Constipated Cat, Eating Wet Food And Pumpkin, Remedy?

[bathedinshadow]

My 11 year old cat has had waves of issues with constipation (I believe). Two years ago, she was howling and rolling around so much that we took her to an emergency clinic in the middle of the night and that's what they believed the problem was. Since then, I will notice that maybe 3 times a year, she struggles to go to the bathroom, and the stool is quite hard. Sometimes hard enough, that only part of it comes out and the rest will fall out around the house. I'm only assuming this is constipation. If somebody thinks something else may be going on, please chime in! I haven't witnessed her howling in discomfort again, until today.

I would actually venture to say that it's possible that she is always slightly constipated. She has regular bowel movements (for her, that's every other day), and doesn't seem to struggle most of the time, but her stool is almost always hard. Usually there is one longer one, with a few marble sized ones.

I've been thinking I need to try a new food to remedy this? I don't want to take her to the vet again. She recently had teeth extracted and didn't recover quickly. Which meant she went to the vet upwards of 6 times. The vet is an extremely stressful event for her. If it seems like something beyond constipation is going on, obviously she will need to go again, I'm just reluctant to keep taking her in.

She has been eating (for the past 4 years - since I rescued her), wellness canned turkey, pate. I also give her about a tablespoon of canned pumpkin every day (which she loves). I'm not sure that it helps, but since she likes it, I just give it to her. I also add water to her food. But perhaps I'm not adding enough? I couldn't really say how much. I just make it slightly soupy. Maybe like a pretty thick smoothy? I've looked at some charts, and I'm considering switching to a higher protein food... and looking for food without guar gum and carraggeean.

What do you guys think? Does it sound like she's just perpetually mildly constipated, and every so often it worsens? If so, what can I try with food to remedy this? I'm not huge on medication if I don't have to. She seems to have a very sensitive system when it comes to medications. She didn't do well on anything they have give me. diarrhea on antibiotics, takes a full day to snap out of mild sedatives.. etc.. When I took her to the ER, they told me to give her restoralax (Miralax in the US). Which caused severe diarrhea.

I know similar threads have been posted about constipation, but most people seem to be feeding dry when this occurs. Or believe the cause to be a certain wet food. However, given that I rescued her, I have no clue what her bowel function was prior, and I've had her on the same food the whole time. So nothing to compare to. It never really occurred to me that she might always be slightly constipated until I started reading about it today. I've read that I can give her psyllium fiber, but that some cats have allergic reactions. Anybody use this with success?

 

[Miry-Mom]

Hi B bathedinshadow !

Pumpkin is great to assist with diarrhea and constipation. The fiber alone is fantastic and it's full of excellent vitamins. However, too much of a good thing does have it's drawbacks. If you give too much pumpkin daily, there's a chance that you can actually add to the constipation woes. Fiber tends to absorb moisture and too much fiber can be a rock turd waiting to happen; especially if you aren't well hydrated. That goes for humans, dogs, cats...and just about anything else that poops.

Maybe you could try cutting back on your kitty's daily pumpkin intake. Instead of a tablespoon, try a teaspoon... Or maybe give the pumpkin a break altogether except for a weekly treat and see how her bowels change. I'd also keep adding extra water to her wet food just for some added hydration. (Unless of course this is a diet given by your vet...then you would definitely want to discuss this with them prior to any food changes.)

If she's extremely uncomfortable though, and it's concerning you, I'd definitely go ahead and either give the vet a call or just take her on in to see your vet so they can see if there are other issues going on.

Hope she gets to feeling better soon!

 

[Columbine]

I really do think you need to at least discuss this issue with your vet, just in case there's a root cause that's not yet been picked up (sometimes IBD can present with constipation rather than diarrhoea, along with other symptoms like weight loss, lack of appetite etc) . As she's been to the vet a lot recently, I'd start by trying a phone consult, especially if you have a good relationship with your vet. Explain exactly what's going on (maybe take and send some pics of her poop...and possibly even video of her pooping, if it wont put her off - every little bit of information helps ), and remind them of the bad reactions she's had to meds in the past. That really is your best bet to find what works for her. I hope you find a solution soon

 

[orange&white]

I have read from several articles that pumpkin's effects may be short-term in some cats. So a constant addition of pumpkin may not be having the intended effect anymore, or like Miry-Mom suggested, may be having the opposite effect.

Since the Miralax gave her diarrhea, you might a tiny dose to see if it might loosen her stool without being "too loose"...or try a little bit of psyllium husk powder (Metamucil). I would call your vet first and ask whether either of these two options are all right to try.

