All-wet diet actually made it worse!

tickytat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 5, 2007
Messages
432
Purraise
4
Location
Vermont, USA
I put my chronic constipated cat on a diet of all wet thinking the extra moisture would help move things along. She was on this diet for about two months. Her constipation problem got progressively worse while she was on the wet food. Towards the end, I had to give her 3 enemas and still ended up taking her to the vet where she was sedated and palpated. The vet said the poop was not hard and dry at all, but was more sticky than anything. It was sticking to her intestinal wall really badly and just needed something to help it move along.

I'm not blaming the wet food (Wellness, grain-free) because she was also diagnosed with megacolon. I did noticed that when she was on all-wet, I NEVER saw her drink any water. Now c'mon, she couldn't have been getting that much moisture from 1/4 can in the a.m. and 1/4 can in the p.m. (on diet due to obesity).

I have since switched her to Orijen and haven't had any problems... good normal poops every day and she's drinking a normal amount of water now. Just hope it keeps up. Guess I'll be giving my stockpile of Wellness cans to the shelter where I volunteer....
 

noludoru

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
303
Purraise
2
Location
VA
Heyyyy now if you want to get rid of that Wellness, you've got me!!!! (Just kidding, although I certainly wish. God knows the price is insane from my feedstore.)

I'm so glad the butt issues have cleared up, and send hoping the Orijen works for you and they continue to stay cleared-up.

Have you tried putting a bit of water in her food? Not soaking it, but just adding some water when you give it to her. I've heard from several vets that as long as you don't allow it to lay out for 30 minutes or more it's perfectly fine for them. Mine also loved the kibble-flavored water and wold slurp the little droplets left afterwards.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

tickytat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 5, 2007
Messages
432
Purraise
4
Location
Vermont, USA
To get her to drink more I bought a water fountain, plus put two bowls in other places in the house. I find that she prefers the bowl in the bedroom most, but I certainly keep all three down and fresh. It seems to be working! Also, if she watches me fill them up, she runs right over to investigate and will drink a ton. Silly thing!
 

momofmany

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
16,249
Purraise
70
Location
There's no place like home
I kept a glass of water in a sink and everytime I walked into that room I would run fresh water into it. My CRF cat who was notorious for not drinking water unless it was from your drinking glass, loved it. Just keep trying different things until you hit on what works for your baby!

I'm glad that you found what was causing her problem but how terrible that you keep going through this with her! Here are vibes that she continues to do well on the Orijen!!
 

yosemite

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Messages
23,313
Purraise
81
Location
Ingersoll, ON
Our kitties love our CatIt fountain. I put 4 bottles of water in it every Saturday when I clean it and I sometimes need to add water mid-week so I know they are drinking a lot more than before the fountain.
 

emmylou

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
960
Purraise
10
I wonder if fiber might be the missing ingredient. It can help regularity. And wet food has proportionally much less fiber than dry food. You could mix fiber powder into the wet food if your vet thinks that might help.
 

gingersmom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 11, 2006
Messages
8,028
Purraise
22
Originally Posted by emmylou

I wonder if fiber might be the missing ingredient. It can help regularity. And wet food has proportionally much less fiber than dry food. You could mix fiber powder into the wet food if your vet thinks that might help.


That was my thought exactly.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
ACTUALLY most wet foods have = to greater fiber in dry matter analysis ... BUT it is mostly souble so the powder can help with insouble
 

emmylou

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
960
Purraise
10
In dry matter analysis, meaning if you removed the water from the wet food and measured what was left? I'm not clear.

Since there is water in the wet food, when a cat eats roughly the same amount of wet food vs. dry, he's ingesting less fiber on the wet diet.

