Fiber and Cat Constipation

okeelady

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I am so confused!!! This may be long. My cat Emily doesn't have a bowel movement everyday and when she does it's dry. I'll give her some Cat Lax and she'll be fine for a day or 2. I give her dry food (I know I know) but she refuses to eat wet food. I do add water to her dry food. She'll circle the wet food like a vulture and I end up throwing it away or she'll eat a little then vomit it up. I've tried many brands, pumpkin, miralax etc without success. My question is how much fiber should be in dry food?? I've read too much or not enough can constipate cats. I've looked up the ingredients in the fiber response prescription diets and most have 3-4% max fiber. I ordered a small bag of the Diamond Naturals Indoor cat food which has 8% crude fiber. I had never heard of that brand and I haven't received it yet. Any thoughts?
 
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louisstools

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It might not be normal for her to go every day. My 10 year old doesn’t quite go every day. I have a wifi motion activated security camera on the litter boxes so I know she's not straining or making attempts and not going. When she does skip a day the stool is a bit more firm (yes, you need to feel it...use tp). She's on catlax (laxatone) 1 tea daily but not sure it's making any difference. She was on lactulose for a month as well and that didn't change frequency but the output was softer so she's not on that anymore (vet's guidance).

I assume you're working with your vet on this? Good bill of health otherwise? Your vet can feel her colon and determine what's going on in a physical exam. Adding water fountains may increase her water intake and help.

As for the fiber question I'm not sure but there's probably a reason all the food is within the same range for the most part.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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The problem with using pumpkin, miralax, etc, is that they work best in wet food. I have one cat who gets miralax twice a day, every single day in order for him to have a bowel movement maybe every 2 to 3 days. That's normal for him, but if he doesn't get the miralax then he strains and strains and has hard little marbles instead of a nice stool.

Moisture is the key to constipation, IMHO. If you can get Emily to eat wet food, then you need to try to get her to drink as much water as possible. (see below) Are you saying she vomits the dry food if you add water to it, or canned food? If she eats dry food with water added, then have you tried dissolving Miralax in water and adding that to the dry food? You shouldn't just sprinkle it on dry food,or even wet food for that matter. It needs to be dissolved in water first. And it takes a few days to really work.

As to how much fiber is needed, I can't answer, and would guess that every cat is different, since cats are obligate carnivores, which means they really only need to eat something like mice (complete with fur which would be the fiber I suspect), so I don't know how to measure that :lol:. But if she is having issues, more water, more exercise, and possibly losing weight should help.

 
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okeelady

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I feed her twice a day and added miralax to her dry food yesterday. Since I add water to her dry the miralax sticks pretty good to it. She pooped 3 hard pellets last night but this am had a great poop so the miralax did help. She only vomits on wet food. I have 30+ cans of a variety of wet food and have tried them all and she vomits each time. I made an appt this afternoon with my vet to discuss her diet before I spend anymore money on food. She does drink water so I'm not worried about that. If she drank a ton of water I'd be concerned. I'm 71 and we play everyday but sometimes I think I'm getting more exercise than her! I'll see what my vet says this afternoon. Thanks for your replies!!!
 

LTS3

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Miralax doesn't work dry. It must be fully dissolved in water before ingestion, just like the directions on the bottle says for people. Miralax works by drawing water into the colon. By dissolving a dose in water, the powder will be rehydrated somewhat and less likely to draw water from other parts of the body which can cause dehydration and constipation. If your cat won't eat canned food, try mixing a dissolved dose in one of those lickable treat things or any moist treat your cat likes (canned tuna, etc). Or dissolve a dose into some garlic and onion free chicken broth and syringe into the cat's mouth.

Some cats don't poop every day and that's just normal for them. As long as the cat is pooping and isn't straining, nothing is wrong. A dry food only diet may cause poop to be on the dry side.
 
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