my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipation

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mimi1997

mimi1997

Member Since 2010
which is Royal Canin Fiber response, $50-$60 something for less than 9 lbs. I told him Mimi was diabetic, I stopped giving him dry food 2 years ago, he asked is Mimi on inslulin, I said no. He said most of catsiptated cats are happy with this dry food. If Mimi doesn't like it, I can bring the food back. That's not the point. I don't want to back to dry food.
I can't believe he suggests me to feed dry food....

I asked in what situation I will need to give Mimi MiraLax, he said feeding the dry food for 3 weeks or more, if it doesn't work, then we can try MiraLax.

When Mimi was on Lantus, I got much more helps from this board. So here I am looking for other thoughts. Currently I am mixing 1 table spoon of pumpkin in Mimi's food for almost 2 weeks. He produced kind of dry stools everyday except nothing from yesterday, and I found him pooped out side of box this morning, here and there, small and dry stools. My vet did suggested I can feed him 2-3 tablespoon but he is more into that dry food. :(
I heard some people says yogurt also help. ??
At what point I get to know these foods are not working and I have to use med?
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

Nix the dry and show him Dr Pierson's Cat Info site.

Folks here have been told to add about 1/8 teaspoon of Miralax to canned or raw food per meal, plus some extra water.
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

Mimi pooping outside of the box is usually because of the constipation. I had cat with chronic constipation and he pooped in the cat beds, cat tents and I would find poop in strange places when he was constipated.
Miralax should not hurt Mimi, you can give it to him in his food, starting dose is 1/8 teaspoon once a day.
My cat was not diabetic but I did at one point have in a strictly wet food diet as I did have diabetic cat at at time. There is also a medicine called Cisapride that can help with digestion and constipation, it is however expensive and I would ask about giving it to a diabetic cat.
I would not feed you cat dry food for fear of pushing him back into diabetes again.

Terri

http://www.felineconstipation.org/prevention.html
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

I have a kitty with Megacolon. A hint of anything dry will block him. He has to eat grain free canned, same as all of my diabetic kitties. He gets Miralax and extra water in his food. The only treats he eats are freeze dried chicken/salmon or cooked chicken. I'd follow your instinct and stick with canned food only.

You could start with adding some canned pumpkin to his food if you don't want to use Miralax. Not the pie filling kind but the one that doesn't have sugar/cinnamon added. I bought ice cube trays that make very tiny ice cubes and fill them with the pumpkin, then freeze. Once frozen I can pop them out and put them in freezer bags and use one a day.
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

U should join the yahoo feline megacolon/constitution group. A wealth of info.
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

Your new vet does not sound like a very good vet. Sorry.
If you bought that dry food, take it back for a full refund; there's no way that an OTJ diabetic cat should be eating dry food, and if constipated, you don't feed dry anything.

I have a cat with megacolon and moisture is needed in addition to meds to keep things moving, certainly not a dry food!

Get the miralax, and start with 1/2 tsp in am and pm meals. Be sure to add EXTRA water to the wet food because the miralax draws moisture from the cat's body and into the stool to soften it for 'exit'.
Give it a couple days, and then adjust the amount of miralax, depending on the condition of the 'output'..... if still hard/firm, you adn up the miralax and also add more water to the food. .... if too soft/loose, cut the miralax back to maybe once a day or even 1/8 tsp at am and pm.

Some people have needed to give lactulose, and other meds, but go with the miralax for now.

How IS the stool right now? How often do you see stool- as often as before constipated?
If you see he is going into the LB but making no deposits, or you see he is straining, you may need to have him seen. If he stops any deposits and starts vomiting, you will need to take him to a vet as he's likely backed up.

Lots and lots of water in the food; it helps.
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

Mirilax is safe for everyday use.

My Sneakers gets 1/8 tsp in the morning and night with her meds sprinkled on her food. If I miss a day she could go a few days without poop- so I know have it mixed in all the time.

