Scooting due to big hard stool- no luck with remedies so far

Our very love able 3 year old Russian Blue is scooting due to an irritated butt caused in turn by large, hard stool. He eats an almost all wet diet and in an effort to make his stools softer we have added in water, pumpkin, broccoli, and "laxatone" but although the stools are now a bit smaller, they are still rather big and hard, and we can see light streaks of blood when he scoots. We already had him treated once for his irritated anus but since the problem keeps cropping up, we fear he is headed for megacolon later in life at this rate.

Has anyone gone through this and found a solution? The best answer would be for him to drink much more but we have fountains and bowls galore- unfort. he likes to just get his water via food .

Chat2008 said:

Our very love able 3 year old Russian Blue is scooting due to an irritated butt caused in turn by large, hard stool. He eats an almost all wet diet.....

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I think the problem may be related to a couple of things: the remaining amount of dry food he's getting and carbohydrates in the wet food you're using. There's also the possibility that he's one of those cats who just seem to have harder stool, no matter the diet.
Laxtone won't soften the stool - it lubricates the gut/intestine.

For other appropriate fiber sources, have a read here: http://www.felineconstipation.org/prevention.html#FiberorPrebiotics

(That site is a must-read BTW)

the stools are now a bit smaller, they are still rather big and hard

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Well, they're going in the right direction! I saw the same thing as I moved over to a near-all-wet diet with mine. Check the ingredients of the wet you're using, though.

unfort. he likes to just get his water via food

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Of course!  He is being true to his evolutionary heritage...........that is what he is hard-wired to do!

A lot of fiber is just going to make his stools larger. . .I think for him I'd try a low-carb canned food (only--NO dry) and some slippery elm as a fiber source. Or maybe guar gum. But I think pumpkin and broccoli have too much bulk.

Willowy said:

A lot of fiber is just going to make his stools larger.

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Willowy- we're not talking about a lot.....here is what the referenced link actually said of the pumpkin/squash:

Use small amounts mixed into several of the daily meals, a small amount being 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.

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Natural prey - the mouse - will provide an even smaller amount.....and then, a chew or two of grass will provide an even tinier amount...so, a cat 'in the wild' will do just fine with very little. This is a chronically constipated cat needing to "get regular".

Thanks! Checking out all those links and also have discovered the older and new threads on megacolon. Will try some of those altermatives to pumpkin and broccoli and see how it goes. Ironically, our other cat largely refuses to eat any wet at all- is addicted to her dry urinary tract SO food- but she thankfully does drink a lot and has small stools. Will see how it goes with our boy. We'd love to transition him to a raw low carb- the canned we now use is very low carb so it's heading him in the rught direction. We add a lot of water - the downside is that it becomes a soup that he slurps down too quickly, and occasionally throws up as a result, defeating the whole purpose.

Chat2008 said:

Ironically, our other cat largely refuses to eat any wet at all- is addicted to her dry urinary tract SO food-

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Two thoughts for you

• Some cats learn (while their mother is weaning them) that the only alternative to food from mom is dry food - simply because that's all that's available to them...nothing else is on the table! So, in that learning process, stopping hunger=eating dry kibble. Period. Other moms and kittens have the choice of wet and dry. The lucky ones are introduced to wet foods only at weaning time.
• "Addicts" to dry food can be transitioned to wet....there are three requirements for success: 1. TIME  2. PATIENCE  3. TRICKS  If you are prepared to invest a little of #1 & 2, a very reputable feline Veterinarian is willing to show you the "tricks" (tips, really - and, they DO work!) - she offers a superb Feline Nutrition 101, free. Included is a chapter on "Transitioning Dry Food Addicts to Canned Food" - she also covers these so-called "prescription diets" and the myriad of health conditions that flow from dry food diets. Scroll down a few inches at this link for the "chapters" of her course: http://www.catinfo.org/

we now use is very low carb ...We add a lot of water - the downside is that it becomes a soup that he slurps down too quickly, and occasionally throws up as a result, defeating the whole purpose.

