stomach problems

[gopherandfluffy]

My daughters cat is 13 yrs old and lately has been having trouble with her digestion or bowels.  She took her to the vet and he just gave her hair ball medicine.  She has been fine for a week but now does not want her stomach touched.  Is there something that she can be given that would help her get her bowels to move?  Or could it be something else?  The hair ball medicine did help, but it doesn't seem to me that it is the only reason.  Thanks, j

[zodiacqueen]

Yes, I agree with the above poster......Salmon oil is very good for digestion!!

[PrettyKitty1]

Hi,

Welcome to our forum. Good to have you here!! Lynnkay practically said it all.  When a cat cannot have a bowel movement, the best thing to do is change diet to a high quality brand, and canned.  Salmon Oil is always good. I get mine at the Vitaminshoppe, only Carlson’s Salmon Oil just because it is considered the best in the market, and my cats deserve no less. Lynn mentioned some good brands that are grain-free and very good for cats. These foods are made of animal protein instead of plant based protein, which is what Purina (Friskies, Kitten Chow, and Fancy Feast) Science Diet, Iams etc contain (grains, by-products, plant based protein and God knows what else). The best thing you can do is go with Wellness, Natural Balance, Nature’s Variety or any other high quality foods, always canned. The canned pumpkin is an excellent idea. Like Lynn said, it acts as stool softener, so it could help the kitty. To help stimulate bowel movement, the wet towel Lynn mentioned is a good idea. Ultimately, if nothing works, taking the kitty to the vet would be wise. Constipation or diarrhea in cats is so common these days, just because of improper nutrition. We fail to give our kitties a species appropriate diet because the pet food industry has everybody trusting them with their junk. I also suffered the terrible consequences with an IBD cat who could not stop bleeding through the rectum and had an awful diarrhea all the time. His colon was covered in blood!!! These commercial pet foods are poor in nutritional content, and yes, they make our kitties very addictive to their products. The result is IBD, obesity, diabetes, vomiting, constipation or chronic diarrhea.  I am now feeding my cats a balanced raw food diet.

For constipated cats, it is usually recommended adding a bit of Physillium husk in powder, not too much, not too little, just the right amount, and you can get that at any pharmacy. You can also just research online about Physillium husk. Just google ‘cats constipation physillium’ You’ll be happy when you find out how good it is for constipated kitties. It provides bowel elasticity.  A vet on the expert forum recommended a product I currently add to my cats’ diet called Missing Link. It provides Omega and fiber. This product can also help the cat have bowel movement and stay regular. Lastly, for cats which have been kept on dry foods for a long time, and cats with stomach problems, it is recommended the addition of digestive enzymes to the food. You can get that at petenzymes.com. Again, you can research all about digestive enzymes. You’ll like what you’ll read. I hope these tips help your daughter’s kitty.  Please keep us posted and good luck!

[lynnkay]

I am so very sorry about your daughter's kitty. I too have an old kitty named Hissie, that is 15 yrs. old. Hissie took very ill. Throwing up, constipated, stopped eating and just no energy at all. It all started maybe 6 wks. or so ago. It took 3 trips to the vet, 6 day stay all together at the vet's and intestional surgery. Vet ran all tests on Hissie. Everything kept coming back good. Then the vet did a barium xray and found a large dried up hairball in Hissie's intestines. So, the hairball had to removed by surgery. Hissie came home. It was a slow recovery, but eventually she was fine. Then, about a week ago, Hissie stopped eating and could not have a bowel movement whatsoever. So, took Hiss to the vet and the vet kept her for 2 days. She was very constipated. Vet gave Hiss enema and stool softeners. Finally, Hissie passed poop the size of a golfball. That is how the vet described it anyway. Hissie is now back home again and she is doing fine. Eating and having regular bowel movements. What type of catfood are you feeding your daughter's kitty? I was feeding Hissie Nine Lives. I thought I was feeding her what she liked. Nine Lives is a commercial catfood. Meaning they put fillers in like grain. Cats are carnivores. Their systems cannot handle grain. The good people here on MedHelp helped educate me on the proper diet for my kitty. I am now giving Hissie high quality catfood such as Wellness and Holistic. I also am giving Hissie salmon oil, which was recommended to me here on MedHelp. You can try giving kitty 100% pure pumpkin. It acts like a stool softener. Or maybe try applying a warm wet cloth to kitty's bottom. These are the home remedies I tried. But, Hissie was just too constipated for these to work. Keep a very close eye on kitty's situation. I got lucky and an enema worked for Hissie. But, cats can get so constipated, that they become impacted. Then, that will require the vet manually digging out kitty's poop or even requiring surgery. There are numerous posts I made here in the cat forum, while Hissie was so ill. Maybe if you have time to read them, they maybe of further help to you. My posts are all titled with Hissie in them, so they are pretty easy to find. I learned the hard way, that proper diet are everything with our cats. Poor Hissie had to learn it the hard way to. Your daughter's cat and my cat are old, but that does not mean they are not strong. Hissie really went through it the last 6 wks., but she pulled through. I believe your daughter's kitty will as well. I am sure others in this forum will answer your post. There are some wonderful people on here, that were there for me, when my cat was so sick. Please keep us posted on your daughter's kitty. We are huge cat lovers in this forum and we do greatly care.