constipation advice

My 10 year old diagnosed last Saturday with blood sugar 574! On 1 unit q12 hrs for four days now -I have several issues
1) I adopted him 5 years ago and he has never been able to tolerate any canned food - he likes it, but like clockwork, after 2-3 days, he has a day or two of vomiting, won't look at the canned food, won't eat anything for about 12 hrs, then resumes dry food. Two vets think he may have some IBD. After the diabetes dx, I started giving him canned food, but again, he go sick after 3 days. What's the quote - insanity is repeating the same thing again and again, and expecting a different outcome. So he's on Purina DM dry, likes it fine. He also is a grazer, he will only eat a bit at a time. Would love to get to canned diet, but don't see how
2) constipation - I am having to give him SQ fluids every day due to dehydration - but in the past 4 days, he has only had a few small pieces of stool His old dry food was full of fiber, so he never had an issue. How to get fiber into him now? I tried pumpkin, no luck (wouldn't eat it)
Suggestions welcome

 

For constipation: pumpkin. Will Murphy eat yogurt? If so you can mix the pumpkin into the yogurt. The yogurt will help soothe the tummy and aid digestion too. Otherwise, 1/8 tsp of Miralax daily mixed with food if no change after 3 days increase dose to 1/4 tsp ideally 1/8 tsp twice daily so you don't overdo.

What canned food have you tried? While Little Friskies Classic Pate and Fancy Feast are good for diabetic cats there could be something in them that disagrees with your cat. Have you tried Weruva brands? They are grain-free and low carb-they are a bit more expensive.

 

hanks so much for reply- over the past five years, I have tried many different brands & flavors of canned food - mostly fancy feast (pate), Science diet, Iams, but a smattering of others at Petsmart as well. I start with 1 tsp in the morning & night, repeat the next day, 3rd day give it 3x a day. He definitely keeps it down at the time - problem is about day 3 or 4, he vomits for a day, won't eat anything, and won't look at canned food for a long time (food aversion it seems). about 24 hrs later, he'll start eating dry food again. This same pattern has been repeated every couple of months for 5 years - now that he is on insulin I am so hesitant to try it again. Yet I really want him to go to canned food. I will try Weruva once I get him stabilized. thanks for the suggestions.
Constipation - tried pumpkin - he won't eat it. I give him a probiotic (Culturelle) He's been on miralax for three days - so far, no luck I looked at laxatone and those hairball remedies, but they have corn syrup and sugar so I don't want to give it -- again, suggestions very welcome

 

Get a small bottle of Lactulose from your vet. Dispense with an eye dropper orally. It will clean him out nicely in 24 hours or less. It can be given often enough to be effective. It may jump the BGs a bit for a very short duration.
Metamucil works great and can be continued without harm. ( 1/8 tsp once or twice daily )

 

thanks - can I use Miralax 1/8 tsp once or 2x daily on a regular basis as well?

 

Yes, you can use Miralax daily. I use 1/8 tsp as needed and my vet said to use 1/8 tsp daily if I need to. You may be able to go up to 1/4 tsp daily but I'd check with a vet first. If you've been giving Miralax for three days and he still hasn't pooped, it might be time to go to the vet to get an enema. Three days is a long time for a kitty to go without pooping.

Dry Purina DM is high in carbs, about 30%. If you have to give dry food, maybe find something that's more high fiber. I think dry W/D is about 33% carbs and it has a lot more fiber. No W/D is not an ideal food, but my cat went OTJ on it.

If you want to try a more diabetic-friendly dry food, try Evo Cat and Kitten or Young Again. They're the only dry foods that are low carb. If you call the 800 number on the Young Again website, they'll send you samples to try (www.youngagainpetfood.com). Both Evo and Young Again are expensive, but so is the DM (and cats don't seem to like the DM as much as Evo or YA). But since there's no fiber in in Evo or YA and he has constipation issues, you'll have to supplement his diet by adding fiber in some form (Miralax, Metamucil, etc) if you go this route.

Laxatone has more sugar in it than other brands. You could try Cat Lax, which is a little lower in sugar. It's okay if his BG goes up a little, it's important to get him regular. I'd rather use a fiber powder than that stuff though.

