Is daily Lactulose safe for my cat's long-term digestive health?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes, you can give lactulose orally. If he is a medium-sized cat, he can likely get 2 mL by mouth twice daily until his stools are softer. If he does not defecate for longer than 48 hours, he should be seen by a veterinarian right away. Constipation can progress to obstipation, meaning a cat is completely unable to pass the feces. This can lead to rupture of the colon and/or irreversible problems with the colon. I hope this is helpful.

It is okay for cats to be on this type of stool softener long term. Double check with your vet to make sure they don't have any other recommendations, but otherwise I think you can plan on giving the Restoralax daily.

While lactulose is a type of sugar, it will not make your cat overweight and it will also not damage your cat's teeth. Your kitty actually should lose some weight which will help with the constipation as well. If lactulose is working resolving the constipation then I would keep using it. Also make sure her water bowl is at least 5 feet away from the food bowl as cats do not like to drink water near their food.

Hello, and thanks for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. For now, I wouldn't stress about knowing exactly which medication has helped Kiki - in truth, it's probably been a combination of all the different interventions. Cats who are prone to constipation often need constant adjustments in their management, so for now, if she's doing well, continue the miralax as your vet advised and touch base with them if her stools become hard or less frequent again. Sometimes cats may need to be on both meds for a time, or even switch foods entirely to a diet formulated for cats with constipation issues. So, there's probably not one "right" medication for her, and a therapy that worked this time might still need to be adjusted in the future. I have found the Royal Canin GI Fiber Response food to help immensely - you could ask your vet if that's an appropriate option if Kiki continues having bouts of constipation. Hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Miralax and Benefiber are quite different from each other. I would not use Miralax if she is having diarrhea as you no longer need a laxative. Benefiber would be my recommendation to help bulk up the stool since she is experiencing diarrhea now. Glandex is fine to continue long term as it is a good source of fiber. You can also use Vetasyl capsules for cats (protein in capsule form). If using Benefiber, I would use ~1/2 tsp added to the food. You can also use Laxatone to help keep stools soft and help prevent constipation. I hope this helps!

Stick with the dose that your veterinarian recommends. Constipation can kill. The type of diarrhea he gets from lactulose likely will not impair him. Do not feed him dry food, but stick to good quality tinned cat food, or low residue tinned cat food. You can ask your vet if you can reduce the amount of the individual dose, however, please do not do this on your own without consulting with your vet. Unfortunately the broken pelvis has possibly caused the passage through the pelvis to get smaller and the constipation may have expanded the colon before the pelvis so that feces collect there and do not fit through the pelvical opening. So it is much better if the feces are soft, or even fairly liquid provided that is caused by the lactulose.

Most cats will not have a formed stool while on Miralax or any other stool softener. If the stools are quite loose, decrease the amount and/or frequency of Miralax. You are correct in saying that lactulose is a sugar; however, it WILL NOT cause diabetes. Mammals are not able to break the lactulose molecule down and it is not readily absorbed in the GI tract. It stays in the GI tract, which helps draw water into the GI tract---this is how it has a stool softening effect. Regarding your question for "is there still a medical issue," it sounds like the constipation is resolved, however, there could be an underlying motility issue in the colon that will require continued need for Miralax or other ongoing treatment. Another concern in older cats is kidney disease; we occasionally find that constipated cats have chronic kidney disease. I hope that answers your question!! If not, feel free to request a consultation where we can exchange information back and forth. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!