constipation with liver diease

[IMstacie]

My Frost, 8 years, has had liver problems since we adopted him at 6 months.  ALT at 495 U/L,  AST is high, RBC, HCT, HGB EOS all elevated.  We are giving him Denamarin daily with a syringe full of water.  Prior to finding Denamarin I gave him Milk Thistle in his food daily.  Knowing his problem, I have him eating prescription food for liver and Hills sensitive stomach dry food, which he loves..  I'm happy to have him with us this long - he is very personable and loveable.

MY QUESTION:  Frost gets sick with constipation at least once a week.  When that happens he strains and maybe release a hard ball.  He will stay down 1 to 2 days.  Does anyone know of ANYTHING I can do to alleviate this problem in him?

[IMstacie]

I think I'm going to order the INULIN and try it.  What do you think about baby food , winter squash?

[IMstacie]

thanks for posting so soon.  I give him prescription wet (Hills L/D) and the same dry dry food, alternating/mixing with Hill's Sensitive Stomach which is what he loves.  The problem with removing his dry food altogether is his weight - I have to keep his weight up.  I feed him the wet food first - trying to fill him up on it so he only eats a small amount of dry food.  

I'm checking your link right now.  Thanks much!

[opus88]

sorry forgot to add Dr Piersons site.....btw she also uses iherb for her cat supplements I just found out today:))

http://www.catinfo.org/

know the basics of a cats diet and why they need what they do.....and she is a very very strong promoter of NO dry food..

[opus88]

welcome to you and to Mr. Frost...you are doing a good job mommy!!

I will give you some tips....my Nemo also has a terrible time with constipation due to a bowel deformity...and over the years we have tried many things.
first of all you really need to be feeding a canned diet opposed to a dry dehydrated one that just promotes constipation. I will send you a very trusted website by Dr. Pierson that talks abt the dangers of dry foods..and some tips on how to transition them onto cans...please try.

with a canned diet and the added moisture it MAY be enough to help wth the constipation, if not a 1/4 teas. of PURE pumpkin (not the pie filling) can be added. but you need to be careful with this...pumpkin is a insoluble fiber which depending on the reason for the constipation can either help or make it worse...b/c the transit time slows therefore stools can become harder and more difficult to pass...

it didn't work for my Nemo b/c transit time is an issue for him so we tried various other methods with minimal success until I read abt INULIN. this is a soluable fiber, meaning it speeds up transit time....and it has worked wonders for him.

I will give you the brand name of the one to buy....if its not avail at your local health food store you can order from iherb as I do...shipping costs are low...around $4. if you buy from a local supplier I would stronglly recommend the brand NOW FOODS...if you do go with another be very sure it has NO salt, sugar, starch, yeast, corn, soy, shellfish and preservatives to be safe for use with cats....:))
Nemo gets 1/8-1/4 teas. a day you can mix it in the food or do as I do and dissolve in a little water and give via syringe.

I will also give you a link to a very good probiotic...this one is also a digestive enzyme and again safe for cats...this may also help. just sprinkle a tiny amount in the food, or again wth a syringe if necessary.

always check first with your Vet, but I'm almost positive they are safe even for a kitty with liver issues...

http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Organic-Inulin-100-Pure-Powder-8-oz-227-g/1100#bid=NOW&p=1&oos=1&disc=0&lc=en-US&w=now%20foods%20organic%20inulin%20100%25%20pure%20powder&rc=189&sr=null&ic=1


http://www.iherb.com/Garden-of-Life-Primal-Defense-Powder-HSO-Probiotic-Formula-81-g/3159