Expert: Ali - 12/12/2009

Question
I have an older cat (and I'm afraid he is overweight). He has a history of urinary tract disease and has been on a special prescription diet for years. He has had an enema a year ago for constipation (at the vets) and now, on a weekend (where it is -36˚ here), and no vet for miles, (even if they are open). He is experiencing problems, and has a tender back end. I'd like to know what would be a safe laxative to give him from the drugstore?

Answer
Margot,

The short answer to your question about OTC human laxatives for your kitty's constipation is that there aren't any human medicines that I could recommend for you in terms of ensuring the safety of your kitty. Given this kitty's history of issues with his urinary tract I'm also concerned about the potential for a recurrence of the difficulties he's had in the past with his urinary tract since constipation and blockages in the urinary tract can look quite similar.

If you have seen this kitty urinate a normal amount on his own without pain and/or you only have the one kitty and you do the litterbox scooping and the amount of urine is the same as it normally is then there are a few home remedies you could try for your kitty's constipation. You  could give your kitty hairball remedy purchased from your local pet supply store, these products are often vaseline based and they help by simply lubricating hairballs and hard, dry stools so that they pass through the digestive tract more easily. If you aren't able to find any hairball remedy then you could certainly try a dose of plain old vaseline (no scents, etc) about the quantity that you'd normally give commercially available furball remedies (roughly a strip of 3/4 inch or so on your fingertip twice daily should do nicely). Most cats don't seem to be offended by vaseline, in fact most cats that I've met along the way will lick it off of your finger like it's a special treat. If you aren't entirely comfortable with the idea of giving your kitty vaseline you could give him about a tsp or so of butter or margarine twice daily (do be careful though, this kitty is overweight and you don't want him to gain any extra weight) and that does the same job as vaseline or furball remedy. Generally veterinarians don't suggest that pet parents give cats milk since most cats are lactose intolerant and they will have digestive upsets when they consume dairy products, however in a constipated kitty it's well worth trying since it may help to loosen stool in this kitty's digestive tract and make it easier to pass. Plain, unsweetened yogurt (organic if you can) contains beneficial bacteria that are normally present within the digestive tract of most healthy mammals. It's not a bad idea to offer your kitty plain yogurt on a regular basis, at this point if your kitty's digestive tract is out of balance because there aren't enough beneficial bacteria this might be helpful. Yogurt is also great to give your kitty if he's on any kind of antibiotic since these drugs don't discriminate between good bacteria in the digestive tract and bad bacteria causing an infection in the body so they kill all of the bacteria which can cause diarrea in cats. Yogurt can prevent or at least lessen the severity of these digestive issues. You could give your kitty a tablespoon or so of pure canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling which has added sugar and spices since neither is very good for your kitty) on its own or mixed in with a high quality canned cat food such as Wellness if your cat refuses to eat the pumpkin on its own.

You could also try feeding your kitty canned food for a day or two and completely cutting out the kibble for that period of time, your kitty's constipation might completely go away within a fairly short period of time. If you opt for canned food then I'd suggest that you consider giving your kitty a few small meals rather than one or two large meals since you don't want him to throw up - after all, nobody is comfortable when they're constipated and that includes your kitty. It's not a bad idea to consider changing your kitty's diet to 100% high quality canned cat food, if you plan to start the switch it's important to do so gradually. I wouldn't recommend that you stick with a single brand or flavor of canned cat food because your kitty may become very finicky and that's not a fun situation for anyone involved. I generally stick with a few high quality canned foods to supplement the raw diet my cats are slowly transitioning to. Although some vets out there are hesitant to believe that homemade diets can be better for pets and many of these vets are very quick to oppose homemade diets I think that a balanced, high quality homemade diet that's properly formulated and supplemented can be significantly better than the majority commercially produced diets out there. When I asked my vet about changing my cats' diet to a homemade diet she actually referred me to a website that provides proper information about making nutritious pet foods at home. As for the vets who provide loud and vocal opposition to homemade diets I'd suggest that you take a moment to consider this - if your cat becomes sick as a result of eating a 'scientifically formulated' pet food, who stands to profit from their illness? In the event that you opt to look into feeding your cat a high quality homemade diet that's properly formulated & supplemented and the raw meat and organs are handled by the same standards as you'd handle your own food you may notice some amazing changes in your cat - he may gradually begin losing the excess weight, he could potentially have fewer bouts of constipation and he may no longer suffer from issues within his urinary tract as he has in the past.

