FRMy pet is constipated: when to go, when to call, and why no home remedies
Your dog or cat has stopped passing stool, or strains with nothing to show for it, and you are looking for something to give. One thing first: a cat straining in the litter box can have a full bowel or a blocked bladder, and nobody can tell which from home. The same goes for a dog who strains and nothing comes out, or who cries as he tries. Either way, you call, or you go. In dogs and cats alike, nothing from the pharmacy or the kitchen is safe without an exam. This page helps you decide when to go, when to call and when to book, and it explains why the oil, the milk and the enema stay in the cupboard.
This guide helps you triage; it does not replace your veterinarian's exam. When in doubt, call us at 514 223-1197.
Is your cat straining in the litter box?
Look no further: it is section 1. During our hours, call us; otherwise, head to a 24/7 emergency centre.
Go now: the signs that cannot wait
Any single one of these is enough, and none of them is counted in hours: what follows comes before any thought of watching and waiting.
Your cat is straining in the litter box
He goes in and out of the box, crouches for a long time, strains, and almost nothing comes out. In a cat, that same scene can be a blocked bladder, and that kills. Almost nothing comes out, but a few drops still count: the fact that something appears does not mean the road is clear.
You do not have to decide what it is. And that is good news, because the scene does not tell anyone: not you, and not us over the phone. That is exactly why we want to see him. Your job is not to decide, it is to call, and if we are closed, to head to a centre open around the clock. Describing what you see commits you to nothing.
Do not decide based on which cat you have, or on how he looks: males are at higher risk, but females can block too, and a blocked cat can still eat and seem fine. Do not wait until morning.
Where to go. During our opening hours, call us on the way: we will tell you whether to come here or whether a 24/7 centre is safer for your pet. Outside our hours, evenings, nights, weekends and holidays, we have no emergency service: go straight to the nearest 24/7 emergency centre. At the wheel, no phone in your hand: have a passenger call, use hands-free, or call before you pull out.
- He strains and nothing comes out, or almost nothing, he cries as he tries, or he is no longer passing urine. A few drops still count. Even with a dog, you cannot always tell from home whether he is trying to urinate or to pass stool, and a urinary blockage cannot be treated at home. A male dog with a swelling beside the anus who can no longer urinate goes too.
- He is vomiting again and again, or keeps nothing down.
- His belly is swelling or turning hard, or he is trying to vomit and nothing comes up.
- He no longer responds normally, is very weak, collapses, or his hind legs suddenly give way.
- He is obviously in pain: he cries as he pushes, shakes, goes rigid, will not let you touch his belly, cannot find a position.
- Blood is running from his anus, or keeps running; or his stools are black, sticky and tarry. That is digested blood: never file black as less serious than red.
- Something is coming out of his anus: a red, moist bulge of tissue, or a thread, a string, a ribbon. Do not push anything back, never pull on a string, do not cut anything.
- He swallowed a bone, cooked or raw, a corn cob, a thread, a string or a hair elastic, even if he seems fine; it is a cat, a puppy, a kitten or a small dog, and it swallowed something; or he swallowed an object, and since then he is vomiting, off his food, flat, sore in the belly, bleeding, or straining with nothing to show for it. Do not make him vomit. Object by object: My pet swallowed something.
- He was given a drugstore enema, or swallowed what was in one, even if he seems fine. Or he was given oil by syringe and has been coughing or breathing fast or badly since. Bring the packaging.
- It is a newborn or very young kitten or puppy, and it has stopped nursing, cries nonstop, feels cold, is limp or stays away from the others, brings up milk or vomits, or has a swollen, painful belly. If it is cold, do not feed it: keep it warm on the way, wrapped in a towel.
- He took a knock or a fall in the last few days (a car, a balcony, a fight) and he strains with nothing to show for it, or his hind legs are weakening.
One is enough. You do not have to work out which of these matters most. If one of them speaks to you, go. If you are unsure, call anyway: triage is our job, not yours. Outside our hours a 24/7 emergency centre answers, and describing the situation on the phone commits you to nothing.
