U.K. constipated on whiskas wet food

[Emma Anderson]

Both my cats keep getting constipated. Both are on wet food - whiskas poultry and jelly - as of recent they both get Extra water on their food and lactulose but still constipated! We’ve also tried fibregel with no luck.
The diabetic has needed the vet to clear the blockage a few times, the other one has often sorted it out without intervention but did need the emergency vet recently who gave her a mini enema.
I’m lost to why this is happening to both cats? The vet is concerned my diabetic has a hernia or something causing build up but I wonder if it’s the food considering my other cat is also suffering?

has anyone had this issue?
what other food can I try that’s low cost diabetic friendly in the U.K.?

I picked the whiskas one because it’s a low cost option for diabetes. My diabetic cat is doing well otherwise with good number control.

As you can see it’s almost 3am! My diabetic is constipated now, I’m just so worried about him. Will be going to the vets first thing.

 

[Ann & Scatcats]

Hiya from Europe Sweden. Whiskas might not be the best for your two as it is so individual.
Try Dvm Dr Lisa Piersons Food Chart list with 40 % protein, 50 % fat, 10 % carb. Perhaps lower fat content than 50 % since high fat content can actually cause constipation. Discuss this with you vet today and also show renown Dvm Dr Lisa Pierson's Food Chart for diabetics, even with the no-no's on.
Best of luck and healing.

 

[Bandit's Mom]

Hi, I am in Mumbai and my civvie is on Whiskas wet food (lamb in jelly, chicken in jelly and tuna in jelly are the flavours we get here). I add a little water to her wet food and I found that she was mildly constipated - straining to poop. I started adding a little unflavoured psyllium husk to her food and that seemed to work for her.

This is a fairly comprehensive website on Feline Constipation
https://felineconstipation.org/

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

A lot of us use Miralax which is a white powder that can be mixed in with food or dissolved in water and given with a syringe. It acts by pulling water from the intestinal tract into the stool to make it softer and easier to pass.

Starting dose is usually 1/8 teaspoon twice a day.

In the UK, it's called Movicol (Polyethylene glycol )

 

[Diana&Tom]

Are you feeding anything as well as Whiskas? Things like freeze dried treats can cause constipation (my cat loves them but I only give them to her sparingly). Extra liquid usually helps - I feed small amounts of Applaws chicken in broth (a complementary not complete food) which I think helps, particularly the pumpkin variety. You could also try the supermarket “cat soups” to up water intake.

You may also find something on this list:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5JpMe6TDXrHq_aTl9hUtHy6Gs9oRBqlz4nPGKxtySA/pubhtml

Maybe try varying the diet with some different brands and see if that helps. Good luck.

 

[Emma Anderson]

Hi, I am in Mumbai and my civvie is on Whiskas wet food (lamb in jelly, chicken in jelly and tuna in jelly are the flavours we get here). I add a little water to her wet food and I found that she was mildly constipated - straining to poop. I started adding a little unflavoured psyllium husk to her food and that seemed to work for her.

This is a fairly comprehensive website on Feline Constipation
https://felineconstipation.org/

Hi thank you for replying, I add extra water, and they had psyllium for months but unfortunately that’s not working even laxatives don’t seem to help. It’s really weird. I’ll look at the website thank you so much

 

[Emma Anderson]

Are you feeding anything as well as Whiskas? Things like freeze dried treats can cause constipation (my cat loves them but I only give them to her sparingly). Extra liquid usually helps - I feed small amounts of Applaws chicken in broth (a complementary not complete food) which I think helps, particularly the pumpkin variety. You could also try the supermarket “cat soups” to up water intake.

You may also find something on this list:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5JpMe6TDXrHq_aTl9hUtHy6Gs9oRBqlz4nPGKxtySA/pubhtml
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5JpMe6TDXrHq_aTl9hUtHy6Gs9oRBqlz4nPGKxtySA/pubhtml

Maybe try varying the diet with some different brands and see if that helps. Good luck.

Thank you for the reply. Yes my diabetic had freeze dried chicken but I’ve been putting them in water first to soak. Thankfully he still loves them like that! My other cat is very fussy only likes one food won’t even touch it with a little added water!

 

[Emma Anderson]

A lot of us use Miralax which is a white powder that can be mixed in with food or dissolved in water and given with a syringe. It acts by pulling water from the intestinal tract into the stool to make it softer and easier to pass.

Starting dose is usually 1/8 teaspoon twice a day.

In the UK, it's called Movicol (Polyethylene glycol )

Thank you I’ll look into this. My vet did give some white powder to use alone with lactulose but they’re not too keen. I’m not sure if this is the same thing - will check! If not I’ll look into getting some.

 

[Emma Anderson]

Hiya from Europe Sweden. Whiskas might not be the best for your two as it is so individual.
Try Dvm Dr Lisa Piersons Food Chart list with 40 % protein, 50 % fat, 10 % carb. Perhaps lower fat content than 50 % since high fat content can actually cause constipation. Discuss this with you vet today and also show renown Dvm Dr Lisa Pierson's Food Chart for diabetics, even with the no-no's on.
Best of luck and healing.

Thank you so much

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Both my cats keep getting constipated. Both are on wet food - whiskas poultry and jelly

Hi Emma (waving from Surrey!),
I've not heard of any other UK cats having constipation issues specifically with Whiskas foods (and I also belong to a UK feline diabetes support group and haven't seen any mention of that there... Though that doesn't mean it hasn't happened, of course... )

Probably a silly question, but have you tried other foods? Are you sure it is the Whiskas food?
(This may or may not be relevant but Whiskas seemed to change some of their foods relatively recently and most (if not all) contain 'vegetable protein extract'. This is made from wheat or soy (I think!). Just wondering if that is an issue for your kitties...)
If the problem could be resolved with just a food change that would seem to be the simplest option. There are loads of low carb foods in the UK (Diana gave link to a list further up the thread).

You might also try adding a wee bit of plain pumpkin to the food (if that doesn't put the kitties off eating it!). You can get tinned plain pumpkin at many supermarkets, and you can freeze what you don't use immediately in an ice cube tray, and thaw as needed.

I have a diabetic girl that is very prone to constipation. I add water to her food every time I feed her (mixing it up to make it really soupy), and she has a water fountain to encourage her to drink. In her case this makes a big difference. But...it sounds like you are already adding water to the food, and that isn't resolving the problem...

I see Bandit's Mom has posted the link to the feline constipation site further up the thread. That is a brilliant site with a huge amount of info.

Eliz

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi Emma,

I see you've already been provided with the link to felineconstipation.org. It's a very helpful site indeed.

If you're looking for Miralax in the UK, you can source it on eBay. Ask the vet about how much to use (NB - go slowly, as very little can go a long way!).

If you can't find canned pumpkin in your local supermarket then you can get it on eBay or Amazon. It's not cheap but once you open the can you can freeze the excess in ice cube trays and thaw out cubes as needed to add to a kitty's food. (NB: Make sure it's plain canned pumpkin, NOT the pumpkin pie filling.)

For general info, if your vet has ruled out any blockage or similar and thinks that the constipation may be due to a gut motility issue (poops not getting moved along fast enough so dry out in large intestine making them difficult to pass) then maybe it's worth asking them about a short course of metoclopramide (Reglan) as it can help restore regularity. (Note: metoclopramide can affect the nervous system but is typically OK when only used for a short time, say, a couple of days.)


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