Constipated... not me, the cats :o)

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FurBabiesMama

FurBabiesMama

Member Since 2017
My girls appear to be constipated. I scoop out their litter every morning. On 8/30, there was no poop. Since then, there has been poop, but not much, and it is very little and hard. (And, I have no way of knowing if it is coming from both or just one of them.) I have never had to deal with them being constipated. You would think this would have happened sometime during all those years they were eating dry food, but no, it waits until they are on all wet food... odd. Anyway, I found out they hate pumpkin, but I started sneaking a little in their food as of lunch yesterday. They have now had it in five meals. How long should it take for the pumpkin to have some impact? And, should I be doing anything else along with it (such as olive oil)?
 
I wouldn't change the diet too much, and would wait a couple of days. We had the opposite problem - runny poops...the cats not me! We solved that with probiotic powder.

I recall talking to the vet techs last month, and they mentioned enemas...one of their least favorite procedures. So it could come to that.
 
Check out Pets Alive Natural Moves ..all natural ...Elmo was a chronic constipated kitty til we started this supplement .
 
JeffJ said:
I wouldn't change the diet too much, and would wait a couple of days. We had the opposite problem - runny poops...the cats not me! We solved that with probiotic powder.

I recall talking to the vet techs last month, and they mentioned enemas...one of their least favorite procedures. So it could come to that.
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This has already been going on for several days, so I do not want to wait too long. My goal is not to let it get to the point that something like an enema is necessary. :eek:

The only thing I have done thus far is add the pumpkin. I would like to know how long it usually takes to have impact. I am hoping someone who has used it for this will jump in and share their experience. I am thinking that if it does not work within a couple of days time, I might need to try the olive oil. I have never heard of giving that to a cat for constipation, but when researching online, it came up several times. Supposedly, if you give them a very small amount, they should poop within a few hours. If anyone has used olive oil, I would love to hear those experiences as well.
 
Beth 73 said:
Check out Pets Alive Natural Moves ..all natural ...Elmo was a chronic constipated kitty til we started this supplement .
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I hope this does not become a chronic issue. They have literally never been constipated before. I have no idea why they are now. Thanks for the recommendation though, and I will definitely check it out.
 
I use it daily but can be given on as needed. I use to have to give enemas...not a fun activity :(
 
Lillie said:
Have they for some reason been grooming more than usual and swallowing more hair?
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Not that I have noticed. They do occasionally throw up a hairball or, if not a 'ball', at least a wad, but I consider that pretty normal. Both of my cats have very long hair.
 
I was just wondering because I know if my long haired kitty ingests too much hair he will get constipated, especially if I slow down on his combing. Hmm- something must have triggered the constipation.
 
I have a long haired kitty who sometimes gets constipated. I give him Miralax, 1/8 tsp mixed in his food 2x daily.
 
Phoebe has chronic constipation, used to use miralax, switched to benefiber. Have since used pumpkin, it only took 1 to 2 days, I wouldn't wait to much longer. Do you add water to their food? Like a tsp or 2 per feedings? It helps. I give her fluids too subq. About 100ml every couple of days. Good luck to you and your baby. That's one of the worse things. You can feel if she's backed up by holding her face away from you with both hands palate the belly to tail. You can feel if it is hard not very good explaination, but good luck. Big hugs, head bumps.
 
If it's been days....
I recommend a vet visit because they can at least feel the abdomen and know what they are feeling..... if there are hard lumps....

sometimes the enema is needed since you don't want to put a bunch of fiber in the system if there is some hard pack .... that just makes them even more miserable.

and start the miralax, butter, probiotics immediately after the vet makes it better.
 
have you ever offered kitty vaseline? Dre likes it and keeps him regular... sometimes he needs a Natural moves pill from Native remedies.
 
Phoebes said:
Phoebe has chronic constipation, used to use miralax, switched to benefiber. Have since used pumpkin, it only took 1 to 2 days, I wouldn't wait to much longer. Do you add water to their food? Like a tsp or 2 per feedings? It helps. I give her fluids too subq. About 100ml every couple of days. Good luck to you and your baby. That's one of the worse things. You can feel if she's backed up by holding her face away from you with both hands palate the belly to tail. You can feel if it is hard not very good explaination, but good luck. Big hugs, head bumps.
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I do add water to their food. I usually end up adding quite a bit. I add it when I first give it to them, then when the little divas eat for a few minutes, they wait for me to add more before they continue eating. Sometimes, I even end up adding water a third time. Spoiled. :cat: I have been feeling on Mia's belly, but I admittedly do not know exactly what I am feeling for. I have not felt anything hard, and she does not act like me feeling around causes any discomfort, so I guess those are good things.

Thanks for the time frame on the pumpkin action. If I do not see any improvement by tomorrow, I will reach out to the vet.
 
rhiannon and shadow (GA) said:
If it's been days....
I recommend a vet visit because they can at least feel the abdomen and know what they are feeling..... if there are hard lumps....

sometimes the enema is needed since you don't want to put a bunch of fiber in the system if there is some hard pack .... that just makes them even more miserable.

and start the miralax, butter, probiotics immediately after the vet makes it better.
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I plan to reach out to the vet if I do not see any improvement by tomorrow.

I wish I could figure out what is causing this. I am not exaggerating when I say they have never had any constipation issues. Something HAS to be causing this!
 
I add water to our cats' food too. Two of them are fine. But Little Dude is like your kittens. He drinks the gravy, then waits for me to add more for him to keep eating. Our spoiled kittens.
 
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