Best diet for keeping semi-continent cat regular

For those seeking advice on caring for incontinent pets and animals with kidney-related problems.
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KateShmoo
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Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2016 11:09 am

Best diet for keeping semi-continent cat regular

Post by KateShmoo »

Hi, I'm new here but have been lurking since I brought home my "special needs" kitty, Shmoo (she came with that name :roll: ), 2 years ago. This forum answered some questions I had about caring for her in the beginning, as I've been a vet assistant for 11 yrs but her case was a new experience for me and the vet that I work for. VERY long story short, @ 8 weeks old Shmoo came to us with complete loss of function of her hind legs, bowel and bladder. The owner had no idea how it happened, she was normal when they went to bed but not normal in the morning and no signs of other injuries or pain. I decided to give her a shot at life and took her home to care for her, with hopes that if she recovered she would go back to the owner. Well, after two years and several setbacks, I still have her. She is now able to walk with a funny gait and loves to scoot when she really wants to go fast, but never completely recovered function of her bladder and bowels, so I couldn't return her to the owner as they (understandably so) couldn't give her the care that she requires on a daily basis. I empty her bladder 3 times a day, and she can move her bowels on her own, so I would say she's partially continent..unfortunately she rarely poops in the litter box, but we can put up with that..my husband and I call it her "bicycle kick" when she poops as she always lays on her side and kicks like shes pedaling a bike and working out the poop (I am so lucky to have a very patient husband! haha). Anyway, she sometimes will get backed up, so I have been giving her fiber on tuna fish 1-2 times/day, along with her free choice dry food. I was wondering if anyone could share their experience with the best foods for keeping their paralyzed cat's stools soft enough that she stays regular, but not too soft that they can't be easily cleaned up. I was thinking of transitioning to a mainly wet food diet for more moisture, but have also found in my line of work that it might actually make her stools harder because of the low-fiber diet. Any info would be greatly appreciated! :thankyou:
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critters
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Re: Best diet for keeping semi-continent cat regular

Post by critters »

:strobe: I would go with high fiber AND high water; you could even do SQ fluids to make sure she gets plenty. This would help with both UTI prevention and constipation. Do you know how to express poop?
KateShmoo
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Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2016 11:09 am

Re: Best diet for keeping semi-continent cat regular

Post by KateShmoo »

Thanks so much for your reply! :)..I def will try more wet food and switching to a higher fiber dry food. I do know how to express poop, but havent quite mastered it yet with her..even though she's partially paralyzed she's a VERY active cat, I can barely get her to hold still long enough to express her bladder..so I also don't see being able to do sq fluids on her haha..but thanks so much for the suggestions, hopefully the addition of moisture and fiber in her diet will do the trick!
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CarolC
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Re: Best diet for keeping semi-continent cat regular

Post by CarolC »

I would feed her whatever diet seems healthy for her, and give her lactulose syrup to regulate the stools. It only takes a little, you measure it carefully with a TB syringe or similar. You can fine tune it to get exactly the output you want.
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