Slight Constipation with Raw

[VolkoSimone]

Hey Guys,
I posted that all my cats are doing fantastic on raw food but I’ve noticed that they’re slightly constipated. On a poop chart would be between a 1 & 2. The food I buy locally seems to be balanced with a 10% bone content - they add in additional taurine etc for cats and the meat (ours like chicken) is triple ground. I don’t think they’ll make it for me with less bone content. Is it possible I add in canned pumpkin for a supplement to help with the constipation?

I have an appointment with the vet for next week to check blood work etc

 

[Yana and Osiris]

Hello. Has it always been like that or after you switched to raw feeding? If first, you should get poop samples before visiting vet. If second, are you certain that your pets receive all the needed vitamins and minerals from home made meals? Have you tried fiddling with ingredients, cats can be allergic to some foods as well which as a rule results in poop issues. Saw the other day, some recommended giving baby food like pumpkin puree. Yet, having excrements tested and health checked is a must, rather than giving more food and irritating stomach any further. What my vet told me, rice makes their poop more solid, in case you add rice to their nutrition. Hopefully it's not a biggie, keep us updated

 

[Alexa mendosa]

Hey Guys,
I posted that all my cats are doing fantastic on raw food but I’ve noticed that they’re slightly constipated. On a poop chart would be between a 1 & 2. The food I buy locally seems to be balanced with a 10% bone content - they add in additional taurine etc for cats and the meat (ours like chicken) is triple ground. I don’t think they’ll make it for me with less bone content. Is it possible I add in canned pumpkin for a supplement to help with the constipation?

I have an appointment with the vet for next week to check blood work etc

Do you mind sharing your recipe? I’m looking to switch my sphynx to raw.

 

[VolkoSimone]

Hello. Has it always been like that or after you switched to raw feeding? If first, you should get poop samples before visiting vet. If second, are you certain that your pets receive all the needed vitamins and minerals from home made meals? Have you tried fiddling with ingredients, cats can be allergic to some foods as well which as a rule results in poop issues. Saw the other day, some recommended giving baby food like pumpkin puree. Yet, having excrements tested and health checked is a must, rather than giving more food and irritating stomach any further. What my vet told me, rice makes their poop more solid, in case you add rice to their nutrition. Hopefully it's not a biggie, keep us updated

Hey so just took him in to the vet, to clarify, he’s not constipated where there is a blockage, sometimes I just notice he strains to go. I got their response however, I feel like they’re just trying to sell me on their gastro diet. Here was their response:

Volko's phosphorous levels were mildly elevated. It was a marginal increase so not too concerning as long as it's not going up. It may be due to high phophorous in his diet. Less likely it can be due to a kidney issue, but his other kidney values were completely within normal range so I think this is very unlikely.

His Cobalamin was low (B12). This is usually caused by inflammation in the small intestine. Common causes in cats include inflammatory bowel disease, diet intolerance and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.

The remainder of his bloodwork was normal.

My recommendation is to start B12 injections to get his levels up. These are usually done once weekly for a month, then every other week for a month, then monthly long-term. I would also recommend to keep him on fortiflora (the probiotic) and the gastro diet. Some cats respond to a novel protein diet (a limited protein source that he hasn't had before). We should also consider running at test called TLI to screen for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, we could possibly add this test on to the blood already at the lab if you wish to go ahead with that. It is less common, but is easily treatable if diagnosed.

If signs persist, the next step would be referral for an abdominal ultrasound.

 

[VolkoSimone]

Do you mind sharing your recipe? I’m looking to switch my sphynx to raw.

Hey we buy ours locally, it’s already pre made when we pick it up.

 

[VolkoSimone]

Another Update:
Just took a poop sample, his poop is light brown coloured (normal) and hard as a rock. I watched him go to the bathroom and no blood, just red around his sphincter. Is this normal?
They did a physical exam and said he was super healthy.

I will start them on probiotics

Any idea why his B12 levels would be low? I have a call with the vet tomorrow.

 

[Yana and Osiris]

Meaning your catto doesn't receive enough B12. That's why raw feeding is complicated, also my vet recommended not to give raw food at all, or scald it before serving at the least. I prefer sticking to dry food that contains all the required vitamins, and giving half raw food from time to time as a snack. (2 hours after feeding dry food). If you still want to buy those raw pre-made meals, try changing the brand?

