Black residue on new stainless steel cat bowls / constipation issues

[dianajune]

Was he always this way with water bowls,when did this become problematic or has it been an ongoing issue? There's a few things going on here and I'm getting confused tbh

Many cats do not like the feeling of their whiskers touching the sides of water bowls- I know many people that feed colonies comment about not seeing the ferals drink and avoid water bowls- I always advise " plates- something very shallow and wide so their whiskers do not rub against anything- funny that it's mainly problematic with drinking and not eating but it's because most of their water sources are wide and shallow and it's familiar to them( puddles,streams,water on the ground from leaky pickets etc)

"Whisker stress" or " whisker fatigue" can make it seem a cat does not " like" particular bowls besides the fact Caspers Human explaining the avoidance of " new" things all about

So I don't know if this has been an ongoing issue and thsts why I am mentioning whiskers fatigue..... also,it's pretty difficult to estimate how much water your baby is actually drinking with so many bowls of water- one lick here,one lick there and might be an appropriate amount after all

My own cats use water dispensers where there is a tank that drips into a wide shallow reservoir-I bought these specifically for Timmy,7yr old feral before capture because he often showed up panting heavily when here in Florida we had hardly any rain in drought and he only drank from puddles- I splashed the water with my finger so he'd see it was safe to approach and then bought another when he transitioned to indoors.....anyway,try dispensers,fountains or anything he might be more comfortable with becsuse hydration is so very important

Pumpkin had issues with not drinking enough shortly after I adopted him. I'm guessing this was due in part to his difficulty with adjusting from being outside all the time to becoming an indoor kitty. One of his vets told me that to encourage him to drink more I should have multiple water sources and it worked.

I had several fountains, none of which worked out for very long. The first one was a plastic round Drinkwell and that was around the time he had a reaction to plastic. It was a gift from a family member. The next one was the stainless steel version and it was very difficult to maintain. The third one was advertised as stainless but turned out to be aluminum so I sent it back.

I wanted to make sure that I had the right water bowls for him. I've got issues with our water here, so I purchased a water filtration system but am confused about the setup, so I'm waiting for the company to get back to me. I purchased stainless steel bowls to replace the ones he had but oftentimes new ones will have that black residue. After my OP, I finally got rid of that black stuff.

He's using a combination of the new stainless steel bowls and the new Correlle bowls, which are plain white with no design.
Today he finally drank out of one of his new Correlle bowls. They, along with the stainless steel ones, are fairly wide so I don't think they bother his whiskers.

So we were having issues with the water, which is being addressed; which type of bowl should he have and his chronic constipation. I ran to Wally World yesterday to get him some more catnip with Silvervine and he started to snap out of this after I gave it to him. He left a small log in his box this morning and had several more a few hours ago. He's back to normal now and is quite chipper.

 

[dianajune]

May I ask what the catnip is all about? I'm not following well- what are you trying to address with catnip & silvervine ? I'm wondering if I'm skipping a page or something,it may very well just be me,duh- lol

I'm so sorry your have such a difficult time,I can totally relate to being immobile and crazy weather making it doubly hard( I'm disabled myself) -the stress of "what if" when our babies are unwell is nerve wracking- take a deep breath and try to take one thing at a time,finding a mobile Vet is an excellent idea to have for emergency- I hope you find one easily

It started out with what bowls s/b best and new stainless steel ones always seem to have that black residue. since my OP I was able to get rid of that stuff.

Pumpkin is now using a combination of new stainless steel and Correlle bowls. Today he finally drank out of a Correlle.

Catnip with Silvervine has a calming effect on him and seems to be helping his tummy. He left another log in his box overnight and several more a few hours ago. He is back to normal.

Thanks!

 

[dianajune]

I use a stainless bowl for G's water. I think the stainless keeps the water cooler. I have never, in 5 years found any black residue on the bowl I wash it out daily and fill with water from my Brita.

As far as the miralax: The directions for Miralax state that you need to Mix it with Water, before giving. You Cannot just add dry miralax to food, and expect it to work. The Vet should have informed you about that. Miralax does not work without water--- even for humans. It states this in the directions. The best I have found is to add it to wet food. If that does not work I pull it up in a 10 cc/ml crying and give when I am pilling. Or, if you do not give any pills, just syringe it into your baby's mouth--- slowly.

As for laxatone: Years ago, I had a problem with giving it to my Megacolon cat. I asked an older Vet Tech how to do it. She said put it on my finger, open his mouth and just smear it on the roof of his mouth--- as in giving a pill. This method has worked great for Artie. Now I am using the same method for Geoffrey who has SCL.

Regarding the lactulose: With Artie, I never had any success giving it, stress free... It was always a hassle. A mess on his fur.. and me.
Even using a syringe was a disaster. I have heard that some cats will take it in their food--- that is always a tricky thing to do; because you do not want to cause food avoidance ..

I wish you luck.. sounds like you have a Megacolon or a slow transit system kitty... I know what that is like.. ((hugs))

I really do think that starting a new thread, would be a better option..

The vet and I had a long discussion about this and she knows how I administer the Miralax. It is mixed in with his Laxatone and a crushed antacid pill. He then licks it off my finger. I tried doing it differently....like having him lick it off a plate or a spoon but he just won't do that.

Putting it in a syringe is something I will have to discuss with his vet. Knowing Pumpkin, this would really freak him out, I don't want to make things worse. As for mixing it with water, how can I do that with multiple water bowls?

He doesn't have megacolon but I am guessing it could be IBS. I will let his vet know what happened over the weekend. Tx.

 

[dianajune]

Oh I'm so sorry about your accident.

