… To give a cat a laxative! Sigh.
First Velvet decided she would no longer eat the Miralax mixed with a licky treat.
Now she is refusing it in a spoonful of smelly tasty people tuna. And she is fighting me every dose of Lactulose (oral syringe). I have been scared I will poke her in the eye when she twists her head. And tonight she got so upset with me she would not come to bed.
I know you’re not supposed to “let the sun go down on your anger,” but I am angry. At myself. Because I haven’t figured out how to get a laxative into my poor cat.
Tomorrow first thing I am going to call the vet. But good grief. I don’t want to keep upsetting my little girl.
What was it Mrs Slocombe was always saying, worrying about her poor pussy? Not funny in real life.
I can only imagine myself throwing up my hands in frustration and muttering “but I am only doing this for your own good”. I don’t have any suggestions for you but I hope the vet does. Animals can be such stinkers when it comes to meds.
Can you get her burrito-wrapped in a towel, so only her head is free?
Then syringe the med in the corner of her mouth?
My sympathies, I had to do months of Sub-Q fluids on my antique cat & she hated Every.Last.Second. of the minutes it took to get enough in her.
This is a very easy way. Pour it on her fur; she’ll lick it off as part of regular grooming/cleaning. Always worked for me. And the cat did it right away.
I may try that. Problem is, this medicine is so sticky it’s worse than grape jelly on a toddler.
I’m sorry you and your antique kitty had this hassle.
I’ve been thinking of trying the burrito-wrap, so maybe tonight’s the night!
It’s funny, the whole time I’m telling her this, I’m asking myself if it really would be different if she were a human and could understand the words but not the idea!
We are to see the vet tech on Friday for her second Solensia injection; hopefully I will get some good suggestions then.
Feline PetEnema is your friend. 6 ml. Ask me how I know.
Have you tried Hartz Delectables Bisque? My kidney kitty lived on Miralax, and that worked every time. IIRC, I also wet it a bit with water or sodium-free tuna water first so it was as inoffensively textured as possible when she was uber picky. I used a small soy sauce dish and gave it (and her K+ powder) before meals when she was really hungry.
Thank you. I just recently started buying Hartz Delectables licky treats and she loves them.
Most of the time. lol
I have also tried giving her the Miralax in her tiny little breakfast spoonful in hope that she will eat it all up.
Sometimes this works.
I can give her the .1 ml of Metacam twice a week. She doesn’t like it but she takes it. But for some reason she hates the Lactulose. And it is a much bigger dose (1 ml) and bigger syringe.
Sigh.
Er. Oh dear. I’m afraid to ask!
I’m also afraid to give her an enema by myself!
But, from your post, I assume it can be done?
Have you tried Miralax? If I am remembering correctly, a lot of people prefer it to Lactulose. Also, just going back to look at the CKD forum, and it appears many/most syringe Lactulose vs putting it in food. Have you tried that? Just be careful to syringe across the tongue, not straight back. Cats are prone to aspirating!
@Rackonteur, this is my Amazon review for 6ml feline Petema/
Ivy is a … challenging … cat on so many levels.
Her latest hang-up is pooping outside the box. The poor little thing strains so hard that most times she tinkles rather than poops. And when the poop finally comes, it’s wee rocks. Fortunately a veterinary Rx is easing the situation. But now and then I can tell she’s uncomfortable and needs a little help. The only odd side effect has been salivating and vomiting, which I understand is normal and so long as I use this only occasionally I’m not troubled by it.
It’s best to do the set-up before you’re ready to rock and roll. Otherwise kitty will see you’re up to something and split for the rest of the day.
Prepare the bathroom with a litter box. Throw the bottom half of the shower curtain and its liner over the rod so it doesn’t get soiled accidentally. Stow anything that can get knocked over or soiled, including towels, mouthwash bottles, tissue box, toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. It’s not unusual for poop to spray out, like some kind of warped weapon of mass destruction. Even if pooping starts normally, prepare for squirts as well. The cat’s been straining, right? Think weak dam during 500-year-flood, OK?
Unwrap the enema. Bring in the kitty and for the love of God, close the door.
Some people suggest wrapping the kitty in a towel and holding it while administering the enema. Don’t bother. (Some people also suggest lubricating the business end – the enema’s business end, not the cat’s business end – with petroleum jelly or K-Y. Don’t go crazy with that stuff. Just the slightest film will do. Otherwise you’re introducing more lube into the pooper and you don’t want it sticking around and slicking up the works for any longer than necessary.
With kitty is on the ground on all fours, gently grasp tail to keep it out of the way and go for the big plunge. Just stick it right in there and push. It’s over in a millisecond. You’ll be all, “Hey, I gave the cat an enema! That was easy!”
The first time, I kept watch over her for the 10 minutes it took for her to poo. Then I left her alone and checked in an hour. Poo, in various forms, was mostly in the box. It also was on the sink and had dripped to the floor. (Listen, I know this is a grossout. Just know what you’re in for.) The cat appeared SO much more comfortable and didn’t fuss at all when I rinsed and shampooed her bottom and any other poo-ey area.
So, yeah. It can be messy. The vomiting can be mildly alarming. But it’s worth it, particularly when you see the relief it brings your kitty.
Hilarious! Thanks!!!
YAY! Success!
She just finished her second dose of Miralax for today!
She had the first one at breakfast, mixed in with Hartz Delectables Stew, which is still new so therefore palatable.
She had the second dose tonight, in her new Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach canned food. It’s a pate, and I mixed the Miralax in like a little meatloaf, and she ate it all up.
I am relieved. So we can skip the Lactulose fight tonight and I will check out the litterbox in the morning.
Thank you. I Googled this and got a link to Chewy, where I enjoyed several of the names of the laxatives.
I am going to ask the vet tech about two of them, Healthy Poops, and Smooth BM GOLD. I also liked Tummy Works. I am going to send the link to my friend whose kitty suffers from the opposite problem: he poops 3-4 times a day.
@Rackonteur, SmoothBM didn’t work for us. But it’s become a constant source of amusement to Mr. Zuzu’s Petals, who likes to tell our nephew, “That cat’s on Smooth BM.” And then they laugh like 8-year-olds.
We started off doing Miralax and Lactulose, twice a day.
I do the Lactulose with an oral syringe but instead of getting to where she endured it, like claw-clipping and some other procedures, she has been fighting harder and harder.
I’ve finally seen a realistic and honest veterinary article on medicating a cat, and I really appreciated the guy admitting that there are some cats you just cannot give medicine to. Like my vet said, you don’t want to wreck your relationship with your cat.
I am trying to remember that we are taking this one day at a time, one dose at a time. I know in my head that that’s a good way to live, but it is very very hard for me as a lover of routine and knowing what to expect every day (read: every minute of every day).
It was easier, and much harder, when I had a car.
But I digress. 
Thank you. Now I’m laughing like an 8-year-old! 
Thank you for the tip about Smooth BM too.
I had perhaps the most angry cat alive and figured it out. She was blind, had pancreatitis, CKD and SCL, and a whole host of other issues. I learned the hard way. I promise it can be done.
PM me if you want, and if you are close am happy to help! I have had four kidney kitties and am pretty good at all the things. Better than I am at horse things!
