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."
Posted By Rubi (Los Angeles) on 01/23/2015
"How much did you give your cat? I have a 15-20 lb dog that is constipated but I wanna make sure the dosage I give is correct"Posted By Natalie (Tacoma, Wa) on 07/22/2015
"I have a cat with IBD and constipation. My vet said to give him Miralax daily, but I want to try a more natural approach. Maybe you can use Miralax for your old cat? It's not natural, but I haven't found a natural daily supplement for this issue."Posted By Cattymom (Usa) on 05/01/2016
"Read this online.....can't vouch for it as I'm not a vet, just a concerned pet owner like you all...I HATE taking cat to vet as it seems to usually make him 5x worse from stress (might get the initial problem resolved, but then he'll get a URI or UTI or a number of other issues.
Anyway, here's what I'd read elsewhere:
Give your dog or cat 1/4 to 1 tsp of magnesium citrate powder dissolved in some very hot water. Cats small amounts - larger pets higher dosages - Very large dogs can have 2 tsp. After it dissolves you can add a little cooler water so it is easy to drink. It dissolves beautifully and quickly. You can also syringe feed the magnesium citrate to your pet if need be. The magnesium can be given 2 or 3 times the first day."
Posted By Colleen (Missouri) on 11/14/2018
"Hi, how do you mix it up and how can I make it liquid food from hard dog food?"Posted By Connie (Usa) on 02/05/2026
"What was the cause? If you know? My cat has the same signs with constipation, he’s a long hair orange cat & I think it’s caused from hairballs (that aren’t regurgitated). I’m quite frustrated. He’s on a prescription wet food Royal Canin g/I which is great and he loves the creamy texture. He can’t stand anything lumpy or shreds; then only drinks the juice or gravy. Had 9 teeth removed a couple yrs ago been hard to Feed to say the least. If there’s any other supplements that could work would ec or someone answer this?"