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It sounds like you and I feed from the same kitchen and menu. I, too, make a slurry from grain-free canned...I serve it on small "side" plates, but my cats don't devour all at once. If I were faced with them "gorging", I'd probably just reduce the amount of each serving, wait until the cat had finished and gone away, then refill the plate. If you're not using plates, but bowls, perhaps try plates first, then reduce quantities if he's still gorging.

Here's another idea for a stool softener for you - if no natural fiber additive is working. Many people use MiraLAX: http://www.miralax.com/miralax/products/index.jspa (if you're in Canada, it's RestoraLAX) to keep their cats' stools adequately firm. It's harmless and odorless/tasteless, so you can just add it to your slurry. You can read about its use at that former website: http://www.felineconstipation.org/prevention.html#OsmoticLaxativesPrevent

Yes, i would recommend ditching the broccoli for sure, use only pumpkin or squash for fiber (if you feel you need added fiber at all, but I probably wouldn't use any additional fiber), and try the Miralax or similar product depending on where you are located.  I swear by it!  It really works like a stool softener, even though it's not promoted that way.  But it's the only thing that worked for my Sven.

I found this site while searching for a solution to an almost identical problem. There is very useful info on the thread called 'diet to manage megacolon' I believe it is under the section titled cat nutrition - sorry, I haven't figured out how to post a link yet. After giving my cat Miralax she finally passed the huge, hard stool that brought us here. I don't think it was very comfortable to pass, but she perked up greatly once she could go. With a mostly wet food diet and Miralax when the poop starts to get too hard again, she has been pooping daily. Before this, she went maybe twice in a week. It's only been a week or so since the change, but the improvement is really incredible.

I second Miralax - 1/4 TSP a day. If the problem is REALLY bad, you can start with that dosage 2x a day, then reduce it to once a day, mixed on the wet food - great stuff :bigthumb:

Thanks for more great suggestions, everyone. We have bumped up the amount if water by adding more and more to his two main and one bedtime smaller meal- a bit sad that he now has to eat a thin soup but it seems the only way he will take in water. However, he seems to pee most of it out, because it comes so concentrated (even though we divide the main meals into two sittings at least 10 minutes apartment, to reduce his inhaling too much food/water in one go and hurling it up right after).

We weren't too fond of the idea of Miralax- doesnt it contain the PEG that is used for colonoscopy prep?- but given that vegetable fiber, more water in food (soup), laxatone, and quick relief, individually and together have still failed to stop his big hard stools visibly irritating his anus (he often scoots a bit if blood), I guess we will try it with care- thanks for the feedback. We may also try probiotics as well as slippery elm.

I don't know if the PEG in Miralax is the same as for colonoscopy prep, but it certainly isn't in the same volume, so doesn't usually cause that massive diarrhea that you get with the prep dosage, nor does it have that HORRIBLE taste .  Believe me, I've taken both, and there is no way they compare

Miralax basically softens the stool, even though thats not how it's represented.  It literally saved my Svennie.  He used to strain and strain until he vomited from straining, poor little guy.  Once on Miralax, he became as regular as clockwork.

Thanks, mrsgreenjeans, that is reassuring to know. Nothing seems to be working, and although our boy doesnt strain, the scooting with a raw, inflamed anus continues in spite if all our measures. Miralax used in moderation may be our last hope. Are there any issues with using it for life, if need be?

Chat2008 said:

 Miralax used in moderation may be our last hope. Are there any issues with using it for life, if need be?

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Not that I am aware of, but I'm sure there could be some.  I'm guessing, though, that if it works, it might be worth it though.  Quality of life and all that

mrsgreenjeens said:

Not that I am aware of, but I'm sure there could be some.  I'm guessing, though, that if it works, it might be worth it though.  Quality of life and all that

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Right, every now and again I try to see if there is any information out on studies of  long-term use of Miralax in cats, but I can't seem to find any.  I can say, my David (he is now around 14 yrs. old) has been on Miralax - a daily dosage for at least 3 years -  of 1/2 teaspoon a day...it works so wonderfully, he and I have tried everything else, but this works like a charm...

(p.s. has your vet checked him for problems with his anal glands?  becoming blocked?  he might have issues with expressing them on his own?  with the scooting all the time (you wrote "...[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]the scooting with a raw, inflamed anus continues...")[/color], I would so definitely  ask your vet about that as well)