Going Potty (Not!) The Constipated Cat

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Lilith
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Going Potty (Not!) The Constipated Cat

Post by Lilith »

WARNING: There may be silly lavatory humour - poetry in motion! :D

Mouse is 17 or so, and has been troubled by constipation, on and off, for a few years ... happens, said the vet, as they get older, muscle tone deteriorates ...

Mouse's father Finn (they were ferals before they joined me) was the same. He'd go to his tray, wait, no result, wander out again and ... a loud raspberry! Oh No! OHHH YES! It just came out. Right there, on the carpet.

Mouse does her best but quite often I find Mousey Maltesers in surprising places ... whodunnit? I know whodunnit - and I know whogottapickit up ... ohhh well. The very good Royal Canin Fibre Response dry food helped her for a while, but, catlike, she went off it a bit, and I think her system adapted, as systems do ... home remedies such as tuna in oil (wouldn't eat it) and psyllium seeds didn't seem to have much effect.

Lactulose was prescribed for her a couple of years back, and that isn't bad. Luckily I'd kept some in after that episode (you can buy it online) and recently I'd been a bit concerned - but bits had kept emerging and I'd hoped she wasn't doing too badly, but ...

Nemesis. Last Sunday. First rule of cat ownership: It always happens on a Sunday! She was not a happy camper. I'd just bought some Lick e Lix, so gave her a dose of Lactulose in that ... paws crossed. Hoping her legs weren't going to be! Crossed. For long.

Poor love, she started to leak diarrohea. But the problem remained. She was still bright, still interested in food, and her stomach was soft and she would let me massage her back. In her initial episode she had hated to be touched. More Lactulose (which is what the vet tried first time round) and then a call to the vet on Monday.

Home visit (I'm housebound and my vet is only round the corner - I'm lucky!)

'Has she passed anything?'
'No.'
'I need to examine her, have you a drop of olive oil for lubrication?'

I run into kitchen for oil, let out a loud squawk. 'AAAAAHHH! She HAS passed something! I've just stepped in it!'

But it was only a blob, and not good enough ... Carry on with the Lactulose and see how she goes, if nothing tomorrow, then we'll take her in and do an enema.

Well, the following day there was something, and I trod in it again. With a bare foot. But again not enough and my marvellous vet came out again, and took her in, and she was returned to me that evening ...

Very cross. Mousey is never cross. But junior cat, Molly, is inclined to bully us all, and when Mouse emerged from her carrier there was a loud hiss. I sprang up and scolded - but it was Mousey who chased Molly upstairs - and Mousey who hissed again at Molly a while later. It's a common situation, cat goes to the vet and returns smelling vetty and housemate is hostile, but in this case the situation was reversed. Do Molly good!

So. She's now on 2ml of Lactulose daily. The vet confirmed my opinion, that the blockage had only been around the sphincter and not a huge backup, but still ... ouch ...

With very many thanks to Calder Vets of Wakefield!

Wish us luck, paws crossed ... but not legs, I hope!

Poetry in motion!
Last edited by Lilith on Thu Jan 10, 2019 3:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ruth B
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Re: Going Potty (Not!) The Constipated Cat

Post by Ruth B »

Poor Mouse, hopefully that's it sorted, at least for now.

Always on a Sunday as well. Having a dentist for a Father has left me with a very dim view of some people, you only disturb medical professionals out of hours if it is an emergency, a matter of life or death, or absolute agony, someone ringing at 10.00 at night, from the pub, worried about their toothache that has been going on for three days, but they are going on holiday on Monday and don't want it hurting for the next two weeks, does not get any sympathy, and as for the Doctors surgery, when you want an appointment soon as you don't feel well and they ask if it is an emergency, no it isn't an emergency or I would be phoning for an ambulance to take me to A&E, but if I don't get seen in the next few days it might be one.

The danger of stepping in something is always present with cats around the house, particularly if, like me, you can't see very well. At least bare feet are quick and easy to wash and dry, hopping to the bathroom can be the real problem.
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Re: Going Potty (Not!) The Constipated Cat

Post by Kay »

have you tried Mouse with cow's milk, Lilith? My Tosker produces very small amounts of dark dried poo, but as it's on a more or less daily basis he has not been medicated for it - but I read the natural lactulose in milk can help, and as he loves it I have been giving him some every day, and I think it has helped a little

I have just bought in some Fibre Response and perhaps that with the milk might produce more of the brown stuff - unfortunately Tiffany loves it and her problems are at the other end of the scale - anyone who saw what she deposits daily compared to Tosker's leavings would never believe they are the same species of animal
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Lilith
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Re: Going Potty (Not!) The Constipated Cat

Post by Lilith »

Lol Ruth, I once knew a vet who got talking about customers (not me, honest!) who did the same ... one guy rang him at about 3am to ask about spaying a cat ... when the sleepy vet just happened to mention the time, the customer said, 'well, you've got nothing better to do, have you?'

