Constipated cat

anniehoo

Looking for advice on helping a cat im minding with constipation. She was very distressed and uncomfortable last night, constantly going to her litter tray and straining. She passed a rock hard stool overnight:eek:. I gave her some liquid paraffin this morning but just wondering if anyone has any alternate remedies.

00112984

The liquid paraffin should work. Was going to suggest olive oil when I saw the title.

Maybe keep him on a diet of boiled chicken and wholegrain rice for a few days?

anniehoo

Ok thanks...any idea how much is too much liquid paraffin for a cat? Dont want to end up with the opposite problem

00112984

Well, we used to use olive oil with our cats when I was a child and it was a teaspoon with food twice a day- we'd feed 2 x smaller portions rather than one big lot just to help the cat along, IYKWIM

lorebringer

If you give a vet a buzz they'll be able to tell you how much to use, I haven't the foggiest!

Feeding her a few times a day instead of once could help and also trying to get a bit more fibre into the diet (brown rice great for this). I have found that over time cats can become "resistant" (for want of a better word) to olive oils lax effects, but could be a good thing to try short term.

Just a quick note - she could have cystitis, or a kidney infection. Often cats will go to poo is there is pressure in their bellies without actually needing to poo. Just check to see if there is any pee at all coming out when she is trying to go, she could be straining to go for a pee as opposed to poo. If she is very under the weather after she has passed something then she could have an infection.

leonardo6

mix some weetabix and branflakes together with warm milk into mush. the branflakes are meant to be really good for their fur also.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I'd recommend a visit to the vets practice.

I'd a cat who suffered terribly with constipation, eventually complications from it led to her dying during treatment.

Its very distressing for a cat.

.

ziggy23

aww the poor kitty:( Try and make sure she has plenty of water too

catmad

You could also try tuna in oil. It worked a treat for my sister's cat recently.

mymo

I feed the cats a special dry food, but twice a week I give the dogs sardines, pilchards or similar in olive oil. I put them in a bowl and add extra oil and leave to soak up the flavour for a couple of hours. I add some of the oil to the cats dry food, and give the rest and the fish to the dogs. One cat isn't allowed anything but his special food, but used to share 2 cans between the dogs and cats every week.
As someone said check its not urinary infection as this would cause squatting and pain, its quite common and easy to treat.

Themadhouse

Give her bland food like boiled chicken and rice for a few days and c if she'll drink some prune juice.

Adventure Pout

Sorry but dont agree with most of the suggestion.
The 1st best thing you should do is to contact your vet before giving your cat all the different type of food.
Cats do not process the same food as us, human or dogs. They have more difficulty to digest carbs, so the idea of bran flake or rice, I dont think this is a very good idea.
Your vet will be in better position to recommend what best for kitty in that case.
Otherwise, if your cat likes cream/yoghurt, you can try to give her some small amount. This is not very recommended as if they eat too much of it, it can cause diarrhea.
Good luck and hope kitty gets lots better

strecker

Adventure Pout wrote: »

Sorry but dont agree with most of the suggestion.
The 1st best thing you should do is to contact your vet before giving your cat all the different type of food.
Cats do not process the same food as us, human or dogs. They have more difficulty to digest carbs, so the idea of bran flake or rice, I dont think this is a very good idea.
Your vet will be in better position to recommend what best for kitty in that case.
Otherwise, if your cat likes cream/yoghurt, you can try to give her some small amount. This is not very recommended as if they eat too much of it, it can cause diarrhea.
Good luck and hope kitty gets lots better

Though you're right about "visiting a vet", the fact that cats cannot digest brown rice is beside the point. The fibre is supposed to be NOT digested. Being indigestable is what does the trick. Plus, the cooked rice increases liquid intake. Hills science diets for cats almost all contain rice, also

planetX

chicken and rice is the remedy for diarrhea, so I can't see that it would help the opposite. I'd stick to the oil. Catmilk might ensure the cat is drinking?

anniehoo

As an additional note to this thread, i found out from a vet that its not advisable to manually give liquid paraffin to a cat by mouth. Liquid paraffin can also be inhaled into the lungs aswell as swallowed,leading to pneumonia, so its best given mixed with food.