The intestinal transit, from when a cat eats until it defecates, lasts on average between 12 and 24 hours. Through the different sections of the digestive system, the different stages of food digestion take place. The colon is the last section of the intestine, where the absorption takes place, among other things, of water. The longer the stool spends in the colon, the greater the absorption of water by the colon mucosa, while if it passes quickly or if there is any alteration to these levels, the stool will be more hydrated, even becoming diarrheal
What if a cat can’t defecate?
An increase in the dehydration of the feces, produces a difficulty when defecating, and can even paralyze. If the feces are retained for a long time in the colon, they can accumulate as they cannot be eliminated, which can cause a megacolon.
This megacolon is an extreme dilatation of this section of the intestine, which produces an alteration in its contraction mechanism, which implies the loss of the ability to eliminate feces to the outside.
Therefore, at any sign of constipation, we must act quickly to prevent it from developing a megacolon.
What are the symptoms of constipation in cats?
Cats are masters at hiding all their symptoms, for this reason we must be very attentive to them and at the slightest change in attitude and/or behavior go to the vet.
Symptoms of constipation can be:
- Go to the sandbox many times . Be careful! This can sometimes be confused with the inability to urinate. You have to pay close attention to both posture and whether or not he is peeing, since not doing so can be a sign, among others, of urinary obstruction, which is a vital veterinary emergency.
- Getting into position to defecate without actually doing it.
- Meows, of pain, when trying to defecate.
- Small, hard and dry stools.
- Feces outside the litter box , which may indicate pain when defecating, avoiding the use of the litter box as they think that pain occurs when using it.
- Tense and painful abdomen
- vomiting
- Deterioration of their general health , weight loss, neglected and poor quality coat.
What are the causes of constipation in cats?
There are several causes that produce constipation in cats
- Dehydration for whatever reason. As we have seen, water absorption occurs at the colon level, among other things. For this reason, if the cat is dehydrated, the colon will try to absorb more water from the feces to maintain the cat’s water balance.
- Ingestion of foreign bodies, when an obstruction occurs due to the foreign body.
- Spine problems or osteoarthritis that cause pain in the posture to defecate so they avoid doing it. In addition, these pathologies can produce nervous alterations that affect the innervation of different sections of the colon, causing it to not have the capacity to contract normally to eliminate feces.
- Obstructions at the level of the colon , which can be caused by tumors, polyps, traumatisms that produce a narrowing of the pelvic canal through which the colon passes to the outside
- Chronic digestive diseases , which can be from inflammatory to tumoral, that do not allow the proper functioning of the digestive system or that produce, as we have said, obstructions by masses.
Constipation in cats, when to worry?
An episode of constipation lasting one day may be nothing more than anecdotal and is generally resolved with basic measures prescribed by the veterinarian, such as increased consumption of wet food, specific diets (increasing fiber is not necessary in all cases, even in some it can be counterproductive) or remedies to relieve symptoms.
If we see that the cat
- He has n’t defecated for more than a day and when he tries to do so he shows signs of pain, such as meowing or excessive licking of the area.
- pass small, dry, sometimes even bloody stools
- His general condition has worsened . Has a fever, does not groom as before, or is vomiting
- if we suspect that a foreign body may have been eaten .
We should never administer a medication, and especially if it is for use by people, to the cat without asking the veterinarian. The use of some laxatives and enemas for people can cause electrolyte disturbances in our cat.
What can be given to a cat to prevent constipation?
One of the main measures is to avoid any dehydration. Cats are carnivorous animals that ingest water by eating their prey and have no “need” to drink water, by ingesting it with food.
Today, depending on the type of food that is being administered, it is possible that they may have subclinical dehydration, that is, it is not visible to the naked eye that they have it.
To avoid possible dehydration we must
- Increase intake of wet food
- Provide different water points at home , even with fountains to make consumption “more attractive”
Other measures to avoid constipation are:
- Daily litter box cleaning
- Use litter boxes adapted to the needs of the cat. For example, in older cats or with osteoarthritis we will use litter boxes with lower entrances so that they can access them without problems.
- Number and type of litter boxes adapted to the number and social groups of cats in the house
- Clumping sand that allows greater hygiene of the sandbox.
