Advice Needed on Dietary Fibres (SEB, Pumpkin, Psyllium Husk)

[Critter Mom]

Saoirse can't continue with ondansetron treatment at the moment (liver problems) so she needs an alternative treatment for nausea or she may stop eating (pancreatitis). I have trialled her on slippery elm bark (SEB) and she eats it readily, but it seems to dry her stools a little and this is a problem because the food she is on at the moment - the only one she can tolerate - seems to be constipating her a bit.

I have also given Saoirse psyllium husk at times. It worked well to soften her stools but I've read that it can starve the beneficial bacteria in her gut.

I have also trialled Saoirse on small amounts of pumpkin because I read on felineconstipation.org that it can feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut. However, it also seems to leave her stools a little dry.

For all of the above, I've always trialled each fibre separately and at very conservative quantities. For example, to soften her stools I just need to show the bag of psyllium to her food dish and that does the job perfectly. (Any more and her stools get a bit big.)

I am wondering whether it is possible to give different types of fibre in different meals to tailor a solution that meets Saoirse's particular needs?

Also, is it possible to administer SEB on an ongoing basis? Or can you only give it for a few days and then have to stop it?

I have read the info on felineconstipation.org. It gives information about feline-appropriate fibre sources, but doesn't really give much of a guide on how to use them. I'd be very, very grateful for any information or experience others have to share regarding how to use these fibre sources to best benefit one's cat.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi Aine,
I am sorry you have not been able to sort out Saoirse's constipation issue yet. I am surprised the pumpkin is causing the stools to be dry..I have not found that but of course ECID.
Does she drink much fluid? Could you give her a bit more to drink? Either water in the food or broth?
In humans getting people to drink more helps with constipation issues especially if you are giving added fibre because the fibre draws water into the bowel and this helps bulk up the stool and it will be less dry..........just a thought.
Bron

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi Bron,

Thanks for the reply. I give her more water than you can shake a stick at. Even the moisture content of the food I'm giving her at the moment is c. 90%. The best results I had for her to date have been either a food that contained cassia gum (Smilla kitten food with chicken - nicely yielding stools regular as clockwork but the food quality is unpredictable - last batch upset the tums of both my little ones) or by adding an eensy-weensy bit of psyllium husk; any more than that and her stools get too big (as I discovered when I first gave it to her at what is generally considered a conservative dose).

All three fibre sources have individual properties from which Saoirse might benefit. At minimum, at the moment I'll have to keep her on SEB for a while to enable her to eat OK. I just need to find something that will work in harmony with it that will keep her regular without degrading the environment in her GI tract.

 

[Tiger(GA) and Ruth]

Hi Aine, I am sorry to hear of the liver problems for Saoirse Correct me as I catch up on what is going on please- is the nausea from pancreatitis? Was she having a pancreatitis flare recently? Ondansetron can cause constipation as I understand it, have you noticed any change since stopping it? Is she perhaps nauseous from stomach acid? If so, Ranitidine might help and has the side benefit of assisting motility?

Do you know what is causing the hard stool? Before I tried any home remedies I would first discuss with your vet as to what the cause of dry stools might be?

SEB is good for constipation,(and diarrhea!) however, it raises calcium so it is a no go for Tiger. It also can interfere with absorption of other meds and nutrients, so you want to give it on an empty stomach and everything I have read suggests it may not be ideal for long term use. Psyllium husk also has the consequence of pulling nutrients out of the system and can cause excessive gas and can cause large stool, or constipation in an already dehydrated cat, which is why my vet wasn't keen on using it. You might consider using organic baby food squash as opposed to pumpkin, it may not prove to be as drying and it is so processed, the fiber content is way less than actual canned pumpkin.

Have you considered just a tiny amount of Miralax? That is what seems to be the most favored remedy on Tanya's Website, it's tasteless and does not affect calcium or absoption, which is an added bonus. In the UK, you would have to purchase it from Amazon. Don't get the product called Movical as it contains added electrolytes that are not necessary and could cause increaed potassium in cats, this I learned from a friend in the UK. Anywho, just some thoughts I have had to consider for Tiger, I thought I would share. Hope you find something that works.

 

[Critter Mom]

Ondansetron can cause constipation as I understand it, have you noticed any change since stopping it?

Yep. She's getting nausea symptoms again. In Saoirse's case, I've not noticed any correlation between ondansetron treatment and constipation. There are, however, distinct correlations between bowel movement quality and frequency depending What influences her GI transit and stool quality is food. And as you already know, Ruth, I'm gone demented from trying to find something to feed her that she can tolerate.

Nausea has been an ongoing problem since Saoirse was diagnosed and, flare-ups aside, it's due in the main to food intolerances. The couple of occasions that I had her on a food that agreed with her (Smilla Kitten Food with Chicken), she was regular as clockwork and her nausea symptoms pretty much disappeared. The problem is that there can be significant variability in the quality of the Smilla; the most recent batch I received could well have triggered a serious flare had I not had on hand the supportive meds to keep Saoirse's symptoms under control. Were it not for the teensy doses of SEB today I'd be looking at inappetence again; Saoirse walked away from a couple of her feeds today but she started eating OK after the first dose of SEB (1/16 tsp). BTW, I am aware of the absorption interference so I give it in feeds scheduled hours after anything else she needs to take has been administered. Interference with nutrient absorption does concern me, though. I did check with the supplier from whom I purchased it (a very well-respected vendor of herbs, essential oils and other nutritional supplements) and they advised that nutrient absorption impairment should be minimal. Jury's out on that one.

I'm waiting for allergy test results to come through so that I can get something concrete upon which to build a nutrition plan for Saoirse going forward. Till then I'm pretty much stuck with one commercial food (Liquivite) since it's the only one she can tolerate which has fairly consistent quality across batches. The current food is binding her somewhat - it may be a bit too low-residue and it may possibly be taking too long for sufficient stool to accumulate to trigger an evacuation but in the meantime it's causing digestive discomfort (and probably drying out). I brought her to the vet yesterday morning because of this very extended bout of constipation and he agrees that the food is highly likely to be the general problem but that her system probably got messed up a bit because of the anaesthetic, and that is most likely the main problem in this instance. I've also read that bupe may cause constipation and she had several doses of that over the few days after the dental.

I really appreciate all of the technical background information for the different types of fibre, Ruth. It's great to learn about 'unintended consequences' of supplementation.

You can barely see the amount of psyllium husk I need to add to have the desired stool softening effect. I'd still prefer not to give it if I could find a better solution.

I tried looking for 'plain' babyfood squash over here last year but came up empty. They frell around with baby food over here the same way they frell around with cat food in order to make it more appealing from a marketing perspective, so I'm stuck with the canned pumpkin.

I will speak to my vet about the Miralax.

(Sorry this doesn't flow properly. PTSD symptoms are the pits at the moment. Can't focus.)