The Constipated Cat ...
Ella, a 14 year old, black domestic long haired cat presented to Orchard
View Veterinary Center because she was having trouble defecating. She would
strain and produce only small, hard and dry feces in her litter box. She was
miserable and even lost her appetite to eat. After trying multiple
laxatives, fluids, enemas and other treatments for constipation, Ella and
her owners were frustrated and ready to try anything! After taking
radiographs of Ella’s abdomen, we noted that Ella was not only constipated,
but she also has an area of spondylosis (arthritis) in her spine and
arthritis of her stifle (knee) joints. Perhaps Ella’s arthritis was making
it too painful to posture to defecate.
Ella’s owners and veterinarians agreed it was time to try something new and
started treating Ella with acupuncture. By placing tiny needles in specific
points, we could stimulate Ella’s central nervous system and decrease the
pain caused by the arthritis. We also placed specific needles to have an
effect on her digestive tract, to encourage colon motility and softening of
her feces.
Ella is notoriously an opinionated cat and we were not sure if she would
hold still for the acupuncture therapy, as the needles need to stay in place
for 15 to 20 minutes. Ella surprised all of us that day.
CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE
She snuggled down on a soft blanket and allowed us to place about 15 needles
all over her body and stayed put for 20 minutes! She only growled a few
times when someone touched her tail.
After Ella’s first treatment, she passed normal feces the next day and had a
great appetite. Her appetite waned a bit over the next few days, but after
her second and third treatments Ella was defecating soft feces and had an
excellent appetite and had even started being playful at home.
Ella is now scheduled to receive weekly acupuncture treatments and hopefully
she will continue to defecate, eat and play with her owners, who are very
pleased with the outcome of her treatments!
Ella enjoying her acupuncture. All of the red objects you see are
needles placed in very precise locations to stimulate her central nervous
system.
