for his stomach.....xx

[JulieandBarney]

Thanks Carol........I always remember Fluffy having the same issues, I was reading about them today in an old thread of yours " Fluffy in discomfort " It really helped reading it as I felt so worried and people think you must be the "mad cat woman " to worry so much about their pain, but its so upsetting to have to watch them so poorly and not be able to do a thing.......xx

[HRHFluffy]

That takes me back!! I'm glad that thread helped you. It feels like only yesterday. I remember so clearly how worried I was. Just like you are now. The problem is that we do feel so helpless and seeing them in discomfort is distressing. Give Barney a tickle from me. I'm sure we must be due some up to date pics

[JulieandBarney]

It really helped Carol, believe me, especially today, I looked at it when it was quiet in work and I didnt feel quite so alone with the worry.......I will put up some new pics of my naughty fella as soon as he will allow and tummy better, hope he likes his butternut squash, food and lactulose in the morning !!!!!!

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

How's the lovely boy this weekend, Julie? X

[JulieandBarney]

Hi Sarah

Touch wood, he is back to his usual naughty self again I give him a little Miralax each day now on his food and he has no idea it's on there thankfully. I also have som lax o paste as a back up too, I just have to keep a close eye on him for a while and make sure he can open his bowels without struggling or being in pain, it breaks my heart to see him suffer so and he cries like a baby, which is something he never usually does, it honestly goes through me to hear him .

Hope you and yours are well Sarah......x

[Crewella]

Phew - glad he's better. xx

[MarkB]

Hi Julie,

I would try to avoid giving laxatives every day as they can weaken the muscles. I know it is sometimes necessary in older cats. Lazarus has Megacolon, where his colon has been stretched so much, it doesn't go back to its normal size (so like a blown up balloon in x-rays). I give him his fibre response biscuits along with his wet food, but if I notice he has missed a day, I give him 1/4tsp mixed in with one wet meal. As he never finishes food, I add a bit of water and he usually laps it up. I rarely have to do this for more than 2 days in a row. A bottle of Miralax lasts well over a year. It doesn't always work and at the moment, his rectum is massively swollen. I gave him a dose this morning and if he hasn't been by the morning, I will take him to the vet for a manual evacuation - I haven't had to do this for about 8 months. Alos, once I give laxatives, I stop high fibre food so as to avoid bulking up his insides, which are already full. Once he has had a good clearout, I start giving him high fibre food again. My vet says it is working really well for him.

As a serious IBS sufferer, it is easy for me to empathise with gut issues!

[Janey]

I would definitely check with vet before giving any laxatavies. My elderly cat was always constipated and the vet said some cats are that way. My puss also had failing kidneys but the vet advised against lactulose, she said if pushed a different laxative, can't remember what it was though now. GPs aren't keen on prescribing laxatives either, not sure why, maybe the body comes to rely on them, or another reason but I would check with your vet.

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Glad he's better, Julie. Everything fine with us. Pepsi went through a stage of being constipated quite often and we used lactulose - a very small amount - every day. Fortunately, she appears to have got over it, and I wonder if it's because she eats more Lily's Kitchen now. I know Carol and Shelly also reported changes in bowel movements from Fluffy and Dora after switching to Lily's.

[JulieandBarney]

Thank you Sarah......


MarkB : I was hoping you would comment as you have pretty much the same issues with yours too and I so respect your opinion...(as an interest Mark, what fibre do you use to bulk their diet other than laxative types ? !!) Many thanks I totally take on board what you say and will act on it, at the moment he is absolutely fine, but next time could be 'anytime, ....' next month, next day or next year, I never know, totally symapthaise with you Mark too, I have Crohns disease, which is pretty much opposite of Barneys problem ! but can make life pretty miserable for me every now and then a flare up happens, I have lived with it for about 15 years but it doesn't make life any easier !

Thank you Janey, totally agree with your comments too....what I would do without the guidance and help from you all heaven knows , thyank you from the bottom of my heart.....xx

[MarkB]

Hi Julie,

I only use fibre response food and Miralax, which usually works really well. He was backed up yesterday so I had to take him to the vet to be unblocked today. He is normally fine afterwards, but his breathing was odd. The vet gave him a thorough examination and said there was no infection, however, he has found a mass - we are back in the morning for an ultrasound. He said it could be compacted food, but could be a tumour. He hasn't eten all day. He usually starts eating straight away after a clear out.

[HRHFluffy]

I'm so pleased Julie that he's back to his normal mischievous self. Did you get the slippery elm bark powder? Was just thinking that it might help prevent future episodes. Fluffy seems to accept it without any problem which in itself is an achievement.

Mark I'm sorry to hear that Laz is struggling. Poor boy. Please keep us updated about his ultrasound tomorrow. Thinking of you.

[MarkB]

I remember when I bough SEB for Clapton. I thought it smelled awful, but he happily ate it. I bought the Holland & Barret capsules as some of the powder had additives in.

Thanks Carol, He is struggling with his breathing tonight. I think it may be a Herpes flare up. The vet said if the mass turns out to be cancer, he won't even consider operating, so I guess we just have to hope for the best.

[Crewella]

Poor Laz, all paws here crossed for him, and sending gentle fusses. xx