By Sandra Murphey with intro by Michael.
There is a page on PoC written years ago about home treatments for cat constipation. Sandra has added to the page in a useful comment, which I believe should seen by more visitors than are likely to read her comment. Hence this article. Sandra tackled her cat’s constipation by focusing on thinning out her coat together with some judicious trimming.
Sandra writes:
I have a 5-year-old long haired cat that I took to the vet for constipation. She got an enema, and was put on Royal Canin Hi Response DRY (hi fiber), Hill’s WD and Lactulose. After much research, I discovered that these “prescription” foods are not healthy. She was still only having movements every other day.
I transitioned her completely off DRY food, and started to discover the “difficult” truths of how pet food is made. I began to really read labels! I’ve tried some high quality foods, adding water. Also supplement with raw ground chicken/turkey combined with a “pre-mix” for more nutrients.
Another thing I did was give a “little” goat milk and plain goat yogurt. She loves them, and they are good for the belly. Also, she’s developed a taste for coconut oil, and eats 1-2 teaspoons a day.
I’ve also added these things to food: oat bran, ground chia seeds, and various other hi-fiber. She still only poops every other day. I’ve been using Laxatone, but it’s for hairballs, which she doesn’t have.
The Hair Factor in Constipation
I did something I never read about anyone doing. I broke open her stools, to find “long hair”. This is the “root cause” of her constipation! This led me on a search for a tool to get rid of the excess hair. I tried the Furminator, but it didn’t work for her. So, I got the ShedMonster at Walmart, and that really gets the fur out. It’s about a 4th of the price of Furminator, and works better for her.
This is only the 2nd day of using it. I wipe her down with a damp towel afterwards to get rid of excess. I’m also going to clip some of the long hair on her sides and butt area.
I just wanted to share this because I haven’t seen any posts that mention getting rid of excess fur with a de-shedding tool. I always combed and brushed her daily, but it wasn’t enough.
I hope this information helps other long haired cat guardians.
Associated: recycling cat hair.
FYI: The ingredients of Blue High Protein/Grain Free Dry Weight Control
BLUE Wilderness® Weight Control Chicken Recipe For Adult Cats
With LifeSource Bits “cold-formed” to help retain the potency of their ingredients. This means that we minimize the amount of heat that LifeSource
Bits are exposed to during the manufacturing
Ingredients:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Peas, Tapioca Starch, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Pea Fiber, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Potatoes, Calcium Carbonate, Pea Protein, Alfalfa Meal, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Dried Chicory Root, Potato Starch, DL-Methionine, Caramel, Salt, Taurine, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), L-Carnitine, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Nicotinic Acid (Vitamin B3), Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin E Supplement, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Oil of Rosemary, L-Lysine, Parsley, Kelp, Blueberries, Cranberries, Apples, Spinach, Blackberries, Pomegranate, Pumpkin, Barley Grass, Turmeric, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Copper Sulfate, Biotin (Vitamin B7), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Calcium Iodate, Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, Sodium Selenite.
Crude Protein 36.0% min Crude Fat 12.0% min Crude Fiber 8.0% max Moisture 10.0% max Magnesium 0.08% min Taurine 0.15% min Omega 3 Fatty Acids* 0.50% min Omega 6 Fatty Acids* 2.0% min L-Carnitine* 150 mg/kg min `
It seems that Mitzy needed more fiber. When she first went to a vet in November, they kept her for a week, and fed Royal Canin High Response Dry, along with Hills WD. When I picked her up, they said she was having good stools every day. The RC is high fiber, but I’d been doing my research, and knew I wanted to get her off dry food. Especially the “prescription crap”.
I had tried many sources of fiber: psyllium, oat bran, Miralax, Metamucil, and crushed chia seeds. I also give her goat yogurt and goat milk, since she stopped drinking water. The past month, she’s developed a liking for hardened coconut oil. Any of these things should work, but didn’t.
So, I had to give her daily Lactulose, which worked, but only every other day.
The Blue hi-protein, grain free dry weight control
seems to have made the difference. And, now she’s drinking water again! I’ve stopped the Lactulose.
In order of importance I’d say:
De-shedding -much less fur in stools
Blue dry weight control- fiber means daily stools
Goat milk/yogurt-pro-biotic moisture
Water-more moisture for high fiber dry food
Wet foods- variety of high quality nutrition
This morning she had her FIRST “hairball”, and she’s 5 years old. Another feline mystery!
Wow, I find that very interesting. A benefit in dry cat food 😉 . That’s nice to read. So the dry cat food was the last jigsaw piece that cured her constipation.
Could you list out the remedies in order of importance? We could make that a follow up article if you like.
I was curious about Dad’s Gourmet Blend, since I hadn’t heard of it. It wasn’t easy to find the ingredients, but here they are:
DAD’S® Gourmet Blend® Natural gives your cat the tasty combination of chicken and seafood flavors he craves with no artificial flavors or preservatives. It is also formulated with added vitamins and minerals and taurine for complete and balanced nutrition. Keep your cat both happy and healthy with DAD’S® Gourmet Blend® Natural.
Ingredients:
Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Whole Wheat, Ground Yellow Corn, Animal Fat (Preserved with BHA), Brewers Rice, Dried Brewers Yeast, Dried Whey, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavor (Poultry, Seafood, and Liver), Taurine, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E Supplement, Artificial Color, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Cobalt Sulfate, Potassium Iodide.
I want to report on a solution to Mitzy’s constipation. I’d been giving her 1cc Lactulose stool softener each day, and feeding a variety of quality wet foods. Still she was only having stools every other day. The vet wanted to increase the Lactulose to 3 times a day! I refused.
I began the “de-shedding” a few times a week, since I had seen a lot of fur in her stools. I figured the less she gets in her intestines, the less there would be in the stool, which I thought was slowing things down. It helped a little.
I had the thought that she might not be getting enough fiber with just wet food, even though I was adding various kinds of fiber, except for pumpkin,
which she didn’t like.
I resorted to trying a high fiber dry food for weight loss, even though she doesn’t need to lose anymore weight. So, I’ve been giving her about a 1/4 or less a day on top of the wet food.
The dry food is Blue Wilderness High Protein Grain Free. It’s got some ingredients I’d rather not give her, but since she’s eating so little, I’m giving in on that. Constipation can be serious, and it’s been very stressful for me, not knowing what to do.
And, she eats it, since it’s got addictive animal digest. I’d love to hear from those who have cats
that won’t eat dry food, if offered, and what that dry food was.
This has helped so much! She’s been going every day! I’ve stopped the Lactulose. But keep it on hand, just in case.
The “de-shedding” is removing lots of undercoat, and her fur looks better. She even enjoys it!
I tend to agree with you Sandra. Wet food shouldn’t cause loose stools. It should replicate natural prey and does in terms of water content (about 70%). My cat eats 80% wet (best quality I can get) and his stools are a little on the hard side but acceptable.