He may have some food sensitivity that causes the food aversion/sickness. You could try some types of protein that he doesn't normally eat. Duck, rabbit, lamb and venison are the ones that are typically suggested for kitties with food sensitivities. Or once the pooping situation is under control, you might want to try commercially prepared raw food, like Nature's Variety. A lot of cats with food sensitivities have success with raw food.

 

thanks so much - really helpful to me - wondering about a small bit of baby food (the meats) to hide the miralax/metamucil/pumpkin in - anyone know anything about carb content in those?

 

By the way, Murphy had a large BM today so the 3 days of Miralax worked. I definitely need to get some fiber into his diet however. Anyone have any experience with the hydrolyzed protein canned foods for cats that can't tolerate canned food? I've noticed that most of them have some kind of grain included.
-

 

Yay for the poop!

I've posted a reply on your thread in the Welcome section, Carol.

Mogs
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For future reference: Feline Constipation

 

As BJM once said to me, hallelujah for poop!

As far as baby food goes, I have a jar of Gerber chicken and chicken gravy on hand:
Protein - 7 grams
Carbs - 2 grams
Fat - 6 grams

A tablespoon of it probably isn't too bad in terms of carbs but it's high in fat. Other brands might have different breakdowns though.

I've looked at the hydrolyzed protein food and I don't know what to think. They're supposed to be good for cats with digestive issues and yet they contain grains... My gut (pun not intended) tells me to try something like a new form of protein first before trying the hydrolyzed. That said, if your cat can tolerate the hydrolyzed food, then if that's the best kind of food you can get into him, then that's the one to get. Sometimes the best food is the one the cat (a) will eat, and (b) that they can tolerate.

 

really helpful - thanks

 

thanks I'll look at the baby food option -- I'm so hesitant to try the soft diet from previous experience, but I know I really should. My plan is to stabilize him this week (getting him used to new food, new routines, etc) and begin tending to better food options, better glucose control, and the like next week

 

quick question: is Miralax ok for kitty with kidney issues? There's a warning label buried in the literature, but my vet said he'd never heard that before. Any advice?

 

check out Felineconstipation.org - they mention it there - doesn't seem to be an issue for cats (link above in this thread)

 

Oh phew thank you. It says the warning is there for humans who might self-treat and overdose over the course of time, thereby inflicting kidney damage on themselves. Not because use of Miralax might be harmful for those already w/ kidney issues. I've been to that site before but it's so poorly organized I have trouble finding things on it. Thanks for redirecting me!

 

@vexedgirl - check out Tanya's Site - the go-to place for feline kidney issues - about the Miralax. I think I've seen it mentioned there but can't remember the context.

 

I give my cat Riley cellulose powder. That gives them a little extra fiber. I did try the miralax but the miralax works a different way it brings water to the colon instead of just getting extra fiber I don't know if one is better than the other.

I did look for Metamucil but the only Metamucil that I found that was plain not flavored still had sucrose (sugar)in the ingredients so you really got to watch that. So I purchased the cellulose powder offline which my vet recommended anyways. I couldn't find it in any of the stores.

Riley also eats pumpkin a couple times a day but he won't always eat it so the cellulose powder is good, just sprinkle it on his food.

I also ordered the Fortiflora which is the probiotic that helps with that as well and he loves it and it really seems to make him feel a lot better. It's got kind of a chicken flavor smell to it it reminds me of bouillon powder. Just giving probiotics alone can help all kinds of problems for any of us. Because the digestive system is where we absorb all of our nutrients.

I'm sorry your kitty cant eat soft food that's really hard. The only thing that helped my cat was the soft food and he is now in remission from diabetes and his inflammatory bowel disease has not come back which is unusul.
I hope this helps.

 

I use a little MiraLax maybe once a week and daily I make his food soupy by mixing water in his FF.

 

Murphy won't eat pumpkin on his own - I've been mixing about 1/2 tsp canned pumpkin with 1/4 tsp miralax and putting it on the roof of his mouth once a day - so far, it's worked pretty well - successful on most days, not all. How much pumpkin is usually effective? I may order the cellulose powder. Since he hasn't been able to tolerate any canned food, I may try Evo - they have a few varieties of dry -any recommendations on which one? Also, I've heard it's high in calories but I've looked on-line and can't find a calorie count for Evo.

 

With pumpkin you have start gradually. You literally need to start with a tooth pick tip of pumpkin, then two, then three and so on. You'll just have to adjust by looking at his poop; too soft back off, too hard add more.