Dry food-tell the vet that basically you are feeding peanut butter when you feed dry food. Cats don't have a thirst mechanism to tell them when to drink water so they get it from their food- which being dry is PB with high carbs. If he insists on it insist that he will be paying the $250 per package of Lantus when Mimi goes back to needing it. And the syringes... and the testing strips... Take a break down chart of the expenses of having an insulin dependent cat again verses a bottle of mirilax that you can buy off the shelf at the grocery store.

Sounds like he just wants the $$$ he gets selling you a bag of dry cat food rather than what is good for Mimi (or YOUR wallet)
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

Dear All:

Thanks for all your advices. I didn't buy the dry food and I never will. It is just frustrating to work with an "expert" who totally not on the same simple page.
Because I will be out of town for two weeks soon (planned last year), I am hoping the pumpkin can help.... I will use auto feeder but not sure my cat won't miss the one sprinkled with MiraLax. Is it OK to miss Miralax? (a cat sitter will come everyday)

I joined Megacolon group but fiber is not popular at all.

Mimi's x-ray shows no blockage two weeks ago(according to my vet), he is having canned plain pumpkin for 12 days, about one table spoon pumpkin with 4 oz wet food per pay, He poops everyday (it seems better than before) except this Sunday, sometime the stools are still hard. Just double the pumpkin yesterday (2 tablespoon for a day).
Got him a water fountain for days but he shows zero interest. Added water in his food then he drank less from his water bowl. Pees three times a day....
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

Miralax is odorless and tasteless; it dissolves completely in water. Once mixed with my little man's food he hasn't a clue. He eats it without any problem.
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

Jennifer: I do remember you, you also helped me a lot years ago, when I just found Mimi's diabetic. Thanks. :)

I fed Mimi once with Miralax, he 's OK with it.
Can I sprinkle Miralax on frozen food and let it sits in auto feeder for hours?
If Mimi missed one in the morning or at night, or not finished his food with Miralax, I guess it may result not pooping yet nothing else? It is not as bad as missing insulin right?

tuckers mom said:
Miralax is odorless and tasteless; it dissolves completely in water. Once mixed with my little man's food he hasn't a clue. He eats it without any problem.
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Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

I am not going back there... I guess I will just find another vet--- why is it so hard to find a normal vet--- I don't expect a super one, just a normal one...

What do you mean by have it mixed in "all the time"? Don't you mix in just am/pm?

hmjohnston said:
Mirilax is safe for everyday use.

My Sneakers gets 1/8 tsp in the morning and night with her meds sprinkled on her food. If I miss a day she could go a few days without poop- so I know have it mixed in all the time.

Dry food-tell the vet that basically you are feeding peanut butter when you feed dry food. Cats don't have a thirst mechanism to tell them when to drink water so they get it from their food- which being dry is PB with high carbs. If he insists on it insist that he will be paying the $250 per package of Lantus when Mimi goes back to needing it. And the syringes... and the testing strips... Take a break down chart of the expenses of having an insulin dependent cat again verses a bottle of mirilax that you can buy off the shelf at the grocery store.

Sounds like he just wants the $$$ he gets selling you a bag of dry cat food rather than what is good for Mimi (or YOUR wallet)
Click to expand...
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

mimi1997 said:
Jennifer: I do remember you, you also helped me a lot years ago, when I just found Mimi's diabetic. Thanks. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'm glad you remember and very glad I was able to help. I don't get around here as much these days, but I do try to :)

For my Sam I can't miss a day with Miralax but my little man suffers from MegaColon and he will block, it's a sad fact for him. Your kitty might be fine with missed doses.

If it's just occasional constipation, the pumpkin and extra water might do the trick.

As for sprinkling Miralax on frozen food, I'm sure it will dissolve into it. I haven't tried it but there would be some moisture as the food thaws. Plus since Miralax is odorless and tasteless your little one will probably not notice. Add some water to the frozen food so you can keep the moisture up.

