Hi Krista,

I discovered your YouTube videos yesterday and found your advice on cat care incredibly helpful. My wife and I are caring for our 18-year-old Birman cat, who is in stage 4 kidney disease with significant muscle loss. She’s also struggling with constipation and has other health issues, including high blood pressure and a heart murmur.

Currently, we’re feeding her a mix of wet food (chicken broth, chicken, pumpkin, and egg yolk), and providing SubCut fluids (50ml/day), along with the following supplements:

– Epakitin (0.5g/day)
– Pet-Tinic (2ml/day)
– Lactulose (3ml/day)
– Phos-Bind (0.2g/day)
– Potassium chloride (0.19g/day mixed in the broth – though we’re concerned she’s not getting the full amount since she’s unable to finish the broth).
– In addition, she’s on Amlodipine (0.25ml/day) to manage her high blood pressure.

Despite this, her weight has decreased significantly over the past year. She was once 3.3kg, but a year ago dropped to 2.5kg, and three weeks ago, it dropped again to 1.8kg, despite our best efforts to feed her.

A week ago, we had an enema done at the vet, which relieved some diarrhea, but there was still hardened stool near her anus. We’ve been massaging her abdomen and anus daily to stimulate defecation, and were able to help her pass a large, hard stool last Wednesday. Since then, she’s only passed small amounts of stool – mostly liquid or dark – and has had a lot of difficulty.

Today, we used a Pedia-Lax suppository (1ml), and after about 30 minutes, she passed a larger stool with dark liquid diarrhea. The stool was slightly hard, dark, and very smelly. She’s now very exhausted and resting, but did purr a bit before falling asleep.

For hydration, I gave her 10ml of SubCut fluids before the suppository to prevent dehydration. We’ve seen three different vets, but none have been able to provide lasting relief.

We’re reaching out for advice on whether we’re on the right track and if there’s anything else we can do to help her feel better and poop more easily. Any suggestions, given the circumstances, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for your time and any guidance you can offer.

Warm regards,

Joel and Sonia

My senior, male, neutered, diabetic nebelung cat is experiencing constipation, I had recently slowly changed his diet to a raw based diet from royal Canon diabetic pouches,, as i was put off from the vet scientific diabetic diets in the end due to one day reading the ingredients and seeing that my cat was needing something more or potentially he was lacking something, I say this as he was starting to mirander outside like a Billy goat eating all the graass that he could in our backyard. Coincidently, Boof started flickng his head and scratching at his ears, the next day after noticing his discomfort and that he still hadn’t defecate (day 3) i took him to a neighboring vet as our usual vet was fully booked out, I could see crusty brown specs in his ear and a discharge, the vet I took him to gave, me pmp drops to administer 3 drops per ear twice daily for 7 days. She didn’t want to try to much else due to him being a diabetic and also a new patient,
One day later when I was cleaning boofs bedding a spider
Like bug had come out onto our carpet,
I took a photo of it,
It’s definitely some type of tick not sure if it cpmr from out of his ear or if it has anything to do with his constipation.
Boofs appetite has been great this whole time aswel.
Although after eating I have noticed him somewhat whining ND groverling like his pain 🙁
He also vomited twice after having dinner. (biley foaming substance liquid)
On day 5 I took vet into out normal vet who assessed him, she gave him a 24hour anti nausea injection, and assessed him, she said to resume giving lactolose maybe a little bit more and aswel with the subcut fluids,

And still nothing,….

The vet called today to see how Boof was I explained to her that he wants to go to the toilet but just can’t, and his looking pretty squeamish again,
She explained to me that because of it being 6days now with no bowel movements that it can get Boof pretty sick potentially, she explained that instead of taking a stab in the dark and guess that they would breed to take xrays ect bloods and mannualyl remove all feces that’s stuck in him and it would cost $800. Due to Christmas coming up and the overall rise in the cost of living and the renting crisis here, I am just stuck for money at the moment that kills me to say, I have tried vet pay with. No luck…

