Katniss has recently spent 4 days in the vets due to constipation and not eating. I love my little girl and don't want this to happen again!! She is only 4 months old. What are some good food choices?? Right now she eats Purina kitten chow and the occasional 9 lives canned food. She also loves her whisker lickin' treats. Keep in mind I am a new cat mom so any and all advice is greatly appreciated !!
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Food to avoid constipation
- Thread starter katnisskitty
- Start Date
Feed 100% canned with added water if you can.
My girl dropped canned food and is on dry only. I'm desperately trying to get her to eat wet because I fear constipation. She is so stubborn!
Search mega colon, miralax, and constipation on this site to see what you are up against. Lots of good advice in those threads.
My girl dropped canned food and is on dry only. I'm desperately trying to get her to eat wet because I fear constipation. She is so stubborn!
Search mega colon, miralax, and constipation on this site to see what you are up against. Lots of good advice in those threads.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thank you!! Any certain brands good for kittens? I want to make sure she is getting all her nutrients. I hope her bout of constipation isn't an early warning sign of IBD 
I second the suggestion to get your girl on all wet food.
My male cat Tim had his first very bad constipation episode in 2011, when he was not quite 2 years old. The vet that cleaned him out mentioned the constipation was likely due to dehydration. All he said was make sure Tim drinks plenty of water but never mentioned or asked about his diet. And we trusted pet food manufacturers to make food that met the needs of cats.
It wasn't until June 2013, when Tim spent 3 or 4 days at the emergency clinic then our pet hospital for the same problem that I started researching on my own. Again, no one ever said anything or even asked about his diet. But they did put him on cisapride, a dependency-forming medication used for really bad constipation and megacolon. We decided to first increase the amount of canned food we fed the cats. The more I read, we decided to just transition them to 100% canned. We completed the transition at the end of last summer. We just completed the long process of weaning Tim off cisapride.
What brands to use will require some experimentation. Look for high protein and low carbohydrate. Look at fiber content, and monitor your girl to see how she does on various amounts. Some soluble fiber is good to feed the beneficial bacteria that keep things moving along. Too much soluble and insoluble can bulk, creating large stools. Fiber seems to be pretty individual in cats, but you want to aim for smaller stools, but not so small they are hard to pass. It's a balance. Keep an eye on additives, as some can cause digestive upset. I avoid carrageenan, for example, as it irritated my guy's tummy.
Read these websites. There is good information about constipation and food. It seems many cases of constipation can be avoided by feeding all wet food. I have to give mine tiny bits of psyllium and miralax on occasion to help move things along. He is kind of a nervous cat and I've learned he holds it when stressed. But otherwise, he's doing well without cisapride and on an all wet-food diet.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/constipated-cats/
http://www.felineconstipation.org/
http://www.catinfo.org/
My male cat Tim had his first very bad constipation episode in 2011, when he was not quite 2 years old. The vet that cleaned him out mentioned the constipation was likely due to dehydration. All he said was make sure Tim drinks plenty of water but never mentioned or asked about his diet. And we trusted pet food manufacturers to make food that met the needs of cats.
It wasn't until June 2013, when Tim spent 3 or 4 days at the emergency clinic then our pet hospital for the same problem that I started researching on my own. Again, no one ever said anything or even asked about his diet. But they did put him on cisapride, a dependency-forming medication used for really bad constipation and megacolon. We decided to first increase the amount of canned food we fed the cats. The more I read, we decided to just transition them to 100% canned. We completed the transition at the end of last summer. We just completed the long process of weaning Tim off cisapride.
What brands to use will require some experimentation. Look for high protein and low carbohydrate. Look at fiber content, and monitor your girl to see how she does on various amounts. Some soluble fiber is good to feed the beneficial bacteria that keep things moving along. Too much soluble and insoluble can bulk, creating large stools. Fiber seems to be pretty individual in cats, but you want to aim for smaller stools, but not so small they are hard to pass. It's a balance. Keep an eye on additives, as some can cause digestive upset. I avoid carrageenan, for example, as it irritated my guy's tummy.
Read these websites. There is good information about constipation and food. It seems many cases of constipation can be avoided by feeding all wet food. I have to give mine tiny bits of psyllium and miralax on occasion to help move things along. He is kind of a nervous cat and I've learned he holds it when stressed. But otherwise, he's doing well without cisapride and on an all wet-food diet.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/constipated-cats/
http://www.felineconstipation.org/
http://www.catinfo.org/
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
Thanks for the links that's so helpful!! I actually called the vet today to ask and they said she could continue on both wet and dry but to put water in her dry food? I'm about to go to pet smart and pick up some wet food though. I read that cats need a lot if water but they ain't sense thirst like the sense hunger. I'm so glad I joined this forum! I am learning so much!
I would put her on 100% wet and ignore the vet. Hydration is key to preventing constipation, plus it avoids other problems in the urinary tract.
The new school of thought is to get food that is low fiber, about 1%-1.5%, which is where most canned foods are at. Old school is to give high fiber, like people, but many owners of megacolon cats suspect that high fiber worked for a while and then caused the colon to stretch and made things worse. Cats don't handle fiber very well, they're built for a meat diet.
The new school of thought is to get food that is low fiber, about 1%-1.5%, which is where most canned foods are at. Old school is to give high fiber, like people, but many owners of megacolon cats suspect that high fiber worked for a while and then caused the colon to stretch and made things worse. Cats don't handle fiber very well, they're built for a meat diet.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #7
Katniss has been on a 80% wet food diet for a few days now (I wanna use the test if the dry food we have so I give her a little everyday). She has gotten to where she will sit by the wet food cans and meow until I open one lol. I'm so glad she likes them. Also glad she is having normal BMs! Thanks guys !
We have had our cat for one year. At first she was constipated. The vet recommended a little Mirilax (!) sprinkled on her wet food. Problem solved.
She stopped eating about a week after her first visit to the vet. Verdict - infection of unknown origin. Antibiotics cured the problem.
If your pal stops eating she is probably ill or hurting in some way.
See the dreaded vet.
She stopped eating about a week after her first visit to the vet. Verdict - infection of unknown origin. Antibiotics cured the problem.
If your pal stops eating she is probably ill or hurting in some way.
See the dreaded vet.
I agree about the food conclusion. My cot likes Fussie Cat chicken, Simply Nourish Chicken Stew, and Fussie Cat Chicken and Vegetables. She has lost her taste for fish completely.
Dry food for cats is like potato chips for people.
I'm trying to wean Star of dry food - too many carbs!
Dry food for cats is like potato chips for people.
I'm trying to wean Star of dry food - too many carbs!
