Anal Gland Issues & Canned Pumpkin

katgoddess

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
397
Purraise
1
Location
BC, Canada
My cat seems to have issues expressing his glands when he goes, so I have had to take him in to my vet to have them manually expressed 3-4 times in the last two years. My dog's holistic vet told me that it can be damaging and unhealthy to have the glands manually expressed so often and it is best if he could manage to do it by himself.

So I spoke to my cat's vet and he said adding more fiber would help. He recommended canned pumpkin or psyllium husk.

I occasionally use canned pumpkin for hairballs and it seems to help, but I never wanted to use it on a daily basis. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Has anyone found canned pumpkin or psyllium to help with anal gland problems? My vet says it's safe for daily usage, but has anyone ever read contradicting info (i.e. not healthy for cats to have canned pumpkin/psyllium on a daily basis long-term)?

I'm very cautious and don't really want to give something every single day since we know too much of a 'good thing' can be bad as well.

Thanks!
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
I would use a gentlier fiber like benefiber ... Psyllium can cause major gas and pain if not taken with enough water... Pumpkin is found in several foods thus should be fine for daily use..
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

katgoddess

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
397
Purraise
1
Location
BC, Canada
Thanks, Sharky!

He eats raw (3 meals/day) and I add a few spoons of water to his food right before serving. I was hoping that would be enough water IF I were to use psyllium. Is it?

If pumpkin is the safer way to go and has the same outcome, I will do that instead. Has any of your kitties ever had anal gland problems?

I never heard of Benefiber before, so I searched it up. It seems like the main ingredient is wheat. Unfortunately, my cat can't have anything that has wheat -- he suffers from some food allergy issues, too.
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,772
Purraise
3,491
Location
Texas
Adding canned pumpkin (plain, not pumpkin pie filling) will help. Also, you can try something like Miralax, which many folks on the CRF group use with their renal failure kitties. Upping the amount of canned food in his diet will also help, especially if you feed almost exclusively wet with little dry.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

katgoddess

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
397
Purraise
1
Location
BC, Canada
Here's an update and some questions.

Ok, so since I made this original thread, I have tried both psyllium and canned pumpkin (on different days, of course).

I tried giving him 1/4 tsp psyllium for a few days and that seemed to bulk up his stool nicely instead of him pooping out rabbit-like pellet poops like before. He even stopped scooting.

Then I tried canned pumpkin (1 tablespoon/day) and that seemed to make his constipation worse and his poops even smaller.

This doesn't make sense to me because they are both soluble fiber...shouldn't they have the same effect? Am I giving just the right amount of psyllium yet too much pumpkin and so it worsened the constipation?

(I thought psyllium might contain, gram by gram, much more 'fiber' than canned pumpkin, hence the difference in dosage. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Edit - This is what I found online regarding fiber content:

- Psyllium Whole Husks = 4 – 4 ½ grams of fiber per 5 gram serving (1 tablespoon)
- 1 cup canned pumpkin = 7 grams of fiber

So it does seem like psyllium really contains more fiber per spoon than pumpkin. So if I give 1 tablespoon pumpkin, it should be nowhere close to the fiber content of 1/4 tsp psyllium. But why does pumpkin worsen the constipation while psyllium helps?


I'm really confused. Thanks!
 

lovewhiskers

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
426
Purraise
2
Location
Stow, OHIO
Pumpkin can have both effects depending on the dose. It sounds like 1 tablespoon is too much for him. You could try 1 teaspoon.

I use Natural Moves from petAlive.com which contains psyllium plus a few other ingredients. Our boys get 1/4 capsule in wetfood when they get constipated but this is not on a daily basis. I had to find the right dose for them since the recommended 1 capsule was way too much.

Are you feeding wet and dry or just dry?

Our Leo had for a while a hardtime with his anal glands, but feeding him half wet and half dry plus using the fiber solved the problem.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

katgoddess

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
397
Purraise
1
Location
BC, Canada
LoveWhiskers, thanks! I was thinking of reducing the pumpkin amount since like you said, it might be too much fiber and doing the opposite of what I'm trying to achieve, but now I'm not so sure (see my edited post above).

However, I will put 1 teaspoon to the test meanwhile. I would stick with psyllium since it seems to work, but he's reacting to it (allergies).

I'm feeding raw with water added right before serving.
 

dusty's mom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Messages
2,176
Purraise
13
Location
California
I wonder how inulin fiber would work with animals. It is clear and flavorless and can be easily mixed in canned food. It does not contain wheat. It is in FiberSure or Metamucil Clear and Natural.

I have always used baby food yellow squash - same as pumpkin, no salt or other ingredients except the squash.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

katgoddess

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
397
Purraise
1
Location
BC, Canada
Originally Posted by Dusty's Mom

I wonder how inulin fiber would work with animals. It is clear and flavorless and can be easily mixed in canned food. It does not contain wheat. It is in FiberSure or Metamucil Clear and Natural.

I have always used baby food yellow squash - same as pumpkin, no salt or other ingredients except the squash.
Hmm, I have never heard of inulin fiber, but I shall ask my vet about it the next time I speak with him.

When you use baby food squash, how much do you give per kitty?
 

dusty's mom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Messages
2,176
Purraise
13
Location
California
Originally Posted by KatGoddess

Hmm, I have never heard of inulin fiber, but I shall ask my vet about it the next time I speak with him.

When you use baby food squash, how much do you give per kitty?
About a teaspoon and mix it in her canned food. The reason I like using the squash is because you are buying a smaller quantity, so I don't have to throw so much out. And with pumpkin you have to check the ingredients. Beech Nut baby squash is just squash and water - no salt or flavor additives.
 

lovewhiskers

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
426
Purraise
2
Location
Stow, OHIO
You are very welcome!

I wonder if there is another component in pumpkin that causes this correlation, I will ask our holistic vet next time we see her.

I am hoping your baby just needs a little "help" for a few days and then he will do OK on his own.

I am glad your baby eats the pumpkin, our boys don't like it.
 

otto

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 7, 2008
Messages
9,837
Purraise
197
I am currently experimenting with psyllium as a solution to blocked anal glands, too.

Like yours, my vet was leery of psyllium because of the necessary water intake. Jennie gets 1/4 cup of water added to every meal (she is on an all canned grain free diet) so that is not at issue.

My biggest concern with using psyllium is the size of the stool. I mean, the whole point is to bulk up the stool so it will clean out the anal sacks when she poops.

But it can back-fire if a cat has chronic constipation, because the large stool can cause a megacolon. Jennie does have some trouble with constipation if I vary her diet from her usual Wellness grain free canned chicken, but as long as her diet stays the same, she is able to poop okay most days.

So I started Jennie on 1/4 tsp of pure psyllium every four days. This was not effective, she started scooting already, two weeks after having her glands expressed.

So I have increased the psyllium regimen to two days in a a row, every four days. I've only just started this, so we will see how it goes.

I have discussed with my vet having Jennie's anal sacs removed, if the problem continues. My vet does not do this surgery but another vet in the practice does, so that is an option.

What I have read about the surgery is mostly promising, though there is one possibility that fecal incontinence can result. I, of course, would not like that, but I would discuss this thoroughly with the surgeon before hand of course.
 
Top