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Hard/hairy stool

post #1 of 11
9/28/11 at 10:39pm
Thread Starter 
When Parker had to stay at the vet the last time, she told me his stools were hard and full of hair (she was kind enough to pick one apart for me). She said to give him wet food only and the laxative when need be. His stool is still the same, even after all this time. So they get stuck sometimes and he rubs them off on the carpet.

Now, I assume giving him the canned pumpkin (provided he would eat it) would help? Is that something I would need to give to him every day to keep his stools a bit softer? Or a couple times a week?

Any other suggestions? I don't imagine those hard stools feel very nice coming out.
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post #2 of 11
9/29/11 at 12:14am
Yes, canned pumpkin (plain, Not spiced) does usually help with constipation, but it seems like something else may be wrong here..
What food are you feeding him? Did they do any kind of tests when they noticed his poop was hard?
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post #3 of 11
9/29/11 at 5:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvMyParker View Post
When Parker had to stay at the vet the last time, she told me his stools were hard and full of hair (she was kind enough to pick one apart for me). She said to give him wet food only and the laxative when need be. His stool is still the same, even after all this time. So they get stuck sometimes and he rubs them off on the carpet.

Now, I assume giving him the canned pumpkin (provided he would eat it) would help? Is that something I would need to give to him every day to keep his stools a bit softer? Or a couple times a week?

Any other suggestions? I don't imagine those hard stools feel very nice coming out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minka View Post
Yes, canned pumpkin (plain, Not spiced) does usually help with constipation, but it seems like something else may be wrong here..
What food are you feeding him? Did they do any kind of tests when they noticed his poop was hard?
I definitely agree with Minka, that something else could be wrong. So I would recommend you take your cat back to the veterinarian. When one of my previous cats had issues like you describe (minus the hair) he ended up having Mega Colon.

He needed a diet of all wet food along with water mixed in his food. He ate a ratio of 3oz can of wet food to 2oz of water. I tried the canned pumpkin but he would NOT eat it. But some cats love it.

Now Panda my DLH does not vomit up hairballs . So she often has issues with hair in her feces. Some of her feces can be excessively hard as well. Though I suspect not as hard as your cat. I give her Cat Lax (http://www.petco.com/product/2700/Se...airball+remedy) on a daily basis. That seems to help her .

So in closing I would recommend you bring your cat back to the veterinarian, since he might be having a major medical issue.
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post #4 of 11
9/29/11 at 10:26am
Thread Starter 
The vet recommended strictly canned food when she noticed that. For a long while that is all he was eating but his stools are still hard. I am trying to keep up with brushing but maybe he is eating more fur than "normal" because of his FHS.
Would there be other symptoms with megacolon? He doesn't seem to strain and does go every day. I do check for blood and stuff but I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary.

I do also put water in his wet food, though he drinks often on his own anyway since he likes to play in it.

He is eating a variety of cheaper canned food as money was tight for a bit with Sami being ill but I will be able to afford some better stuff with one less mouth to feed after tonight . So I will be getting some Wellness, Felidae and whatever else this weekend.

I might try the canned pumpkin first until I get a few bucks to take him back to the vet. Maybe I should have had him shaved so he wouldn't eat so much hair when he has his episodes.
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post #5 of 11
9/29/11 at 10:39am
I think your Parker is ingesting too much hair. Pipsqueak had the same issues a couple of months back. I started him on Pumpkin and he ate it for two days then refused. So I put him on a 1/2 tsp. of metamucil daily mixed in with wet food. He ate that right up. I kept him on that for a few weeks and now I give it every three days and his poops are still very normal and "moist" looking. I also brush him a couple of times each week. You could try shaving also as many people will do this to avoid a hairball problem. On my other cats, I give them 1/2 tsp. of pure Vaseline once a week for hairball control. But you have to start the Vaseline at least three times a week in the beginning for a couple of weeks. Don't use the Vaseline daily because it will coat the digestive track and block nutrients from being absorbed. And I don't give the Vaseline to the cats an hour or two before they eat or after they eat. Anyway, just a couple of more ideas for you to try. You could ask your vet about the metamucil and Vaseline too. Best of luck to Parker
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post #6 of 11
9/29/11 at 11:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvMyParker View Post
The vet recommended strictly canned food when she noticed that. For a long while that is all he was eating but his stools are still hard. I am trying to keep up with brushing but maybe he is eating more fur than "normal" because of his FHS.
Would there be other symptoms with megacolon? He doesn't seem to strain and does go every day. I do check for blood and stuff but I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary.
If he is not straining when he defecates, no blood in the stools, or "thinking" he needs to make a bowel movement and does not, I would not suspect Mega Colen.

I have no idea if FSH has anything to do with excessive hair eating, sorry.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvMyParker View Post
I do also put water in his wet food, though he drinks often on his own anyway since he likes to play in it.
I would just say try and put as much water in his food as he will tolerate. In other words if possible, try to make the ratio of food to water a higher portion/percentage of water.
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post #7 of 11
9/29/11 at 11:31am
Do you brush him daily? That might help with the hair thing. Is he constipated as well, or just have hard stools? How old is he?
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post #8 of 11
9/29/11 at 1:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by stephanietx View Post
Do you brush him daily? That might help with the hair thing. Is he constipated as well, or just have hard stools? How old is he?
I brush him when he lets me. My problem is that of all the brushes/combs I have, none really work with his fur, so I never feel like I am getting enough.

He isn't constipated, as he does go daily...they are just hard and mostly fur. He is 7-8.

I will give the pumpkin a try and see if he likes it and I will ask the vet about the metamucil. Thanks!
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post #9 of 11
10/6/11 at 3:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvMyParker View Post
I brush him when he lets me. My problem is that of all the brushes/combs I have, none really work with his fur, so I never feel like I am getting enough.
I use this brush from Walmart and it works great on shorthair cats
It's got wire on one side to get loose topcoat hair, and a rubbery side to grab undercoat as well as allow you to brush the fur even when wet.

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post #10 of 11
10/25/11 at 11:44am
Does eating the fur serve some digestive purpose for them? I brush Mowzers quite a bit, but she'll actually pick up her furballs from the carpet or off her brush and eat them.
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post #11 of 11
10/27/11 at 8:09pm
Try a Zoom Groom and then a comb or a brush to get the loose fur. Even my brush- shy cats like the Z-G.

http://www.amazon.com/Kong-Cat-Zoom-Groom/dp/B00009ZJ0Q

find out HOW MUCH pumpkin or Metamucil to use... small amounts help absorb water in the gut... larger amounts act as a laxative... I don't feel comfortable advising on how much to use.

You can also try Vetasil... which actually is Metamucil just packaged for veterinary use.

ETA: When I got my then-foster Casper - he had the hard, hairy stools and was only pooping every 3 days or so... I put him on a regimen of mineral oil, pumpkin and watery wet food and he was normal in about a month... but again.. I don't know your case speficically.
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