Overwhelmed! Please Help Me and My Constipated, Rotten-Toothed Cat

[sirentist]

Woo hoo! Hare Today order arrived a couple hours ago and boy am I glad I ordered those extra ice packs, because with the exception of the bottom of the 5 lb meat and some of the rabbit chunks, the entire order was completely thawed. All still cold, though, and smelled fine, so I'm not worried. Mixed up my first batch of the chicken stuff, and also put out a tiny bit of ground rabbit and a tiny sliver of chunk rabbit in separate bowls. Not surprisingly, Isabel thinks I'm trying to kill her. She did eat some of her regular chicken chunks that had been tainted by sitting on top of the hideous new stuff, and I feel pretty sure that I'll be able to transition her quite smoothly to the new mix once she gets used to the smell. I didn't even try to add the salmon oil, though. I don't want to overwhelm her little cat brain with too many new things at once. I so hope this helps with her pooping. Seriously, I've never been so invested in someone else's bowel movements in my entire life.

Oh and she now chews quite happily on the toothbrush when I put the paste on it. I might even have managed to get half a tooth swipe in there today! Hoorays all around!

 

[abby2932]

I bet you're so excited!

Good thinking on not adding the salmon oil just yet. Just introduce one thing at a time and when she's used to the new food then start adding the salmon oil.

 

[pharber-murphy]

I'm with the other posters here who say you should find another vet. It's hard to believe that the vet wouldn't suggest dental cleaning when she drew blood by scraping her fingernail over your cat's teeth. And it's really bad form for the vet to dismiss your observations - you live with the cat, s/he doesn't!

We adopted Albert about a year ago. He had to have a tooth pulled the first week we had him. Then, a few months later, I watched him for a couple of weeks before deciding he needed to see the vet again because he'd pick up a piece of kibble, but drop it almost immediately. The vet's assistant scraped his teeth with her fingernails and drew blood. She dismissed it as tartar. I insisted that he get a more thorough check-up, and they found a deep pocket underneath one of his teeth, which had to be pulled. So, don't let the vet tell you that bleeding gums are nothing to worry about!

Bert went in for his annual check-up and few weeks ago. the vet was amazed at how clean and healthy his teeth and gums were, given his recent history. And our Bertha has been with us for about nine years. Her teeth have never needed a cleaning and they're as bright and shiny as they were when we first got her. I put this down to two things - first they each get 3 Greenies dental chews every day. And I also feed each of them three of four bite-size chunks of raw chicken twice a day.

So, once you get Isabel's teeth cleaned (and pulled if necessary), you may want to consider Greenies dental chews for her. You're already feeding her raw chicken. And, then, maybe find a less asinine vet.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[sophie1]

I bet the raw chicken does more than the Greenies....

Sirentist, congrats on getting your rabbit chunks!  My cats love them.  Good idea to start small, and it may take weeks for her to get used to the new meat & chunk form.  It took me a while to get my cats used to eating the chunks without horking them up immediately after.  Invest in a good carpet cleaner for the transition.  Also be warned, one of my cats loves to drag meat chunks to what he considers a better eating spot than the food bowl or plate.  I've learned to feed them well away from carpeted surfaces and wood floors.

I brush my cats' teeth every day, but one of them just doesn't tolerate it well.  He runs under the bed whenever he sees me with the toothbrush!  So I put a lot of effort into getting them to eat meat chunks regularly, and I think it's paid off.  Despite my not being able to brush his teeth regularly, Charlie's gingivitis has completely gone.  They get meat chunks as "treats" every day, either the rabbit chunks, turkey drumstick meat, or chicken breast which are their favorites.  I also mix meat chunks into their staple raw food:  2 parts Hare Today chicken or turkey grinds, 1 part Hare Today chicken or turkey organ mix, 2 parts boneless meat chunks.  This dilutes the bone to 11%.  For your constipated cat you probably want to add 3 parts meat chunks which would dilute the bone to around 7-8% while still leaving you with enough liver in the mix.  EZComplete is another option, for use with boneless meats.

Good luck with your HT order and let us know how it goes!

 

[sirentist]

Just swinging by to let you know Isabel seems to have adjusted brilliantly to the new HT diet. Hooray!

The toothbrushing thing is also coming along -- slowly, but I'm making progress. She loves the poultry toothpaste and likes chewing on the brush and rubbing her head against it, but as soon as I start messing with her lip to try to get the brush along her teeth she gets cranky and suspicious. I'm trying to break the idea to her slowly by touching quickly at the sides of her mouth, just enough to rub a finger along her teeth. I do it when she's poised on her table, waiting for me to put breakfast or dinner down for her. I figure the more comfortable I can get her with the concept of my fingers near her mouth, the better.

The one thing I'm having trouble with is figuring out how to get her to chew on bones. I get the rabbit chunks (for a mix of about half ground stuff and half chunky stuff) and she likes the meat and is getting good at gnawing big chunks into smaller pieces, but if I give her anything with bones in it, she just seems mystified. It's like once she realizes there's bone in it, it goes into the reject pile. I know there's a learning curve for her, and that she needs time to develop the jaw strength, so I'm hoping if I only give her very small bones for now that she'll eventually get the idea.

Her pooping has improved drastically now that I'm not giving her any carbohydrates. What a relief!

I ordered cavies last go around, thinking she would just love it, but no dice. I've still got most of it in the freezer for now, and might try re-introducing it later on.

Thanks again for all your help as we made the transition from Bravo to Hare Today!

Here she is, displaying her non-impacted butt and using her paws to show how big she thinks the bones I'm giving her are:

rugratcat.jpg

• sirentist
• Jul 10, 2016

 

[abby2932]

I'm not sure how to convince a cat to eat bone in chunks. My cat's just kind of knew what to do. Although I did start out with Quail. I bought dressed Quail from the Asian market and fed them little pieces such as the wings or legs or ribs until they ate the whole thing. Malibu was 8 at the time and Kali was 3 so they were definitely adults. After that, they pretty much eat anything they can now.

Maybe try smashing the bone in chunks with a hammer to make the bone more manageable at first. (Put the chunks in a ziploc bag and smash it up with the hammer) Don't be concerned about feeding her "bone shards" as her teeth essentially do the same thing before swallowing bone. As long as it is raw, there is no danger to her insides.

 

[msbliss]

Some vets are not too crazy about Lactulose because it can raise serum calcium levels.  Have you considered using Miralax (tasteless, 1/8-1/4 teaspoon once a day) for constipation?  Maybe it's the excess serum calcium which is causing dental issues?  I know that 's unlikely....