constipation

ruth dalton

Hi
I am new to the forum.
I wonder if anyone can help me. My 6 year old cat has been diagnosed with Idiopathic Cystitis. 3 blockages in 12 months. As a result he has been put onto Hills c/d. He refuses to eat the wet version, so is on the dry. He is also on 1 cystease tablet every other day. My vet seems to think that this is ok, so long as his water intake is good, this is an issue as he refuses to drink, but today I have ordered a water fountain, so I hope to rectify the issue. My question is, I changed him to the new food 2 weeks ago, I have noticed that he struggles to poop in his litter box, he seems to go only every 2 or 3 days. Is this normal ?
Thanks in advance for any advice

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12 Feb 2012 21:16

Cat the Vet

Hi Ruth,

From your description it does sound like he is constipated but it is, especially in his case, very important to rule out cystitis or a blockage because the symptoms of this and constipation are virtually identical. Hopefully you already have but if not you should take him to your vet.

Whether or not this is a problem really depends on how he is coping with passing the faeces in general. If he seems relatively comfortable then going this infrequently isn´t an issue but if he is becoming sore or distressed then it would be a good idea to try changing his diet, not least because any sort of stress could trigger another attack of cystitis in a cat like him. One thing that might be a good idea is contacting the Hills help line (0800 282438 from 9am - 4pm, Monday to Friday.) they usually have trained advisors who will be able to tell you if this is a common problem and if there are any changes you could make to help him. Alternatively, you could speak to your vet about trying a different cystitis diet.

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