Cat Constipation - Causes and Treatments
The average family cat will have a bowel movement once or twice a day but those who have cat constipation will strain when trying to remove the feces from their body as they are hard.
Cat constipation is very common and the occasional bout is nothing for a cat owner to get unduly worried about. However a cat who is suffering from chronic constipation will need to be seen by a vet and as they get older they are more prone to suffer from this problem.
There are only a few reasons as to what causes cat constipation and these are as follows:-
Obstruction
This will have been caused by a hairball, tumor or a foreign body which prevents the movement of stools inside the cat’s colon and causes fecal to build up. The fecal matter then becomes a hard dry mass and will distend the colon which then is unable to contract and expel the feces from the cat’s body. This condition is more commonly known as mega colon.
You will usually known when your cat is suffering from constipation as they run to their litter box quite often and strain to pass any stools. They also make a noise and start licking the area around their anus. They will also become sluggish and lose their appetite. Also another common sign is vomiting and they may pass a small amount of liquid feces when they are trying to have a bowel movement.
If the cat’s constipation is not too severe an enema will clear the colon and any hard impacted feces may well have to be physically removed at the vets under anesthetic. The vet will also give the cat intravenous liquids in order to prevent them from becoming dehydrated.
Once the bout of constipation has cleared the underlying problem such as the obstruction can be tackled.
For those cats who are suffering from mega colon or some untreatable or unknown problem then the owner will providing with a management regime for their pet.
Increasing the amount of fiber in a cats diet will assist with their bowel movements and also increasing the amount of fluids they take in (give them canned rather than dry food instead). You could also try giving your cat milk or soup to help increase the amount of fluids that they have.
However, if the above methods do no help in treating the mega colon the only other alternative is surgery but the colon will have to be removed (this form of surgery is successful).
So if you think your cat is suffering from cat constipation a quick visit to the vets will soon put your mind at ease.
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