A 3-year-old male castrated domestic longhair cat presented to Cornell University Hospital for Animals’ Soft Tissue Surgery Service for evaluation of megacolon. He had a history of chronic constipation and recurrent obstipation that began at 1 year of age. He was medically managed with lactulose, cisapride, a diet of Hill’s Urgent Care a/d, and occasional enemas and manual deobstipation. Physical examination revealed no abnormalities aside from a palpable large feces-filled colon in the abdomen, and radiographs confirmed the diagnosis of idiopathic megacolon. Surgical correction of the megacolon was successfully performed with a subtotal colectomy. Post-operatively the patient produced diarrhea for a week, which improved to soft stool, and two months later there have been no signs of constipation.

Megacolon is a descriptive term, rather than a disease process, with multiple possible etiologies. This report will discuss the presentation, diagnostics, and medical and surgical treatments for idiopathic megacolon, the most common form.