Anyone have experience with giving a cat Metamucil?

[Shelby Thornton]

I've tried mixing with wet food. I've tried mixing with wet food and mixing in water. That stuff turns to a brown glue like substance. I've tried sprinkling over dry food (bleh!). The vet said mix it with his food. Not working for me. Dude will not eat it. Anyone have experience with this? Any tips or tricks to get this powder down the hatch easier?

 

[Deb & Wink]

Would you tell us why your vet wants you to give your cat Metamucil? We may know of alternative meds that will have the same results you are looking for and are easier to get into your cat.

Constipation? diarrhea? IBD? something else?

My cat gets 1/8 teaspoon psylliym husk fiber (same as in the metamucil) 2x day to help avoid rock hard poop. But, unlike your cat she willing laps up her wet food. She also gets 1/8 teaspoon Miralax (generic is fine) in the AM. Miralax is tasteless and does not turn to a goo, but dissolves easily in water.

 

[Shelby Thornton]

My cat had a run of tests and xrays to see if there was something more causing him to not be able to be regulated on insulin. On the xray Doc saw that he was "backed up". 1 tsp of Metamucil a day, couldn't give him what he normally would because of the diabetes. He is also on 100ml of fluid once a day. We are on day 8 of 10. I bet the fella hasn't consumed 3 tsp so far. He will not eat much when the Metamucil is mixed with it. It is the unflavored Metamucil.

Would you tell us why your vet wants you to give your cat Metamucil? We may know of alternative meds that will have the same results you are looking for and are easier to get into your cat.

Constipation? diarrhea? IBD? something else?

My cat gets 1/8 teaspoon psylliym husk fiber (same as in the metamucil) 2x day to help avoid rock hard poop. But, unlike your cat she willing laps up her wet food. She also gets 1/8 teaspoon Miralax (generic is fine) in the AM. Miralax is tasteless and does not turn to a goo, but dissolves easily in water.

 

[Sarah&Soph]

Welcome! When my cat was first constipated, I started out by trying the Walmart brand of Metamucil I think (clear power, unflavored). She is VERY picky about things in her food, so I would put some water in a cup, mix the Metamucil into that, and then mix that into her wet food, and then add some fortiflora. And MOST of the time she would eat it, unless I didn’t mix it just right I actually found that it didn’t work for her though and have had more success using Miralax

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to you and your kitty.
Have you tried plain cooked pumpkin mashed with nothing else added? That is good for constipation.
If you are having trouble getting your kitty regulated we can help you. We have lots of people come here with the same issue.
Come on over to the main forum and we will be very happy to help you.
Here is the link to main health forum
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

 

[Deb & Wink]

Ok, so for constipation (backed up as your vet put it), Miralax may work better since your cat won't eat the canned food with the metamucil mixed in.

The generic miralax is less expensive and a little goes a long way. My vet had me start at 1/8 teaspoon a day. Mix it with just a tiny bit of food, teaspoon of food is enough, and see if your cat will eat that much. The Miralax (polyethylene glycol 3350) is tasteless and does not turn to a gooey paste if not eaten.

Alternatively, you can dissolve the miralax in a bit of water and see if your cat will drink that mix. If not, draw the solution up into a hand feeding syringe (from vet or pet store Amazon has them, so does Chewy.com and lots of other places), and squirt the liquid mix into your cat's mouth. I've given my cats lots of different meds mixed with water many a time using that syringe method.

Article for you with more explanation. https://www.vetinfo.com/miralax-for-cats.html#b
on using miralax.

My vet had me start with 1/8 teaspoon and increase to effect (for my cat, that was less rock hard stools due to mega colon). Increases were done by 1/8 teaspoon at a time.

Add extra water (tablespoon or two should be enough) to any canned food you give and that can help with dehydration also.

 

[Shelby Thornton]

Thank you all so much. Went back to the vet yesterday for a renal panel recheck, following 10 days of daily fluids and attempting to give Metamucil for the blockage (which we did not have much luck with therefore I'm betting is not cleared up as I have not noticed much change in the litter box). His renal panel was still elevated (SDMA was elevated a little from the previous week, the BUN and creatinine were lower but still elevated). His BG was "HI" yesterday morning so doc upped his insulin to 4.5 units twice a day; when I picked him up his BG was only down to 568 (from 720am to 440pm). Had me cut back his dry food to 1/4 cup twice a day. Told me to stop the Metamucil and continue with fluids, only 3 times a week instead of daily. I check his BG twice a day (since he is not regulated), before feeding and before insulin, every 12 hours. His is still all over the place. We started this journey in October and have yet to get his BG regulated.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Thank you all so much. Went back to the vet yesterday for a renal panel recheck, following 10 days of daily fluids and attempting to give Metamucil for the blockage (which we did not have much luck with therefore I'm betting is not cleared up as I have not noticed much change in the litter box). His renal panel was still elevated (SDMA was elevated a little from the previous week, the BUN and creatinine were lower but still elevated). His BG was "HI" yesterday morning so doc upped his insulin to 4.5 units twice a day; when I picked him up his BG was only down to 568 (from 720am to 440pm). Had me cut back his dry food to 1/4 cup twice a day. Told me to stop the Metamucil and continue with fluids, only 3 times a week instead of daily. I check his BG twice a day (since he is not regulated), before feeding and before insulin, every 12 hours. His is still all over the place. We started this journey in October and have yet to get his BG regulated.

It would be best if you can post on Main Health so you can get more assistance. This is just the Welcome group.

I will say that it doesn’t matter if he’s regulated or not; it’s important to test before every shot and also at least 1-2 times during each cycle.

See you in Health!