 

[VolkoSimone]

Meaning your catto doesn't receive enough B12. That's why raw feeding is complicated, also my vet recommended not to give raw food at all, or scald it before serving at the least. I prefer sticking to dry food that contains all the required vitamins, and giving half raw food from time to time as a snack. (2 hours after feeding dry food). If you still want to buy those raw pre-made meals, try changing the brand?

All of his other vitamins looked good - rather im leaning more towards IBD. He’s being fed chicken which I can switch to duck or rabbit instead to test my theory. At this time, he’s eating completely normally (scarfing food down) and full of energy, no loss of appetite etc. just noticed a tiny amount of blood every so often, once every few weeks or month. No other symptoms showing. Even took a stool sample last night - poop seems OK.

 

[Yana and Osiris]

Left to assume it could be intestine issues or the aftermath of hard rock poop (it could scratch the texture and usually takes some time to heal up, happens to people as well) but since he is not in pain and very healthy like the vet concluded, maybe there are dyes in food that change the colour of the poop? Or pieces of food that can't be digested. Or is it clearly blood stains ? Also, do you wipe your cat after he poops? Some owners do and using wet wipes or dry towels can be damaging for that very gentle area.

 

[VolkoSimone]

Left to assume it could be intestine issues or the aftermath of hard rock poop (it could scratch the texture and usually takes some time to heal up, happens to people as well) but since he is not in pain and very healthy like the vet concluded, maybe there are dyes in food that change the colour of the poop? Or pieces of food that can't be digested. Or is it clearly blood stains ? Also, do you wipe your cat after he poops? Some owners do and using wet wipes or dry towels can be damaging for that very gentle area.

Actually it’s usually a bit of fresh blood - very bright red in colour around the stool and not in the stool/not dark digested blood.
We don’t wipe as they’re pretty clean. May be the rock hard stool. I’m dropping off the poop sample today to see what they say. I’ve also added a bit of pumpkin to help.

 

[Yana and Osiris]

Actually it’s usually a bit of fresh blood - very bright red in colour around the stool and not in the stool/not dark digested blood.
We don’t wipe as they’re pretty clean. May be the rock hard stool. I’m dropping off the poop sample today to see what they say. I’ve also added a bit of pumpkin to help.

Fingers crossed, keep us updated !

 

[VolkoSimone]

Ok, vets did all testing - waiting for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency test to come back. They highly suspect this will be normal and it’s IBD.
He will be on B12 injections and recommended we switch him to a g/i diet. I’m pretty disappointed as since I switched them to totally raw, they’re awesome cats all around.

Nervous about the switch and don’t fully trust it but at the same time, as someone with an autoimmune disease, I don’t want Volko feeling those symptoms either and want him to live a long and happy life. Looks like there’s two of us in the house with an IBD and I totally understand stomach cramping with hard to digest foods.

 

[AnimaVilis]

Hi there. I read the topic, hoping to get some answers myself. My cats have been on raw diet their whole life. They love it, always devour each meal and lick the bowls. They're very healthy and full of energy. The only issue I noticed is the very hard stools. It doesn't cause rectal bleeding but on the poop scale, I know it could be better. My friend fed her York puppy the raw diet and has the same issue, so she switched. This seems fairly common issue with raw diet - perhaps not perfectly balanced diet?

I have found this article; Cats & Fiber: feeding plant matter? — The Little Carnivore
And the whole blog generally is filled with useful information. My cats don't have animals fibers (fur/feathers) in their diet, so I plan to introduce insoluble plant fibers. Hopefully this will help with bulking the stools and make their trips to the litter tray easier. I'm going to re-educate myself on the whole raw feeding in general, I'm sure there are other things I can improve to give my cats what's best.
I'll post an update.

Wishing your Volko all the best. I also hope that the vets are right and don't change your cats diet unnecessarily when the issue could have been resolved a simpler way. Seems strange to me that they suspect IBD since your cat has hard stools rather than diarrhoea and is generally very healthy. But I'm not a vet.
Please post an update on your cat's wellbeing after the diet change.

 

[Yoda mom]

@Sheldon13

 

[VolkoSimone]

I forgot about this thread. Actually, I ended up taking him off of raw food containing chicken and I don’t know if it’s a coincidence but the bleeding totally went away. Now I feed them raw turkey and beef and no issues