It's a thread about POO! How do I tell if my kitties are constipated

[cat dad]

Hi there,

I feed my guys ground whole animal with bones and the required supplements. I'm wondering how I can tell if my guys are constipated and if they are getting too much bone. There poos are the light brown crumbly kind mostly, but sometimes they have largish marble sized pellets.

Other than observing them while they are going, is there a way to tell from looking at the poo if they are constipated?

 

[vball91]

Let me dig up the raw poop thread for you. LOL, only on TCS. Found it. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263398/the-raw-stool-thread-warning-graphic

Does that help?

 

[ldg]

Well, whole ground animal is bone heavy, unless it's mouse. Hare Today usually has some kind of organ mix for the species being fed (and in most cases, 25% to 50% of it is muscle organ, not secreting organ). It's not a bad idea to consider adding some to the whole animal grinds. Rabbit is about 10% bone; chicken is (if I remember correctly) about 36% bone. The ideal food for a cat is about 7 - 8% bone, though some do fine at 10%.