The cat who stopped going to the box is not better. You watched him strain all afternoon. Now he is quiet, lying down, no longer going back to the box. This is not the time to wait for morning: a cat who has been blocked for hours stops trying. He goes limp, he vomits, he hides, he refuses food. He is not better, he is worse.
While you get ready to leave. Everything below is done while you get ready, never instead of leaving.
- Leave him his water, but nothing else by mouth, and nothing in his bottom: no oil, no milk, no laxative, no enema, no suppository. Why, product by product: section 2.
- Do not give him any leftover sedative or painkiller, even one prescribed to him before. A sedated cat stops straining, and that false calm will cost you the night.
- Do not press on his belly, do not massage it, and do not try to make him urinate. In a cat who is straining, that belly can hold a full, hard, painful bladder: squeezing it can damage it, even rupture it. You do not have to work out what is blocked: that is our job.
- Do not put anything into his anus to help him pass stool either, no finger, no cotton swab, no thermometer: the lining of the rectum can be injured.
- If a bulge of tissue is coming out of his anus, do not try to push it back: it is not always the rectum, and putting it back is done under anesthesia. Say so when you call, us or the 24/7 centre: you will be told how to protect it on the way.
- If a thread, string or ribbon is hanging from his anus, never pull it, not gently, not even if it seems to come freely, and do not cut it: caught higher up, it can bunch the intestine and cut through it.
- Do not delay leaving for a sample, a video or notes: what is needed will be collected on site. If you already have one, bring it, with the packaging of any product he was given or swallowed.
- A cat travels in his carrier. Lower him in gently, without chasing him, wrapped in a towel if needed; cover the carrier, carry it from underneath, set it on the floor behind the front seats, and do not open it on the way.
- An animal in pain may bite or scratch, even a gentle one: protect yourself first.
The pages that take over: the straining cat, in detail, on My cat has diarrhea and Feline urinary tract disease; a swallowed bone or object, on My pet swallowed something; the pet straining to urinate, on Blood in the urine; the animal poison lines, on our emergency page.
Give no home medication, and no kitchen remedy
You may have landed here looking for something to give. That well-meant reflex is behind a lot of poisonings and lost days. In a cat who is straining, no remedy does anything at all for a blocked bladder. And in dogs as in cats, several household remedies are dangerous in their own right. These products are sold without a prescription, some only in pharmacies, others even at the grocery store: that does not make them safe for an animal.
What you never give
Acetaminophen (Tylenol): Deadly to cats, even a single tablet. There is no safe dose. In dogs it attacks the liver. If your pet has swallowed some, that is an immediate emergency.
Ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve), aspirin: Stomach ulcers and kidney damage, in dogs as well as cats, and cats are affected at smaller amounts than dogs. Never a human anti-inflammatory, whatever the reason. In a small animal, a single tablet can be enough.
Codeine painkillers: They slow the bowel down, and several of them also contain acetaminophen, which is deadly to cats.
Drugstore enemas, even the children's kind: Never at home. Sodium phosphate enemas can poison a dog or a cat, especially a cat or a small dog, sometimes fatally; the risk climbs in a pet who is dehydrated, badly blocked or has kidney disease. Even a so-called gentle enema is given at the clinic, by tube, under sedation if needed.
Micro-enemas and suppositories: Not those either, not even the ones sold as gentle or made for children. They do nothing for a blocked bladder, and a real plug is emptied at the clinic, under sedation or anesthesia.
Mineral oil (liquid paraffin), petroleum jelly, and "hairball" pastes: Mineral oil has no taste, which means the animal does not cough when it goes down the wrong way: it slides quietly into the lungs. Pet store pastes, several of them made from those same products, are given only with your veterinarian's approval, and never to a cat who is straining. Under federal rules, even their label has to say not to give them by mouth to an animal with a digestive problem without a veterinarian's supervision.
Olive oil, coconut oil, butter: They do not "grease" the bowel: once digested, oil irritates it. It can bring on vomiting and diarrhea, and an animal who struggles while oil is pushed into his mouth can inhale it: oil in the lungs causes pneumonia.
