? Constipated on Flagyl

I can't remember the last time he had a BM. He isn't acting like he's in any pain and he did have a couple days where he ate next to nothing so I could just be neurotic but his little lower intestinal region feels rounder than I'm used to feeling. He is back to eating and has been eating in the morning and at night and I'm guessing having a snack in the afternoon. Somebody has been puking on the floor during the day. It's food puke, not foamy puke and not more than a pile a day but I don't know who is doing it. Could be because of the Flagyl he is on if it is Diego, or it could be because he is constipated. I've been sneaking canned pumpkin into his diet every day, and in the morning I rub coconut oil on the top of his paw so he'll lick it off. Hoping to see something in the litter box soon because I have $0.00 to go to the vet for the fifth time in a month.

 

pumpkin is really good--people have mixed feelings about coconut oil--I personally like it but vets disagree on the use with cats.
fluids would help ... wet food better than dry or freeze dried if he will eat it.
Probably controversial but a little skim milk helps my guys- (like a tablespoon)
slippery elm bark works very well-you can even see if he will eat vaseline (treats hairballs and helps things slide out)

 

I'll give him 125ml sub-q fluids. My bet is the lack of water this past week caused the body to reabsorb what was in his intestines to counteract the dehydration. I do want to try the vaseline. Maybe he will like it. The only reason I ever found out he likes coconut oil is because I use it to remove eye makeup and one night he jumped on the counter and stuck his face right in the jar.

 

I/8 teaspoon of Miralax daily mixed into just a little bit of food to make sure he ate it all worked for us.
You can divide it up or give it all at one time.
The dose can be upped to 1/4 teaspoon daily if needed. It took about 3 days to work.
We were giving pumpkin as well.

 

Is the 1/8 tsp dosage dependent on weight of the animal or is it what all cats are started out on? Also, is a tiny bit of psyllium husk OK as well? Not all at once obviously but for maintenence

 

I don't know about the miralax--
I think slippery elm (apawthecary makes a good tincture) is preferred but psyllium husk is good as well--I am not sure if that causes bloating or not--
I will bump this....

 

Miralax is dosed to effect. 1/8 teaspoon is starting dose and you increase as necessary.

 

Thank you! I will buy some today. God, if anyone ever told me that comparing a pet to a child is a poor analogy I'll just show them all of his doctor bills, Walmart receipts, and then drive my point home by directing them to the bags under my eyes. The only difference is that I cannot file his living expenses as a deduction on my taxes...true love.

 

For all things kitty constipation:

www.felineconstipation.org

If you dig around you may also find really useful info at:

Tanya's Site



Mogs
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Thanks. I ended up doing a search of the site and found this. Very informative. I bought the Miralax but after looking into the side effects of Flagyl I found that a lot of cats seem to not go while they're on it. Also, on the bottle it says not to use if you have IBS, which is what his doctor suspects was his deal with the vomiting and diarrhea last week--or at least symptomic of IBS. Gave Diego some raw meat to up his fluid intake. He doesnt drink nearly as much water as he did pre-diagnosis. Still doing the pumpkin in the canned food, and some vaseline on his paw periodically. I give him a couple of small syringes of water morning and night after he gets his Flagyl which helps to rinse his mouth out and stop him from foaming, so I'm not too worried about his water intake. He doesn't feel alarmingly bloated to me, just a rounded little baby belly. Maybe I'm not used to seeing it since he's been nothing but skin and bones for a while but I'm still on the lookout for a BM within the next day or two and then I'll try the Miralax.

 

Odd, I was just reading on similar topics, and got a different impression. Can you or anyone else be more specific about any contraindication of Flagyl and IBS?

BTW, I give petrolatum for severe constipation using a no-needle syringe with a very short silicone tube affixed to the end, the same syringe I use to force feed. The only problem is that the petrolatum will attack the rubber on the end of the syringe plunger, but if you clean it up afterwards with rubbing alcohol, then coat it with silicone plumbers grease, the syringe will work fine for many multiple uses.

