Commercial dry food for constipation

My cat's constipation problem comes from not  letting her hairballs come out.She has very fly away  fur and gets a lot of loose hair while grooming.She vomits liquid/food and then you see part of the hairball which she always chews and swallows.YUCK,but  this is the reason I believe she suffers from constipation.I give her lactulose/pumpkin and she was on Royal Canin Fiber Response.All of this in combo worked quite well . Without transportation my vet is now charging me $25 shipping fee to send food to my home(new management)when I was never charged before since it comes directly from the warehouse either way.She eats only dry food and I am looking for a formula I can find in the pet store that will help with constipation if anyone has any input.I did buy Merrick Limited ingredient grain free diet because it was high in fiber 4%  fat 14%  moisture  11%..she doesn't seem to like it much

Are you in the states? If so, I just did a quick search and the Royal Canin is available through Chewy.com.

http://www.chewy.com/cat/royal-canin-veterinary-diet/dp/33928

They do verify with your vet that your pet uses this food; but, I have never had any issues getting prescription foods this way (and they're usually a bit cheaper.) On the plus side, Chewy orders of $49 and up ship for free

I will add...
Having chronic hairballs (even if it is on a monthly basis) is not normal. If the diet you had her on completely fixed the problem, great! But, I would seriously consider adding wet food into her diet. The moisture in the food will also helps keeping things moving. Chronic constipation can lead to a condition called Megacolon (I wasn't familiar with this until I had a cat in crisis and he had to be sedated to be "cleaned out." So, that's why I share.) So, keep an eye on her output as well.

CatPack said:

Are you in the states? If so, I just did a quick search and the Royal Canin is available through Chewy.com.

http://www.chewy.com/cat/royal-canin-veterinary-diet/dp/33928

They do verify with your vet that your pet uses this food; but, I have never had any issues getting prescription foods this way (and they're usually a bit cheaper.) On the plus side, Chewy orders of $49 and up ship for free

I will add...
Having chronic hairballs (even if it is on a monthly basis) is not normal. If the diet you had her on completely fixed the problem, great! But, I would seriously consider adding wet food into her diet. The moisture in the food will also helps keeping things moving. Chronic constipation can lead to a condition called Megacolon (I wasn't familiar with this until I had a cat in crisis and he had to be sedated to be "cleaned out." So, that's why I share.) So, keep an eye on her output as well.

Click to expand...

I agree with this. I'd definitely think about adding wet food to her meals.  I'd also consider adding some plain pumpkin puree to her diet. This can be found in grocery stores in the baking aisle near the pie fillings. Just make sure that the ingredients don't have anything other than pumpkin. It cannot be pie filling since that contains spices. The pumpkin is a great source of natural fiber and a good source of moisture which helps as well.  Most cats like it which also helps. All 3 of mine like it. I buy a big can, put the pumpkin into small, novelty type ice cube trays and freeze it. when it is frozen, I pop them out of the tray and store them in a freezer bag. All I need to do is thaw the little cubes and add to their meals since it's already portioned out. 

Thank you so much for the input.I am in the states and will look at chewy .com.I wish she would eat wet food but she will not go near it.She doesn't even like treats(imagine that) and eats only dry.My vet may give me a problem with faxing a script since THEY want the additional $ for the shipping(which I am sure they are not charged).I miss my retired vet.Thanks again.

Thank you for your reply KAT0121..I do add pumpkin to her diet and I give it in a syringe as she will not eat any  type of wet food.What a mess...I will have to look into Chewy.com though I was hoping I didn't  have to deal with this new vet who bought the practice frommy retired vet.Tthey were ripped me off with a shipping fee.I ordered 3 bags,should have been $122 and they charged me $165 because they said that Royal Canin charged them to ship it...lie,lie,lie

I agree with the others, i think you need to get her on some wet food. My cats used to shed more and have more dandruff when they ate just kibble. Yes, some cats are more challenging than others to get on wet food but you can convert even the most stubborn cats to eat *some* wet. I suggest you search the threads here about transitioning to wet and get some good suggestions. The best way to do this is to pick up a bunch of different brands/flavors/textures and see what your cat likes or doesn't like. Also look into some toppers to entice. I had a cat that didn't like treats but it was just a matter of getting some good treats. Look into freeze dried treats like Bravo's mariners medley or salmon. 