Errm yes, gives a whole new meaning to the expression, putting your foot in it ... my response, even in front of a vet, is usually - OH S*IT!

Kay, I forgot about milk! Damn and I had a grocery delivery yesterday, but I've got some longlife full fat and probably some tins of evaporated somewhere - Mouse loves evaporated.

She's chilling on her heated pad, recovering from her ordeal :)

Oops that sounds Irish, doesn't it ... but then a good chunk of me is ... :oops: :lol:
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Lilith
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Re: Going Potty (Not!) The Constipated Cat

Post by Lilith »

An update ...

AND A MAGNIFICENT MOUSEY MOTION!

I know it's been a couple of months but this has been a rather errm, scatological week ... I know that a while back I mentioned the anecdote about someone whose dog wiped its bottom on a pillow but that is nothing to what happened to me ... my royal python, Shahi, decided to shed his skin on Sunday night. His vivarium's next to my bed, and when I noticed he'd got some shed stuck over his eyecaps (crucial!) I brought him out and plonked him on the bed for a little help ... now royal pythons rarely 'go' apart from just after they've shed. I knew this, how could I not, although I joked to him as I tidied his head while his tail was curled round my hips, don't you dare s*it on this bed - just as I felt a wet wave round my backside. Oh no? Oh yes. Snakes do everything, solid and liquid at once, and a 5' python blasting forth with weeks of saved-up stool is no joke at all. What comes in pints? Pythons. As they say in Oz, I syphoned my python.

If only, I thought, after all the frantic mopping up, Mousey could do the same. We'd plugged on with the daily small dose of Lactulose for weeks, and it didn't seem to be doing a terrible lot. Nor did Mouse. The odd blob here and there (and not always in the tray but she IS 17) but she was bright and had a good appetite. Kept on with treats like Jersey Milk and evaporated (she wasn't that interested) and oily fish like sardines (the same) but I was beginning to be a bit concerned. A few weeks back someone told me that Lactulose diverted a lot of fluid to the gut, but Mouse prefers wet food and I always leave a big water bowl down ... still I wondered if she might need a bit more help. But what?

Today ... the morning trays. Pink tray - Molly had left The Pile as usual, and there were two modest Mousey motions - good news, a start. Green tray. I lifted the lid and -

HOLY S*IT!!!!! :o :o :o

I've never seen anything like it! It was soft but formed, fully ten inches long (no I didn't measure IT but I did measure the area in which it had reposed.) A mastiff would have been proud of it. Heck, I'd have been proud of it! Talk about being greatly relieved?

All I can conclude is that Lactulose is working for Mouse ... either that or she's part royal python! :o :D :D :D :D
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Re: Going Potty (Not!) The Constipated Cat

Post by alanc »

Wow! Even Tilly doesn't produce logs that long!
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Re: Going Potty (Not!) The Constipated Cat

Post by issiandarchie+68 »

Oh Lilith, your mention of snakes gave me the heebies. I was dreaming about a big yellow, soft bellied boa constrictor last night, soft bellied until it swallowed me whole..aarrgghh! Anyway, I digress. Lactulose is very well tolerated by cats, not so much humans, after being dosed up along with other ward patients after an op, I soon discovered why the nurses tucked us in so tightly at visiting hours! Yes, it does divert water into the bowel to soften the stool but not in huge amounts and cats normally make this up by drinking a little more, I find a wee drop of water mixed in with wet food helps. It's very safe as it doesn't pass through any important organs but the sugars go straight through the digestive system along with normal waste. I do believe it has allowed my beloved Gandhi live a lot longer than predicted, without the threatened bowel surgery. He has been dosed up with it every day for the past 10 years with no side effects. As you have found, it does take a little longer to work than more aggressive treatments and you have to keep administering it otherwise the problem returns, a small price to pay for a cat's good health.

Issi
Last edited by issiandarchie+68 on Thu Feb 28, 2019 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Lilith
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Re: Going Potty (Not!) The Constipated Cat

Post by Lilith »

Lol Alan, that was no log - it was a whole ... telegraph pole! :o :lol:
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