cat diet for solid poops AND no gas?

[Philacatshia]

For the first year or so after the accident, Bully's poops were firm and dropped out on their own and were comparatively easy to deal with. For the last year and a half, though, it's been the consistency of toothpaste on good days and liquid on bad days, so we've had to learn how to express his bowel too.

There has been a thread about dog foods that produce low-odor, firm poops. How about a commercially-available food for cats? (I cannot make a raw food diet - I'm way too squeamish about handling dead flesh.) Something to tame his gas would also be fantastic, since his farts are awful. Weapon-grade, seriously; I have to flee the room or suffocate.

[janew]

Hi,
I use Wilderness (Blue Bufflo brand) & alternate it with Taste of the Wild. Both are low carb. I have good luck with solid poop & no gas. Hill's prescription C/D is always a good choice for an incontinent kitty to help avoid urinary troubles & always gave me good solid poops. My adopted stray kitty with a spinal injury that caused incontinence of his bladder & bowels lived 13 yrs with expressing on dry C/D with no incidents. I lost him to lymphoma that failed to respond to chemo the 2nd time around. He was likely 17-18 yrs old when he passed ( he was an adult ~ 4-5 yrs when I found him injured). So C/D in my experience is a great choice, you can only purchase it at the vet's to my knowledge, maybe now it is available on line,now. I lost my Finny in 2000..
Best of luck,
jane

[CarolC]

I have no actual experience with this in a cat, but I wonder if probiotics would help, too. You could ask the vet about it.

[Philacatshia]

Is bene-bac considered a probiotic?

The PetSmart near me does carry Blue Buffalo brand, but not the Wilderness variety. I can check with the nearby vets to see who carries Hill's. Would i/d or c/d be better? He's never had a urinary tract problem (knock on wood), but has fecal tract problems out the wazoo (um... so to speak).

Jane, we also lost a cat to lymphoma several years ago. What a frustrating disease it is. He was only 13. I'm glad Finny had such a good home with you.

[CarolC]

20 million colony forming units per gram. (Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Pediococcus acidilactici)

I wasn't familiar with bene-bac but it looks like the right sort of thing if it is potent. I am never sure about something like acidophilus that is kept on the shelf at a store where that particular product may not move quickly? And where they may not be familiar with any special handling? I've used plain powdered acidophilus from the health food store for my kitty and it helped for soft stools. I feel sure it is fresh when I get it there because they sell so much of it.

He's never had a urinary tract problem (knock on wood), but has fecal tract problems out the wazoo (um... so to speak).

I know it's not funny, but had to laugh at the way you put it. That's a quotable quote! I hope you will be sure to post what you find that works

[Christine]

I read recently that giving some yogurt (plain) would help with the gas and thay fits right into the probiotics suggestion. A tablespoon of plain pumpkin might help with the poops

[Philacatshia]

He doesn't think that pumpkin is food. Yogurt has been tried only sporadically. Does anyone know an effective way to use yogurt (or acidophillus)? Should it be given for days? weeks? months? daily forever? I'm inclined to try bene-bac first, since it seems to be designed for the purpose.

If something actually works, I will definitely post! With about a dozen of those celebratory, dancing smilies.

(Glad you were amuzed by the phrasing, I certainly was after I saw what I'd typed. )

[CarolC]

On the acidophilus, I just opened a capsule and sprinkled some into the canned food and stirred it in. Here is something from Drs. Foster and Smith. I see they sell the bene-bac, too, in addition to acidophilus for cats.

http://peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=0 ... 8&aid=1333

[janew]

Hello again,
A very Merry Christmas (even if yours may be a bit 'stinky',LOL) to all! Hill's C/D worked great for my Finny cat. I only had messy poop & gas if caved & let him overindulge on can food. They did not have, to the best of my knowledge, these great low carb - foods around then. I get Taste of the Wild at Tractor supply & Petco & Pet Smart carry BB Wilderness. I wonder if he has a food allergy...???? That can be a wooly bugger to solve.
Thanks for the sympathy on losing Finny to lymphoma. I bought him a good year with chemo. He was non-responsive the second time around. I lost two others to lymphoma right after, they were 16 yrs old (I treated them but neither responded to chemo) I know it is fairly common but I still wonder is from all the organo-phosphates I had to use in during my college years in Texas for flea control. There wasn't Frontline, Revolution, etc, then.
I hope we can find something that works for you.
jane

[sdrakkan]

Benebac is wonderful stuff. You can get it in the gel or powder, though I prefer the powder form. I used it for my mother cat who wouldn't stop getting into my cupboards and eating random stuff...

Goats milk yogurt is easier on their system than the cows. More expensive, but helps.

I SWEAR by the Wilderness Blue Buffalo. Stanley my 2.5 year old tuxedo was clearing out my apartment twice a day when he was pooping. I tried multiple additives and foods to no avail. I have a feeling that he ate something before I rescued him that killed off all his good bacteria. I used the Wilderness and within a week I was smelling the result..or lack thereof! I also rotate now with Merricks Before Grain line.

[Philacatshia]

He's just been given his second dose of benebac. I found Blue Buffalo Wilderness at PetSmart on Monday. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll have a status report.

[CarolC]

I was just reading your signature line again, and noticed you express his bowel twice a day. There is another person here with a cat with a tail injury who had the tail amputated, and he is having a problem with constipation. If you have any tips on expressing the bowel, that would be great. (Hope you will notice a change for your kitty even before a couple of weeks. )

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=15358

[Philacatshia]

My housemate handles expressing the bowels; I'm terrible at it. Perhaps I can solicit a description.

Prelude to the status update:
I think I made a mistake in giving him benebac right before changing his diet. He was very, very messy for several days.

Status update on Bully's BB Wilderness diet....

Yes, it made his poops harder and drier and less stinky, and reduced his gas. However, the poops also stopped moving out of him. It's surprisingly difficult to express dry, hard poops. We added back in about half of the normal food (Iams "natural"), so he's only half stinky. But this isn't quite the end result I'm seeking.

Any ideas? Should I try giving him lactulose? He was taking it for a couple of years before his bowels went haywire.

[critters]

I'd try lactulose and see what happens. BTW, I like how you have the "beginning of the story" appearing in your post; it saves a lot of question-asking.