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My 10-year-old cat hasn't pooped in days, what should I do now?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 10 lbs

My adopted cat is around 10-11 years old. She eats mostly wet food but dry food is available 24/7. I have noticed in her litter box no feces for the last couple of days. I am concerned and not sure what to do. She urinated but no feces.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

Published on February 21st, 2023

If Callie hasn't passed stool in several days I'd be worried about problems such as severe constipation, impaction, foreign bodies, or megacolon preventing her from passing stool. It is a good idea to bring her into your vet to have her examined. They'll likely recommend an X-ray to see how much stool is in her body and to look for anything that may be pressing on the GI tract or stuck in it preventing her from passing stool. They can also help remove any impacted stool and provide medications such as lactulose that can help soften it until she returns to normal.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Catherine Stecyk

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 3rd, 2019

    Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If your cat has not defecated in several days, he should be seen by a veterinarian right away. Especially if this has been an issue in the past. Constipated cats can become obstipated, meaning the feces in their colon is so dry, large and compact that they physically cannot pass it out of their rectum. This sometimes needs to be manually removed under general anesthesia. Your veterinarian can confirm constipation with x-rays, and can recommend the best treatment for him. He may require enemas to help soften his stools to see if he can pass them on his own. There are also medications such as lactulose and miralax that cats may need to be on longterm to help manage this. I recommend adding water to his dry food to get him to take in more water. I hope this is helpful!

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