My senior cat has kidney disease & constipation. What should she eat?

Poor Angel! This can be such a problem in older cats. You can add in some canned pumpkin (1 teaspoon a day) to help increase her fiber intake. Also, if you haven't already, I would talk to your vet about doing some abdominal x-rays. These will help the vet see how large the colon is and how much stool is present. Cats can get something called megacolon where the muscles in their colon don't work well and they get easily constipated. These cats usually need to be sedated and manually have some of the stool removed and then put on a drug called cisapride. Some cats will have to stay on this drug long term, but I have personally had good success with putting them on a food called Royal Canin GI Fiber Response and eventually getting them off cisapride and stool softeners. It is a prescription food so I would talk to your vet about it. Also, . Every cat is different and your vet will need to help guide you through this process. If your vet doesn't think she has megacolon then cisapride may not be needed but if she is REALLY backed up then she may still need to be sedated and have some feces removed to help her out. I hope this helps!

Since constipation issues are directed at increasing water content and fiber, I would recommend sticking with the canned Purina urinary food and then adding in fiber daily with 1-2 tsp of canned pumpkin or Metamucil. Also have him checked with your vet if there is ever a time he can't go at all because he may have a condition called megacolon (enlarged colon) which would require medicaiton to treat. You can also try Laxatone over the counter. Here is a website link with more information for you.http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=634 I hope your fur baby gets well soon.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry that Mama is having these issues. Constipation is really a disease of prevention. If she is straining then at this point she likely needs another enema. In the future you will need to prevent the constipation from occurring by getting her on a high-fibre diet. Sometimes adding canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, just pure pumpkin) to the diet can help. Discuss with your vet about adding other products, like lactulose, to her diet daily. There are other products as well that can be added depending on how severe Mama's issues are. Increasing the fluid intake is another very useful tool. Feeding canned food and adding water to the food is a good preventative measure as well. Best of luck with Mama.

Oh my, Kitty is a very handsome boy! I love his socks on his feet, so cute. Feeding him canned food watered down is an excellent way to get him to lose weight. Canned food has lower calories than dry kibble, and the added benefit is that it will get extra moisture into his diet hopefully preventing any further occurrences of constipation. Dehydration is the number one cause of constipation in cats. Do not feed him any treats, and try to play with him at least once a day to get him moving. At his age, he certainly won't be running around like a kitten, but movement will be good for him. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would recommend getting Tiga on a prescription kidney diet like Hill's k/d. I would add some non-flavored powder metamusil to the food daily (1/4 tsp to start). The prescription diets have proven to extend the life span of cats with kidney disease. If adding metamusil doesn't help I would ask your Vet about prescribing lactulose to help with the stools. Good 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!

Poor Marshmellow! It would not be safe to give her an enema at home. You can give her some canned pumpkin to see if this helps soften her stool but it really sounds like she needs to see a veterinarian for care. Your veterinarian can also discuss medication options like Lactulose or Miralax to soften her stool in the future and prevent constipation. In older cats constipation often occurs secondary to some other issue like kidney disease or inflammatory bowel disease so blood work would be a good idea for Marshmellow.