Which isn't to say that a dry food diet would be better, because moisture is also helpful for some intestinal issues.
 

blast-off-girl

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
536
Purraise
2
Location
Oakland, CA
Actually, fiber is ill-advised in cases of megacolon. The fiber bulks up and it is difficult to pass through for cats with this condition.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

tickytat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 5, 2007
Messages
432
Purraise
4
Location
Vermont, USA
When she was on all-wet, I also added Benefiber to it. It seemed to help at first, but only at first. And it's not a matter of her getting enough water. The vet said her poop was NOT hard and dry, but rather very moist but very, very big and sticky. It just needed something to help push it along. Now that she's on grain-free Orijen, no extra fiber, she has never pooped so good. Every night there's a good amount of nice, perfect poops. Not too hard, not too soft.
She's getting 3cc's of Lactulose (stool softener) twice a day, and a strip of Laxatone once a week. This seems to be the best course of action so far. So I"m going to stick with it.
 

blast-off-girl

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
536
Purraise
2
Location
Oakland, CA
I'm glad to hear that Orijen is so successful! I want to try the same plan with Buster but he needs the wet food in order to mix the Kristlaose (lactulose). Since it is a powder, we can't mix it in dry food. Plus, Buster has the tendency to fall underweight. Whenever I reduce the wet food, he looks anorexic and his weight drops to under 10 pounds. Feeding him wet food keeps him at an average weight.

FYI, the Cisapride sucks! It does not work consistently. I end up having to use a Dulcolax as recommended by the vet.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Originally Posted by emmylou

In dry matter analysis, meaning if you removed the water from the wet food and measured what was left? I'm not clear.

Since there is water in the wet food, when a cat eats roughly the same amount of wet food vs. dry, he's ingesting less fiber on the wet diet.

Which isn't to say that a dry food diet would be better, because moisture is also helpful for some intestinal issues.
yes but that would be saying wet food has less protein which it does not..
1 ( 5.5OZ)can with 1% fiber is = 3/4 cup with 3-4 % in dry matter
 

emmylou

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
960
Purraise
10
I didn't say wet food had less fiber; if you'll read back, I said that it has proportionally less fiber. If a cat is eating the same amount of each, it will get less fiber on the wet diet than the dry.

One person said that megacolon should not be treated with fiber. But several sources I've seen say that that fiber is one of a few possible treatments. It may depend on the individual patient.
 

blast-off-girl

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
536
Purraise
2
Location
Oakland, CA
Originally Posted by emmylou

I didn't say wet food had less fiber; if you'll read back, I said that it has proportionally less fiber. If a cat is eating the same amount of each, it will get less fiber on the wet diet than the dry.

One person said that megacolon should not be treated with fiber. But several sources I've seen say that that fiber is one of a few possible treatments. It may depend on the individual patient.
For cats with normal constipation, fiber is perfectly ok. That explains why vets will recommend pumpkin, etc. However, many vets are changing their opinions about megacolon treatment and suggesting a low residue diet. The point is to reduce the amount of stool to pass through the dysfunctional colon. Since cats with megacolon lack the ability to push the stool normally, the fibrous stool can get lodged in the colon, thus requiring an enema.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16

tickytat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 5, 2007
Messages
432
Purraise
4
Location
Vermont, USA
Originally Posted by Blast-Off-Girl

For cats with normal constipation, fiber is perfectly ok. That explains why vets will recommend pumpkin, etc. However, many vets are changing their opinions about megacolon treatment and suggesting a low residue diet. The point is to reduce the amount of stool to pass through the dysfunctional colon. Since cats with megacolon lack the ability to push the stool normally, the fibrous stool can get lodged in the colon, thus requiring an enema.
I believe this is EXACTLY what was happening with Mitties. It was soft enough, just too big and the colon couldn't properly push it out. It has been a long, exhausting battle trying to find out the perfect combination for her. Just when I find something that seems to be working, she'll plug up. I have to constantly monitor her "output." It's easier to stay on top of it rather than let my guard drop and have her go through that again. Just gave away all my wet food, Orijen seems to be working best out of all of them. Plus she loves her water fountain so that's helping too. I just hope it continues! Oh, the Lactulose every day for the rest of her life is also a HUGE help.
 
Top