Best diet for constipated cat?

daniellekim

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Hello! First time poster here but I've spent a lot of time reading other threads about cat constipation. I didn't see my question answered though so here goes...

I have 2 cats - my forever cat Kali who is 1.5 years old and a foster cat (soon to be adopted by me) named Mikki who is approximately the same age. They both mysteriously became constipated over this past weekend and haven't pooped since Saturday at least. I noticed this morning that my cat hadn't peed nearly as much as she used to, and since she has a history of urinary issues, I brought her to the vet. They ended up giving her an enema and fluids and "prescribed" Miralax - 1/4tsps 1-2 times a day. I also talked with my vet about getting my cat back onto wet food, at least all the way or a mix.

My cat is currently eating Prescription Hills c/d urinary care for stress (dry). There is a wet food version of this that my vet said I could introduce, but I wonder if I should be changing her diet to a better one to deal with constipation?

(For the record, this is the first time either cat has had constipation).

I'm hesitant to take my cat off of this prescription food because it has done a lot to help her stress and anxiety. Would it still be okay to give her this food with the addition of Miralax? Or should I look into changing her diet? A mix wouldn't really be worth it, because the prescription c/d really only works if that's strictly all that she is eating.

Mikki Foster is eating Blue Buffalo dry with the Miralax added. Her diet would be a lot easier to change. She did not have an enema because she hates people and is very hard to get to the vet. I'm hoping the Miralax will help and she'll be able to pass stool that way, otherwise I'll have to endure the scratches to get her to the vet!

Any suggestions would be wonderful, thank you!
 

molly92

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I would switch everyone to all wet versions of their food, because hydration is so important for constipation and urinary health.

If that doesn't work, then you could look into different foods with the help of a vet. I'm not too familiar with how c/d works and if there are precautions you need to take when switching to something else. Catinfo.org has a lot of info on the subject of food and urinary health.

Still, I've had vets recommend dry food for constipation which is absolutely ridiculous, so take what your vet says with a grain of salt. Most constipation focused foods rely on adding fiber, but I would not immediately try adding fiber because sometimes it can make it worse, especially if the real issue is hydration. So my first step would be to get as much water into their diet as possible.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I agree with switching to all wet.  There is no reason why you cannot switch to the C/D wet that I can think of, and I believe they have a couple different versions, maybe pate and stew, possible a couple different flavors even (I think).  If nt, then Royal Canin has their version also.  But there should be no reason why dry is better than wet that I can think of.  As a matter of fact, I would think even for the URI aspect, wet would be far better.

Moisture is best for urinary issues, and most definitely for constipation issues.  It IS interesting though, that both cats got this at the same time, especially since they don't eat the same thing, and are so young.  What did your Vet have to say about that?  It's very strange. 

Anyway, Miralax has worked wonders for our constipated cats, although it normally takes a couple days to start working.  Then it works well.
 

stephanietx

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When you switch to wet food, you can add in about a teaspoon of plain canned pumpkin to help keep things moving along. Miralax isn't good long-term, but I think you'll see a good improvement with their poops once you switch to canned.
 
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