 

I could be wrong but I think there's a product called Evo Cat and Kitten recommended here that's OK for carbs (but don't quote me). The other one is Young Again Zero Carb.

 

@Critter Mom is right, the Evo low carb variety is Cat And Kitten. Comes in Turkey flavor or fish.

You can also try Young Again. If you call the 800 number on their website, they'll send you samples. That way you can try it before shelling out for it. Marshmallow likes both Evo and YA.

If he has some IBD, you could try him on a novel protein wet food, meaning a protein he's never had before. A lot of IBD kitties do well on duck, rabbit, lamb or venison. He might be able to tolerate one of those in wet food.

 

Thanks - I will try Evo although is anyone concerned about the Evo recalls in the past? One was for salmonella (2013) and the other was for issues with vitamins (Nov 2014) There's apparently no fiber in Evo, which my cat needs, so I will have to supplement that. Regarding his inability to tolerate canned food, I've tried all different brands and flavors, I am quite sure I did try a novel protein once (unfortunately I can't remember if it was duck or what it was) with same result (sick for a day or two, couldn't eat)

 

Psyllium husk powder might be another option to mix into kitty's food. Whole Foods has it and it's the only ingredient in the bottle.

 

Yup, I supplement Marshmallow's diet with pumpkin purée for fiber. I didn't know about the Evo recalls.

If Murphy has some IBD does he have any other symptoms besides not being able to tolerate wet food? Just wondering if some budesonide would help. I give that to Marsh and it definitely helped her.

 

How much psyllium husk powder do you use?

 

1/8 tsp is the most commonly used amount, but my understanding is that depending on your cat, you can go up to 1/4 tsp.
For my boy, 1/8tsp wasn't enough.

 

Hi Carole,

I'd suggest starting very conservatively with the psyllium husk. It really can hang on to a lot of water. If you introduce it gradually you can always ease it up to an optimum dose. First time I gave it to Saoirse I gave her what I thought was only a small amount and she had jumbo poops the following day.

The occasional times I give it to her now I sprinkle a teensy-weensy speckle of PH into each meal. She eats about 8-10 mini meals a day. That seems to work well for her but ECID.

When introducing fibre into the diet, be sure to check its impact on blood glucose levels. (The fibre may have a lowering effect and insulin dose may need to be adjusted).


Mogs
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Hello!
My kitty Oreo has been constipated recently. I would like to try the pumpkin. Is there a certain brand you buy? Is it just the pumpkin you buy to make pumpkin pie or what should I be looking for? I am worried that it may contain carbs. Oreo is in remission and was on insulin approx. a year and a half ago, but he is now diet controlled.
Thanks

Mel and Oreo

 

Use plain, unsweetened pumpkin, NOT pie filling. Or use some plain mashed squash (ex frozen acorn squash puree)
Feline Constipation is a terrific web site with tons of info on the feline GI tract, how it works, and options for when it doesn't.

 

I found ED Smith pure pumpkin 100%. Has 2% carbs. 2g sugar in 1/3 cup.
Only canned pumpkin I could find. On the can you have to add sugar etc to use it as pie filling.

 

I give Saoirse Libby's canned pumpkin.

 

Libby's canned pure pumpkin is what I give Riley but like teaspoonful of it and its never given him diarrhea it just makes it easier for him to go.
I guess every feline is different but I also give him the cellulose powder probably around one fourth of a teaspoon once a day. I mix this in with the Fortiflora probiotic it seems to be working well.
The cellulose powder has nothing else in it but cellulose powder,no sugar.

 

If you have to give your cat a powder and he's not eating soft food you can put it in a syringe and mix it with just a little bit of water. Just like if you were to give him some type of medicine orally and just shoot it down marshmallows throat. Gently of course.

 

This video has a lot of very useful tips and techniques for giving pills and liquid medications to cats:

 

Poor baby.

 

@dana moore - I expressed exactly the same sentiment when I was watching the vid.

 

thanks - so far I'm putting a small amount of canned pumpkin mixed with about 1/8 tsp miralax into his mouth every day with good results (he of course won't eat the pumpkin on his own) I'm going to try the psyllium husk as soon as I can make it to Whole Foods

 

Let us know how Murphy gets on, Carole.