Milk: Most adult dogs and cats digest milk sugar poorly. If milk "works", it is because it causes diarrhea, and diarrhea adds water loss to an animal who is already dry.
Drugstore laxatives by mouth, even gentle ones, even children's ones: None until a veterinarian has examined your pet. A laxative pushes against whatever is blocking, dries out a dehydrated animal even more, and does nothing for a blocked bladder. Magnesium-based ones can build up when the kidneys do not clear them well. And some sugar-free fiber gummies sold in Canada contain xylitol, which is poisonous to dogs: if he swallowed any, go now, even if he seems fine, calling us on the way during our hours, otherwise to a 24/7 emergency centre.
Pumpkin, bran, fiber "to get things moving": Pumpkin will not clear constipation that has set in, and fiber given to a dehydrated or blocked pet can pack the plug tighter. Never pie filling, which is sweetened and spiced. Fiber has its place later, in a plan made with your veterinarian (section 6).
Leftover prescriptions, and another animal's medication: A stool softener prescribed after another surgery, the household dog's painkiller: same apparent problem, same weight, same household, none of that is ever enough. What relieves a dog can kill a cat, and a dose calculated for another patient is not a dose.
Already on a prescribed treatment?
Do not stop, skip or change a prescribed treatment because he is constipated: some must never be stopped all at once. Call the clinic that prescribed it before the next dose, or a 24/7 centre if it is closed. One exception goes the other way: if he is on a prescribed anti-inflammatory and he loses his appetite, vomits, or passes black, tarry stools, stop the medication and call us. Those are possible signs of a digestive ulcer. Outside our hours, that means a 24/7 emergency centre.
Already gave him something?
It is not a reproach, and it is not a confession: it is information we need. That goes for a drugstore anti-diarrheal too, such as loperamide (Imodium), given for diarrhea in the last few days: it slows the bowel as well. Do not give more, and call us now rather than tomorrow, or a 24/7 centre if we are closed, or an animal poison line (ASPCA Animal Poison Control, Pet Poison Helpline; numbers on our emergency page). Say what, how much, at what time, and keep the packaging. The Quebec Poison Control Centre answers for people, not for animals. After a drugstore enema, or if oil given by syringe makes him cough or breathe fast: that is section 1, go.
What helps tonight
Fresh water within reach, at all times. Everything else that really helps (more water, wet food, the litter box, the fiber and the diet your veterinarian chooses) is set up once we know what is wrong, not tonight in place of the exam.
Constipated, really? What the stool tells you, and what it does not
Constipation is first a matter of stool: it turns hard and dry, smaller, less frequent, and it comes out with difficulty. It is not a number of days. It is a change from what is normal for your pet, and what comes with it tells you how fast to move.
What you see when he is constipated
- Hard, dry stools, often small, sometimes like pellets.
- Fewer stools than usual, or none at all.
- Straining to pass them.
- He stays crouched a long time, or keeps going back to the box or the door.
- In cats, small hard stools left next to the box or elsewhere in the house: passing stool may be hurting him.
- In cats again, a little brownish liquid can come out while he strains: from across the room it looks like diarrhea, when it can be a plug of hard stool letting only that liquid through.
Two of these send you out the door on their own: a cat straining or going back and forth to the box, with or without that liquid, and a pet who strains with nothing coming out, or cries while pushing. That is section 1.
Why this page gives you no number of days
Outside the days after surgery (section 5), no veterinary authority publishes a number of days without stool after which you should see a vet, for dogs or for cats, and this page gives none: here, a number would read as permission to wait. What counts is what is normal for him, and what comes on top: straining with nothing to show for it, pain, vomiting, a swollen belly, a pet who eats less or keeps to himself. Some of these mean going now (section 1); the others are seen the same day or by appointment (section 4). With a cat, do not count days either: you rarely see every trip to the box, and "I didn't see him go" proves nothing.
