16 Year Old Female Dsh Has Hard Feces

Cat Grrl

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Hi All:

Compared to a lot of your kitties’ health issues, I know this is not such a big deal. It is concerning, nevertheless. My beautiful girl has started to occasionally drop feces outside of the box. She gets very upset when they stick to her and won’t fall off in the box, so she tries to run away until they fall out somewhere on her run throughout the house. Part of the problem is that she will not eat canned (wet) food. She has never liked wet food since she was 2 months old and I adopted her. I have tried many, many, many different types of wet food. She even stops eating her dry (kibble) on a whim. I always have to scramble to find a replacement. I even had to make a spreadsheet so I could find a dry food that she would eat. Her feeces are very hard bullets. It is upsetting to all of us. Any suggestions before I take her to the vet?
 

Twylasmom

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This could be a sign of constipation. Is she going every day? Upping her fluid intake can help, put out multiple bowls and maybe a fountain. You can add water to the dry food but don't leave it out to long, as it can breed bacteria. Constipation can also be a symptom of other things so a vet check could be useful. My cat was constipated because she has arthritis in her hips and going was uncomfortable. She had to have an enema to clean things out. She is on Dasuquin for the arthritis and I add a couple of tablespoons of water to her wet food, plus a prescription food. It has made a huge difference for her.

Given her age, it might be time for some blood work to check thyroid values, kidneys, etc.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. If she hasn't been seen recently by a vet for a full geriatric check up (including a full blood panel and T4) - that would be step 1.

If nothing shows up in her check up to denote any issues, you could try something as simple as Miralax to help soften her stool. Start out with 1/8 teaspoon and see if after a couple of days that helps, if not increase it to 1/4 teaspoon for a day or so. Just watch her stool, as the minute it would start to get too soft you need to discontinue the Miralax. If giving it to her helps, you hopefully can reduce the dosage and frequency to the 1/8 tsp and maybe give it to her just couple of times a week.

As suggested above, see if she would be willing to eat some of the dry food with water added to it. Or, if not water, try some gravy toppers mixed with a bit of water, even some canned chicken in water. You can also try canned tuna in water on occasion, if adding moisture to the dry works - just as a change of pace from time to time.
 

SpecterOhPossum

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Don't know if this is helpful, but, if at all possible - I would suggest trying to get her to eat a little bit of meat. Specifically, fattier meat. Maybe you could dry offering a bit of boiled; fatty chicken or duck?
 
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Cat Grrl

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Thanks for the ideas. She is probably constipated, thinking about it. I’m going to get her to the vet for a check, and try some of the liquid food and other suggestions. She is the most important “purrson” in my life.
 
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