Cat poops hard and dry poops daily

[Mini80]

A few months ago my 1.5 year old male cat who always had exemplary poop started to develop small, hard poops. He eats a combination of dry and wet food daily. I eventually realized that his poop had lots of mini hairballs so I began brushing him daily and switched his diet to a high fiber hairball food by Purina Pro Plan. I also give him Pet Honesty hairball chews daily. I’ve also tried the hairball gel. I have fresh water through out the house and try to give him small quantities of his dry hairball food so he is forced to eat more wet but he loves his crunchies.

His poops are still on the hard side and when you break them open they are very dry inside. He poops every day, so even though his poop would be considered constipated he still goes daily so I know he’s not blocked. But I worry that his poop should be softer and I don’t want him developing anything serious in the long run with constant dry poop.

I also give him Pet Honesty hairball chews daily. I’ve also tried the hairball gel. I have fresh water through out the house and try to give him small quantities of his dry hairball food so he is forced to eat more wet but he loves his crunchies.

Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing dry poop?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Did you change anything to do with the foods you were feeding shortly before this started? The other thing is sometimes high fiber diets can cause hard stools - just too much fiber.

You might want to try adding a couple of drops of olive oil to his wet food and/or see if he will lick a dab of butter/margarine off of your finger or his paw. Both can work to help pass hairballs and would likely help soften his poop. Top his wet food with crushed dry food to help with getting him to consume more wet food which obviously contains more moisture.

Of course, more moisture anyway you can - maybe add a bit of water to his wet food or try a water fountain to see if that piques his interest in drinking more.

I am sure other members will come along soon with additional ideas.

 

[Mini80]

Thanks for these tips. I did not change his food but we have another cat who has the opposite problem (soft stools) so we did change her diet to Purina Beyond wet which of course my male cat loved. The Beyond food is very low grain and honestly that is when his stool got hard. I stopped giving them the Beyond.
The hairball food has helped so I think the extra fiber is doing him good. I wonder if he just reached a point since he is only 1 where he is shedding more and just developed hairballs. I should mention that he has never thrown up a hairball and I don’t see him excessively grooming. Here’s a pic of my sweet guy.

 

[Alldara]

You might consider giving him something seasonally if it's a shedding season issue. I've spoken to my vet and they've approved a bit of resorilax for Magnus during shed season. You must dissolve the crystals completely before giving it to them but it carries some water to the colon to soften poos and he won't become reliant on it.

 

[fionasmom]

If you are in the US, Restoralax is Miralax and available in most markets and drugstores. You might ask your vet if this would help. It will even dissolve in very soupy cat food like Hartz Delectables.