What can look like constipation
- The cat straining in the litter box. Constipated, or a blocked bladder: from home, you cannot tell whether he is pushing out stool or urine. That is section 1: you call or you go.
- The dog who strains often and passes little: soft stool, mucus, sometimes a streak of red blood. It looks like constipation, but it is the sign of an irritated large intestine, a form of diarrhea: a constipation remedy would aim at the wrong target. See My dog has diarrhea.
- The dog straining to urinate. A dog, especially a male, who squats or lifts his leg and nothing or almost nothing comes out, or who cries as he tries: from behind, a pet pushing to urinate and a pet pushing to pass stool look remarkably alike. Do not try to tell the difference: that is section 1.
- The puppy who holds it outside and goes in the house. That is not constipation, it is house training. See Housetrain your puppy. A puppy who goes nowhere and strains, on the other hand, may be constipated: section 7.
Nothing from section 1? Here is how to sort it
If no sign from section 1 applies, find your row below. No row in this table says "wait and see": the lowest level is an appointment. If two rows seem to fit, take the more urgent one. And if a sign from section 1 shows up in the meantime, section 1 takes over. A reminder: a cat straining in the litter box is in no row of this table, he is in section 1.
Level 1: the same day
These do not necessarily mean the overnight emergency, but they do not go through a watching phase either. Call us, or take the first available appointment without letting the day go by. If we are closed and you are unsure, a 24/7 centre will tell you whether it holds until morning.
The same day means today. If we are closed until tomorrow or until Monday, do not wait for us to reopen for any of these rows: call a 24/7 emergency centre, which will tell you whether it can wait. A Friday evening is not a waiting room.
| What you see | What we make of it, and what you do |
|---|---|
| A dog strains, passes a little hard stool, and is otherwise fine: he eats, plays, and is not in pain. | The same day. A little stool coming out does not mean the road is clear: if he keeps straining with nothing to show for it, if nothing or almost nothing comes out, or if he cries: section 1. |
| A cat with hard, small or less frequent stools who is not straining, but is eating less, hiding or moving less. | Call now, not later in the day: us during our hours, otherwise a 24/7 centre. You do not see every trip to the box, and a cat who strained unseen can then hide and stop eating. If he is limp, vomits, if you saw him strain, even earlier and even if he has stopped, or if there is no more urine in his box: section 1. |
| A streak of red blood on a hard stool, in a pet who is otherwise fine. | The same day. Blood tells you one thing only: call sooner, not later. If the blood runs or keeps coming back: section 1. |
| A male dog has a swelling on one side of the anus or both, and he strains to pass stool. | The same day: it may be a hernia beside the anus. If he can no longer urinate, his belly hurts or he vomits: section 1. |
| A dog hesitates to pass stool, turns toward his back end, licks or scoots, and pushes harder than before. | The same day. The anal sacs are one lead: see Understanding anal glands. If he cries or is obviously in pain: section 1. A cat who strains in the box, or keeps licking his back end: section 1, not this row. |
| He had surgery or anesthesia in the last few days, has not passed stool since, and is straining or seems uncomfortable. | Call the team that did the surgery the same day; if they are closed, a 24/7 centre. A cat straining in the box after surgery or after being unblocked, or a dog who strains with nothing or almost nothing coming out, or cries: section 1, without waiting. |
| His stool has changed since a new medication, and he is straining or seems uncomfortable. | Call the clinic that prescribed it before the next dose, or a 24/7 centre if it is closed, and do not stop anything on your own (section 2). A cat straining in the box, or a dog who strains with nothing coming out or cries: section 1, even on treatment. |
| An older pet, or one known to have kidney disease, constipated and eating less or weakening. | The same day. If he vomits again and again or can no longer stand: section 1. |
| A constipated dog who is flat or seems feverish. | The same day. If he will not let you touch his belly, if his belly is hard or swelling, or if he is obviously in pain: section 1. |
| A kitten or puppy who does not pass stool despite the help you give, is losing weight, has blood or worms in the stool, or has no anus you can see. | The same day, without waiting for tomorrow: us during our hours, otherwise a 24/7 centre. Little ones go downhill fast. If it stops nursing, cries nonstop or is cold: section 1. See section 7. |
| Matted hair is blocking the anus of a long-haired pet, with a sore, a smell, or no stool at all anymore. | The same day. No scissors near the skin: it is easy to cut. Maggots in that hair: go now, and do not try to remove them yourself. |
Level 2: an appointment, this week
These situations do not sort themselves out, and none of them is a normal effect of age. They call for an exam, not a night at the emergency centre.
