My cat has kidney disease and hard stools. What are safe remedies?

I'm so very sorry to hear this. Sometimes cats in renal failure start to develop other issues concurrently, his guts are likely upset leading to diarrhoea. Depending on the cause the vet may be able to treat it with antibiotics and probiotics if an infection or inflammation is present. I think it certainly would be worth giving treatment a try for a few days. Unfortunately renal failure can be very hard on cats and you both have my utmost sympathy.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend switching to a different food such as Science Diet or Royal Canin and see if a diet change makes a difference. You may even consider adding in a fiber supplement to help bulk up her stool so that it passes without getting stuck. A probiotic such as Purina Fortiflora may also be a good idea, which can be found online quite easily. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

If Simba is having no other symptoms other than soft stool you may want to consider adding fiber to his diet. There are some commercial diets that have increased fiber content (senior diets are typically higher in fiber). Another option would be to simply add a tablespoon of fiber powder (like Metamucil) to his food once a day. If this does not help then you may want to consider bringing a stool sample to your vet to be checked to ensure nothing else is going on. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Sydney. Poor girl! Unfortunately I cannot recommend giving her Metamucil, it's illegal without seeing her in person. I would have her seen by a vet for this problem first thing in the morning. There may be medication the vet can prescribe to help make her poop more firm, such as probiotics. Best of luck.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. What you are describing (hard feces despite drinking and peeing, and drinking a lot of water) can definitely be caused by kidney disease, and that would be the number one concern. Other concerns would be diabetes, hyperthyroidism, megacolon, or possibly cancer. In terms of your medications comment, all medications have different times for how long they take to kick in, and how long they last. This can be changed based on hydration, age, kidney and liver function, and overall health status. It sounds like Jay might need to see a vet, based on your questions. Best of luck with Jay!

Hi Rose, good question! Miralax powder is easier to give and very safe. You will have better luck with it versus docusate. I suggest you start by giving them 1/8 teaspoon mixed in a bit of canned food once a day. You can increase to twice a day if needed. You can even go up to 1/4 tsp once or twice a day but start out slow. The other thing you may want to do is to try to increase water consumption by getting them a water fountain to drink from. Many studies have shown that cats prefer to drink from running water and if offered a fountain they will drink more. Hope this helps. Best wishes!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Feeding high fibre food is the key in managing megacolon. Please, try Royal Canin Fibre Response - it is a very good diet that hopefully will be more tasty for Yzma than Hill's.