mega colon advice

[shazxx50]

Hi, im new to this forum, my 7yr old little girl Miley has got megacolon, she has had endless enemas twice been under to have faeces removed and vet finally operated last wed as they wasnt sure if she had a tumour, thankfully she didnt, but they found megacolon, so since then she has had antibotic and pain medication( both now completed) I'm feeding her specific digestive support adding lactulose to it, she wont take it any other way, and also giving her katalax she started well, 3 soft poos 2 days after surgery, then nothing, untill this morning, has anyone else got any information which i can use, ive heard of using cisapride, does it work? Its a real struggle to get her to take any medication unless i hide it in food, i think she think everytime i come near her i have a syringe filled with some nasty stuff, she she isnt very trusting of me.....also she is a very fussy eater, wont eat any supermarket brought food, has to be top notch grub, yes she is very spoilt, any help would be greatly appreciate.

[MarkB]

We lost him last year to something unrelated (liver tumour), but, we adopted a cat with Megacolon and managed it for around 4 years. Lazarus was a stray that was taken in by Cats Protection. Initially he used to get so blocked up that he kept having to have manual evacuation. After lots of Googling and joining the Yahoo Megacolon grup, I tried a few things, which worked for us. Somebody on there recommended Royal Canin Fibre response dry food. It has a high psyllium content and bulks the poo up. It worked like magic for him most of the time (despite being contraindicated for Megacolon) occasionally, I had to give him a laxative. There is a flavourless alternative to lactulose, called Miralax. I used to just mix 1/4 tsp in his food and he was none the wiser (you can buy it on eBay and Amazon - it comes from America) As for Cisapride, I had looked into it as quite a few people use it for cat in America. At the time, my vet said it wasn't available. It never was available for cats, but was prescribed as 'off-label' (I think that is the correct term) but had been withdrawn for human use, due to it being linked with Arrhythmia. A couple of years on, my vet said that he was able to get it again, but by then, I had Laz's Megacolon under control and didn't want to risk it (especially as he had other health issues, such as high BP, Hyperthyroid etc) the vet said that the option was there for later if we needed to try it, but we never did.

Anyway, I would ask your vet about trying the Fibre response food, as there may be a reason not to. I have recommended it to quite a few people with constipated cats and often with good results. In fact it was TOO good. I used to just mix some in with his favourite senior dry food. If he had eaten just the fibre response food, it would have bulked him up too much.

Hope all that makes sense, but feel free to ask if anything is unclear.

[shazxx50]

Hi Mark, thank for replying, yes i have heard of fibre response food, when i suggested it to my vet she said she wants Miley to have runny poos first so to keep her on wet food ( she was always on james beloved dry food before), as when she was younger wet food made her vomit, she is also a housecat and is a very large girl full of fluff, weight is also a issue last weigh in she was 7.2kg, but as she doesnt go out she doesnt get excise.... i will see about getting that other laxative, as using lactose my floor is like a 1980 nightclub floor, more ending on the floor than in mileys mouth, which is why it is now added to her food, she is back to the vets tomorrow so ill again mention dry food, maybe just a little to start with and see what she says. I think miley hates everyone at the moment as she has been poked and pulled about for the past 4 wks lol and isnt liking her new shaven look
thanks again
Sharon

[shazxx50]

Oh my vet can ger cisapride, that is the next step , then op to remove colon..... which i hope doesnt happen, but if it sorts the problem and thats the only way then ill try anything to get her health better

[Crewella]

I'm afraid I have no experience of this, but Mark is the person I'd have asked about this if it cropped up in any of my gang. I hope you can help her. xx

[shazxx50]

Hi, i have taken his advice about asking about fibre responce so will do that tomorrow on next visit to vets Miley doesnt seem in any discomfort now, she was in the begining poor thing, broke my heart watching her struggle to poo, but hopefully she is on thd right path now, fingers crossed x

[shazxx50]

Spoke to my vet today, still doesnt want miley back on dry foods yet, i asked about miralax and that ok to give, does anyone know if i can get it from the uk, can find it on ebay but from the usa, i really dont want to wait 3wks, anyone know?

[MarkB]

I have never found it for sale in the UK, but haven't ordered it for 2 years. It usually took about a week when I bought in on eBay - the seller was Bluemedical. I just had a look and they only seem to stock a larger size now.