When feces sits in the bowel too long, the colon starts to draw the water out of it, making it more and more dry. You need some sort of fiber element that will absorb water into the feces and bulk it up enough to pass. Your vet may have some additional ideas.

 

[bathedinshadow]

Hi B bathedinshadow
Maybe you could try cutting back on your kitty's daily pumpkin intake. Instead of a tablespoon, try a teaspoon... Or maybe give the pumpkin a break altogether except for a weekly...
Hope she gets to feeling better soon!

I totally hear what you're saying. And I'll try cutting back on the pumpkin, but this was an issue before the pumpkin entered her life. So I'm not sure if it's the cause? I do wonder if it's her food?

I really do think you need to at least discuss this issue with your vet, just in case there's a root cause that's not yet been picked up (sometimes IBD can present with constipation rather than diarrhoea, along with other symptoms like weight loss, lack of appetite etc) . As she's been to the vet a lot recently, I'd start by trying a phone consult, especially if you have a good relationship with your vet. Explain exactly what's going on (maybe take and send some pics of her poop...and possibly even video of her pooping, if it wont put her off - every little bit of information helps ), and remind them of the bad reactions she's had to meds in the past. That really is your best bet to find what works for her. I hope you find a solution soon

She doesn't have any of the other symptoms though. Regular hardish stools, with an apparent once every 2 year "noticeably" painful bowel movement. I wish I could tell if she was in pain otherwise, but if she is, she's masking it. She has a good appetite and very consistent weight.

This is a new vet she is going to. While they've been great so far, they do seem fond of having her come in. Hence the numerous trips.

Wouldn't this all be easier if our kitties could talk to us?

I have read from several articles that pumpkin's effects may be short-term in some cats. So a constant addition of pumpkin may not be having the intended effect anymore, or like Miry-Mom suggested, may be having the opposite effect.

Since the Miralax gave her diarrhea, you might a tiny dose to see if it might loosen her stool without being "too loose"...or try a little bit of psyllium husk powder (Metamucil). I would call your vet first and ask whether either of these two options are all right to try.

When feces sits in the bowel too long, the colon starts to draw the water out of it, making it more and more dry. You need some sort of fiber element that will absorb water into the feces and bulk it up enough to pass. Your vet may have some additional ideas.

Yeah, I honestly don't think the pumpkin ever did anything. I haven't noticed any change in her stool since giving it to her. I just kept giving it to her because she likes it. She did finally pass her stool that same day and has since gone back to her normal schedule, but yes, they are still harder than I think is healthy for her. I've read a bit about the psyllium husk. But not a great deal. I'll look into that more.

 

[ginjaninja]

Have you ever looked into digestive enzymes or probiotics? I'm trying to find a solution for my cats diarrhea, and there is a TON of info out there... it might be something to look into.

 

[cheeser]

You might ask your vet about trying slippery elm bark syrup. Sometimes when probiotics, pumpkin, and other traditional remedies have failed, slippery elm is the only thing that helps one of our cats when he's going through a bout of constipation or has diarrhea, especially if he's also nauseated.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Hi B bathedinshadow !

Pumpkin is great to assist with diarrhea and constipation. The fiber alone is fantastic and it's full of excellent vitamins. However, too much of a good thing does have it's drawbacks. If you give too much pumpkin daily, there's a chance that you can actually add to the constipation woes. Fiber tends to absorb moisture and too much fiber can be a rock turd waiting to happen; especially if you aren't well hydrated. That goes for humans, dogs, cats...and just about anything else that poops.

Maybe you could try cutting back on your kitty's daily pumpkin intake. Instead of a tablespoon, try a teaspoon... Or maybe give the pumpkin a break altogether except for a weekly treat and see how her bowels change. I'd also keep adding extra water to her wet food just for some added hydration. (Unless of course this is a diet given by your vet...then you would definitely want to discuss this with them prior to any food changes.)

If she's extremely uncomfortable though, and it's concerning you, I'd definitely go ahead and either give the vet a call or just take her on in to see your vet so they can see if there are other issues going on.

Hope she gets to feeling better soon!

Couldn't have said it better myself!

 

[missmimz]

Adding more fat to the diet usually helps constipation issues, but you want to make sure there isn't a medical issue causing it. Kidneys and thyroid ok? I would try and stop feeding pumpkin. it's not a good choice at all for constipation, it can actually slow down transit time, so it may even be contributing to the constipation issue at this point.