Constipation in Cats, Prevention of Problems Caused By Dislike of the Area Used for Defecation, Kidney Disease, and Hairballs

We’re examining the factors that can cause cats to become constipated so they have difficulty passing stool. We’ve looked at poor teeth, poor appetite, diets low in fiber, dehydration, arthritis, and lack of exercise. Now, let’s look at three more significant problems that cause constipation, with our focus being how to prevent them.

7. Dislike of the Area Used for Defecation
Constipated cats learn to associate pain with defecation, and if they are using the litter box, they automatically associate the litter box with pain as well. Cats that have made the association of the box and pain try to defecate in other places around the house.

Cats also avoid the litter box if they have arthritis and it hurts them to climb into it, or if they are attacked on their way to the litter box or while in the litter box. To prevent this, use litter boxes with ramps, use NSAIDs to control arthritis pain, and allow cats to escape from aggressive housemates to a quiet area for defecation. Keep stools moist with fluids and stool softeners—from pumpkin and rhubarb to ground flaxseed and psyllium—so that defecation isn’t a painful chore.

8. Kidney Disease
Cats with kidney disease become constipated because they’ve lost the ability to conserve water. These cats become dehydrated. As their bodily fluids dry up, the water in the stool is sucked out by the high osmotic content of the blood. The drier the stool becomes, the more difficult it is for intestinal muscles to contract around it and propel it forward. The longer the dry stool remains in the intestine, the larger the intestine is stretched. As intestinal nerves and muscles stretch beyond their normal capacity, the gut permanently loses its ability to contract. This is what causes megacolon, the condition in which cats are entirely unable to defecate.

It helps many cats with kidney disease to receive herbs, such as Rehmannia, and Omega 3 fatty acids from fish or flax seed. Acupuncture and constitutional homeopathic medications also help. The single most important remedy, though, is water, and these cats may need subcutaneous fluids every couple of days to counter the loss of fluids through the urine. I like to give these cats a special treat of one salted potato chip every few days because a little salt is also beneficial for the kidney. And we all understand what ‘little’ means, don’t we.

9. Hairballs
The most beautiful feline coats turn into ugly wads of intestinal gunk if we don’t help our cats groom themselves. Hairball gunk can accumulate in the stomach where it causes vomiting, or it can flow into the intestines where it resists all enzyme degradation and remains a thick wad for its passage down the entire intestinal tract.

We can do a lot to prevent hairballs by removing hair, and by feeding fish oil, flax oil, sesame, olive, or nut oils to promote passage. Avoid feeding mineral oil because it has no flavor and can be inhaled into the lungs more readily than oils that cats smell easily. Also, mineral oil combines with fat soluble vitamins and carries them out of the intestines while the oils mentioned above all contribute more nutritional value than they carry off.

To help remove hair so that it isn’t swallowed, try dampening your hands and rubbing them over the coat so that dead hairs stick and are easily lifted off. It also helps to gently groom cats with old fashioned boar hair hairbrushes and newfangled stripping tools, such as the Defurminator.

The older cats become, the less able they are to groom themselves and the more likely they are to develop hairballs, so be sure to increase grooming frequency to at least one minute a day for every year of age.

It also helps to prevent cats from chewing out their hair by keeping them free of fleas. Clean healthy bodies have fewer fleas than sick, dirty bodies, so wash and groom your pet often. To control fleas, vacuum the floor, wash the bedding, and remove litter around the house that fleas can hide in. Apply calendula or herbal teas if your cat’s skin becomes irritated.

Cats also chew out their hair if they have pain—over their hips with arthritis, over the belly with stomach pains, anywhere if they’re anxious. If your cat is chewing, get medical help to diagnose and address the problem.

We’ll continue with our last discussion of how to prevent constipation in the next Caring for Pets entry, then we’ll discuss foods, herbs, homeopathy, acupuncture and drugs that help treat it.