| What you see | What we make of it, and what you do |
|---|---|
| His stools have been harder, smaller or less frequent for a while, but he eats, plays and does not strain. | An appointment. We look for the reason: water, diet, the litter box, pain, an illness getting started. |
| A cat who has had constipation episodes before and is fine right now. | A follow-up appointment, without waiting for the next episode: in cats, episodes can come closer together (section 6). |
| An older or arthritic cat or dog who hesitates to step into the box or to squat, or goes just beside it. | An appointment: pain makes them hold stool in, and pain can be relieved. |
| An older constipated cat who drinks more, or is losing weight, but eats and is fine. | An appointment, without delay: the kidneys, the thyroid or calcium are leads a blood test can check. |
| An intact male dog whose stool comes out thin, flattened like a ribbon, and who is fine. | An appointment: the prostate is one lead. A swelling beside the anus: the same day. |
| Matted hair around the anus, no sore, and he is still passing stool. | An appointment, without delay. Until then, no scissors near the skin. |
| A pet who has had an accident or a pelvic fracture in the past, and whose constipation keeps coming back. | An appointment, without delay: the sooner it is examined, the more options there are. |
If you are torn between two rows, take the more urgent one. And if you cannot decide, call: triage is our job, not yours. Outside our hours, a 24/7 emergency centre answers.
In dogs: what he ate, his age, and what we look for
With a dog, the first question we will ask is simple: what could he have eaten? The second is about him: his age, whether he is neutered, whether he hurts somewhere, whether he is on a medication. The leads below start from those questions. A lead may explain why he is constipated; it does not change when to call: section 1 and section 4 do.
Bones, and holiday leftovers
A bone, cooked or raw, small or large, is not a safe treat: it breaks into splinters that injure, or it goes down in pieces that pack together. In the rectum, packed bone fragments form a hard, extremely painful plug that is not ordinary constipation and that oil will not fix. The signs of a stuck bone can take hours or days to show. The Thanksgiving turkey carcass, the holiday ham bone and the ribs, chicken wings, the corn cob from the barbecue: once the meal is over, everything goes into a closed garbage can he cannot reach. If he has just swallowed a bone, cooked or raw, that is section 1, even if he seems fine: do not make him vomit, and go, calling us on the way during our hours, otherwise to a 24/7 emergency centre. Our page My pet swallowed something says what to do, object by object.
What does not digest
A shredded toy, fabric, pebbles, a lot of hair: what does not digest mixes into the stool and makes it hard and bulky, or blocks the way further up. Tell us if he tends to chew up and swallow whatever he finds.
Water
A dog who drinks less, or who loses water (heat, illness, vomiting), passes drier, harder stool. Keep fresh water available at all times. In winter, a bowl left outside freezes: snow and ice are not water.
Pain, and the aging dog
A dog with sore hips, knees or back may avoid squatting and hold it in, and his stool hardens. A change in stool or urine habits is one of the signs of chronic pain. Sudden weakness in the hind legs, on the other hand, is section 1.
The intact male
Two causes come up in intact male dogs of middle or older age. The prostate grows under the influence of male hormones: it can get in the way of stool, which comes out thin, flattened like a ribbon, with straining; sometimes there are no signs at all. And a hernia can form beside the anus (a perineal hernia): you see a swelling on one side or both, he strains to pass stool and sometimes to urinate. If you see a swelling beside the anus, have him seen the same day. If he can no longer urinate, or his belly hurts, that is section 1. Neutering is part of the treatment for both problems; your veterinarian will tell you what suits your dog.
