Vet's Best Hairball Relief - Interesting observation

So I got my Vet's Best Hairball Relief in almost a week ago and have been giving each of them 1/2 pill twice a day.  The container says 1 pill twice a day, but I read where others are giving 1/2 pill twice a day.  So far no hairballs but that isn't unusual, I dosed them with Temptations Hairball treats before starting the Vet's Best so I could start with fresh hairball-free tummies.  Here's what I've noticed:

• My 2 worst offenders for IBS-D (the boys), really inhale their food now and look for more.  Normally that wouldn't bug me except for now they want to eat Julie's food.  So, I'm having to police meals.  Thankfully it isn't a lot of food so it doesn't take long.
• They are hungry between meal times.  Hopefully this goes away in time, since constantly being hungry isn't a happy thing.
• Some of the poop has a weird consistency, like psyllium-poop.  That in conjunction with the above comments make me wonder if the cats are getting everything they need from their food (instead of pooping it all out?).  I could be really over-thinking this.  Maybe I just need to weigh them and see if any weight is lost?

The bottle says to store it somewhere cool and dry, so I put it in the fridge.  Where do you keep yours?

Oh, and no I haven't gone poop-busting yet to see if there is any hair in it.  I should.

I don't have any input and I don't use this product, but I'm dying to know what you mean by a "psyllium-poop"?

My guy is getting a tiny amount of psyllium daily to "encourage" him to poop as I wean him off cisapride, but I haven't noticed much difference in his poops. The only real difference I've seen, and I do measure and dig into them, is there is a little bit more poop because he's pooping out a lot more hair. Those poops with hair do feel different; when I press down with the metal poop scooper, they give but don't open up as easily- that's how I can tell a hair-poop.

AbbyNTim said:

 
I don't have any input and I don't use this product, but I'm dying to know what you mean by a "psyllium-poop"?

My guy is getting a tiny amount of psyllium daily to "encourage" him to poop as I wean him off cisapride, but I haven't noticed much difference in his poops. The only real difference I've seen, and I do measure and dig into them, is there is a little bit more poop because he's pooping out a lot more hair. Those poops with hair do feel different; when I press down with the metal poop scooper, they give but don't open up as easily- that's how I can tell a hair-poop.

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Psyllium-poop has an odd glossy look to it.  It tends to be very smooth...like someone put a coat of polish on it.  Regular poop has a different texture regardless the water content (when looking at a stool chart).  Does that make sense?

Fibers absolutely impact nutrient uptake, as it slows down the passage of the food through the GI tract. In a study on fiber, the authors used guar gum. It's an older study, 1997. And the link to the PDF doesn't seem to be working right at the moment.

This is the link http://livestocklibrary.com.au/bitstream/handle/1234/19826/97_110.pdf?sequence=1

The study is Harper & Siever-Kelly, "Effect of fibre on nutrient availability in cats of different ages"

But the conclusion was that it can interfere with protein metabolism and minerals, and that supplementation of minerals should be considered when a fiber is added to a cat's diet. So you may be seeing them hungrier.

I'm not seeing that in any of my kitties. But the fiber-nutrient relationship is documented, so that may well be what you're seeing.

peaches08 said:

 
Psyllium-poop has an odd glossy look to it.  It tends to be very smooth...like someone put a coat of polish on it.  Regular poop has a different texture regardless the water content (when looking at a stool chart).  Does that make sense?

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Yes, this makes sense. Thanks!

I saw this the first time I gave psyllium to Tim, plus his poop was larger than I was comfortable with. While the holistic vet wants a little bulk to create stimulation and the urge to poop right now, we don't want too big, so we cut the amount. Since then, we see normal poops; just more hair than I used to see.

But the conclusion was that it can interfere with protein metabolism and minerals, and that supplementation of minerals should be considered when a fiber is added to a cat's diet. So you may be seeing them hungrier.

I'm not seeing that in any of my kitties. But the fiber-nutrient relationship is documented, so that may well be what you're seeing.

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This is interesting, as my guy seems to be always hungry, too. His appetite seemed to decrease when we added probiotics, but with the addition of fiber, it's gone up. I also cut his food a bit because he needs to lose weight, so I assumed that was it. Maybe it's both, although he really is getting very little fiber.

Although... I give my cats digestive enzymes, and for some of them, I added them around the time I started the Vet's Best. Perhaps that's why they're not hungrier after adding the fiber with the Vet's Best. Hmmmmm........

I wonder if I should try decreasing dosage?  Maybe a 1/2 pill per cat only once a day?  They're OK otherwise, and maybe I won't bust my behind so long as I get really keen on the peripheral vision while looking down and entering the kitchen...

