Megacolon in Cats

March 2012 Suzanna hadn't 'pooped' for 2 full days. I put a little bit of mineral oil in her food as a stool softener. I had given her mineral oil many times over the years, with positive results. I waited another day but still nothing. She stopped eating. She would lick up all the gravy around the meat in her dish, but wasn't actually eating anything. It seemed like a case of constipation, so I took her to the vet where she was given a comprehensive physical exam, an enema and a prescription for Lactulose (a stool softener.) The Lactulose did soften the stool as intended, but when the prescription ran out, she didn't return to her 'regular' routine of every other day.

The beginning of June 2012, Suzanna hasn’t had a bowel movement for 3 days. She’s been taking Lactulose as prescribed and an occasional dose of mineral oil, but she’s blocked. My plan was to take her to the vet when I got home from work. I went home at noon just to check on her and what I saw was a horror. My house looked like a crime scene. There was bloody feces everywhere…on the floor, the furniture, the bed. I raced around looking for her because we were going to the vet NOW! Never mind going back to work. Suzanna walked out from the closet where she was hiding and vomited blood…all blood.This visit to the vet required an overnight stay, 2 enemas, x-rays, a sedative for the enemas, a pain suppressor, a blood test, antibiotics, MiraLAX and Cisapride. The presence of blood was a result of irritation to the intestines due to the blockage of fecal matter. After the enemas were performed, the bleeding stopped.Suzanna was diagnosed with having an enlarged colon, also known as megacolon.

• Infrequent bowel movements

• Straining when trying to 'go'

• Very hard and dry stools

• Stools are larger in diameter than usual

• Several trips to the litter box with no results

What Is Megacolon?
The colon is a cylindrical organ, continuous with the rectum, that is stimulated by nerves from the spinal cord to push fecal matter from the body. If the nerves do not function properly, the wall of the colon will not contract, enlarging the diameter of the colon and compromising it’s ability to push. Fecal matter will accumulate in the colon causing severe constipation or obstipation. (obstipation is an extreme form of constipation that does not respond to common treatment of constipation.) This enlargement of the colon is known as megacolon.

What Causes Megacolon?
An injury to the spinal cord can cause megacolon as well as tumors, hairballs and foreign objects. In many cases, as with Suzanna, the cause could not be determined. When the cause of the disease cannot be determined, it is known as idiopathic megacolon. The disease usually occurs in older cats.

How Is Megacolon Treated?
Surgery to remove the unresponsive section of the colon is an option but not always necessary…at least not at the onset of the condition.

A manageable approach involves a high-fiber diet, stool softeners and a colon wall stimulant. Suzanna is on the manageable approach regimen. We changed her diet and she will take medicine for the rest of her life, unless the condition worsens, then we will resort to surgery.

Suzanna’s medication is MiraLAX (over-the-counter stool softener) twice a day and Cisapride (colon wall stimulant) twice a day. Suzanna will be taking both of these for the rest of her life.

Cisapride

Cisapride is available by prescription only from a veterinarian and must be given in precise dosages and at precise times. The purpose of Cisapride is to stimulate the wall of the colon so that the muscles will contract and push fecal matter out of your cat's body avoiding constipation.

This is my cat Suzanna, but you can insert a picture of your beloved pet instead.  The name can be changed and so can the background color.  This ornament is completely customizable.