Is there anything I can try at home please, it’s not at all a situation where I don’t want to pay anyone, it’s by far the opposite and I’m hoping that a friend of family member will reply to me after asking for a lend, which I never do, and I never would expect or be suprised if anyone can help,
My boy means so much to me,
I just gave Boof a 5ml enema of lactulose and more subcut fluids
Is there anything more that I can do please 🙁 🙁

Have a 7 month old orange tabby. Adopted at 4 months. Has a bout of diarrhea after a long progress of switching him to kitten food instead of adult that was at the shelter (dry, Hills normal kitten). Then harder bowel movements occurred. Small incomplete prolapse occurred. Vet thought could be parasites (none on fecal) and did proactive dewormer. Also started on revolution plus. No improvement, started wet food (hill sensitive stomach kitten). Added water and a probiotic. Perforation continued. Saw vet two weeks later and did another round of dewormed. Said it should resolve on own.

Second opinion at new place. The did manual exam, nothing structurally abnormal. Planned on purse string but then vet consulted and decided conservative measured first. Animax cream and hills I/d. Started to become super constipated. A lot of tummy massages and forced “bicycle” kicks. You could feel the back up. Two week later, switched to hills biome. Did another fecal (negative). Less straining but still harder than average BMs. Continued with adding water and probiotics.

Almost a week ago, did purse string. This poor guy had a bad night the following night after surgery. Only way I can describe it is that it’s almost like a mega colon. He’s able to get highly compacted BMs partly through. I help assist with wiping, warm compresses, warm bath, it’s miserable for the both of us and I thought he’d would burst the stitches or just create a new opening. Finally got most of it to pass. Took back to vet in the am. They could only see a little bit of stool on x-ray but said everything is fine. Upped lactulose to 2mL tid and .75 gabapentin tid. Things were okay until he has to push again. Not as bad but I’m afraid this will be an issue once the stitches are removed in 2 days. Still watering down food, even more since surgery and blended up the biome.

I’m just not sure how to express the compacted BMs are continuing. I had to beg for a CBCw/diff just to ensure there wasn’t a concern for high eos. He drinks great and no concerns with urination. He struggles to eat because of all of this. He’s a little underweight. Super active happy kitty besides all of this.

Any advice on diet, tests, ect that I can bring up to vet? Enema before stitch removal? They do consult a specialist since he’s a kitten and I’m about to ask for a referral. Switch to Royal GI kitten? I just feel horrible that the dude is back and forth in a cone and not fully enjoying his kitten phase. Plus this is putting a strain on our relationship.

Good morning, I have an 8wk old presumed female kitten with a rare congenital defect causing a cloaca instead of normal anus and vagina. She went to another vet for what was thought to be constipation and a partial vaginal prolapse and we were given the diagnosis and told of an expensive surgery that could correct the issue but were advised that euthanasia might be the best course as we’re a rescue and the surgery is not only expensive but has a high complication rate. I’m trying to find anyone with experience with this or surgeons that have done this surgery. We’re trying to decide if the surgery will prolong a happy, comfortable life or only cause issues down the road. She is currently being maintained with laxatives, abdominal massages, antibiotics both oral and topical, prednisone, and bathing. She is a normal, happy kitten except for her bathroom needs and being very undersized(1.4lbs and half the size of her littermates).
Her diagnosis:
Type II Atresia Ani
Rectourethral Fistula

how can i best extract bowels from my injured cat? she is not using the litter box, but there is some leakage. she has no tone in her anus and most likely is healing from nerve damage. i have figured out how to extract her bladder. she is still eating and lively. more details of her condition and our process to support her below.

moonstone is about a year old and showed up at our house 4 months ago brave and spirited. she disappeared for a week and came back with a serious injury. we took her to the er because she was leaking urine and had a limp tail and left hind leg. we learned that her bladder needed to be urgently expressed and that her bowels were backed up. we also learned that she had a tail avulsion and a fracture in her left femoral joint. they expressed her bladder and bowels and sent us home with pain meds and anti-inflammatory medication. we went to aspca the next day hoping to get treatment for her fractured bones, but they suggested nursing her at home and learning how to express her bladder and bowels to see if she could regain control and tone in her anus. they said that maybe in a few weeks she could regain feeling and be able to use the bathroom on her own, and then they would consider amputating her tail and treating her leg. we have quickly learned how to express her bladder, but are struggling to get her to poop. please help us keep moonstone alive!

