problems after megacolon surgery

My 6-year-old cat Harry struggled with constipation from megacolon for two years, then had successful surgery for it in Sept. 2008.  He is no longer constipated but will not use his litter pan for pooping.  He has loose bowel movements and is increasingly shaky.  He is also long-haired and manages to make quite a mess of himself (I get a groomer to shave his bottom and bloomers to help with this).  However it is increasingly difficult for me to deal with his pooping all over the house, and it's hard on the other cats in the house.  I would appreciate any advice on how to get him using his litter pan again, or anything else to help cope with this problem.
thank you,
Jane

[opus88]

good for you, but I can understand your frustration.
I would assume kitty had most of his bowel removed?...thus the loose bowels..
Has this not using the pan just started? or has it been since the surgery?
Usually when a kitty won't use the box its a sign of them trying to tell you something is wrong and possibly they are in some pain when having a bowel movement...

Maybe he can no longer feel himself going?
Have you talked this over with your Vet?

I had a cat that did this too...and her problem was IBS, she was on steroids for a long time and got very sick from that and eventually had to be put down..it was NOT nice cleaning up poop everyday and she'd hide it too so I had to find it by smell and crawl in under everything, I did not like her very much after a few years of this, but I do know she was trying to tell me she was in pain and I felt so very bad that I didn't have the kknowledge to help her.

I would make sure this kitty had lots of fiber in his diet...to bulk up the stools, metamucil would work in small amounts if you are able to hide it in his food...
there is also a product called benefical(?)...with no smell or taste so that would be better, perhaps the vet has a product to?
he needs fiber for sure...have you also tried different brands of cat food?...do you use canned or dry?

there are people on here and myself included that can give you names of very good food...depending on what he's getting now.
I know this is a short bowel prob. however food change and added fiber are a good place to start with..

let us know more

[PrettyKitty1]

Hi Jane,

I'm so sorry Harry is going through such hard times as well as yourself. It is painful to have to deal with feces all over the house. Trust me...I know!! I have an IBD cat, but this cat had diarrhea instead of constipation. Ugh....awful.

When fighting Megacolon, postoperative care involves having to deal with diarrhea. Some cats will have occasional diarrhea, others will have a more frequent condition.  Try to keep him comfortable, and follow the vet's orders. You should have been given antibiotics. Progressively the stool becomes more formed, but rarely ever becomes normal. But we are talking about surgery being done in September.

Does the vet know what is going on? I'm not sure it is normal for him to still have diarrhea after all this time. You might want to post this on the expert forum. There are very good vets who can offer you some good advice for free.

The shaking and the pooping outside the box is a bit concerning. Maybe you should get a second opinion on the matter. In other words, if you see that your cat is miserable which, by your description, he is, then I would see another vet. That is why I think posting this on the expert forum, right here on this website will help you a lot.
Please consider that as an option. And I wish you the best of luck to you and poor Harry.

PK