AliceMeowliss (GA)
Member Since 2019
My cat with IBD, diabetes, and history of breast cancer, had a difficult bout of consyipation with symptoms including loss of appetite (with a diabetic that is hard!!) and as a result of that, also hypokalemia (low potassium!.
I had emailed Ziwipeak when I first noticed she wasn’t eating and was having trouble pooping. This is the response I received. I actually have been adding pumpkin already and I think it’s a big part of what got her going again. (Though I wonder how much pumpkin she needs?)
The e-mail response begins here:
“Thanks for reaching out to ZIWI with your question regarding the fiber content in our food. We are sorry to hear your sweet cat is dealing with both diabetes and IBD. It's never fun when our furry family members are dealing with health conditions!
Because all of our recipes (both air-dried and canned) are high protein and low carb, they are also low in fiber. Although the 75% moisture found in our canned recipes is usually very helpful for IBD prone pets, it sounds like the low fiber level is causing her some constipation.
While our canned lamb recipe is biologically appropriate, includes tripe (known to be a great ingredient for IBD and IBS sufferers), and includes a little fiber from the low percentage of chickpea as our natural binding agent, the fiber content in most of our recipes will be between 1-3%. Normally what we see is most pets do adjust to the diet without the need for additional fiber, but to answer your question, this is something I have heard from other pet parents.
The most common option I have heard other pet parents use to try and add in a little fiber is pure pumpkin. The key is, anything you add in needs to be tested at a slow pace because you certainly don't want to cause the opposite effect. Our food is known to cause less stool production, so you don't want to turn it into a loose stool or diarrhea situation.
In regards to your cat's lack of excitement about this recipe, I would say to try adding some type of fiber source and you can also add in a little beef broth to see if that entices her a little more. Additionally, although you do have limited options as to what you can feed, I did not see beef as one to avoid, and we do have that flavor if you want to try and mix it up a bit.
To view the fiber content (and any other nutrient content in any of our recipes), you can go to our website at https://www.ziwipets.com. Click into the individual page for any of the recipes and scroll down to the middle of the page where you will see a gray line with tabs. Click on "Typical Analysis" and the nutrients on an "As Received" basis will display. For a more detailed look at the Typical Analysis (including nutrient content both on an As Received and Dry Matter Basis), scroll to the bottom of the information where you can click on the button that says "Download Full Typical Analysis" and that will give you the option to review the full document as a PDF.
I hope this information helps a bit and please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Sincerely,
Fran Grosdidier
Customer Care Manager”
I had emailed Ziwipeak when I first noticed she wasn’t eating and was having trouble pooping. This is the response I received. I actually have been adding pumpkin already and I think it’s a big part of what got her going again. (Though I wonder how much pumpkin she needs?)
The e-mail response begins here:
“Thanks for reaching out to ZIWI with your question regarding the fiber content in our food. We are sorry to hear your sweet cat is dealing with both diabetes and IBD. It's never fun when our furry family members are dealing with health conditions!
Because all of our recipes (both air-dried and canned) are high protein and low carb, they are also low in fiber. Although the 75% moisture found in our canned recipes is usually very helpful for IBD prone pets, it sounds like the low fiber level is causing her some constipation.
While our canned lamb recipe is biologically appropriate, includes tripe (known to be a great ingredient for IBD and IBS sufferers), and includes a little fiber from the low percentage of chickpea as our natural binding agent, the fiber content in most of our recipes will be between 1-3%. Normally what we see is most pets do adjust to the diet without the need for additional fiber, but to answer your question, this is something I have heard from other pet parents.
The most common option I have heard other pet parents use to try and add in a little fiber is pure pumpkin. The key is, anything you add in needs to be tested at a slow pace because you certainly don't want to cause the opposite effect. Our food is known to cause less stool production, so you don't want to turn it into a loose stool or diarrhea situation.
In regards to your cat's lack of excitement about this recipe, I would say to try adding some type of fiber source and you can also add in a little beef broth to see if that entices her a little more. Additionally, although you do have limited options as to what you can feed, I did not see beef as one to avoid, and we do have that flavor if you want to try and mix it up a bit.
To view the fiber content (and any other nutrient content in any of our recipes), you can go to our website at https://www.ziwipets.com. Click into the individual page for any of the recipes and scroll down to the middle of the page where you will see a gray line with tabs. Click on "Typical Analysis" and the nutrients on an "As Received" basis will display. For a more detailed look at the Typical Analysis (including nutrient content both on an As Received and Dry Matter Basis), scroll to the bottom of the information where you can click on the button that says "Download Full Typical Analysis" and that will give you the option to review the full document as a PDF.
I hope this information helps a bit and please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Sincerely,
Fran Grosdidier
Customer Care Manager”
I have some powered pumpkin on hand for diarrhea issues, but it’s such a struggle getting her to eat it lol. Constipation is a topic I see on here frequently, so just wanted to add my two cents about what has helped for us!