Does Hill's Prescription Diet K/D Cause Problems With Constipation?

Snowball is 12 years old and was diagnosed with early kidney disease two years ago, and was immediately put on a strict diet of K/D dry cat food. The problem is that he is often constipated. I discussed this with my veterinary clinic, and they recommended also feeding him a little K/D moist food. I have recently started feeding him two or three teaspoons of moist food every morning, and this helps somewhat, but not completely.

I am wondering if Snowball's problem is caused by a lack of fiber in his diet? I read in some threads here that Metamucil can be given to cats. I know that a person who takes Metamucil needs to drink an 8 oz glass of water to prevent it from swelling in their throat. How do you safely give this to a cat, and is this what I should be doing?

Boy am I getting to be an expert on constipation! There is a product called Lactulose that you could ask your vet for. It helps draw water to the colon to help with constipation. The only problem is if your cat isn't a big drinker, they can get dehydrated. You could also try a little bit of good old bran mixed into some canned food, I find that works well and my kitty doesn't mind the taste (maybe because it's tasteless!) Canned food can help with a cat who isn't a big drinker because it's about 75% water.

I always use either canned pumpkin, or mashed and cooked green beans with a bit of butter.