I've decreased the dosage to 1/2 pill once a day per cat, and they aren't acting as hungry.  I think this may be something with their IBD/IBS.  But, most importantly, no hairballs so far!

Things seem to be slowing down here, knock wood, so I also reduced them to 1/2 a tablet once a day. So far, so good, knock wood.

I'm glad that seems to have resolved the hunger problem! If you need to use this again next year when things are at their peak, perhaps consider using digestive enzymes. That may be what made the difference here when they were on a higher amount of the Vet's Best Hairball stuff.

LDG said:

Things seem to be slowing down here, knock wood, so I also reduced them to 1/2 a tablet once a day. So far, so good, knock wood.

I'm glad that seems to have resolved the hunger problem! If you need to use this again next year when things are at their peak, perhaps consider using digestive enzymes. That may be what made the difference here when they were on a higher amount of the Vet's Best Hairball stuff.

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It might be worth a try, especially when hairball season kicks in.  Which one are you using?

I use Prozyme. If you want a lactose-free version, that would be Prozyme Plus. I use the Norpro mini measuring spoons, and use the smallest on each meal. For some reason, they make Spooky throw up, so she doesn't get any.

Vet's Best has digestive enzymes in it, albeit probably a very small amount. You don't think this offsets the effects of the psyllium fiber? I'm giving Caesar a 1/2 tablet twice a day and it is really helping him. I don't think I've seen him vomit at all since starting the Vet's Best two+ weeks ago. And he goes crazy for them, too, which is always a plus.    He doesn't have a marked increase in appetite, per se, but he seems like he feels better and his stools are normal (for him). 

I know for my IBS-D, psyllium can be irritating.  If there is ever a reason that I take it, I have to start in small amounts or it will go ripping through my gut and irritate it.  Oddly enough, once this happens, I can eat myself out of house and home.  Even though my gut is uncomfortable and irritated, I'm starving to death. 

These cats were never biopsied, but they have symptoms of IBS-D that resolved with raw...except the hairballs.  I'm not completely out of hairball season yet and someone should have yacked by now, but they haven't.  So far I am sold on this stuff.  I'd much rather give this than the Temptations Hairball treats and not even because of petrolatum...I'm scared of the other "ingredients" so to speak.

Poops and appetite have gone back to normal.  I mean, the psyllium poops didn't freak me out, but my cats weren't as comfortable and I know how psyllium does me and other IBS-D patients.

GoHolistic said:

Vet's Best has digestive enzymes in it, albeit probably a very small amount. You don't think this offsets the effects of the psyllium fiber?

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?????? What don't I know about enzymes and fiber that you're asking this question? :lol3:

GoHolistic said:

I'm giving Caesar a 1/2 tablet twice a day and it is really helping him. I don't think I've seen him vomit at all since starting the Vet's Best two+ weeks ago. And he goes crazy for them, too, which is always a plus.  :bigthumb:   He doesn't have a marked increase in appetite, per se, but he seems like he feels better and his stools are normal (for him). 

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Yeah - there is something about this formula - cats seem to love the stuff, and it is really helping with digestion in a number of cats. Sheldon can eat red meat now without vomiting - I mean a whole meal! Carolina's Lucky most likely has IBD, and it's improved her digestion dramatically too - and no more crouching after eating. I'm not sure how much she's giving her. I'm using just 1/2 a tablet for Tux, Laz, Shel, Spooky and Ming Loy (mine that were having hairball problems), and 1/4 tablet for Pawley and Billy, just because they want treats, too. :lol3: Chumley and Flowerbelle don't like it, but haven't been having hairball problems (knock wood). Oh - that's per day at this point. A few weeks ago when things were at their worst, I was using a whole tablet twice a day for the problem kitties.

LDG said:

?????? What don't I know about enzymes and fiber that you're asking this question?

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I'm a very literal person, so I don't understand the joke.    I really was asking in a I-don't-know/I-was-wondering kind of fashion. 

Since I can't give Boo the Vet's Best, I started him on digestive enzymes yesterday.

It wasn't a joke! I was laughing at me. I was wondering about the question about the relationship between enzymes and fiber. I didn't understand the question, or what the issue could or would be? :dk:

LDG said:

It wasn't a joke! I was laughing at me. I was wondering about the question about the relationship between enzymes and fiber. I didn't understand the question, or what the issue could or would be?

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Oh! LOL.    And I was wondering about adding additional digestive enzymes on top of what is already in the Vet's Best. They don't actually tell us how much of the enzymes are really in there, do they? They are using 2 mg per tablet of a product called Allzyme. 

Curious, are your cats diarrhea or constipation prone?  I wonder if @Carolina noticed any issues, I remember she had at least one cat with diarrhea until raw.

The only constipation-prone cat I have is Spooky, and it's not causing her problems.