I've had two Manx cats in the past (best personalities ever!), and know they may have congenital abnormalities with the nerves and bones in their rear area that go along with having a stumpy tail.

Some have problems since birth, but with others, elimination problems start when they get a bit older. My two never had difficulty, so we were lucky.

I imagine the food change suggested by the vet will help. Wet food provides more moisture to his system. Make sure Micah has plenty of fresh water available, maybe more than one dish. I got a "Drinkwell" water fountain for our cats, which makes drinking water more fun.

Also, make sure to an enzyme product to clean where he made his mistakes so any odor is eliminated. These are available at pet stores.

Here is a link that might be useful: constipation in Manx cats - discussion

Thanks for your input. The food I switched them too wasn't actually recommended by a vet. I read the ingredients in the iams and wasn't impressed. Micah had been gaining weight but was still always hungry. I was suprised to see that the iams actually had less protein than the food I was feeding my dog.

I switched the cat to Blue Buffalo Wilderness cat food. It is much higher in protein so the cats have been eating a lot less and whining more. Now I'm wondering if I did the right thing because it may be too high in protein. I'm afraid that I have caused my fiance's cat to develop a behavioral problem.

Should I try to switch Micah back to Iams since although he was overweight, he wasn't having litter box issues?
Also is it possible that the food change isn't the culprit?
Thanks,
Whitney

I meant to say they are whining less, not more.

Could you lock the cats out of the office until Micah feels better? That would give you time to get the odor out of that area.

I'm unfamiliar with the Blue Buffalo Wilderness cat food you are trying. It may be a good one. I look for food with no artificial food coloring or preservatives, and pass on those with cornmeal as the first ingredient.

Wet food makes constipation less likely -- is your new food canned or dry? A raw diet is probably healthiest, but I'm not knowledgeable about raw feeding for cats.

Innova, Royal Canin and Evo are brands we have had good luck with, all from the pet store, not the grocery store.

I hope you got some insights from the Manx discussion link in my previous post. (I miss my Manx boys, but hope I will see Butch and Bosco in kitty heaven some day.)

(We have some experts here, and I hope they'll chime in too, but of the cats I've had in my adulthood, the shortest-lived made it to 14 and the oldest to 22, so I may know a little bit about taking care of kitties.)