Treating Constipation in Pets

Let’s unplug the blog and return to constipation. This is a problem that takes the back seat to hemorrhaging, fractures, and convulsions, but it shouldn’t because constipation affects more pets than all our dramatic pet diseases combined. It’s important to remember that constipation is difficulty defecating; it is not obstipation. Obstipation is the complete inability to defecate. Obstipation is fatal. Unfortunately, constipation can lead to obstipation, but we can prevent that with a few simple steps.

In a previous blog (Constipation In Pets, A Dozen Causes) we looked at many conditions that predispose pets to becoming constipated. The most common conditions are weakness, pain, and debility—often caused by arthritis or neuromuscular disease. Weak, painful pets don’t squat to defecate, and don’t have strength in their muscle contractions to get the job done.

How often should they be defecating?
Food moves through the stomach and intestines of healthy pets in less than 24 hours. When pets are fed once a day, they defecate once a day. When feed twice a day, they defecate twice a day. Puppies and kittens fed 4-6 times a day defecate several times a day.

If pets aren’t defecating as often as they’re fed, the odds are that they’re constipated. Use these five steps to help prevent constipation:
1. Increase exercise to strengthen the muscles. Avoid climbing, running, and exercising on hard concrete surfaces. If possible, walk on grass or sand or swim.
2. Offer running water or offer cool water. A ceramic bowl from a crock pot keeps water cool all day. If it’s hot, freeze water in a yogurt container and put the ice in the crock pot to float in the water. If your dog thinks ice is a toy, use two water containers—one to drink from, one to play with.
3. Increase water consumption by feeding homemade or canned food. If feeding only kibble, soak it in broth.
4. Increase fiber by supplementing with grated vegetables (carrots, broccoli, and green beans) or supplement with whole ground flax seed. If using flax, purchase only what your pet will use in two months because flax seed oxidizes. Keep what your pet will use in a week’s time in the refrigerator, and put the rest in the freezer.
5. Give small amounts of fish oil from wild-caught, cold-water fish, such as menhaden fish, salmon, sardines, and anchovies. Or, give small amounts of cod liver oil.

Taking these five steps will make your pet more comfortable and productive.

We’ll cover two more steps that help constipated pets—adding probiotics and prebiotics—in a future blog. Then, we’ll cover why it’s silly to use psyllium in constipated pets.

For the scatological, several puns were buried in this column. I think it’s out of my system.