Eating Cat Litter - Kidney Disease Cat

[lora27]

We are in the UK and I have a 9 year old ragdoll who was just diagnosed with chronic kidney disease this week. He is very thin and not eating much at all. After being diagnosed he has been given appetite increasing medicine and put onto renal wet and dry food. On his first day on Renal food he did okay and ate more than he has in a long time, but then the next day he was straining to poo but couldnt poo at all, to the point where he started to be sick several times. So it was a trip to the vets for fluids and some laxative medicine, almost 20 hours later he finally does a small very hard poo.

Here is my concern, we use Catsan litter which he has never been interested in eating, then we changed it to a clumping litter the day before he started his renal food. Then I caught him having little nibbles on it after going for a wee, which is very often for a cat with kidney disease. I stop him anytime I see him doing this, but must miss sometimes. The next day I went out and got the old Catsan type but I have now caught him nibbling on the Catsan a couple of times.

I decided to look at the hard poo he finally did and it looks like it has a lot of cat litter in it. I have read up on this a little and I try to keep him from getting bored and play with him a lot. However he is still eating some. Is there a type of litter which is going to be the least harmful? I have read Corn, Wheat or Paper litter can be used but have also read some bad things about Corn.

Which litter type would you suggest, which is going to cause the least amount of digestive problems/harm for a cat for the times he eats litter where I am not able to catch and stop him?

Im really worried about this because he has now stopped eating again and he is still having trouble passing poo. So any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[susanm9006]

There is a corn based litter, called Worlds Best Cat litter, that is often used at the first litter for kittens, since they will often eat their litter. It clumps just like clay litter but has a odor that some cats don’t like. Mice love it so if you have mice issues it’s going to be a problem but if they have no harmful effects from gorging on it, it shouldn’t affect a cat. Many dry cat foods are mostly corn anyway.

There are also paper based like Yesterday’s News, but it is a larger pellet size that some cats don’t like, and it’s a pain to clean up since urine turns the paper sawdust like and there is no clumping at all so you need to change the whole box at least once a week.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I am going to address this not from a behavioral standpoint but from a health standpoint. Cat's who eat litter often have anemia, and cat's who have kidney disease often have anemia. AND, it can develop pretty quickly and be deadly. Loss of appetite is one of the signs of it, but it's hard to tell with kidney cats as they often have loss of appetite. Are his gums pale? That's a pretty good sign of anemia. Here is a website that talks all about anemia in kidney cats. Doesn't discuss symptoms, but does discuss what you can do about it. (first, though, it needs to be diagnosed by your Vet). Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - All About Anaemia

As far as the constipation goes, that is also very common in older cats, and doubly so for kidney cats . I have no idea how much fibre is in that kidney food, but if it's not much, then you could try adding in some more, in the form of plain cooked pumpkin, or psyllium, or use Miralax (or a generic form) (that's what we used for our kidney cats). And hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, which kidney cats need anyway. I would try to feed only wet food if I were you, and even add more water to that wet food. Here is another "page" from the above wetsite that discussed constipation: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Constipation

Until you find out if he's anemic or not, I would go with paper litter, something like Yesterday's News.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Totally agree with all that mrsgreenjeens has said. Please call your vet and tell them what is going on. I suspect he might again need fluids, as well as blood work to check for anemia and to look again at his kidney values. Fluids and meds for anemia should also help with his lack of appetite. He may also need an appetite stimulant - a lot of CKD cats do.

 

[lora27]

There is a corn based litter, called Worlds Best Cat litter, that is often used at the first litter for kittens, since they will often eat their litter. It clumps just like clay litter but has a odor that some cats don’t like. Mice love it so if you have mice issues it’s going to be a problem but if they have no harmful effects from gorging on it, it shouldn’t affect a cat. Many dry cat foods are mostly corn anyway.

There are also paper based like Yesterday’s News, but it is a larger pellet size that some cats don’t like, and it’s a pain to clean up since urine turns the paper sawdust like and there is no clumping at all so you need to change the whole box at least once a week.

Thanks, I have ordered a paper based letter instead which he will hopefully not eat, in the mean time we are shredding newspaper which he hasnt eaten

 

[lora27]

I am going to address this not from a behavioral standpoint but from a health standpoint. Cat's who eat litter often have anemia, and cat's who have kidney disease often have anemia. AND, it can develop pretty quickly and be deadly. Loss of appetite is one of the signs of it, but it's hard to tell with kidney cats as they often have loss of appetite. Are his gums pale? That's a pretty good sign of anemia. Here is a website that talks all about anemia in kidney cats. Doesn't discuss symptoms, but does discuss what you can do about it. (first, though, it needs to be diagnosed by your Vet). Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - All About Anaemia

As far as the constipation goes, that is also very common in older cats, and doubly so for kidney cats . I have no idea how much fibre is in that kidney food, but if it's not much, then you could try adding in some more, in the form of plain cooked pumpkin, or psyllium, or use Miralax (or a generic form) (that's what we used for our kidney cats). And hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, which kidney cats need anyway. I would try to feed only wet food if I were you, and even add more water to that wet food. Here is another "page" from the above wetsite that discussed constipation: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Constipation

Until you find out if he's anemic or not, I would go with paper litter, something like Yesterday's News.

Thank you for replying and for the detailed advice and links. We had blood tests done last week which I am going to confirm with the vets that they covered anemia to make sure the results were okay. I have also looked up the symptoms of anemia and dehydration to keep a close eye on him and will rush him to the vets if I notice anything. But at the moment he seems to be doing well apart from being constipated which he is on medicine for. Luckily he has always been a cat who likes his water and we are making sure he keeps drinking. We have him on wet and dry at the moment as wet isnt his favorite and the vet gave us some oralade to help with nutrients and hydration. Ive ordered some paper litter and we are just shredding some newspaper until it arrives.

 

[lora27]

Hi. Totally agree with all that mrsgreenjeens has said. Please call your vet and tell them what is going on. I suspect he might again need fluids, as well as blood work to check for anemia and to look again at his kidney values. Fluids and meds for anemia should also help with his lack of appetite. He may also need an appetite stimulant - a lot of CKD cats do.

Thanks for replying, he is on an appetite stimulant and some laxatives to help with his constipation. He also had blood work done last week and was given fluids on saturday so he is doing quite well so far. We are moving to a paper based litter to keep him from eating it as well.