This site is awesome, What great advice and input from all that answered[emoji]9829[/emoji]Thank you

Hi Jill &  welcome!!! I am a long time member of the mega colon site on yahoo.You have been given some really good advice.I used pumpkin with my boy for 6 yrs.Also frozen  in small ice cube trays as well as babyfood butternut squash.The key being not too much or it will work the other way for you.Constipation.Has your kitty ever had an abdominal xray of the colon? Would be a good idea.As most of us pay more attention including myself to an empty bowl rather than what we are receiving at the other end.Mulit cat household even harder.You need to know what you are receiving as per Bm.My late Maxwell was diagnosed with MC at 10 yrs old.Blk& wht tuxedo.As you can see.Not long haired.I dissected every stool he had.Some stools were all hair although looking down at the litterbox you would have thought it was a poo.It could barely be opened up.Hair causes major havoc in the gut.The small intestine of a cat is roughly 2 1/2 times the length of cat.Not including the tail.So very long skinny tube.We all want kitties to puke up hair rather than it going the "wrong" way.The Rc food is well known to help with constipation & does help some MC kitties.So true than any canned food even the cheapest is far far better than the best dry on the market.i always stayed away from fish though.A lot of urinary ,renal issue happen from dry.I honestly wish they never made it.But it was made for convenience.Not for the cat.We are always struggling to get enough water into our cats as they came from the desert.Conserving every bit of fluid they could until their next kill.Coconut oil works well with hairballs.A brand like trader Joe's etc having 62 % MCT, cold pressed,organic,virgin.The key is ONLY if your kitty likes to lap it up.Syringing any oil into any cat's mouth I'll be blunt is STUPID.Aspirated pneumonia can happen & can be life threatening.But some kitties do like the taste.If so and you can add a small amount say 1/4 tsp into a bowl to lap twice per day.You may find this helps.Keep an eye on the stools as it can if too much cause diarrhea.You do not have to get it at a healthfood store.I bought mine from Costco for my dog with skin allergies.Huge tub for like $27.00.But if a no go you can use it for yourself.It is very good for everyone.The RC food is ok but not really IMO for hairballs.Cisapride is often dosed from a vet to move hairballs down but still going a more natural route i would prefer over meds & high priced vet foods.If your kitties colon is enlarged via xray only .A whole different ball game.Chronic constipation whether it be from dry diets.hair getting mixed with the food and producing hard stools etc can lead to MC.Most kitties diagnosed are only after kitty has been constipated for a long time.Thus the importance of observation in the litterbox.Some people work all day and are not there to observe.Some have resorted to wireless ip cameras aimed at the litterboxes that can record on your hardrive or send you an email on your phone etc.Obviously if they have a lid it is taken off.Amazon.It is better than nothing.You may on recording see your kitty going into the litterbox 3 or 4 times attempting to poo & you had no idea.The brand at Costco is Nutiva.Lecithin is also used from a health food store.You can go to my friends website on feline constipation & she does talk about lecithin (safe) & daily dosing.www.felineconstipation.org .The pumpkin I gave my boy was not to help with hairballs or his stools.It was to feed his good gut bacteria.A probiotic.1/8 tsp twice per day.When you are dealing with a dry food junky which a lot of kitties are, transitioning them to canned can be trying.www.catinfo.org Dr.pierson talks all about it & why canned over dry.Also medicating a dry food junky can also be a challenge.You can try chicken babyfood (no onions or garlic) gerber's stage 2 is good mixed with med & syringed.Providing your baby likes the BF.& the med is NOT extremely bitter.Some meds are terrible.You'd have to buy a jar & try it.I also froze that in small cubes as well.The only way to confirm constipation over hair ball havoc is by opening up stools & seeing if they are full of hair or are they poo that is hard.Total different thing.And yes i got over the yucky part 30 yrs ago.Things we don't want to do but must to keep our babies healthy.You learn this or should i say THEY learn this the hard way.If kitty goes outside.Good Luck. Hugs C.

Wow..thank you for all the info.You seem to know a lot about cat's constipation.I do have 4 cats in the household but her stool is easy to identify as it kind of resembles the old time telephone cords.I believe she eliminates that way because of the high fiber dry food 1 1/2 tbsp of pumpkin every other day(by feeding syringe) and 1 1/2 -2 mls of lactulose 2x's a day.She still does NOT go every day.She will not eat treats or anything wet.I have tried many times over the years.I feel bad giving her the pumpkin the way I do but it is the only way I can get it in her.Not looking for any more advice or info you sure gave me a lot.Just wanting to vent a little.[emoji]9829[/emoji]