Let's talk about poop!

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AndreaM

AndreaM

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Hi everyone,

Schroeder and Kane (civie) have been completely off dry food for almost 2 weeks now. Kane goes outside, so I can't speak to his bathroom habits with any confidence. But Schroeder doesn't appear to be pooping. At all. It's been like this for about a week now. Is this normal when cats go on an all wet-food diet? From what I can tell, Kane is pooping a lot less too. I'm a bit concerned though. Could this be constipation? And if so, what's your experience with remedying this?

Thanks,
Andrea.
 
If you have checked behind chairs, sofa, beds, in closets, etc. for any hidden poop and haven't found any, and you know for sure that Schroeder hasn't pooped, I would go to the vet. IF he is constipated, the longer it goes untreated, the more danger of running in to some major problems.
 
Thank you. I've got a call into my vet now. His poops have been pretty dry for a long time. It should have been my first clue that something was wrong (i.e. dehydration due to the undiagnosed diabetes). But now he's not pooping at all. Poor guy. He's put up with so much poking & prodding & pricking lately....
 
Is he dehydrated now? Hopefully the vet can get him cleaned out and maybe start adding some water to his canned food. Just don't wait on getting him into the vet. Things can turn ugly quickly.
 
My feeling is he is dehydrated. His skin is quite flakey and as I mentioned, the last poop he had, it was quite dry, and only one little piece came out. However, his diabetes clinical symptoms have improved. He is drinking less water, and peeing less in accordance with some recent good BG #'s. He still isn't quite regulated, but we're making progress.

I already do add water to his wet food. He's eating 1- 1.5 reg. sized tins of food/day, which is good for his size (about 10 pounds). He should be getting sufficient water, but his body doesn't seem to be utilizing it properly. His last blood panel showed slightly elevated liver enzymes.
 
Adding pumpkin to his food and also regular Miralax works really well. Just put a little spoonful in water first, mix them so they dissolve, then mix with the canned food...
 
Pumpkin, eh? Not sure how that will go over, but it's worth a try! I've heard of Miralax and I'm just searching to see if it's available in my area (B.C.)

I talked to my vet over the phone and he prescibed Cisapride, which I went and picked up tonight. He said if he hasn't passed anything in the next 24 hours, he wants to see him.
 
I would start with one or the other, pumpkin or miralax. If you are in Canada, I believe others have had problems finding the brand name Miralax. Ask for polyethelene glycol. Thats what Miralax is. First you need to make sure hes not obstipated (blocked).
 
AndreaM said:
I talked to my vet over the phone and he prescibed Cisapride, which I went and picked up tonight. He said if he hasn't passed anything in the next 24 hours, he wants to see him.
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I hate to butt in here but please understand that it can be dangerous to use a pro-motility drug when the patient has not been examined. Your vet and I differ here..... I strongly feel that this is a drug that should not be prescribed without an examination of the patient. If an obstruction is present and you give this drug....
 
OMG I totally missed that line about cisapride! Glad Dr. Lisa caught that.. Cisapride is IMHO (not a vet) total overkill for this early in constipation tx. cisapride is used for cats with such chronic poo issues that megacolon is possibly starting or cat has megacolon. It was pulled off the human market for causing heart issues in some patients, but is still used by vets off label.

Totally start with the miralax/polyethelene glycol first but make sure you go to the vet first to find out if he is blocked before you do any of these things. It will take a few days of daily dose of polyethelene glycol to get things moving.
 
Lisa and Merlyn (GA) said:
Cisapride is IMHO (not a vet) total overkill for this early in constipation tx.

Totally start with the miralax/polyethelene glycol first but make sure you go to the vet first to find out if he is blocked before you do any of these things.
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Strongly agree.
 
In Canada, I believe Miralax is known as Restoralax...exact same product. I think the dose is 1/8 tsp a day.
 
The miralax worked well when Spencer was constipated, well after he had to get enemas. It was good as a maintenance.
 
Schroeder turned out to be quite blocked and had to have an enema. He passed a bunch of poop last night. My vet wants to keep him on Cisapride for a couple more days to keep things moving along, and then look to preventative measures. He mentioned using hairball paste to this end. Have others done this with success? And if I go the Miralax/Restoralax route, can I use this regularly for prevention of constipation? Now that his diabetic clinical signs have decreased, he doesn't seem to be getting enough hydration, as evidenced by the constipation and super dry, flakey skin. Doc says it could be because his body hasn't readjusted to getting so much less water now. Have others experienced this? I already mix water with his food.
 
I am new here but I have been a foster for a good bit and I have to tell you that you should be careful with the Cisapride. I foster a beautiful Chartreux kitty that had some serious food issues. She wouldn't eat for 6 weeks straight and I had to feed her through a syringe. She then ctractided pneumonia and I nearly thought I lost her from the whole mess. Eventually we had to go to a feeding tube but that day she began to eat all on her own. Once she began eating it was on dry food only but the vet also wanted me to give her Cisapride as her whole system was a complete mess from not eating. She finally began to normalize but I started having severe backside issues. Massive explosive diarrhea for about 2 to 3 months. I was trying everything. As a breed I know she has a sensitive tummy so I changed her diet to a straight grain free (Go Natural). Try as I might she would not touch canned food and I would rather her eat dry than not at all. I really think that the Cisapride may have helped cause such a bout of diahrrea. She has now had no episodes of diarrhea for three weeks and counting.

Cisapride will really clean out their system just make sure it doesn't go too much in the wrong direction. Glad things turned out better and you were able to find resolve.
 
I don't know if its appropriate for a diabetic or in this situation, but I have about a half litre of pms-Lactulose that you can have if your vet thinks its useful.
 
Hi!

Have you used it with your cat? I'd love to try him on something that's not Cisapride. It seems to be getting a lot of bad press! Schroeder hasn't shown any adverse reaction to it, but it doesn't seem to be doing much either.

Do you find yourself over on my side of the bridge ever? I work in Surrey and am off work around 4:30 during the week if that's more convenient for you. I'd love to meet up and have a coffee!

Andrea.
 
Hi Andrea,
I'd love to meet for coffee. I think that I sent you my email before by PM, but I'll do it again in a moment. I am going to start a thread aksing about diabetes and lactulose as well.
 
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