Sir Lard Bottom and the Vet

Wishing you alot of Archie being good

I like your vets thinking on the pea thing...lol.. I think that and potatos

I like the way your vet thinks! Be prepared for Archie's "complaints" about putting him on the "starvation diet"! I solved this problem by playing with my girl when she'd want food but it wasn't time for her to eat.

Has he been tested for TF? It's not normally tested in fecal tests and is a very common cause of chronic diarrhea.

http://www.highgait.com/page/page/3485008.htm

Addie - My vet also wanted to put Bugsy on a Diabetic diet... Purina DM - To tell you the truth, if he handled chicken, I would think about it...

He also told me about fiber... How much Metamucil did you try? 1 capsule mixed with the food? Are you going to do 1 capsule a day, or 1 capsule per meal?

This is the third fiber I am trying for Bugsy - the others didn't work out... Guar gum gave him diarrhea, and Flax Seed the vet said too many calories... So, he wants me to do Metamucil now, and adjust it according to his poop - Carolina the poop watcher!
You know, he has a poop problem, AND a weight problem . He has chronic soft stool (NOT diarrhea, all test clean, not painful, no blood, etc... just once a day, like regular kitties do). His vet says it is just like he is - and I just need to deal with it.... he is not sick, not to worry about it... Basically... give the fiber until I see that the poop gets formed. That is the dosage it will work for him.
He said that should also keep him fuller, making him less hungry, and eating less...
Meanwhile.......
This post makes me think about something... I will remove Acana from his mix...
Orijen 6-fish is high high protein, low low carbs, pretty similar to Purina DM (with MUCH BETTER ingredients), but Acana, even though it is grain free, it has a lot more carbs and less proteins.... So...... I think it is time to go back to 100% Orijen 6-fish.

Yeah Addie... our boys seem to be on the same boat!!

BTW Addie - I Think I just found my solution - HOLLY COW!!!!!! Evo Herring and Salmon Formula! - completely chicken free for Bugsy!!!

Look at this Nutrition Analysis:
Crude Protein (min)\t50 %
Crude Fat (min)\t\t18 %
Crude Fiber (max)\t\t3 %
Moisture (max)\t\t10 %
Linoleic Acid (Omega-6 Fatty Acid) (min)\t\t1.5 %
Carbohydrates NFE (max)\t10 %
Vitamin E (min)\t\t300 IU/kg
Vitamin C (min)\t\t500 mg/kg
Taurine (min)\t\t0.2 %
Magnesium (max)\t\t0.15 %
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min)\t\t2.4 %
Total Microorganisms (min)\t\t90,000,000
CFU/lb

Compare with Purina DM:
Crude Protein (Min) \t51.0%
Crude Fat (Min) \t15.0%
Crude Fiber (Max) \t3.0%
Moisture (Max) \t12.0%
Vitamin A (Min) \t18,000 IU/kg
Vitamin E (Min) \t100 IU/kg
Carbohydrate* (Max) \t18.0%

It has 10% less carbs than DM!!!! Holly cow!!!
And look at the ingredients:
Purina DM:
Poultry by-product meal, soy protein isolate, corn gluten meal, soy flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), corn starch, animal liver flavor, calcium carbonate, phosphoric acid, fish oil, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, DL-Methionine, choline chloride, taurine, powdered cellulose, salt, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite. L-4574

L-4574

Evo:
Herring
Salmon Meal
Salmon
Herring Meal
Peas
Eggs
Herring Oil
Pea Fiber
Natural Flavors
Apples
Sunflower Oil
Carrots
Cottage Cheese
Dried Chicory Root
DL Methionine
Vitamins and Minerals (Ascorbic Acid, Beta Carotene, Biotin, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Choline Chloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Dicalcium Pantothenate, dl-Methionine, Folic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Niacin, Potassium Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin C Supplement (Sodium Ascorbate), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement (Alpha Tocopherol), Zinc Proteinate)
Direct-Fed Microbials

I like Evo much better!!! I think I found Bugsy's new food I hope little Hope likes it too!

Just be careful with metamucil, I don't like it used in cats. It creates bulk, which creates huge stools. Huge stools can cause megacolon.

I wonder has a probiotic been tried? Fortiflora is good for this kind of problem. (or the gels, benebac or probios)

However for giving metamucial, I used to just mix it with a bit of water, wait a minute for it to form a lump, then just put it down Ootay's (rb 5/09) throat. A little dab of food on the nose for her to lick off to wash it down.

If you don't want all the sugar and additives that are in the metamucil you can get a pure psyllium fiber called Konsyl. That's what I always used. It's expensive to get, but not really, in the long run, because it is without fillers so you use much much less.

Increasing the wet (& adding a bit of water to it to make it a thick soupy/stew consistency) and increasing activity will help the hard stools and constipation issue, so use Metamucil or any fiber additive carefully. I make a mixture of wet food, canned pumpkin, and raw chicken for my girls and that's helped immensely with the pooping problem my older girl has.

Metamucil is pretty much the same as Vetasyl., minus the cost and the malt flavor. The dosage is the same, capsule by capsule - 500mg of psyllium Husk per capsule. Vetasyl is widely recommended for cats.
On the capsules I don't see all these fillers you are talking about - perhaps you are referring to the powder?
I open one capsule and mix it to watered down wet food for Bugsy, and he has no trouble taking it.

*The #1 reason why my doctor prescribed Fiber to Bugsy was for weight control - and as I mentioned, this is the 3rd fiber I am trying (should been the first, he wanted me to do Psyllium, my research said otherwise)

#2 reason is a nice side effect, per se - is that poop issue. Side effect because that I control with proper food and Bene-bac. But it will be nice to have solid poop nonetheless.

And since Bugsy is a heavy boy, paying attention to the poop to adjust the fiber dosage is important.