My cat is constipated, not eating or drinking. What can I do?

Keep Lucky hydrated. If he eats dry food, mix in some warm water or low sodium chicken broth. Warm the food slightly to stimulate the appetite. Mix in a teaspoon of plain canned pumpkin (NOT pie filling) once or twice daily. Unflavored PediaLyte can be mixed with water to make a 50/50 solution. Monitor for straining to defecate, lethargy or loss of appetite. IF he doesn't eat for 2+ days have him rechecked by your veterinarian to prevent serious liver related complications. An appetite stimulant can be dispensed to jumpstart his appetite.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry that Mama is having these issues. Constipation is really a disease of prevention. If she is straining then at this point she likely needs another enema. In the future you will need to prevent the constipation from occurring by getting her on a high-fibre diet. Sometimes adding canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, just pure pumpkin) to the diet can help. Discuss with your vet about adding other products, like lactulose, to her diet daily. There are other products as well that can be added depending on how severe Mama's issues are. Increasing the fluid intake is another very useful tool. Feeding canned food and adding water to the food is a good preventative measure as well. Best of luck with Mama.

Poor Angel! This can be such a problem in older cats. You can add in some canned pumpkin (1 teaspoon a day) to help increase her fiber intake. Also, if you haven't already, I would talk to your vet about doing some abdominal x-rays. These will help the vet see how large the colon is and how much stool is present. Cats can get something called megacolon where the muscles in their colon don't work well and they get easily constipated. These cats usually need to be sedated and manually have some of the stool removed and then put on a drug called cisapride. Some cats will have to stay on this drug long term, but I have personally had good success with putting them on a food called Royal Canin GI Fiber Response and eventually getting them off cisapride and stool softeners. It is a prescription food so I would talk to your vet about it. Also, . Every cat is different and your vet will need to help guide you through this process. If your vet doesn't think she has megacolon then cisapride may not be needed but if she is REALLY backed up then she may still need to be sedated and have some feces removed to help her out. I hope this helps!

I’m sorry to hear about Sapphire! If she is not vomiting and is drinking water, you can try a dose or two of laxatone: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/tomlyn-laxatone-tuna-flavored-hairball-lubricant This helps with mild constipation, especially due to hairballs. You can also try ONE dose of miralax liquid (regular human strength. Give 1/4 tsp by mouth once. (If there are other things going on it could worsen dehydration so do NOT give more than one dose just in case). But the truth is, once Sapphire goes 24 hours without eating, it’s time to see the vet. At that point we have to consider something else like a fever, infection, injury, organ disease, toxin etc. Even if it is regular old constipation, an enema or stronger laxative may be needed. Do no under any circumstance try to give an enema to Sapphire at home. I hope this helps and best of luck to you and Sapphire!

It sounds very likely that Tink could be constipated. I would advise the following tactics to help relieve her constipation; increased water intake Wet or tinned food Pureed pumpkin Mineral oil- Mineral oil can be given at 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds body weight once or twice daily, and coconut oil and vegetable oil can be similarly dosed A high fiber food- http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=32074 If Tink does not improve in the next 24 hours, I would advise taking her to the veterinarian in case she has an underlying medical condition. Here are some links to help you; https://www.petcoach.co/article/the-big-no-go-constipation-in-cats-101/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/best-home-made-remedies-for-your-constipated-pet/

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Junie. Most of the time, it will take a while for a cat to have a bowel movement after a bout of colitis. So hopefully this is the case and she is not constipated. If she is eating and drinking normally again, then she should have a bowel movement soon. If she is straining to defecate, then this is more indicative of constipation. Sometimes feeding a bit of canned pumpkin can help. Most of the time, you need to contact her veterinarian though. I hope this information helps!

Make sure she has plenty of water. You can add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin (NOT pie filling) per 10lbs body weight once or twice daily. Mix well into the food. Canned is preferred since it contains more moisture which will aid defecation. Too much pumpkin may cause diarrhea. It should not cause pain. If Mishka is painful, have her examined by your veterinarian.