Civie leaving poop bombs (warning, poop photo!)

[Maggies Mom Debby]

My civie, Erik, is a 10 years old Siamese. He has had problems with constipation for a while. Our vet said it was IBS-C. We tried prescription food that was low bulk, which he didn’t eat, of course. He eats Merrick grain-free pate, both chicken and rabbit. We have been adding miralax to his food. Since we thought more water might help, we started adding water to his food, too. He will not eat food with pumpkin.

He has massive poops, that are softer than before, but still hard for him to get out. And his poop is stickier, sticking to him as he leaves the box, dropping “poop bombs” in his wake. He’ll wipe his butt on the carpet, cardboard scratcher. Today he even wiped his butt on the leg of chair. He than came upstairs to the living room and had another huge bowel movement. The photo below I just half of his output within 15 minutes!

We have an vet appointment set up soon, but would like some ideas from all of you on how in the world we can help him, and us.

 

[monty_dweezil (GA)]

Oh dear!! Poor Erik (and you)!

I don't really have much advice to give, but my Dweezy was constipated for years until he became Diabetic and then he suddenly wasn't anymore, and depending on his BG levels and cat food, sometimes he would do soft and sticky "ice cream plops". Yummo. lol.

I also know about the motor boating around the carpet, wiping their butt. It looks kind of funny (especially when they do it really fast and in a circle and end up having to stop as they almost hit a door or piece of furniture) but it is distressing for them and then they try to clean and clean and clean. Poor babies.

I note in that pic, his poop is thin and long. Maybe he's used to straining and pushing hard and now too much is coming out. Or whatever issue with his bowel or tummy, it may be causing some sort of inflammation which is squeezing out narrow but excess poops.

I hope someone with more knowledge can help soon!!

 

[Maggies Mom Debby]

Thanks. I appreciate your reply. I was hoping one of the members of this amazing group could give me some suggestions.

The poop in the photo isn’t really that narrow, if you look at the penny next to it for scale. But it was incredibly long. When added to the equal amount left downstairs in and around his litter box, his output was immense.

I’ve been wondering if he could be allergic to chicken. He’s eaten many brands of food, but all have been chicken, except the rabbit. He doesn’t seem to like beef, but maybe I should try it again in case he is allergic to chicken? Or one of those limited ingredients foods?

 

[monty_dweezil (GA)]

Damn, still no one to offer advice??

He may have issues with chicken. My Monty always throws up after eating any cat food with shrimp in it. He also refuses to eat any beef.

My Dweezil when he was a kitten ate a heap of minced beef and then threw up all over himself, poor baby.

 

[Beenie (GA)]

Hi! My first thought is it looks skinny. My civvie Ming that suffers with constipation takes human sized poops...they can be quite girthy

If Erik doesn't like pumpkin I would try something else to bulk up the stool a bit and see if that doesn't help. Still a vetty visit might be in order. Not sure why he would wipe his tushy on the carpet and such. Almost sounds like a drooler trying to express those anal glands. I would think a trip to the vet is worth it only because of the stickiness and tushy wiping.
Please let me know what they discover.

 

[Maggies Mom Debby]

His yearly exam is Wednesday. We’ll see if Vet Vicki has any other ideas. We have been working on his enormous bowel movements and constipation with the vet for awhile now. She is the one who gave us a diagnosis of IBS-C.

He gets miralax and water added to his food. I did try beef, which gave him projectile vomiting. And his poop is human or dog sized!

The added water seems to have helped him not strain in the box, but it also seems to have made the poop stickier. So the poop doesn’t all come off his little butt and he is dropping poop all around as he jumps out of the box and then walks away. He has only wiped his butt a few times because the poop would not come off. He doesn’t “scoot” his butt like a dog.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

(Match.com) Hey I'm Courtney, come find me!
Well now I know I'm demented because a warning about a poop photo gets me more interested than finding Courtney, if that is her name.
>Wiping of the bum. Do you mean like a dog dragging it's butt? Is it possible poor Eric has worms because that would cause an itchy bum. I don't even know how a cat gets worms, does Eric ever go outside even for a minute of porch time? We have raccoon turds on our deck as I speak, no photo needed.
>Any other change in diet or chance of a bad batch of food? Quality control and pet food don't work well together.
>Our city water is disgusting, too much chlorine makes it smell like bleach. Try some super-market water or anything you think might be more H2O, less???
>Pooping outside the box is sometimes an act of being annoyed (I know you know this already). Does it happen suddenly like he can't make it to the box on time?
>Finally... be thankful you don't have to rent a steam cleaner. When our dog got into a bowl of liquorice it was epic. Right down to the under-padding.

 

[Idjit's mom]

View attachment 36276 (Match.com) Hey I'm Courtney, come find me!
Well now I know I'm demented because a warning about a poop photo gets me more interested than finding Courtney, if that is her name.
>Wiping of the bum. Do you mean like a dog dragging it's butt? Is it possible poor Eric has worms because that would cause an itchy bum. I don't even know how a cat gets worms, does Eric ever go outside even for a minute of porch time? We have raccoon turds on our deck as I speak, no photo needed.
>Any other change in diet or chance of a bad batch of food? Quality control and pet food don't work well together.
>Our city water is disgusting, too much chlorine makes it smell like bleach. Try some super-market water or anything you think might be more H2O, less???
>Pooping outside the box is sometimes an act of being annoyed (I know you know this already). Does it happen suddenly like he can't make it to the box on time?
>Finally... be thankful you don't have to rent a steam cleaner. When our dog got into a bowl of liquorice it was epic. Right down to the under-padding.

OMG I don't even want to think about a whole bowl of licorice , a dog and the carpet!!!!

 

[Maggies Mom Debby]

Dickson, he has IBS with constipation. It’s not a sudden problem. He has very large bowel movements, almost human size. They used to be hard and he strained in the box. We’ve been adding water to his food and they are softer, but sticky. This means he leaves the box trailing poop hanging from his butt that comes off on the floor.

He’s sometimes is wiping the huge poop that is stuck to him off his butt by rubbing it on things. He doesn’t scoot like it itches, and his stool samples have never had worms. He doesn’t go outside. Our water is actually pretty good, but we have been giving him store drinking water.

Honestly, it was easier for us when his poop was firm, but it was miserable for him. I wish I could figure out how to teach him to use toilet paper.

PS: the dog/licorice event sounds like a horror story!

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Oh man, I know IBS for humans is awful, poor kitty. I know you've been here forever so I was grasping at straws but sometimes we miss the obvious.
Yes, bad doggy! She also got into my Tums one night and had Play Doh poo which in the end (the end?) was harmless.
Cynthia has the same sense of humor as I do so once a year I get to tell her I have IBS but the B stands for something else.
My work here is done!