It is uncomfortable for the animal and needs to be addressed.
Maggie Mudd, Boksburg SPCA manager, answers some questions on the topic:
What causes constipation?
There can be an assortment of reasons for a cat or dog becoming constipated and these include behavioural, environmental, medical and dietary.
* Behavioural or environmental causes:
• Cats can become constipated if a litter tray is not cleaned correctly, resulting in the animal refusing to use the litter tray.
• Dogs that are house trained and kept indoors all day may become constipated as they are trained not to defecate inside the house.
• Inactivity in an animal can also result in the animal becoming constipated. Older animals that tend to sleep most of the day can be inclined to suffer from this condition.
* Medically related causes:
• Pain in the rectal area can prevent a pet from passing a stool as it is painful.
• An inability to assume the position to pass a stool (can be seen in dogs/cats with spinal problems).
• A weakness of the colon or an enlargement of the colon that causes it to become dilated and flaccid and no longer able to contract properly can often lead to chronic constipation.
* Dietary causes:
• As with humans not having sufficient fibre in our diet, a pet’s diet and too little water will cause constipation.
• Feeding bones to a pet can cause an obstruction or severe constipation.
• Cats that have long hair can ingest a considerable amount of fur when they groom and this results in ‘hairballs’ which can cause the cat to become constipated.
• Swallowing of foreign objects (such as toys) can cause an obstruction in the animal’s bowel and this can result in either constipation or vomiting. When this happens it is very often a medical emergency.
How will I know if my pet is constipated?
• The animal will strain without producing any faeces. Cats may scratch in litter trays with intermittent straining – this should not be confused with a cat suffering from urinary tract infections which your vet will be able to determine on examination of the cat. It is important to know that should straining become severe enough, it can result in a rectal prolapse, which is a medical emergency.
• Pets may pass small amounts of hard, dry faecal matter after repeated attempts to defecate.
• Anal scooting – the animal rubs its backside on the floor. This can also be a sign of worms.
• The animal will lose weight (especially in pets that suffer from chronic constipation).
• A redness and swelling around the anal area.
How is constipation treated?
• If the constipation is not severe, it can be treated with laxatives from your veterinarian. It is always advisable to take a pet that becomes constipated on a regular basis to the vet for an examination, as some diseases can be confused with constipation and require an expert to rule them out.
• Severe cases of constipation will require that your pet be placed onto a drip and, once it has been fully rehydrated, enemas may need to be administered under veterinary supervision.
“Constipation is not fun for anyone – your pet included – so make sure that they get sufficient exercise, eat a correctly balanced diet with sufficient fibre, have access to fresh, clean water at all times and that cats have their litter trays cleaned out correctly and regularly,” said Maggie.
“Lastly, if your pet is experiencing difficulties in passing stools and all of the above has been taken care of, make sure that there is no medical reason for this and take the animal for a check-up at your local vet.”
