Constipation?

My 9 month cat has recently started pooping in small fragments like a moose rather than 1-2 chunks.


There are also subtle signs of decreased appetite She'll eat snacks as usual, but eats about 35% a than usual.

I would have gone to the vet already if it hadn't been that she still plays like a healthy madman.

Thoughts?

*eats 35% less than usual

What is she eating?

Lots of kittens love to play so much they'll ignore their own symptoms as much as possible. Still, it's possible she's just reaching her full size and doesn't need to eat as much. Watch for straining and yeowling in the litter box, vomiting after straining, no bowel movements at all for more than 2 days, or lethargy and total loss of appetite. If any of those symptoms occur, I would take her to the vet.

There are some things you can do that often help with constipation and wouldn't hurt even if she's not constipated: Frequent brushing to cut down on the amount of fur she ingests, more wet food to increase her water intake, and probiotics added to her food to help her digestion. Exercise is also helpful, but it sounds like she's getting plenty of that! Fiber (like pumpkin) is a commonly used remedy for constipation but I do not recommend that as the first thing to try because it also bulks up the stool which can make some constipation worse.

Here's her food


Thanks, I'll watch out for the other symptoms and try to observe her daily poopoo sessions.

HI!
Something you could do as well is to start weighing her and keeping a log/diary, so that you can see and track what's happening there .

My kittens love their dry Royal Canin, but they only get a little bit a day (when I'm at work). If you have the money, try giving her Royal Canin wet (or another brand, but mine love the pate for kittens). It helps lower the risk of dehydration and constipation, and it's got fewer fillers.

A dry food like royal canin is starchy enough that you wouldn't expect to see small stool like that, so that's a point towards it being the beginnings of constipation (higher protein foods with low carbohydrate contents will often result in very small stool because so much of the nutrients are easily absorbed and used by the carnivore cat digestive system).

Wet food would be great to incorporate, it can be Royal Canin or something else. Moisture from their food is helpful for constipation, but it also helps everything else in the body as well so a lifelong diet of wet food is great for avoiding other common medical issues down the road too.

He decreased appetite might be connected to not being able to poop. I would suggest drastically decreasing her dry food intake and increasing her wet food intake. Wet is so much better for kitties anyway. You could start transitioning her to adult food as well. If you can find a grain-free food that would be best.

That looks like what my adult cat's poop looked like. No matter what she ate -- dry or canned -- it looked like that. I agree with the others, try canned food. Poop like that lacks moisture and hurts coming out. You can sprinkle some psyllium husk on the food to get more fiber into it. Pumpkin if she will eat it, will soften the stool.

I've never had a kitten so I don't know how long they need to be on kitten food.
My adult cat is currently on a prescription gastro intestinal food that is made by Royal Canin and it has worked wonders for her but she is an adult.