Dausaquin For Cats - Not Pooping!

[sperry01]

I found out a few months back that my boy has arthritis that has caused significant muscle wasting in his back legs. I could tell he'd been in pain for a while but I was trying not to overreact because we'd just gone through a whole ordeal with our other cat and her seizures and hyperthyroidism, etc.
Anyway, we promptly started giving them both 4 soft chews each (over 10 lb that was the starting dose for a month). After just two days, they both stopped pooping. I stopped giving them the chews and it took THREE days for there to be even one poop in the litter box. So then we gave them each just 1 chew and there was poop but less than normal. It's like we can only give them 1 chew a couple times a week, anything more and they are constipated.
I've been trying to replace one of their meals with wet food to offset the effects but it's not helping. They are both overweight despite being on very strictly measured diets for years so that doesn't help. And they are less active because they are both around 10 and he is of course in pain more and more. He was doing really well with Gabapentin every other day but now I can't get him to take it anymore so he's not getting much relief anymore.
They are both on a high fiber diet (royal canin prescription) to help keep them full longer and also because our other cat was having trouble with regularity after her I131 treatment back in November.

Has anyone else had trouble with the glucosamine supplements causing constipation? I can't seem to find anything else online...if anything, it seems cats seem to have the opposite issue. Is it possible the high fiber diet is making it worse? Should we try to take them off that food and see if that helps? It's breaking my heart to see him in pain. I know that the arthritis is only going to get worse, and from what I've been told, the glucosamine is kind of the only hope we stop it's progression or slow it down.

Any tips or insight on the Dausaquin or arthritis in general would be helpful.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I don't know about the constipation issue with the Dasaquin or how it might react with the high fiber food, but have you tried giving him Krill Oil for his arthritis. I've heard it works well and as far as I know, should NOT cause any constipation issues. I just don't know HOW the Dasaquin could react with the high fiber food to cause the issue, but if you are only feeding them that food to help them feel full, I would change their food to all an all wet, very low carb food and that in itself should help them feel more satisfied AND also help them lose weight. That's the only way I got my little pudge to lose any weight. If they are not already on timed meals, we have an article that can help you with that...just ask about it.

 

[Kflowers]

Just to add to the information base. Our cat hasn't had that problem, she's been on the dashaquin for 6 years. She was one when she started it and eats regular adult maintenance dry food and gets her pill on a clump of tuna. She has an occasional bite of cat grass, but that's the only other thing. She doesn't sneak human food.

 

[sperry01]

Thanks for the responses mrsgreenjeens & K Kflowers
I have not tried Krill Oil. I havent tried anything other than the Dausaquin, because that's what the vet gave us and I was trusting her judgement. The high fiber diet wasn't our idea, that vet put them on it but I suppose we'll switch them and see if that helps. We feed them on very regular schedule AND measure their meals.
I don't know either how the Dausaquin could cause them to be constipated but that's the only variable, and it's every time they get a dose, the litterbox is poopless for a couple of days.

 

[Kflowers]

We use the capsule form of dasaquin, you open the capsule and sprinkle the powder on food. There may be something in the chew that isn't working for your cats. Since you are giving the RX RC you could sprinkle it on that. Our cat who is sort of really picky has no problem eating hers on a small clump of tuna. If your's eat wet food you're good to go.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

K Kflowers has a good point. Maybe there is something in the chews that's different from the capsules. I used to give one of my guys Cosaquin (a long time ago) and also used the capsules because you never knew when they will chew a treat or not.

I still stand by my comment about moving to a low carb wet food though for losing weight, which should in itself help with the pain. My formerly pudgy cat is now 10 1/2 years old and is showing no signs of arthritis at this point. He was 4 pounds overweight earlier on in his life and it took us quite awhile to get the weight off as we experimented with lots of "diet food". Finally converted everyone over to scheduled meals of all wet food and meticulously measured his calories and voila!