A sore back end
Full or infected anal sacs, sores around the anus, a rectum injured by a bone splinter: passing stool hurts, so he holds it in. He scoots, licks, holds his tail low, cries or turns around just as he pushes.
Medications
Some medications slow the bowel down: strong painkillers, allergy medications, water pills, stomach protectors, seizure or heart medications. If his stool has changed since a new medication, call the clinic that prescribed it before the next dose, and do not stop anything on your own. If it is closed, a 24/7 emergency centre will tell you whether it can wait. If he strains with nothing coming out, or cries, even on treatment: section 1.
After surgery
After anesthesia or surgery, it is common for stool to come back a little late: your pet has eaten less, moved less, and often receives pain medication. Follow the discharge instructions from the team that did the surgery: they know what to expect for that procedure. Do not give a drugstore laxative or stool softener on your own: if one is needed, after surgery near the anus for instance, the team prescribes it. Call them the same day if he strains a little but some stool comes out, vomits, stops eating, is very flat, if you see blood, or if his stool has not come back within the time they gave you; if they are closed, a 24/7 emergency centre. If he strains and nothing or almost nothing comes out, urine or stool, if he cries as he tries, or if he passes no urine: section 1.
An illness that slows everything down
Less often, constipation is part of a wider illness: a thyroid running slow, too much calcium in the blood (he drinks and urinates a lot, eats less, grows weak), a mass in the pelvis or the rectum (thin stool, blood, weight loss), an old pelvic fracture that healed badly. That is what the exam and the tests look for when constipation keeps coming back or comes with something else.
The cat who keeps getting constipated: why, and what helps
In a cat, constipation that comes back is not a detail. Having had one episode is among the strongest risk factors for the next. Older cats, overweight cats and cats with kidney disease are more at risk. A reminder: the moment he strains in the box, it is section 1, even if it is "just his constipation again".
Water, and the kidneys
The colon pulls water back out of the stool. When a cat drinks little, or loses water, his colon pulls out even more, and his stool comes out dry and hard. Chronic kidney disease, common in older cats, makes him urinate more and keeps him slightly dehydrated: it is a known cause of constipation. Stools becoming less frequent can even be a sign he is short of water.
Hair
Cats swallow hair while grooming, more so with a long coat, during shedding, or when they over-groom (an itch, an allergy or stress can be behind it). A large hairball can block the intestine. Regular brushing helps. The "hairball" pastes sold in pet stores are given only with your veterinarian's approval, and never to a cat who is straining (section 2).
The litter box, and what makes him hold it
A cat who dislikes his box holds it in, and his stool hardens. A dirty box, one that is too small or badly placed, a noisy spot, a litter he does not like, another cat guarding the way, a move, a bad experience in the box: any of these is enough. The rules that help: one box per cat, plus one, in different places; big enough for him; scooped at least once a day.
Arthritis
Stepping over a rim and crouching can hurt a cat with arthritis. He hesitates, holds it in, or goes just beside the box. A low-sided box and fine, soft litter help him, and relieving his pain with a prescribed treatment helps even more.
A damaged pelvis
A cat who has had an accident, a fall or a pelvic fracture can be left with a narrowed pelvis that stool struggles through. If your cat has that kind of history, or if you adopted him as an adult without knowing his past, tell us. The sooner it is examined, the more options there are.
The slope toward megacolon
In some cats, episodes come closer and closer together. When the colon stays full for a long time, it stretches, and a stretched colon pushes less well: stool builds up even more. Vets call it obstipation when the cat can no longer pass that hard mass at all without a veterinarian's help, and megacolon when the colon has become very dilated and barely pushes anymore. These stages cannot be told apart at home: the exam and the X-rays tell them apart. What you can see and tell us: episodes coming closer together, a cat losing weight; that is an appointment. A belly getting bigger, a cat eating less or vomiting: call without waiting (section 4); if he strains in the box, it is section 1. After several months, the changes in the colon can become permanent: that is why we do not wait for the next episode to talk about it.
