I once knew a cat that lived to be over 21 years old! Mr. Winkie Kitty was almost blind and had two teeth but he had a rockin 21st birthday party. Guests brought over bottles of wine, because he was old enough to drink now. Lol. Before you ask ~ NO WE drank the wine and he ate the only food he liked...ground up barbeque rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and a certain cake from a local bakery. This was my co-workers cat and a couple times a week she'd stop at the store on her way home to pick up a chicken. I'm convinced that this is what kept him alive so long ~ he ate better than most people. However this diet caused the poor kitty constipation issues. He didn't poop and she would often have to take him in for an enema. In this case we know why he couldn't poop, no fiber and not enough liquid in his diet. But what are some other reasons why cats won't poop?
1. A sedentary lifestyle. Play with your kitty! (You should do this anyway.)
2. Not enough water in their diet. I wrote about how much water your kitty should drink and how to encourage drinking. This may loosen up clogged food, and help them to "go", especially if they only eat dry food.
3. They might not like the litter box or litter, so they avoid using it. Here are some tips on finding the right litter and box.
4. They might have an obstruction of their colon, or even Megacolon ~ This sounds like a villain from the B movie Monsturd, but it's a real thing! If the colon is blocked, your cat may be throwing up and it will smell like poop because they are impacted. It could be caused by them ingesting something foreign, a tumor, gastric inflammation, etc. Megacolon is the result of them not pooping for a long time. The colon expands and fills with old fecal matter. Please take your cat to the vet if this happens.
5. It could be painful to defecate. They could have an infected anal gland etc. Take your cat to the vet.
If it's more than 3 days without pooping talk to your vet! Cats should excrete at least once a day. Good luck and Happy Crapping!
My girl Roxie died from Megacolon. I fought it for over a year. The vet was shocked when they saw how blocked she was in her Xray. Told me she was living on love. The best explanation I could come up with is she spent days outdoors at my parents house but when I moved to NT she couldn't go outside anymore. She flat out refused to use the litter box.
ReplyDeleteJack has no such issues and I am very happy to clean his litter box :)
I am so very sorry to hear this. At least Roxie is at peace now. Glad to hear Jack is Happy Crapping!
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