Constipation in all my cats- food issue

All my cats are having issues with constipation.

They were on Purina One. I switched to Purina maturity formula for older cats thinking the extra fiber would help. I tried Purina hairball. I tried IAMS Hairball. I've tried adding water. It hasn't helped.

I had bloodwork pulled on Taz (10 yrs old). Everything is normal.  The vet said to add laxatone, except that is too expensive to do daily with 4 cats.

One cat is on Natures variety instinct  turkey canned. He has to be on that since it is a limited ingredient diet. It is low in fiber and he is definitely having issues.

I use miralax if they are really bad.

I think this is a food issue.  Everyone is healthy except for the constipation issue. They are between ages 4-10 yrs so not that old.

What would be a good fiber source to add to their diets? Or a better food I can try them on?

I usually feed Purina as I can sometimes get free bags (not outdated).  Probably not the best feed, but they do well on it and it keeps their urine ph in the right range so I don't have to worry about urinary crystals.

They all crave grass, and will eat any houseplant that I get. I know this is a dietary issue.

Cats aren't really made to eat fiber and plant materials, and more fiber can actually cause constipation in some cats. I've heard that slippery elm bark powder can help. What do their symptoms look like? This site has some info on inflammatory bowel disease, including constipation: http://www.catinfo.org/

How often are they pooping? Or are they doing things like straining or having pellet sized poop?

Miralax takes 2-3 days to take effect. If you're having constant problems, then you have to keep administering it because it works by drawing water into the bowel, thereby making the stool soft and easier to pass.

The last thing you want to do with a constipated cat is add more fiber.  Find a food with 1.0-1.5% fiber.  Canned food is best.  Do not add things like pumpkin to the diet.  Miralax does take several days to take effect so keep that in mind.  How often are they pooping?  How do you know they are constipated?

They have pellet sized poop and when I see them going they are straining.

I thought pumpkin was supposed to help with constipation?

Sarah Ann said:

 
They have pellet sized poop and when I see them going they are straining.

I thought pumpkin was supposed to help with constipation?

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Pumpkin adds bulk to the stool which can cause increased constipation, which is why it is commonly used with diarrhea.  With constipation you want less fiber which means less stool as cats do not absorb fiber in the intestinal tract, it goes to the colon where it adds to the poop volume.  Sometimes extra fiber can provide stronger sensations in the colon due to increased poop size, which gives the cats the urge to poop, but often times it has the opposite effect.  I have been doing a ton of research on this subject as my cat DeeJay was diagnosed with Mega Colon.  I am going the low fiber route with her and it is working wonderfully. 

Here is an excellent website that talks about the fiber: http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/constipated-cats/
 

Pumpkin can help with mild cases of constipation. However most cats don't handle fiber very well on a constant basis. Chronic constipation and megacolon can have many different causes. Finding a fix is a trial and error process. Most owners, though, find a low fiber diet works well. The theory is that if cats don't handle fiber well, give them less of it. Nature's Variety Instinct is 3% fiber, about twice as much fiber as the average canned food, so it is high fiber. Some owners think that the clay in Nature's Variety causes constipational issues as well.

What I think would help the most would be switching everyone to 100% wet. Hydration is key to constipational issues. Although you said you added water before, it would take an awful large amount of water to equal the amount obtained by wet feeding. It's also not good to wet dry food as the bacterial load of dry food is higher, so the risk of bacterial growth is significantly higher.

I would just get them a better quality food :-/ Purina and Iams aren't good brands. As you probably know, cats can't digest grains well, and those all have grains in them. Plus they're one-star foods.

I know there is a website called petfoodtalk (don't knew if I'm allowed to post a link) that can give you reviews on good foods.

Hope your cats feel better!

If you could add some wet to their diet it would help. Dry kibble is dehydrating. Fiber is great to maintain regularity in hydrated beings, but not dehydrated and constipated. In those cases you can actually cause an obstruction.

Have you checked out LDG's article about tips for getting more water into your cat? It's worth a try as well as adding wet food.

What do you normally feed her? Our vet said that there is a possibility of megacolon but she also told us to give her more fiber. Now im starting to get very confused!

milliesmum said:

 
What do you normally feed her? Our vet said that there is a possibility of megacolon but she also told us to give her more fiber. Now im starting to get very confused!

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The reason it is confusing is there is no one size fits all for a kitty with chronic constipation issues.  If a cat truly has megacolon rather than chronic constipation issues then you want to keep as much fiber out of the diet as possible.  Many people with megacolon kitties have had good luck with giving Miralax twice daily every day.  You start with 1/4 teaspoon twice a day and adjust the dosage to what is needed.

For a kitty with chronic constipation it's really individual to the kitty.  A little extra fiber helps some kitties and causes more issues with other kitties, it's really a trial and error thing.

Haha I'm definitely learning that its a trial and error thing. We couldn't find any miralax at the chemist here but got another stool loosener and are also looking into slippery elm as well, so fingers crossed. We did see a little bit of a poo last night...i feel like a proud parent haha, I've never been so excited about poops!