Constipation Remedies for Pets

Glycerine works for constipation in my dog.

My 105lb (intact) kuvasz bitch has problems once or twice a month during the summer. I get a 2qt enema bag, add 6-8oz of liquid glycerin and fill with warm water. Insert the hose a bit, and let it flow for a minute then slowly push the hose deeper. The further in you can get it with gentle pressure, the better. Works ever time, usually before she can finish the bag.

Goat milk doesn't seem to cure the constipation, but it keeps her hydrated and somewhat nourished when she wouldn't otherwise eat. Goat milk is easier for people to digest than cow milk, so I tried it with her. She also eats raw chicken liver, especially the blood, when she won't otherwise eat. So if your friend is not eating, maybe try that. You might also smear a little glucosamine paste onto the front foot. Mix some CoQ10 into it maybe, I think somewhere I saw 5mg was appropriate for a small cat, but check for yourself. If she tastes the medicine in her food she won't eat, but if it's smeared onto her paw she will lick it off.

This is not a permanent remedy, but it works for a blockage or compaction. My cat is 19 years old, and has trouble with constipation. Her stools are often dry and come out in small pieces, and she strains when she needs to eliminate.

Once I had someone else look after her while I went on a trip for a month, and during that time she got compacted to the point that she lost her appetite and stopped eating. When I got back she was very weak and had lost a lot of weight, and she was no longer cleaning herself. Her caretaker thought she was failing because of her age -- in fact, he was scared that she was about to die -- and he had started to forcefeed her with a liquid diet. She wasn't pooping, but she did dribble a little liquid poop. It occurred to me that the small amount of liquidy poop might not be the result of her liquid diet, but instead be coming from a compaction in her colon.

I mixed powdered magnesium citrate in some water and force fed her that with a syringe. Lo and behold, she pooped a lot the very next day, and started to show some interest in eating again. Little by little she started to eat more and poop again, and she became stronger and stronger until she was back to her old self. Occasionally it happens now that she goes a few days without pooping. She usually loses her appetite when that happens. I immediately give her the magnesium citrate, and she is back to normal again. Sometimes I don't give her enough and I have to do it a second time. I wish I could find something to put in her food every day instead -- that would be a lot better, I'm sure, but she is so finicky. Canned pumkin won't do, but I think I will try aloe if it is tasteless. Still, magnesium citrate works when the constipation is so bad that there is a blockage.

My cat developed megacolon. We started giving him lacToulouse per our vet's recommendation. Months later he was having difficulty going poop again. We took him to the vet and he changed the meds. The cat has passed some stool but continues to leak some brownish fluid and on a daily basis. How can I stop this without taking him to the vet?

Hi. I had a female tabby cat who was fine until she was around 10 years old. Then she suddenly began having constipation issues and would cry and hide under the bed. Her little butt was all red and swollen and she was straining and licking at it. Long story short - after years of help from the vet, which really didn't do much for her at all (pumpkin, laculose, manual extraction - you name it) I read online at a Yahoo forum on the subject, about giving Miralax sprinkled dry on the wet food each day. She never had an issue again unless I stopped. She lived to be almost 20. Now I have a cat who used to be feral and he can go for over a week without pooping. He never drinks water! I tried all the usual remedies listed here, and the aloe juice did nothing! Anyway, I'm back on the Miralax for him which works 100% and there is no taste. I don't want him to end up with megacolon like my little tabby, so if this is what it will take, I guess that's what I will do. I feed him a raw diet which I make myself. I am told he is extremely healthy otherwise. My recommendation - use the Miralax. It seems so unnatural, but if the cat gets megacolon, it's a horrendous situation.

The cat I recently lost after 19 years got diabetes when she was 11 or 12, but it was controlled by using a wet canned food with no sauces, high protein and under 10% carbs. But when she was 17 she got kidney failure. While there is basically no meds in Sweden for treatment for cats with kidney failure I joined an on line group and they helped a lot. These cats often have constipation. Miralax is not sold or allowed in Sweden but I got it into the country. She got about tsp 2 times a day. I began with 1/8th of a tsp and just added to it until her stool was good. It works well. The only thing they have here is a paraffin wax that is liquid and the cat gets it but it coats the stomach so NO food is digested it just passes on through with no nutrition.

