Bathroom Problems??

Hello all, I am new here. I have a torti named Roxie. She is about 1 1/2 years old. Ok so here it goes... In the past month or two I have noticed that my Roxie's poop has been a lot smaller than usual, like little balls. Sometimes there may be a bigger one in the litter box but not as often as in the past. Now, I don't know if this is something I should be concerned about or not. She is a little chubby so I had stopped giving her wet food and decreased the amount of dry food she gets. I just associated the smaller poops to the fact that she was getting less food. She still eats and drinks with no problem and isn't in any pain. Today I gave her some wet food to see if that would make a difference but she hasn't used the litterbox yet. I am nervous that maybe I should be more concerned. Also, I noticed that sometimes a few of the balls are connected by what appears to be my own hair. Could this be the issue? Should I give her some type of hair-ball remedy?? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

Hi,
From what you describe it doesnt sound like anything bad to me. As long as she is still pooping regularly. Cats that eat more dry than wet will usually have a dryer poop. I notice the difference between Zoey & Saki's, Zoey's are always more 'moist' because she eats more wet food than Saki. My friends cat poops in little balls as well. (this subject is so appetizing isnt it ) And both of my cats always manage to get my hair in their poop as well. There is a thread around here about flying poop that was kinda funny.

Did you change brands of food ?? or switch to a light or just the same food lesser amounts???

My dry girl has dry poops since many high end dry food s have ingrediants to aid a drier thus less smelly stool"_

smaller poops would signal possible better digestion

I did read the "flying poop" thread... it was funny and a little helpful too..

I haven't changed her food, I am just giving her a smaller amount... The dry food I am feeding her is Purina Friskies feline favorites... I gave her about 1/4of a can of Purina friskies wet food today to see if that would make a difference but she hasn't even used the litterbox yet... I am just a nervous mommy but I really want to make sure she is okay... I think I am going to give her a little of the canned pumpkin tomorrow just to rule out any hairball issues that there may be... I have been doing some research online and so many scary things have come up... Some websites said there could be blockage from hairballs or even roundworms and others said cats are prone to constipation and megacolon... If I don't see any results with the canned pumpkin and the wet food in the next 2 days or so, I think I may take her to the vet just to make sure things are "running" smoothly...

Thank you both for responding and anyone who has anymore insight or advice, please share!!

First off, I would think about switching her slowly to a healthy food. Purina Friskies is like the McDonalds of the cat world if you know what I mean. They even make healthy foods specifically for hairballs! And if she is overweight, I would feed her less dry and more wet, dry is generally more fattening, more carbs, etc.

Anyways, you can try a little hairball gel to help if it is a hairball problem. But she could also have blocked anal sacs, do you notice any odor coming from that area? Something entirely different then poo smell. A very distinct, yucky odor.

Jen, thank you for your response... I was actually just looking at the Nutro website and made the decision to switch her to their Natural choice complete care Indoor Adult cat... I want to feed her a little of both the wet and dry. How much of each should she get? My poor little chubster is 12 pounds. I gave her behind a smell (oh dear how awful that sounds!) and I really had to get close to even smell anything. Is there any other way I can tell? Also, is there any brand of hairball gel you recommend? I have never used any before.

Sicy is right regarding dry poop and dry food. Try giving your cat 1-2 tablespoons of canned pumpkin a day. I mix it in some wet food. Some cats eat it right off the spoon. It's got a lot of fiber in it and will help with hairballs as well.

What Joyeux has been on, and we have yet to know if this is actually her problem or not, but it is, at least, helping currently.. is Laxatone. The vet gave it to us, you dose it on their paws like twice a day... and it helps them with constipation and hair balls. It's about $5 or $6 a tube, and it comes in Tuna flavor.. which she likes once it's on her paws. She won't eat it off a finger, but she adores it on her paws. Go figure.

It may help with any constipation that she has.. and it is actually recommended for hairballs. My vet said Joyeux can stay on it indefinitely since it's not medicine and doesn't have any adverse affects.

Originally Posted by mzjazz2u

Sicy is right regarding dry poop and dry food. Try giving your cat 1-2 tablespoons of canned pumpkin a day. I mix it in some wet food. Some cats eat it right off the spoon. It's got a lot of fiber in it and will help with hairballs as well.

Click to expand...

So tomorrow is going to be a busy day... I'm going to the Pet store to get some Nutro, both wet and dry, and then to the supermarket to get canned pumpkin... I really hope that I see some results, boy would that be a relief!! Keep the good advice coming!! Roxie and I both appreciate your help

Catsarebetter, can you get Laxatone from the vet only?? I wonder if maybe I should get her some of that. Maybe I should call our vet on Monday.

I would just try the recommend amount on the bag for a cat of her weight. Hopefully, being on a better food will lead to less stool and the food should last longer too eventually. Won't happen overnight. But switch her slowly or she may vomit

Laxatone can be ordered online, and I did see that both PetSmart and PetCo had it online, so I'd assume that they have it in the stores. The variety they had, though, was not the tuna flavored, so.. I'm personally going to have to order it online, I think, or get more from my vet. It's not prescription.

Ooh, all this info. is great!! We are def. going to slowly switch her food, I do not want her to have any bad reactions!! And the problem is actually not enough poop, not too much lol... I was worrying myself that she had something very wrong with her but I think that it probably has a lot to do with the fact that she had only been eating dry food and a poor brand at that. Hopefully switching food will help to solve the problem as well as help her to shed those extra pounds!! I'm going to get some canned pumpkin and buy a tube of the Laxatone just to have but I may speak to my vet before using it. I really appreciate all the responses!! All of your help will def. help me sleep better tonite!! Hopefully I will see some change in the next few days. I will keep everyone posted!!

Just make sure it's the plain canned pumpkin - NOT the pie filling pumpkin.

I think they do sell an organic baby food that is pumpkin with no additives or anything..