Medications
Some medications slow the bowel down: strong painkillers, allergy medications, water pills, stomach protectors, and some medications given to cats with kidney disease. If his stool has changed since a new medication, call the clinic that prescribed it before the next dose, and do not stop anything on your own. If it is closed, a 24/7 emergency centre will tell you whether it can wait. If he strains in the box, even on treatment: that is section 1.
What really helps, once we know what is wrong
After the exam, the plan is built with you, and it comes down to a few things:
- Water, everywhere and often: several bowls, a fountain if he likes one, and wet food rather than dry when possible.
- A suitable diet, if your veterinarian finds it useful: they will tell you which one, and why. Fiber has its place in that plan, chosen with them, in a cat who has been examined and is well hydrated; added blindly to a dehydrated or blocked cat, it can pack the plug tighter.
- Clean boxes, enough of them, easy to get into.
- Pain control, if he has pain.
- The medications prescribed for him, as prescribed, and regular rechecks.
- Weight and play: a round cat who moves little gets constipated more easily.
This plan never replaces a phone call: a cat who strains in the box, or vomits again and again, is section 1, even if he "has had this before"; a cat who stops eating: call right away, us during our hours, otherwise a 24/7 centre.
When treatment is no longer enough
When a cat's colon has stopped emptying despite treatment, surgery that removes most of the colon may be offered. It is major surgery. Stool stays soft, sometimes liquid, for weeks, sometimes a few months; in some cats it never fully returns to normal, and constipation can come back. In general, the long-term results are good. This surgery is part of what we do here, during our opening hours, and it is planned ahead; for any given case, your veterinarian will tell you whether it suits your cat, and how and where it is done. What hospitalization means here, after the surgery, is described in section 8.
Kittens and puppies: little ones do not wait
A kitten or a puppy has few reserves, and goes downhill fast. Any sign that would send you in with an adult sends you in with a little one, even sooner, and a few signs are specific to the very young: they are in section 1 (it stops nursing, cries nonstop, feels cold, is limp or stays away from the others, brings up milk or vomits, has a swollen, painful belly).
A newborn cannot go on its own
In its first weeks, a kitten or puppy cannot pass urine or stool on its own: its mother triggers both by licking it, at every feeding. Without her, someone has to do it for her. It is simple to do, but it has to be learned: your veterinary team will show you how. A little one who does not pass stool despite that help, who is losing weight, or who has no anus you can see: call us the same day, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed, without waiting for tomorrow.
What you never do to a little one
- Nothing by mouth but its kitten or puppy milk replacer, made up exactly as the package says: milk mixed wrong can constipate it. Never cow's milk, never oil.
- Never force liquid into its mouth: it can inhale it.
- Do not feed a little one who is cold: it can no longer digest. Keep it warm on the way, wrapped in a towel: that is section 1.
- Nothing in its bottom to make it go: no enema, not even one made for babies, no suppository, no object.
- No dewormer given on your own to "unblock" a little one with a swollen belly: a heavy worm load can, rarely, block a puppy's or kitten's intestine, but only the exam can tell. If the belly is swollen and painful, that is section 1; otherwise, call us, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed.
After weaning
As it switches to solid food, a little one can have firmer stool. A little one who eats, plays and grows well but whose stool has stayed hard or infrequent since weaning is seen by appointment: some malformations show up exactly at that point, and they are easier to correct early. In puppies, think about what it chews too: young dogs, especially large breeds, swallow objects more readily than adults.
The puppy who holds it outside
A puppy who holds it on the walk and goes in the house afterwards is not constipated: that is house training. See Housetrain your puppy.
What we do at the clinic, and how far we go
At the clinic, we try to answer three questions, in this order. Is it the bowel, or the bladder? What is blocking, and how far up? And why, so that it does not happen again? What we do depends on the time of day and on how your pet is doing.
The exam
The exam starts with what you tell us, then with him: a gentle feel of the belly, his hydration, his temperature, his pain, and, when it helps, a check of the rectum with a gloved finger. In a cat who is straining, feeling the belly is what tells us whether the bladder is full and hard, or whether it is the bowel. During our opening hours, a cat who can no longer urinate is treated here; if he needs to be watched overnight, we arrange his transfer to a 24/7 centre, with the record.
