LARGE-BOWEL TRANSIT TIMES USING RADIOPAQUE MARKERS IN NORMAL CATS

Seven normal, young adult, female cats each had ifs colon evacuated wi th warm-wafer enemas (at 24 hours, 12 hours, and one hour) before oral administration of a gelatin capsule containing 20 radiopaque markers to determine normal colonic transit times. Abdominal radiographs were taken twice daily until all markers were expelled. There were no signi ficant differences between animals or trials (p=0.05 or less). Markers accumulated in the first section of large bowel within eight hours. E vacuation from the colon took another 40 hours. Cecum (right side midl ine), left side midline, and rectum were defined radiographically. Thi s study establishes large bowel transit times in normal cats and provi des the basis for similar evaluation in constipated cats.