What next for poor Kee Kee?? He's constipated again!

He has been getting his meds every day. I feel so sorry for him. I can't afford more bills. Haven't even gotten Murray's ashes yet. It's been 3 weeks tomorrow.

Kee Kee is a gentle, loving boy. He is good taking his meds. It doesn't seem fair that he keeps going through this.
I've given him some dry treats lately. I wonder if that is contributing to this. He and the youngster are usually chasing each other through the house about this time of night. My poor Kee Kee. :cry:

Missing our Furry Murray,

Cat, Sweet Max, and gang

 

How old is Kee Kee? I'm asking because a lot of older cats have decreased kidney function (half are diagnosed before age 9, half after). Decreased kidney function leads to varying degrees of dehydration, and any amount of dehydration can contribute to constipation. So any time I see a post about an older cat that starts to develop constipation, I suggest getting the kidney values checked. If there's lower kidney function, there's stuff you can do to help support the kidneys, some of which may help with the constipation.

Are you adding water to his food? A lot of older humans get dehydrated because their bodies don't recognise thirst the way it did when they were younger; maybe cats are the same? If he's not getting enough water, then dehydration and possible constipation again.

Finally, I'm not sure what meds Kee Kee is on. A lot of folks here have been using Miralax on their constipated kitties (starting dose is 1/8tsp twice a day). But, if you do use Miralax, you'll need to add extra water to his food for the Miralax to work properly.

Things to do to encourage extra water consumption: add water to food; give all water bowls a thorough cleaning, including fountains (if using a fountain, also clean motor and change filters); have water available at each end of every floor so it isn't as far to go; change all water to fresh water at least once a day (some cats don't like the water that first comes from the faucet but want the stuff that's farther back in the pipe); add ice cubes to water; add a pet fountain.

All that said, I'd still get the kidneys checked. 'Cause extra water is one of the supportive things you can do for older kidneys, but there's other stuff as well. If it *is* a kidney problem, then adding water is just treating the symptom while, with proper support, kidney-cats can have long and health lives.

 

Did the miralax help? Can you increase the meds?
(((((((((((((((((CAT))))))))))))))))))

 

Thank you for your replies. Kee Kee is approximately 4 years old. I think his kidneys were checked the time before last when he was hospitalized for this (last Spring). I will try to get him to drink more water.

He has been getting 3cc of liquid Lactulose daily. He also gets a sprinkling of Miralax in his food.

I'm old. I'm tired. And missing all of the loves of my life that have gone ahead.

Cat, Sweet Max, and gang

 

((((((((((((((((CAT)))))))))))))))))))

Sending cyber hugs.

I dont think you can go wrong with increasing the miralax since he is still having issues.

Do you need any more Miralax??

 

> Thank you for your replies. Kee Kee is approximately 4 years old.
> I think his kidneys were checked the time before last when he was
> hospitalized for this (last Spring).

Okay. I thought Kee Kee was older than he is (think it was a comment in one of your other posts about Kee Kee being the old cat). For some reason, I also thought this was a more recent problem than it appears to be. As constipation seems to be a recurring problem for Kee Kee, you might want to take him in to the vet for a thorough check-up -- or to another vet, if your current vet hasn't found anything.

When Gwyn was four, she had recurring bouts of lethargy, mild fever, and constipation on about a ten-day cycle, and she was losing weight. I brought her in to her regular vet, who suggested some problems and treatments (none of the tests showed anything), but with no success. Tried two other vets at different practices, with the same results. After several months, it finally got to the point where I felt I could only guarantee that Gwyn would be healthy enough to go to one more vet before things started sliding irrevocably downhill.

I called a really good friend of mine at the UofP vet school and gave her all of Gwyn's symptoms and non-effective treatments, and asked her to run things past some of the professors there. I wasn't looking for a diagnosis; I wanted her to ask the vets: if they had a cat with these symptoms who probably didn't have a lot of time left to spend on diagnostics and bad treatments, who would they take her to see? It universally came back for this one vet, who I took Gwyn to see. They ran a few tests and did a full intestinal biopsy and came back with a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease. Which hadn't occured to the other vets as the constipating form of IBD is fairly rare in cats (most have the diarrheal form).

We put Gwyn on prednisone and lactulose, and that kept her stable for a lot of years. We later added (and eventually discontinued) pumpkin, cisapride, cascara, metamucil, and probably some other stuff I've forgotten over the years. I've also learned to give sub-Q fluids -- mostly for her kidney disease, but it helps with the constipation as well -- and enemas (not nearly as bad as you think they are). At the moment, our main treatment consists of prednisone, Miralax, Zantac, sub-Q fluids, and enemas. Gwyn's had constipation issues wax and wane, but are always there in some form or other. On the other hand, in three short weeks, she turns 20, so she's been dealing with this for almost 16 years now.

That said, finding the right vet to do the diagnosis was the key to Gwyn's recovery. If I'd gone to yet another local vet, I honestly don't know what would have happened. If you can find a vet in your area that's skilled in digestive problems or who's a recognised diagnostician for odd problems, I'd recommend going to see her/him.


> I will try to get him to drink more water. He has been getting 3cc of
> liquid Lactulose daily. He also gets a sprinkling of Miralax in his food.

The water's great. Regarding both lactulose and Miralax: having used both, I definitely prefer Miralax. YMMV. (Actually, the cascara was only to enhance the effect of the lactulose, so I don't think it'd work with Miralax.) Anyway ...

Besides seeing a specialist, the one other thing I'd recommend is this article on the managment of constipated cats http://www.theveterinarian.com.au/clinicalreview/article757.asp. I have it bookmarked because of Table 2 at the bottom. It's a lovely list of different types of medications that can help relieve constipation in various ways. So if one medication becomes less effective, you can consider switching or supplementing with a medication that works in the same fashion or that may complement it in some way. Table 2 is one of the main reasons that Gwyn gets Zantac instead of Pepcid A/C -- besides helping with nausea, etc, Zantac also helps with Gwyn's constipation; Pepcid doesn't. (*sticks tongue out at Pepcid*)

Good luck to Kee Kee, and to you --

Jean and her Gwyn

 

Also, you might want to read up on megacolon http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_constipation_and_megacolon.html.

 

Awwwww Cat. My heart hurts for you. No advice for Kee Kee...but I feel that pain in your "voice".

Just want you to know you remain in my prayers

Jeanne

 

Thank you all!

 

This list also shows the various remedies and cautions for using each one:
http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Constipation

But more importantly, constipation that isn't effectively treated by a laxative as powerful as miralax is no joke in a cat. It is likely to be a symptom of something serious that you cannot treat at home.

Yes we're used to treating constipation in humans with home remedies, but in general once you've tried and failed, I think you should take kitty to the vet and check for:

* Dehydration
* Kidney problems
* Colon problems (obstipation, megacolon)
* Other bad stuff.

Best of luck and hugs!

Steve