Is your cat constipated?
Do you check the litter box regularly to check if your cat is constipated? Most constipation starts very silently i.e. it starts with the cat passing less number of stools. After a couple of days this problem starts worsening, your cat could wail in pain when passing stool, there would be an increased frequency of trips to the litter box with nothing there. In severe cases your cat will wail loudly in pain lying on its back waiting for a miracle.
When the condition goes that bad, the cat usually stops eating and would be really irritable on touch. If the constipation is really bad the pain could turn colicky and as people know it’s one of the worst pains one gets to experience. What could be done to treat your cat’s constipation? First thing to be done is to keep it on a regime of water and fluids. Increase the cat’s fluid intake as much as possible as water aids in bowel movements and lubricating the stool. Secondly to replace the dry diet with a diet that has good moisture and proteins.
Like humans, bad food and sedentary lifestyle is mostly responsible for constipation in cats too. Most cats are overfed and they don’t get enough space to burn the excess food off. This causes the cats to become lazy and later due to decreased bowel movements cats end up constipated.
If your cat has entered the old age then constipation will become a recurring problem. You could try giving your cat lactulose. It aids in softening feces and helps in relieving constipation. Lactulose doesn’t cause an increase in blood glucose levels so there’s no risk of getting diabetes with this one.
To start lactulose, give your cat an initial small dose and check whether that helps to relieve the cat’s constipation. Increase it according to the need.
If you are feeding your cat everything right and yet your cat is constipated then it could be caused by lack of movement and exercise. Take your cat out for a walk every day or engage it in some healthy cat play to aid bowels and relieve constipation. This will also help the cat reduce weight and treat diabetes since it is reversible in cats with adequate activity and low sugar diet.