Are you sure you need to switch vets? You could explain to your vet why you are choosing the canned food option and maybe your vet could do some research and perhaps learn from you.
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

I recalled we had similar conversation years ago--- changing the vet. That vet wanted me to feed Hill's Prescription (canned food). However she's the one who told me about this board. Anyway I didn't change her, she moved to other state so I have a different vet now---

How much is extra water? Mimi pees 3 times a day now, it was 4 times last months.
He just refuses to drink more.

tuckers mom said:
mimi1997 said:
Jennifer: I do remember you, you also helped me a lot years ago, when I just found Mimi's diabetic. Thanks. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'm glad you remember and very glad I was able to help. I don't get around here as much these days, but I do try to :)

For my Sam I can't miss a day with Miralax but my little man suffers from MegaColon and he will block, it's a sad fact for him. Your kitty might be fine with missed doses.

If it's just occasional constipation, the pumpkin and extra water might do the trick.
Click to expand...
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

Hi Terri
I'm glad you checked out that group. Kerrie and Mario are very knowledgeable. Brie had some constipation and a few enemas around New Years. After his first enema the vet suggested adding fiber. A little voice inside of me told me to do some research. I joined the megacolon group and decided to start the miralax. A few days after starting the miralax Brie still wasn't pooping. I know the miralax works on new stool . I took him back in to the vet and asked them to do an xray. He still had a lot of old poop in there but you could she where the newer poop wasn't like rocks. I love the miralax and my vet was very open to me using it. Of course Brie needed another enema but has been fine since. He did have some cisapride for a few days after the second enema. He gets 1/4 tsp miralax twice a day mixed with his wet food and I add water to it too. His poops look much better. I'm really surprised that your vet suggested dry food. I think that a lot of vets think high fiber food is the way to go. Maybe that is old school. I just know for Brie miralax is the way to go. Moisture is so important for these cats.

Sandy
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

She gets it AM and PM now.

If you freeze your food ahead of time just sprinkle a little on every cube mixed in with the water. That is what i did for my pet sitter when that is all Sneakers got- It was in every food cube she got. now she gets other stuff so I have it in those AM/PM pill containers that they just dump on and mix in.
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

I gave Mimi 1/4 Miralax am/pm for 6 days. He got soft stools on 6th day, as soft as bread dough. I told my vet that I am not taking the risk getting Mimi back to insulin by taking drying food again. Even with canned food, if it contains a lots of corn and rice, it is like water soaked dry food, I am not comfortable with it.
My vet is a strong high-fiber-believer, he still wants me to stay adding pumpkin for an while...

Sandy and Brie said:
Hi Terri
I'm glad you checked out that group. Kerrie and Mario are very knowledgeable. Brie had some constipation and a few enemas around New Years. After his first enema the vet suggested adding fiber. A little voice inside of me told me to do some research. I joined the megacolon group and decided to start the miralax. A few days after starting the miralax Brie still wasn't pooping. I know the miralax works on new stool . I took him back in to the vet and asked them to do an xray. He still had a lot of old poop in there but you could she where the newer poop wasn't like rocks. I love the miralax and my vet was very open to me using it. Of course Brie needed another enema but has been fine since. He did have some cisapride for a few days after the second enema. He gets 1/4 tsp miralax twice a day mixed with his wet food and I add water to it too. His poops look much better. I'm really surprised that your vet suggested dry food. I think that a lot of vets think high fiber food is the way to go. Maybe that is old school. I just know for Brie miralax is the way to go. Moisture is so important for these cats.

Sandy
Click to expand...
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

In every food cube? Did Miralax work the same?
I am worried my cat sitter get confused by giving him Miralax in different feeder hopper if not visiting around same hours.
So if sprinkling in every food cube also helps, that might be easier for everyone?

hmjohnston said:
That is what i did for my pet sitter when that is all Sneakers got- It was in every food cube she got.
Click to expand...
 
Re: my new vet recommend feeding Mimi DRY food for constipat

I tried to put 3/4 food and 1/4 water in each cube so the food intake was sufficient and levelized. Sneakers would eat x # of cubes/day so I would divide her * daily* dose among that many cubes so she would get her dose over the course of the day rather than at one time.

Just remember not to add more mirilax until your doctored cubes are all gone or you could be looking at liqui-poo :oops: :roll:

***ETA
 
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