Over the last couple of days, Tulip has been constipated. She kept climbing into the litterbox, sitting there for a long time with a look of concentration on her face, then coming back out disappointed. I’m not sure if it was the heat or what, but this is very unusual for her. Her appetite, thirst, behavior, and attitude have all been normal.
Before calling the vet, I wanted to have a look online to see what others had to say about this kind of problem. I found what I thought was a pretty interesting recommendation: canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, just plain old canned pumpkin with no additives). It’s very moist, has a lot of fiber, and apparently cats usually enjoy the taste. It seemed harmless enough, so we decided to give it a try.
Both Miracle and Tulip got a heaping tablespoon full. They loved it. “We has a punkin’ pie, Mama!” It was like the biggest treat we could have given them. A short while later, Tulip was off to the litterbox and succeeded in taking a huge poop. Whew! So far, so good.
Now I hope it goes without saying that if your cat can’t poop, you should consult the vet. It’s not completely unusual for Tulip to skip a day pooping, but this had been maybe 3 or 4 days. The right thing to do would have been to call the vet a lot sooner. For whatever reason, we were finally ready to call today. In the mean time we figured that either way, the pumpkin couldn’t hurt. It just happened that it worked almost immediately. Her poop wasn’t particularly unusual, maybe just a bit dry. We’ll keep an eye on her and see how she does.
The article I read about the canned pumpkin had what I thought was a cool suggestion. It said to take the leftover pumpkin and divide it up into an ice cube tray. Once the cubes are frozen, you can pop them in a bag and just take one out when you need it. The article recommended once a week. In my opinion, that seems like a lot, but what do I know? In any case, I’m glad Tulip is back in the groove, and amused to know that cats like “punkin’ pie”.