Over the years one thing that I've noticed on a fairly consistent basis is that when pet parents feed their cats diet cat foods & many other commercially produced pet foods their cat tends to start eating more in an effort to gain the nutrients s/he needs to keep his/her body healthy. My guess is that cats will start off eating only what they need, over time feeding cats a diet that's not properly formulated with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients leaves them trying to find a way to gain the nutrients that are missing from their diet (as far as I'm concerned, if the ingredients in the cat food aren't bioavailable it's the same as not bothering to include them at all). Indoor/Outdoor cats can supplement their diet with small prey animals if they aren't getting the nutrition that they need from their food. I do recommend that house cats are kept indoors since the world can be a pretty dangerous place for cats, unfortunately the drawback for an indoor only kitty is that they don't have the same amount of stimulation in their environment as a kitty that lives/goes outside and of course the indoor kitty isn't able to catch and kill prey animals (unless you have an issue with mice and other small mammals) to supplement in inappropriate diet.

Unfortunately it's not uncommon for cats to become constipated when their diet isn't species appropriate and doesn't adequately meet their needs as the true carnivores that they are. I've taken the liberty of including some information on feline nutrition that you might be interested in. If you're feeding kibble that may explain this cat's issues with constipation, cats are different from other mammals in that they don't have a strong urge to drink water and stay properly hydrated, cats evolved from the desert and they do best when their diet provides the majority of water their bodies need to function properly. If your kitty eats a diet that's made up of just kibble then you may want to consider starting your kitty on canned food and gradually eliminating the dry cat food. I realize that canned cat food isn't as economical as kibble to feed cats, but trust me when I say that whatever you save on food by feeding dry food you will eventually have to spend at the vet hospital so it's really not worth skimping on the cost of your cat's food. If you wanted to go one step further in terms of providing your kitty with the best possible diet then you could make your own cat food. Be forewarned that the majority of veterinarians out there still believe that a pet parent who makes their cat's food is putting their kitty at risk...Believe me, the vast majority of commercially produced pet foods aren't exactly risk free or species appropriate for that matter. All too often pet food is made from animals that are already dead or in the process of dying when they reach the pet food factories, many of the ingredients that end up in pet foods have been deemed unfit for human consumption and the way that I look at is that I don't want to feed my cats anything that I wouldn't be willing to smell or touch (believe me, some canned and dry pet foods have a disgusting odor when you open the packaging and it doesn't get any better with time). I would encourage you to check out the following websites to learn a bit more about the nutritional needs of your feline friends:

- www.catinfo.org

This was the website that my veterinarian referred me to when I started making food for my cats at home. The good thing about the information is that this site was created by a practicing veterinarian who wanted pet parents to learn more about the unique nutritional needs of their feline companions as well as common behavioral issues. This site does include information about high quality canned cat foods that you might be willing to consider.

- www.catnutrition.org

This website is actually mentioned on catinfo.org, this lady has a larger recipe and she provides information that the other website does not.

- http://www.halopets.com/pet-education/pet-articles/pet_food_what_you_need_to_kno...

This article provides information about the stark truth about what ends up in pet food. I believe that each pet parent should consider reading this article in order to help them make informed decisions about the pet foods they put into plates and bowls for their pets. I found the article educational to say the least.

- www.felinespride.com

Feline's Pride is a company that manufactures and ships (throughout the US and in some places in Canada) a high quality raw diet for cats that they will guarantee arrives mostly frozen provided of course that you're there to sign for the package or have made arrangements for someone to sign for the food and put it into the freezer immediately. The company offers some great flavors and their pages of testimonials are certainly amazing since they clearly demonstrate the positive side of feeding a cat a species appropriate diet.

If you have any further cat related questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me again, I'd be more than happy to help you to the best of my ability.