During the summer my cat Higgins (Higgy) was lying at the top of the stairs and I noticed that she was lethargic, she’d lost a little bit of weight. After monitoring her for a day or two I noticed that she was unable to poop and she winced when I touched her stomach. To cut a long story short, she ended up being hospitalized for two days for an impacted colon. She’s been doing very well until a few days ago. We’ve been giving her lactulose, as prescribed by our vet and we’ve also given her a little Catlax. Her appetite is the same, I’ve been giving her only wet food, she’s drinking water like she normally would and, she is urinating plus, her weight is the same. Her behavior is normal, she’s playing and she’s already attacked the Christmas tree, but she hasn’t been to the bathroom for 5 days. Any advice would be appreciated.

I have a 10 year old female cat. I found her outside two years ago. The past few days she has been running and jumping. Today I fed her and now I noticed her colon is inlarged. She has poo trying to come out but cant. How can I help her? What home remedies can I do? Feed wet food? Or give her a laxative?? She won’t let me rub her tummy or back.

Help!
We rescued a 4 week old kitten and immediately noticed his butt area was different than we’ve ever seen but it did not seem to cause him any pain. Initially he was doing well until he began having diarrhea and mucus/blood in his stool. We brought him to the vet and turns out he had a parasite called Coccidia. It was treated with a 10 day oral medication and we believed everything would be fine afterwards.
After the diarrhea subsided he began to be constipated to the point we had to bring him back to vet twice within a week for him to be sedated and his bowels to be manually released. They have no idea what would cause this.
We went to a specialized vet clinic and they said they could dilate the anus/rectum to help him pass his stool (may not help or may have to constantly have redone) or do a exploratory surgery to see if any tissue or something is in the intestines and such that stops him from passing by himself.
Our personal vet clinic says his anus is abnormal which may mean that he lacks the muscles to be able to push out his own stool.

We have researched online and found a couple pictures of kittens after they have had a prolapsed rectum and they look similar and symptoms seem about the same. He just does not have anything coming out of him.

Does anyone have any advice or personal experience that can help us? The specialized vet says if we can’t figure out what is causing this it would be best to euthanize him so he does not suffer. We do not want to do that. He is the sweetest and most playful kitten.

7 year old female beagle with a history of allergic reactions (bee stings, environmental/pollen/poison Ivy)- started to exhibit serious scratching and head shaking. I have a cone at home so I used that to deter the scratching and head shaking. I also tried these “allergy aid” treats (picture attached), and /or Benadryl to try and calm down the allergic response.
She was starting to get small hives on her head and one of her ears was swelling . She’s had the ear hematomas before in both ears, and the hives before in her head and back.
I was worried it may be fleas or ticks with the smaller hives, so I did the topical flea &tick K9 Advantix with no improvement.
I also gave her a bath two days ago with her mild oatmeal shampoo, and gave her a good scrub just in case there were any mites or critters.
My other half said she threw up yesterday when I was out and had some anal leakage? And now she is not eating- she didn’t poop today when I took her out, instead she peed, did her usual walk around and then just sat down like she was uncomfortable. So I am wondering if she’s constipated and that is why she’s not eating.

I saw the YouTube video about constipated cats. I really need help with my cat. We have been through so much starting with elevated liver enzymes that are finally back to normal,  diabetes that has resolved and now constipation.  He was at the ER over the weekend and had an enema, and is on Lactulose and Miralax.  I live alone with him and my dog. I am a grad student and completely exhausted from all the  care I have given him and and my dog (who also has elevated liver enzymes) in addition to trying to keep up with school and the bills.

Please contact me with any help at maryob814@gmail.com or 415-754-9587. After watching your YouTube video, I took away the dry food. I should have thought of that sooner. I want to know how to care for him and my dog.  They are my babies and all I have. Please contact me.  Thanks.