Constipation in cat OTJ

My boy Tubz has been off the Juice since early March and officially in remission since March 11th. Things seem to be going well. I never see him at the water bowl. Some days his urine output is higher than others but he typically only goes once a day. His pee's have always been larger than my other two cats for as long as I have had him (7 years) but you must also realize he is 18lbs while my other cats are around 12lbs. Even though the urine is large, nothing like what they were when he was having symptoms from the diabetes. At that time he was going several times a day and filling the litter boxes to the point where I would have to dump the entire litter box and put fresh litter almost every other day. He also seems to be eating normally. Friskies classic pate. He free feeds with his largest meals given at 6:30 am and 10pm. But he almost always has food out through out the day. I also check his BG every other day typically at night (even though I know it runs lower at night) and he has been well in the mid 50-60s on my at home relion testing meter. I must also mention that the signs of neuropathy are gone. He is even jumping up on things again and running through the house.

That being said. He woke me up this morning with constipation. Which he has had in the past and was one of his very first signs of an issue back 6 months to a year prior to being diagnosed. He has not, however, had any issue with constipation since being on an all wet food diet. He finally defecated OUTSIDE the litter box (which he also used to do, in his "special" spot in my master bedroom). Once it passed he calmed down, stopped crying and I fed him his morning meal which I added extra water to this morning. I checked his BG to make sure there was not any issues with that. He was at 81, still well in the normal range and a consistent number to what it used to be when I would check both morning and night. Now sorry to be a bit graphic but his poop was VERY large, normal color and when I picked it up it felt firm but soft to the touch. Nothing like hard pebble or anything.

Something that may have nothing to do with this but I feel I should mention- since becoming diabetic Tubz gets cold. I live in Florida and normally my house is kept at 76 during the summer. And he has access to a outdoor screened in porch through a pet door. However, last night was actually cool here so all my windows and doors are open and the house got down to 65. When this occurs he sleeps in his cat cube (which he would have NEVER done before being diagnosed) Maybe he held it in because he didn't want to go in the boxes out on the back porch? I did notice he peed in the box in the master bedroom this morning which is not as cold.

I guess my question is, does anyone else have issues with constipation on an all wet food diet? If so what is safe to help a diabetic kitty with this issue? I will keep adding some extra water to his food and see if this helps but I would like some ideas prior to this becoming a consistent issue. Did anyone else have constipation as an issue related to diabetes in the diagnostic period in the first place?

Thanks Heather

Yes, some cats have issues with defecation when changed to canned food; there's no fur or bone to bulk the feces. It generally happens when you first change the diet, so you might want to rule out any other problems with the vet first (ex megacolon, obstruction).

An excellent resource to understand the feline GI tract is Feline Constipation. It explains how it is supposed to work, issues when it doesn't, and a variety of interventions which may be used.

Here are 3 interventions:
The simplest intervention is to add a bit of water to the food you put out - perhaps a tablespoon.
Next, might be adding a tiny bit of Miralax to the food.
Some folks add a tiny pinch of psyllium powder to hold water in the stool and provide bulk.

Again, if this has happened quite a while after changing the food, do go see the vet. As in people, a change in bowel habits can indicate a problem requiring treatment.

Thanks, Yes he has been on this diet for well over a month now with no issues regarding bowls. I started adding water to the food today. So I will see if that clears some things up. I do have psyllium husk powder which will be my next step. Thanks for the quick reply. If it keeps happening I will get him to the vet asap.

Hi Heather,

Is your kitty going through a spring moult?
All mine are (I'm in the UK, just across the pond from you), and furballs can build up pretty quickly. The fur either gets puked up (sorry ) or has to go down the digestive tract which can cause constipation. (This can also cause raised BG in my diabetic boy).

If your kitty IS moulting then extra grooming can help reduce the problem.

Yes that could be a very good point. Earlier this week he was trying to cough up a fur ball! Didnt even cross my mind that it could be because of all the grooming he has been doing. I will make sure to give him some extra brushing.

I give my kitties a little cat grass about once every couple of weeks because Dusty does get constipated every so often on wet food. I also give my kitties one or two pieces of dry Evo kibble to simulate bone or fur bulk in their diet. That small amount of dry kibble once a day hasn't affected Dusty's glucose readings and it really seems to help their digestive system. Evo Cat and Kitten food is one of the lower carb dry foods available.