(Sorry) it's a cat constipation one

[felinelucky]

Any remedies you swear by?

My otherwise very good little cat has been leaving little hard round droppings outside the litter box, and I feel like she may be asking for help.

Having started my cat ownership journey knee deep in 2x cases of kitten giardia some years back, it feels churlish not to appreciate solid poops wherever I find them, but I do want her to be comfortable.

What does she eat at the moment?

One of mine is prone to constipation but can manage as long as her diet is wet food. And cat milk which she is obsessed with.

Add some water to wet cat food in case the cat isn't drinking enough.

A cat probiotic will help and so will Psyllium husk as added fibre.

My cat ended up at the vet with constipation and urinary retention, caused by stress a couple weeks ago. The rescue I git her from, suggested cat milk might help. It seems to have done. And it's actually a treat she enjoys.

I give mine cat milk for this, I put it in her breakfast dish and she likes it. I buy the Sainsburys one.

Thanks so much, everyone! I've never tried her on cat milk. Will give it a go.

I've brought the Sainsbury's brand one instead of whiskers today. I wonder if madam Penelope will turn her nose up at supermarket brand. Shes a little bit of a diva.

I tried her on the Tesco one too but it’s a darker colour.

So glad you posted OP. My boy gets terribly constipated at times and occasionally I have to help the poo out with my hand in a poo bag. He's a dried food eater out of choice (wet food down for the other who prefers it). I didn't know you could get cat milk so will definitely give it a try

My vet recommended lactulose. Just the human kind. 2ml up to 3x day for my 5kg cat.

Actually the odd half a teaspoon every few days seems to do the trick.

Bonus is I don't think cats can taste it so you can just mix it straight into food.

Worked a treat on my chronically constipated monster.

we might actually have taken a pic of the result as it was so impressive'

@Toddlerteaplease we shall see what our respective princesses say about it!

I considered lactulose, but as it's pure sugar, I was worried about their teeth.

Rex is on Royal Canin Fibre Response biscuits which definitely work. You can get it in wet food tins as well but he's far too fussy. The only thing with increasing fibre is to make sure they drink a lot as well.

The hairball pastes also help soften stools (it's the paraffin in it). Unfortunately I can only get Rex to eat them by smearing it on his paws, which gets very messy..

A teaspoon of Salmon oil and/or olive oil works - some cats will lap it up or can be added to wet food.

Lactulose helps. You could mix with Lk e Lix rather than wet food. @Toddlerteaplease I wouldn't worry too much about the teeth as it's a liquid and only a small amount each dose. If they drink water I can't imagine it would be on the teeth that long to cause problems.

Rex only 'goes' every second day (and had a vet visit & Miralax enema when he hadn't gone for 5 days straight!) so I've become a bit of an expert in cat poo habits now.

My chronically constipated cat has been having lactulose for years a couple of times a week mixed into her food. It’s the only thing that works for her

Fish oil, vaseline around their bottom and some paste from the vet did it for us.

Ooh, I think I'd lose a limb if I tried the Vaseline manoeuvre 😆 She's got very strong ideas about personal boundaries

Our vet recommended lactulose when our cat was constipated (and pretty immobile on cage rest) after surgery. We gave 1ml twice a day in wet food (3kg cat) and then dropped down to once a day after about a week, for another couple of weeks. Did the trick. Cost about £3 from the pharmacy.

Well, the cat milk was a bust. She ignored it and demanded her usual oat milk. Sounds like lactulose is the way to go...

If u r feeding your cat dry food stop immediately and go on to wet food only forever . If u r not feeding dry then u need to talk to a vet . In the meantime , to make him poop , put 3 drops of extra virgin olive oil onto one of his BACK feet , not on the pad , on the top of his foot . He will lick if off , eventually , and should poo within 24 hours . My cat is old , so I give him the olive oil treatment once a week and he's a happy pooper , not every day but he goes regular . This really will help I promise but u should still talk to a vet .

First , stop feeding dry food , that a constipation causer . Second , put a few drops of extra virgin olive oil on one of his BACK feet , not the pad , on the top . He will lick it off . This is great for hairballs also . If necessary , do this once a week to keep him regular .

Thank goodness for this thread! I think my little madam may be doing her business elsewhere, or maybe constipated, but I don't know.
She's eating well, still going out, active and doesn't seem different, but was always pooing every 2 days (and sometimes daily) in her litter box. Off to get the lactulose and olive oil, fingers and back paws 😾🙀crossed.

Be warned, my older cat got such constipation that the vet had to do an enema. Which the vet would only do under anaesthetic. She came home with most of her tail and arse fur shaved off (she was quite fluffy), and was incredibly pissed off. It wasn't cheap...

DCat had the enema treatment for a sudden bout of constipation too - and yes to it being bloody expensive. Was sent home with instructions to get a giant bottle of lactulose from the chemist and use that to keep her regular.

The olive oil on the back foot is a genius idea-have done that plus lactulose plus cat milk, but empty litter box, not even a wee, so will be off to the vet's tomorrow.🙁

Some really good ideas re adding fat etc. I know when my cat is having issues because his multiple jumps in and out of his litter box. I encourage him to run around with lots of play to get him going! However, it's an uncommon problem.

Kept madam in all day, due to go to vet tomorrow, et voila ! Has now used the litter box with a smirk on her little furry face! 😂