I have an old cat with constipation problem. Two enemas, drugs, pumpkin... nothing worked. Then I found out about Lax-eze.{prebiotic natural fiber supplement} No problems any more. Sometimes he skips a day, but that's all. Very happy with results.

Hello earthclinic friends!

One of my cats (10 years old) had constipation some time ago. Problem was solved after I stopped feeding him commercial food (homemade now). Few days ago I fed him a new canned food (supposed high quality) and constipation came back; he is healthy again but I want to have something here for constipation, just in case.

Many recommend Psyllium (Plantago ovata); however, in my country the only good quality product with Psyllium is mixed with Hibiscus sabdariffa flowers (in some countries known as "roselle", used for teas).

I read that some Hibiscus is toxic for cats... does anyone know if Hibiscus sabdariffa is safe for them?

Many thanks, Ana.

My cat gets constipated. She will not eat pumpkin and other suggestions for dealing with this condition, so I have had her on Royal Canin Gastrointestinal food. This works great and she is actually, finally, losing some weight. The problem? This food is now out of stock everywhere! So, does anyone have a recipe for food for a cat that includes plenty of psyllium that she'll actually eat? Or know of another brand that works well? I've got her on urinary/hairball food now that says it greases the skids, so to say. But she goes outside and I don't see her poops anymore, I just see that she's 'wider' than before, so I know she's backing up. I do feel that losing weight will help with transit issues, but we have to get there first to know.

Any suggestions? so far, she won't eat any wet/canned food, only the dry. She'll eat some yogurt, but dairy isn't good for her. I'm putting miralax in her water, but who knows how much she's actually getting. Thanks

Pumpkin for constipation works wonders in my cat. I buy it by the can and freeze it in ice cube trays. Yadi begs for it every day and dances around meowing until I get it thawed out. He knows the word pumpkin. AND it works! His stools are larger and softer now yet not runny. Finally I am seeing "normal" stools.

There seems to be some confusion about the use of pumpkin with dogs. Some websites claim that Pumpkin is good for dogs with diarrhea while other websites claim that Pumpkin is good for dogs with constipation.

Pumpkin cannot control both constipation and diarrhea....they are opposites.

Also, is there a toxic amount of pumpkin for Chihuahuas?

Saw the remedy using pumpkin and I wanna tried .... look at the result! Picture says it all!!! We have our chihuahua some canned pumpkin, took him out to poop and within an hour the big lump was gone!!!

Our poor old, ancient cat was so constipated, he only passed concrete hard poops, a couple of times per week. He is on kidney K D special canned cat food. He ate very little.

I thought one day how unappetizing the cold food was coming out of the fridge so started adding about 50% very hot water and smashing with a fork, I also gave him about 1 level teaspoonful of plain canned pumpkin to a 1/4 can of food. This makes almost a gravy consistency. He just laps it up (has also lost some teeth). He is now eating this 4-5 times per day, and pooping normal, soft poops every day. It took several days to get the hard stuff passed so don't be surprised if you don't get instant results. I also gave only 1/2 teas. pumpkin to start as I didn't want to cause major gas, tummy ache, etc. He seems to be much more active and eating regularly, comes running when he sees his dish. Poor old guy!!!

My 11 yr old male cat has suffered the last 2 yrs with constipation and hard stool. Numerous trips to vet for enemas and disimpacting and over 3 grand in bills he still has problems :( he has been on lactulose 3 times a day and cisapride daily. Won't eat dry food anymore and just licks juice off wet food. Pls help. Will pure pumpkin help?
Tabatha

Our Havanese 8 month old puppy was constipated and hadn't gone for 1 ½ days. He had been out walking around the yard extensively but no luck. My daughter stumbled across your website and she had told me pumpkin and I didn't believe her! I had to put my glasses on just to see it for myself!! Luckily last night I happened to make a pumpkin cake and had leftover pumpkin. Within two minutes of licking up a generous teaspoon of pumpkin, he went straight to the laundry room where he rings his bell to go to the bathroom!! It works like magic... Unbelievable!! Thanks so much!!