Cat Sensitiveness to Food

Many cats are sensitized to a concrete food, as the liver, or to more of one. You mustn't give them milk to drink instead of water; the milk must be considered food. If our cat has chronic diarrhea, is necessary to suppress completely the milk and the lacteal products of his diet. In a sensitive cat, the way of minimizing the diarrhea is to suppress all the food done in house and to give him a commercial preparation of good quality. The veterinarian can recommend one. Take care that the cat does not steal food or asks for it in another place, for example, a nice neighbor- because this would give to the fret the control of diet that we have imposed.

Constipation
The constipated cats only do a hard and dry deposition or none in a day. After a lot of efforts, the cat, sometimes, does liquid depositions. If the cat retains the dregs in the digestive conduit too much time, the intestines absorb more liquid than normal and the resultant mass can be too compact to be able to go out. There are cats which discomfort to use a box of sand that is dirty and this one can be the reason of repressing themselves. The edginess, the balls of hair, the dehydration, a tumor or an intestinal obstruction (that can be produced for stealing and to swallow bones of chicken), everything can cause constipation. This is also frequent in older cats.

You can realize the problem when does not see the cat to defecate for several days or when he do efforts without result. The above mentioned might get confused with the effort to urinate (in cases of cystitis), so that it will be necessary to observe carefully. The cat can use the box of sand only for urinate or do a deposition of small and dry dregs. If the constipation continues for several days the cat weakens little by little and dehydrated and can start being sick. You might take it as an emergency and take the cat to the veterinarian immediately. He will try to remove the fecal mass with water and / or a laxative. Sometimes this is done by general anesthesia. You can need conditioning or fecal dilators (as the bran) to give up the dregs. The veterinarian can prescribe a therapeutical diet for the following days or advise you to give the cat small quantities of digestive food, as fish, chicken, bran or eggs passed by water.

To know the reason of the problem, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the cat and to prescribe the suitable treatment: a X-ray of the abdomen, an ultrasound scan and blood test. Depending on the disease, the cat might need a special diet during the rest of his life. There is a disease - call megacolon-, frequent in the young cats (between 2 and 9 years), that produces the imbursement of the dregs and the expansion of the colon. Medicate the animal to facilitate the step of the dregs along the intestine, though sometimes it is possible to be necessary to extirpate the affected part of the colon.

Q/A Sofia, my Ragdall cat, has suffered a pelvis fracture in a street accident. The veterinarian told me that it is probable he should be constipated, as sequel of long term, and he advises me that I give him a laxative regularly to avoid it. Can this have long term consequences in the health of Sofía?

Yes. The long use of laxative can difficult the absorption of the soluble vitamins in fat (vitamins To, D, And, and k), that are nourishing essential substances. In consequence, you have to give to Sofia a vitamin supplement periodically. His veterinarian can advise you.

The veterinarian has recommended me that I give to Fingal - my colored cat- one daily dose of mineral oil for his problem of constipation, but it is hard to administer it: Fingal is in the habit of being very independent & not very cooperative What do you suggest?

It is necessary to taken care on having given a liquid medicine for the mouth: if the cat inhales it he can have a serious type of pneumonia. Give him the mineral oil only in small portions (with a teaspoon or pipette), having time him in order that he swallows them before administering the following one. It can be usefully to mix the mineral oil that is insipid - with something as oil of sardine to promote the flavor. Also you can can ask the veterinarian that recommend to him a laxative of agreeable taste . Another thing that you can do is to wet with oil his whiskers or the legs of the cat, in order that he licks it when he is grooming.