Comments | grain_free: Fiber in Innova Evo

thewolfwalker in grain_free

Fiber in Innova Evo

Oct 01, 2007 20:58

I have been feeding my 12 year old cat, SoX, Innova Evo since mid April. Today I had to take him to the vet because he was straining to poo (and leaking) and vomiting his food. He turned out to be constipated and the vet had to clean him out. The same thing happened in May (though our vet then -- we've moved since then -- told us it was an " ( Read more... )

Comments 6

angry_crab October 2 2007, 03:21:00 UTC

I have a cat who has constipation issues as well. We had her on Innova Evo. We have since switched her to Nature's Variety canned cat food. SHe does much better on canned then dry. The more moisture the better for constipated kitties. Also it's easy to add supplements that should help things along. Try adding canned pumpkin (plain, not pie filling), grated carrot, and salmon oil. Get your salmon oil from a good source. We use Solaray, just because we are familiar with the brand and know it's a good one. There may be better sources for salmon oil out there. Try feeding 1 tsp grated carrot three times a week. Sometimes we add psyillium husks and water. Make sure if you use this that you also add the water, or it can make your problems worse. We also use the Vita Mineral Mix from Anita Fraiser's book The Natural Cat, which has an excellent section on helping constipated kitties. This mix has bran in it that will help increase the fiber content of their diet, and it has lots of health benefits ( ... )

jennie_c_d October 2 2007, 04:32:59 UTC

I agree, about the moisture. With so much concentrated protein, the kitty would have to drink a TON of water. Grain free canned might be a better option.

angry_crab October 2 2007, 15:38:15 UTC

And I forgot to mention that she did better on Wellness canned then the EVO and better on the Nature's Variety canned then the Wellness canned. So if you can find/afford the Nature's Variety I'd go with that. Otherwise the Wellness will probably work well. When money is tight we use the Wellness canned and she still does well.

You may want to give your kitty sub cu fluids till she gets more regular, depending on how bad the constipation is. Your vet will be able to tell you if this is necessary. If it is, consider learning how to do this and doing it at home. It's cheaper and much less stressful on the kitty. We did this with ours and after the first couple times it was so easy. Easier then giving oral meds, and much better then a trip to the vets.

adina_atl October 2 2007, 14:06:22 UTC

I make my own grain-free catfood, and make a point of adding wheat bran to it (this is the fiber only, no carbs, gluten, or other protein) or one of my cats gets horrible hairballs. You might try mixing wheat bran or psyllium with water or broth, then mixing in an equal amount of meat or fish (whichever your cats like best). Freeze that in small portions, then feed about a tablespoon as a "treat" once a day.

angry_crab October 8 2007, 21:24:11 UTC

http://community.livejournal.com/practicalcats/44418.html

rsppsmetzler June 27 2008, 01:07:01 UTC

you should look into the raw, prey model diet. It is what cats would naturally eat. There are a lot of internet sources you could check out, including yahoo groups. I have started my dogs and cat and they are doing very well on it. Kibble is essentially "junk food for pets". they are naturally carnivores and can get all of their vitamins and nutrients from meat sources. That is what their bodies were made to do. look into it, you might be happy w/ the results.