Canned Pumpkin

I have always used canned pumpkin for diarrhea and it has worked! A vet recently told me NOT to use it because it is a laxative.He even laughed at me!  I'm so glad I researched  this online and found your forum! I am going to start it again and for my long haired cat who gets lots of hairballs too.

Thank you!

I'm glad to hear your cat's diarrhea has been resolved. This certainly isn't to say that you shouldn't do your own research, but I would sooner trust a vet's opinion than people on the internet. Even if 10,000 people on the internet said X is safe for a cat, but my vet disagreed, I would seek a second opinion from a different vet in the future.

In this case, pumpkin is definitely a lesser of evils in terms of safety, but there are many things vets and lay people alike will disagree about, and we (owners and vets) should consider what may work specifically for this specific cat. Every cat is different and in considering that, we also need to realize that something that is safe for many other cats can cause adverse reactions for others. My cats vomited pumpkin so fast, it wasn't even funny. I might report back to your vet to tell them it was successful - it can help provide them with the info that it can be a potential solution for future patients.

However, if I had a vet that openly laughed at me or had a less-than-couth  bedside manner with my suggestions, I might be tempted to seek a different and more supportive vet, not because they disagreed but because they couldn't be more civil about it. Often times if I thought I found a potential solution and brought it up to my vet, even if they didn't have an answer for me then, they would go find a resource either during or after my appointment and call or email me about what they found, or bring it up at my next appointment. I personally wouldn't tolerate being laughed at!

Pumpkin has worked well for my cats, too.  @pinkdagger  is right, though, every cat is different.  A couple of mine didn't have bad reactions but simply refused to eat it, even though I read a lot about how cats 'love' the taste of pumpkin.  

I agree about the vet--even if your vet doesn't agree with what you're doing, they should be respectful in how they deal with you.  

For dogs and for cats, canned pumpkin is used for either diarhhea or constipation.  It helps with both (which is odd).  This is SO well known I would really wonder about a vet who is not aware of this.

Be sure you buy canned pumpkin, and NOT canned pumpkin pie filling.  The pie filling includes spices.  One of those spices is usually nutmeg, which is toxic to dogs.  Not sure about cats, but just stick to the plain pumpkin.

You can also feed Weruva's Pumpkin Patch Up.

LTS3 said:

You can also feed Weruva's Pumpkin Patch Up.

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I also feed Weruva, which some of them have pumpkin in them

Nora1 said:

I also feed Weruva, which some of them have pumpkin in them

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Some of the Soulistic foods have pumpkin in them, too.  Unfortunately my cat who needs the pumpkin only likes pates.  It's easier for me to use canned pumpkin.  I freeze it in ice cube trays in about 1 tsp. amounts and then microwave a piece to mix into her food.  She eats it fine that way.