What is done here, during our hours
- During our opening hours, call us: we will tell you what to do and when to come in.
- Abdominal radiographs are taken here, during our opening hours: they show how much stool there is, how hard it is, the size of the colon, a bone or an object, a narrowed pelvis. Depending on the case, the images may also go out to be read, and how long that takes depends on the case.
- A blood sample is drawn here, and part of the answers come out of our own laboratory: the blood count, the biochemistry and the electrolytes. A urinalysis is run here too. The thyroid is checked here too.
- Fluids are given here: under the skin during the visit, or into a vein during day hospitalization. A dehydrated pet is rehydrated before the bowel is emptied.
- Emptying the bowel is done here, during our opening hours, by our own team: with an enema, and, when the stool is too hard or too much to pass that way, under sedation or under general anesthesia. It sometimes takes more than one session, over more than one day. Your pet then spends the day with us.
The laboratory
Some tests are run here, in our own laboratory, and the result sometimes comes back during the visit itself. Other samples go to an outside laboratory. How long it takes depends on the test and on where it goes: ask your veterinarian which of the two applies and how long to expect, that is the question to ask when the sample is taken.
Hospitalization
Hospitalization here is day hospitalization: your pet is admitted, treated and rechecked on site during our opening hours, and a stay can run over several days, with a recheck each day. We do not provide continuous medical monitoring overnight. When an animal needs to be watched without a break, we stabilize first, then we arrange the transfer to a 24/7 centre, with the full record. In every case, we tell you at admission what the plan is for the night.
What gets planned
- A full ultrasound is a separate appointment, planned ahead. Depending on the case, the exam is done here, or by the mobile imaging team that travels to us. The images may then go out to a radiologist for reading, and how long that takes depends on the case.
- In male dogs: repairing a hernia that forms beside the anus (a perineal hernia) is among the surgeries we do here, during our opening hours; it is planned ahead. Neutering a male dog is done here.
- Emptying the anal sacs is done here, and so is removing them surgically, when that becomes necessary.
- In a cat whose colon no longer empties despite treatment: colon surgery (section 6).
- If a specific diet is part of the plan, your veterinarian will tell you which one, and why.
- When an old injury has narrowed the pelvis, your veterinarian will tell you which surgery may help, and where it is done.
Outside our hours
We have no emergency service outside our opening hours: evenings, nights, weekends and holidays mean a 24/7 emergency centre. See Emergency: what to do and 24/7 centres.
What helps us
The date of his last normal stool if you know it, what he may have swallowed, the medications he takes and the time of the last dose, whether he has urinated, any recent surgery, and a photo of his last stool if you have one. None of it is worth a delay: never hold off leaving to gather it.
If cost is a worry, tell us: we build a treatment plan with you.
What to remember
A cat straining in the litter box is not something you sort out at home: you call, or you go. For the rest, constipation is recognized by the stool, not by a number of days, and what comes with it tells you whether to go, to call or to book. Nothing from the pharmacy or the kitchen: the enema, the oil and the milk do more harm than good, and what really helps is decided after the exam. Outside our hours, a 24/7 emergency centre answers.
Frequently asked questions
My dog or cat is constipated: what can I give them?
How long can a dog or cat go without pooping?
Constipation: when should I worry? Is it an emergency?
Can I give my pet olive oil or milk?
Is my cat constipated or blocked?
My kitten or puppy isn't passing stool: what should I do?
He hasn't passed stool since his surgery: is that normal?
Why does my cat keep getting constipated?
Enema, suppository or drugstore laxative: can I do it at home?
My dog ate a bone and has not passed stool since: what do I do?
Also worth reading
Updated October 16, 2026
Worried about his stool?
If you are not sure how urgent it is, call: we triage with you. For constipation that keeps coming back, or stools that have been changing for a while, book an appointment. Outside our hours, a 24/7 emergency centre answers.