Are you dissolving the Miralax powder fully in water before giving it to him?

Do the correlle bowls have a pattern? Or are they plain?

Where did you order the metal bowls from? If something like Amazon, it's going to not be well regulated. So it'll be harder to find good ones.

Usually I get the dog ones in a pet store. They tend to be higher grade. And I know they ought to be pet safe.

What about just a human drinking mug or glass. Would he try that?

My cat's vet and I have discussed how to give it to him. She knows that I mix the Miralax with his Laxatone and antacid pill (crushed), then I put it on my finger and he licks it off. Someone here suggested that I use a syringe but knowing him, that would make things much worse.

The Correlle bowls are plain white with no pattern. He finally drank out of one today. He's pooping much better too. Pumpkin will be ok.

The stainless steel bowls came from the pet department at Walmart.

I tried fountains and they didn't go well (see one of my above posts), dripping faucet etc. Multiple water bowls seems to work best for him. I don't mind the work, he is worth it. I wash each one of them every day.
Tx.

 

[dianajune]

We have always just sprinkled Miralax on Casper's dry food then stirred it up. The powder coats the food pellets so that Casper doesn't even know he's getting medicine in his food. We have never mixed it with water and it does exactly what we need it to do for Casper.

Casper does drink more water because of it and, AFAIAC, that's a good thing. If taking dry Miralax makes him thirsty, stimulating him to drink more water, that's exactly what we want it to do.

Yes, if we give Casper too much, it does give him the runs. Sometimes, we actually want that to happen. If his digestion starts to slow down, we need to give him extra in order to get things moving again.

We have discussed this with our vet and she's on board with it. We've been doing this for years, now, and it works exactly the way we want it to.

Pumpkin was prescribed 1/4 tsp of MIralax twice a day. It's mixed with a crushed antacid pill and mixed in his Laxatone. Ideally, both doses s/b 6-8 hours apart but if his tummy slows down, I drop it down to about 5 or 5 1/2 hours between both doses. Sometimes he will cooperate, sometimes he won't.

His vet also gave me permission to give him a small amount of light cream. I didn't know he liked it until I spilled it in the kitchen and he lapped it up before I could get to it. Too much would give him diarrhea, of course, This is not given regularly but as a treat.

 

[Caspers Human]

It's not that it can't, it's that it is more likely to have the side effect of increasing constipation if you don't.

I understand.

We worked with our vet to come up with a solution. It required lots of adjusting, at first, to get things right.

Casper also takes Cisapride. We gave it to him every day, at first, but now we just give it to him when he needs some extra help.

If you give Miralax or any other home remedy, it's always wise to talk to your vet. If you have to give your cat something during off-hours, that's one thing but you should also call your vet ASAP.

 

[Kwik]

Pumpkin had issues with not drinking enough shortly after I adopted him. I'm guessing this was due in part to his difficulty with adjusting from being outside all the time to becoming an indoor kitty. One of his vets told me that to encourage him to drink more I should have multiple water sources and it worked.

I had several fountains, none of which worked out for very long. The first one was a plastic round Drinkwell and that was around the time he had a reaction to plastic. It was a gift from a family member. The next one was the stainless steel version and it was very difficult to maintain. The third one was advertised as stainless but turned out to be aluminum so I sent it back.

I wanted to make sure that I had the right water bowls for him. I've got issues with our water here, so I purchased a water filtration system but am confused about the setup, so I'm waiting for the company to get back to me. I purchased stainless steel bowls to replace the ones he had but oftentimes new ones will have that black residue. After my OP, I finally got rid of that black stuff.

He's using a combination of the new stainless steel bowls and the new Correlle bowls, which are plain white with no design.
Today he finally drank out of one of his new Correlle bowls. They, along with the stainless steel ones, are fairly wide so I don't think they bother his whiskers.

So we were having issues with the water, which is being addressed; which type of bowl should he have and his chronic constipation. I ran to Wally World yesterday to get him some more catnip with Silvervine and he started to snap out of this after I gave it to him. He left a small log in his box this morning and had several more a few hours ago. He's back to normal now and is quite chipper.

Thanks for the clarification,I appreciate that but more than anything I appreciate people like yourself that will go above and beyond for their little darlings because they love them so very much

I'm very happy to hear Pumpkin is doing well now- I hope you are too.God Bless you both

What's Wally World? I thought it was a theme park?lol

 

[Alldara]

Kwik slang in some areas for Walmart.

 

[Kwik]

Kwik slang in some areas for Walmart.

Lol- good one!
Thank you, very funny

 

[Alldara]

My cat's vet and I have discussed how to give it to him. She knows that I mix the Miralax with his Laxatone and antacid pill (crushed), then I put it on my finger and he licks it off. Someone here suggested that I use a syringe but knowing him, that would make things much worse.

The Correlle bowls are plain white with no pattern. He finally drank out of one today. He's pooping much better too. Pumpkin will be ok.

The stainless steel bowls came from the pet department at Walmart.

I tried fountains and they didn't go well (see one of my above posts), dripping faucet etc. Multiple water bowls seems to work best for him. I don't mind the work, he is worth it. I wash each one of them every day.
Tx.

Oh wonderful. Guess he just needed some time with the bowls.

Yes, I wouldn't want to do syringe for something so watery either...with the risk of aspiration. I mix it in some water and put it in my cat's wet food usually or in a Churu treat.

I hope you're feeling better and glad to know your cat is!

 

[artiemom]

Mis the miralax with water and add that to his wet food... It is the best and only way to give it to him. I am not sure if mixing it with laxatone will provide enough water for the miralax to work..