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Our cats eat Science Diet complete formula dry food. They tend to be constipated; one especially that has become a problem. Should we change food; any suggestions.
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cat constipation
- Thread starter darhend
- Start Date
Well, if you could, it would be better to feed them canned food vs dry, simply because of the moisture content. That in itself would help with the constipation, just like drinking more water helps humans. However, if that is not possible you can try just giving them a little canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just plain pumpkin). Best scenario would be to give them canned food with a little canned pumpkin mixed in.
But I'm thinking if they are kibble addicts, they may not go for the canned pumpkin either...you never know. Some cats love it, some don't. Next suggestion is Miralax. That works GREAT! My consistently constipated cat was on Miralax twice a day, every day for the last 2 years of his life, just to keep him regular. We gave him 1/4 teaspoon mixed in a teeny bit of water and then mixed that into a teeny bit of Fancy Feast gravy (basically), since he was also a kibble eater. If he didn't lick that up, then we would would make up a new batch (which would be about 3/4 teaspoon total) and squirt it into the side of his mouth via a needleless syringe. I swear by stuff!
But I'm thinking if they are kibble addicts, they may not go for the canned pumpkin either...you never know. Some cats love it, some don't. Next suggestion is Miralax. That works GREAT! My consistently constipated cat was on Miralax twice a day, every day for the last 2 years of his life, just to keep him regular. We gave him 1/4 teaspoon mixed in a teeny bit of water and then mixed that into a teeny bit of Fancy Feast gravy (basically), since he was also a kibble eater. If he didn't lick that up, then we would would make up a new batch (which would be about 3/4 teaspoon total) and squirt it into the side of his mouth via a needleless syringe. I swear by stuff!
Trust me-- this comes from long arduous experience. Feed canned or raw!
My cat was constipated since I got him from the SPCA 2.5 years ago. He is approximately 7-10 years old.
I had him on every dry I could think of- high fiber, low fiber, high quality, low quality, vet food, grocery store food and NOTHING helped him. My vet even said he was on the verge of developing mega colon.
Every time he pooped there was blood from the strain.
Then I started giving half wet and half dry. There was still blood in his feces.
I recently switch him to an all wet diet (thanks to certain members on this forum... Carolinaaaaaa) and he has not had blood or straining since then.
I would recommend an all wet diet or even better- a raw diet. Either one would help your cats SIGNIFICANTLY.
Here's my journey-- http://www.thecatsite.com/t/249166/i-give-up/60#post_3258719
My cat was constipated since I got him from the SPCA 2.5 years ago. He is approximately 7-10 years old.
I had him on every dry I could think of- high fiber, low fiber, high quality, low quality, vet food, grocery store food and NOTHING helped him. My vet even said he was on the verge of developing mega colon.
Every time he pooped there was blood from the strain.
Then I started giving half wet and half dry. There was still blood in his feces.
I recently switch him to an all wet diet (thanks to certain members on this forum... Carolinaaaaaa) and he has not had blood or straining since then.
I would recommend an all wet diet or even better- a raw diet. Either one would help your cats SIGNIFICANTLY.
Here's my journey-- http://www.thecatsite.com/t/249166/i-give-up/60#post_3258719
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Welcome to TCS, darhend!
Hopefully the only damage from dry food that you'll see is constipation...it can be much worse!
There's an excellent website - by a Veterinarian dedicated to feline nutrition - that will give you the full Feline Nutrition 101, for free.
One hitch: you need to be one of those (so rare these days) people who can absorb more than 140 characters
But, oh, if you can digest it, both you and your cats will live happily ever after!
Here you go: http://www.catinfo.org/
(meantime, regular human Miralax, 1/4 teaspoon to start, 1/8 teaspoon daily should get and keep things moving - mix it with a tablespoon of water and add it to some irresistible Fancy Feast canned variety...more about that here http://www.felineconstipation.org/acutetreatment.html#OsmoticLaxatives don't opt for the Lactulose, though...too yucky! And, if you get really adventuresome, you can go to the homepage of that site and get a complete Feline Constipation 101 - then you'll know what goes on inside those cats and why it's not always clear sailing!
Hopefully the only damage from dry food that you'll see is constipation...it can be much worse!
There's an excellent website - by a Veterinarian dedicated to feline nutrition - that will give you the full Feline Nutrition 101, for free.
One hitch: you need to be one of those (so rare these days) people who can absorb more than 140 characters
But, oh, if you can digest it, both you and your cats will live happily ever after!
Here you go: http://www.catinfo.org/
(meantime, regular human Miralax, 1/4 teaspoon to start, 1/8 teaspoon daily should get and keep things moving - mix it with a tablespoon of water and add it to some irresistible Fancy Feast canned variety...more about that here http://www.felineconstipation.org/acutetreatment.html#OsmoticLaxatives don't opt for the Lactulose, though...too yucky! And, if you get really adventuresome, you can go to the homepage of that site and get a complete Feline Constipation 101 - then you'll know what goes on inside those cats and why it's not always clear sailing!
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As others have stated above, switch to canned or raw to help with constipation
My old (RIP) cat used to have very serious constipation issues (twice he had to go to the emergency vet) until I started giving him wet food. Cleared up his constipation issues. I hadn't realized before then that a dry diet was bad for them.
Even if you can't do 100 percent wet, give him at least one feeding (3 oz can) of wet per day.
My old (RIP) cat used to have very serious constipation issues (twice he had to go to the emergency vet) until I started giving him wet food. Cleared up his constipation issues. I hadn't realized before then that a dry diet was bad for them.
Even if you can't do 100 percent wet, give him at least one feeding (3 oz can) of wet per day.
