feline constipation

[Jim Hall]

Hi My 6 yr old spayed rescue kitty has constipation. she is still eating and active does not seem to strain and fhe vet doesnt think it serious

However what can i feed her to reduce this I feed her wet food and try to avoid wheat gluten I have been told a little olive oil in her food or pumpkin is good is canned pumpkin ok if it has no added sugar ?

[want4rain]

heck yeah canned pumpkin is good and id even say that with sugar will do in a pinch. i know we have a hard time finding it without sugar here. i dont think its much though. someone mentioned a few weeks ago that they save up 1tbs for their dogs but i could be wrong.

good luck!

-ashley

[badger]

So - um - if she is not straining, why do you think she is constipated?
If Badger gets bad - tiny dry stools, after alot of hard labour on his part - I give him 1/4 tsp of unflavoured unsweetened Metamucil in his canned food. But I only use it for as long as he needs it.
He will not eat pumpkin it's like yogurt, some of my cats devour it and others ignore it.

[Jim Hall]

tiny dry stools and not enough of em doesnt strain though .
amd presents no other symptoms still eating pretty good

[badger]

That's it. Hope he'll take to the pumpkin, if not try Metamucil. Did the vet offer you lactulose? It's fine, but I only use it as a last resort (and again, only until he gets rolling again, then stop).

[want4rain]

what are you feeding DU?

-ashley

[Jim Hall]

wrt food purina fancy feast and pet gold
i try to stay away from wheat gluten
and i try to get as muchh liquid in her food that i can

the metanucil sounds like a great idea

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by Jim Hall

the metanucil sounds like a great idea

If you do use Metamucil (which is the same as pysllium husks that you might be able to get cheaper at a health food store), make sure to also give it with plenty of water. Psyllium sucks up moisture and will make the problem worse if there isn't enough to suck up. Here's a site with some info: http://www.harpsie.com/constipation.htm#fibre

Fibre
Sometimes it is also necessary to add fibre to your cat's diet in order to bulk up the stool so that it moves easily through the cat's system. Some form of vegetables such as baby or tinned peas or pumpkin (not the pie filling) may suffice - tinned pumpkin is harder to find in the UK, but apparently some branches of Waitrose sell American canned pumpkin with no additives in the canned vegetables aisle.

Alternatively if you are in the UK, your vet may offer you a standardised pharmaceutical-grade fibre called Nutrifyba. A popular fibre-based treatment which is available OTC in the USA is psyllium, commonly sold under the name of Metamucil. You only need to give a tiny amount - the maximum dose is 1/8th of a teaspoon, but you should start with an even smaller dose. With fibre-based treatments, it is very important to ensure that the cat drinks plenty of water, otherwise the fibre can bulk up in the body and make the constipation worse. Please note these fibre-based treatments are intended to help prevent constipation, but they cannot cure it once it is present.

You might also want to consider occasionally adding some Slippery Elm Bark to her diet:

Slippery Elm Bark
Slippery Elm Bark can be sufficient to keep some cats regular. Slippery Elm Bark (ulmus rubra or ulmus fulva) is a herbal remedy used for most kinds of digestive or intestinal problems - it can be used for nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation. It soothes and coats the stomach lining and intestinal walls and reduces irritation.

Slippery Elm Bark Dosage
Ideally, you want organic or wild-crafted Slippery Elm Bark powder from most good health food shops. If you cannot find this, you can usually find capsules in a 350-400mg size, but try to make sure the capsules contain only pure Slippery Elm Bark, no fillers. If all else fails, you can use capsules with fillers as well as Slippery Elm Bark.

The usual dosage is 1/8 to 1/4 (0.125 - 0.25) of a teaspoon of the organic or wild-crafted Slippery Elm Bark powder once or twice a day, or one capsule per day. You can sprinkle it onto the cat's food and mix it up, but Slippery Elm Bark has a bitter sweet flavour which some cats do not like. In that case, try giving it in a capsule, either the one it came in or, if you are using organic or wild-crafted Slippery Elm Bark, purchase gelcaps separately for this purpose. Some people have found their cat will eat Slippery Elm Bark if it is mixed in a little baby food (make sure the baby food does not contain any onion).

Slippery Elm Bark Cautions
Do not give Slippery Elm Bark at the same time as any other medications or supplements - it can inhibit the absorption of the medications. It is best to give it an hour before or after any other medications (especially antibiotics), and ideally on an empty stomach, although it is safe to sprinkle it on food if you wish.

Slippery Elm Bark also contains calcium, so it is probably safer not to use it if your cat has hypercalcaemia (high calcium levels).

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by Jim Hall

the metanucil sounds like a great idea

I used to give this to one of my cat and it does help. I also had to feed him Medi-Cal (I know I know , that what years ago ) high fiber formula.

[ellendar]

try giving him evaporated milk I know they say not to give cats milk but hey I got one cat off dairy farm and he thrived on milk and once I took home a cat I had got spayed the anesthesia constipated her she had hard dry stool in her crate the vet said use warm evaporated milk and mix it with a half teaspoon of olive oil and feed it to her with an eyedropper if necessary she was feral so fortunately she lapped it right up but if a vet told me milk helps constipation try it because a block from hard dry stool can cause serious problems like a block that can kill your pet and make sure you thoroughly hydrate your pet even if you have to use a turkey baster lots of water lots of pedialyte or nursery water they get constipated from dehydration try my soup recipe on the recipe page it helps hydrate them plus re energizes them some your pet is likely dehydrated extremely without hydration his kidneys can shut down he might even need an IV at the vets use canned diced carrots in place of pumpkin that works just as well A lot of pets will not eliminate at the vet hospital so they come homew very constipated

[Jim Hall]

thanks for all your replies I going to try some pumpkin today

I domt want to try milk at all cause if it uosets her stomach while she is still constipated it woild relly be a mess.

Her output is looking alittle better and she still runs aroung chasing the laser so I am going o try pumkin and other fiber to see what happens.