Constipation

[Necronomicat]

Hi everyone,

My kitty Mayhem is on Purina Dm dry and Wellness core for his wet. I noticed after his glucose curve vist that his bum was looking a little red and swollen. I was pretty surprised this didn’t get mentioned to me when I picked him up as they would have taken his temperature rectally throughout the day. My guess is the high protein diet and not enough fiber is to blame?

I give him wet and a bit of dry mixed with water for both his meals.

I put an e-collar on for a bit so he would stop licking it. Odds are if it doesn’t clear up in a couple of days I’ll get him in to the vet and have him checked out anyway.

Has anyone else experienced constipation with their diabetic kitty??
Just wondering if this is a common side effect of either the insulin (he is on Lantis) or the high protein food?

If so what worked?

I have heard pumpkin is great, but I’m not so certain May would like the taste. However; if it is proven to help I am willing to give it a try.

Any suggestions and advice would be wonderful.

Thank you,

=^••^=

 

[Critter Mom]

Welcome to you and Mayhem (great name!).

Here's a great site about all things feline gut health:

felineconstipation.org

Canned plain pumpkin can work very well to help issues with both constipation and diarrhoea. You start of with a small amount and mix it into wet food. Many cats take to it really well. The above site gives lots of advice on acute treatment and also prevention. If pumpkin is a no-no as far as your kitty is concerned the site lists other things which can help. (NB: If it should prove necessary to try psyllium husk instead of pumpkin it's best to start with a very tiny amount since, in addition to softening, a small amount of psyllium can really bulk up the stool!)

Diabetes can affect the nervous system. Most often neuropathy is noticeable in the limbs (reluctance to jump up onto higher surfaces if mild, marked plantigrade stance and difficulties walking if severe). However, it can also affect the nerves in the GI tract and may cause gut motility issues (diabetic gastroparesis) which may then give rise to problems with constipation. Neuropathy symptoms can be reversed with better blood glucose regulation and also supplementation with a diabetic-friendly B12 methylcobalamin supplement (e.g. Zobaline, available online).

The diet change may also be a contributing factor. There may be less fibre in the low carb, high protein food than Mayhem's previous diet. It would probably be helpful to you to compare the list of ingredients between the new food and the old to check differences in fibre type/content.

Before starting any treatment for constipation it's highly advisable to get the vet to give Mayhem a once-over to make sure that there's no bowel obstruction or impacted faeces causing a problem. Thereafter, it's extremely helpful to keep a little journal with a log of bowel movements so that you can catch any potential problems and deal with them quickly.

Hope some of the above helps. Do keep us posted with how you get on.


Mogs
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[Necronomicat]

Thank you so much!! That is really helpful advice. I have been keeping track of all of his symptoms and shots since we started treatment and it is by far one of the best things. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to my post.

Thank you.

 

[Critter Mom]

You're very welcome! I've received so much help from other members here so it's good to be able to pay a little bit of that forward. Kitty constipation is no fun.

In addition to getting help with diabetes-specific stuff, there are members here dealing with all manner of health issues for their kitties (hence the main board having the title 'Feline Health') so it's always a good idea to post any questions you might have on Feline Health. Members may have suggestions to help immediately based on their own experience but they can also point you to other reputable cat health sites and condition-specific support groups should you ever need more detailed/specialised information.

I have learned so much about cat health since I became a member of FDMB. Also, the members here are very kind and caring. It can be really scary in the early days after Dx: there's such a vertical learning curve, and it's pretty much the norm to feel completely overwhelmed at first. In addition to helping you learn about all things feline diabetes, you'll also have that bit of emotional support from others who've been through the same thing, and it makes a world of difference.


Mogs
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[Larry and Kitties]

I use Polyethylene glycol 3350 (generic Miralax). I add a little to their canned food. Onr doses to effect, that increase until no longer constipated.