Some sellers have the smaller packs (the 238g used to last around a year as I only needed to use it once in a while

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MiraLAX-Laxat ... Sws65Toyf7

I had a look at the pack I have and it is a year out of date, otherwise I would have offered it to you. I am almost certain it is still fine, but not an expert on these things.

[shazxx50]

Hi Mark,, Miley is slowly getting there, in my job i deal with a pharmacist and they are going to look into for me but thanks for the offer, if not ill get it from ebay, still got the lactose to use until it arrives so ill carry on with that, she is opening bowels every couple of days, vet has said at the moment 3/4 times a week is acceptable, and rather than keep taking her to vets i can ring instead, unless she goesv5/6 days without a bowel movement they are happy to reveiw as and when, as she has been to vets every couple of days and it really stressful for her, and me beause i end up being bitten and hissed at lol...
Thanks again
Sharon

[MarkB]

Hi Sharon - Maybe you can get some via work in that case. Apparently it is Polyethylene Glycol 3350. I am sent it every year from the hospital and have to mix a sachet of it with one of electrolyte powder before drinking. It is called Moviprep. (I have a colonoscopy done every year) I have googled and there are NHS papers about PEG 3350, but it doesn't seem to have been adopted as standard laxative in the UK yet. The best thing about it is that it is totally odourless and flavourless (even to cats! ) - they sell an over-the-counter version, called Movicol, but it already has the electrolyte salts mixed in. It is probably safe for cats, but makes the solution taste bitter.

I also saw PEG3350 sold under another name (I will try to remember what it was) but if I remember rightly, it had flavouring added, so probably a no-no for cats.

Once Lazarus started on the Fibre response, he rarely needed laxatives - probably once every few weeks. As soon as I noticed he had missed a day of pooing, I would stop giving him fibre response to avoid more bulk and give him some laxative. As soon as he pooed again, I would start back on the fibre response. It seemed to work well for us.

Good luck.

[shazxx50]

Hi mark, i think movicol has some ingredient in it that cats cant have, but ill look into it, she has had a another poo so thats yesterday and today!!!! Im so pleased as she is no longer on dry food i brought some purina classic soup, its mainly fluid with bits of fish in she drinks that so at least i know she is having some fluid, im keeping my fingers crossed she is over the worse but i do know this is a long term condition so will have to keep a eye on her diet, well im off camping later, ive got a cat sitter coming to sit with my baby, its like having another child lol
speak soon, enjoy your weekend.
Sharon

[shazxx50]

Hi mark, miley was a good girl whilst i was away, 4 poos in two day, but she has now gone back to not going daily, she went tue but nothing since, so i think ill be taking her back to the vets, i brought the miralax awaiting it to arrive but as from america not due till 30 may/ 2nd June... i did think she was going to overcome this but i think that was wishful thinking, as she has other ideas... its very frustrating!!! But will keep adding the lactose to all food and take every day as it comes
sharon

[shazxx50]

My beautiful girl grew her angel wings on Saturday, fly high my princess Miley
RIP 04/08/2008 / 04/06/2016
im heartbroken and miss her terribly xx

[Crewella]

Oh I'm so very sorry to hear that, you tried so hard to help her and so obviously did everything you could for her. She couldn't have asked more of you. Rest in peace lovely Miley. xx

[shazxx50]

Thank you, believe it or not it wasnt the bowel problem that she passed from, vet think she had a blood clot, she was doing so well with medication to control her bowels, very well infact vet was only phoning to check on her toilet routine. It was such a shock and so quick, i think had it been bowel related i could deal with it a little better, but nothing has prepared me for this, im heartbroken xxx

[MarkB]

Sorry Sharon - obviously something you never could have known about. So sad

[shazxx50]

Yes i wouldnt of known, it was very quick and i believe she didnt suffer, and we were with her all the time, i will bring her ashes home and she will rest in her usual place, so flipping hard thou, in time i will open my house and heart to another fur baby, when i feel ready...... so ill say bye for now thanks for your help during the mega colon concerns and your kind words on her going to the bridge, im sure she will happy and healthy.
thank you all again, god bless you all
sharon xxxxx