 

Edit: thinking about discontinuing the metronidazole. He's been on 1cc twice a day for 4 days out of a 5 day course. Still no BM. His belly definitely has something in there, but what's weird is he isn't displaying any obvious signs of pain. He was walking slightly hunched for a while last night but he hasn't made an attempt to use the litter box at all besides to pee and even then is infrequent. I've been giving him 2tsp of pumpkin in his food every night and vaseline on his paw once or twice a day which he will lick off readily. Even gave him a raw green bean yesterday and the day before, still nothing. From what I'm reading about the drug, it does cause constipation in humans. A lot of vets claim that it doesn't cause it in animals but there are literally pages of Google search links of people asking about why their pets suddenly became constipated after the use of Flagyl. It is logical to at least entertain the idea that constipation may be an adverse reaction of this drug. He has never been this many days without a BM for as far back as I can remember.

My gut reaction is to discontinue the Flagyl and treat the constipation at its source rather than give him a laxative for it but I hate to stop an antibiotic before its course is over. His symptoms may be gone but the organism (if any--his loose stool and vomiting were of unknown origin) is probably still there.

 

Is it possible to get enough petrolatum in the gastrointestinal tract via paw licking? You need like 3-6 mL ( a teaspoon), or even more, to lube it up enough with an acute constipation issue like a hairball. I tried the paw licking method years ago, it seemed it took more patience than I had at the time to be successful. I just use a feeding syringe instead.

 

Hi JC,

I'm from the 'must finish the course' school for antibiotic treatment. I never want to risk such important treatment options not working at some stage in the future should they be needed. Does your vet have an out of hours number or is there an emergency veterinary service that you could call for advice about finishing out the metronidazole course?

Given that Diego wasn't eating much for some days some of the stool from that time may have got quite dried out and hard. If he were mine I'd try to get him examined by a vet on Monday to see what's going on in his intestines. If he's a bit backed up the vet may be able to administer an enema to get things going again. If there is a blockage then the vet's definitely the place to be.

BTW check for advice on www.felineconstipation.org about when to administer and when to withhold fibre and also when to administer/withhold laxatives. If a cat's badly blocked some of the normal treatments for a cat that's sluggish in the pooping department can do more harm than good because it can act like pressure behind a dam.

I hope Diego has a good poop very soon.




Mogs
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I called the vets office and got a tech on the line. His doctor is in tomorrow but she said that as long as he's eating and drinking normally, it seems like this isn't an emergency situation and I can bring him in for an exam tomorrow if I want to. I really don't as I'm not working enough hours to afford to bring him to the vet for the fifth time this month...

He is eating breakfast, a snack, and dinner all as normal. Drinking is diminished but I mix water in with his food plus he got sub-q on Thursday and I give him syringes of water after his antibiotic so...he may have enough water in him to not feel the need to drink on his own. His stomach is hard and rounded but no signs of pain, no crying, no attempts to even use the litter box. Both the vet tech and I think it's really weird. His last dose is today and then I guess I'll just be hoping he goes before he shows any signs that he needs medical intervention.

 

That's exactly why I'm not comfortable giving him much of anything for it. I haven't studied cats and don't know enough about cats to go around giving him laxatives all willy-nilly.

 

He had a normal sized BM this morning

 

Good job Diego! Now give mama bean a break for awhile.

 

Dear god, yes please. He was so nonchalant about it. I woke up because I could hear him burying something in the litterbox and there it was. Then he walked out, walked over and jumped on my bed like..."what?"

 

Yay for the poop!!! Nice one, Diego!

 

Isn't it crazy how we all get excited about poop! I've been praying for poop for two days.

 

I was snooping around looking for advice. Fred still needs to poop. He stopped a grape size this mornin and yesterday. He's been getting punkin and today I gave Pedia Lax aka docusate sodium. I'm needing to give his antibiotic and cerenia but I've been putting it in about 15cc of liquified food for his e tube but aim scared it will worsen the poop situation. Help ladies!
Otherwise Fred hasn't been nauseated and not as Weak as he has been.
3 cheers for poop!

 

have you tried miralax?? that is what most of us use...ok for diabetics
most start with 1/8 tsp....my guy is a big boy we use more and we give 2x a day but not every day after we get "moving"

 

I opted for the stool softener based on what I read on the felineconstipation website. Hope your guy is ok.