Feline Fiberfull Food?

Question

My cats have loose stool...i need to find some sort of food that has more fiber. Does anyone know of any cat food that is high in fiber?
Thank you!

By the way...I have taken them to the vet and had them de-wormed and checked out for any serious health problems. The VET said fiber food.

Answer 1

Poppy has had the same problem. In her case, the vet couldn't find anything, so I decided that she had a "sensitive system" and found better food for her.

I had been feeding Purina One dry food, and switched to Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea (Poppy is very very picky and this is all she'll eat).

That did the trick for her. So you might want to investigate feeding a better quality food (you don't say what you feed, but many people buy their cat food at the supermarket, so I'm just making an assumption here).

Or it may not be so much the quality as just some ingredient that may disagree with them.

If I were you, I'd try to get them to either eat a raw diet (research required) or switch to a good quality canned food (see the links below).

Make any changes slowly - doing so quickly can cause digestive upsets.

You can also investigate adding additional water to the food (if you're feeding canned only - never wet dry cat food) or perhaps add a digestive enzyme supplement.

If switching to canned is out for some reason, you can try a better quality dry food (see the link below).

Answer 2

Don't listen to these other people, you said loose stools not diarrhea and you had them vet checked. (Except the 3rd man w/Poppy the cat. He knows what he's talking about.) It sounds weird but the vet is right. Cats w/loose stool need high fiber foods but what I find weird is that the vet didn't recommend a prescription food. The one I know of that's commonly prescribed is Science Diet w/d but I prefer Purina's high fiber rx food, can't think of the name off hand.

4 of my 9 cats have loose stools when they eat colored foods such as Meow Mix or Kit N' Kaboodle etc. They have a reaction to the food dyes. I wasn't told to give them high fiber food only food with 1 color, for example Cat Chow or Iams. (Not a recommendation on brand just example of consistent color.) I would try this first b/c rx diets can be VERY expensive. One that works good for my cats is Purina One Sensitive Systems. So many cats have allergic reactions to beef, fish, or chicken b/c they are harsh so maybe a food w/turkey or lamb (Iams Lamb) will also harden up their stool. If after 1 week their stools are still loose ask the vet about w/d or Purina rx.

Whatever you do, do NOT give your cats canned pumpkin. That is recommended for cats who are constipated as it is a laxative. There is a difference between using high fiber to harden up stool & one to treat constipation. If you feed your cats pumpkin they will get diarrhea!

Don't get scared, cats just have very sensitive systems and a lot cannot handle these foods that look appetizing but contain too many additives. I'm sure if something was wrong w/your cats your vet would've told you. I see about 300 cats a year so TRUST ME this is VERY common.

Answer 3

Diarrhea in cats is NOT caused by lack of fiber - more likely an infection or intestinal upset of some sort. Giving a cat canned pumpkin (if you can get her to eat it) will help with the problem. That's pure canned pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie mix. If you open a large can you can freeze the rest of it in ice cube trays and will have little "servings" to give her with her meals.

Remember that diarrhea is a SYMPTOM and the cause could be a number of things which a vet must investigate.

Answer 4

Why do your cats have loose stool? That's not normal. Your vet should be able to recommend an appropriate food if the diarrhea is diet related and is for short term use. Temporarily, added a teaspoon of unflavored metamucil or benefiber to some low calorie (low fat) canned food may help.

Answer 5

Hi

That name sets up alarm bells. Fiber is NOT what cats needs as they are obligate carnivores. Canned foods w/o gravy is best. Take it from someone whose cat got diaberes from eating dry food.
From a health store you can get some acidoupholous which you can sprinkle in their food. That should help with the problem.