Constipated Older Cat II
Answered by: Kerry Hackett
Question from: Lorraine Cagno
Posted on: March 31, 2008

Thank you for your response and I look forward to trying your suggestions. I had him on a Liver Support awhile ago which I believed had milk thistle in it, he is back on that. I went to the local health food stores but they don’t have the glycerine form (only certain items). They have the powdered capsule that I can open up and give him. Is the powdered form o.k.?? I’ve been giving him dandelion root in the powdered form. I want to try a pinch of yellow dock too. I was also reading that soy protein/cottage cheese/yogurt is also good for animals with hepatic issues. He was on the raw meat for about a year and he did not handle the meat very well (low energy) slept a lot and still constipated. I’ve given my cat some soy but he is not crazy about it, maybe twice a week. I also read that potato with the skin helps with bowel movements, so I’ve been buying organic potatoes, carrots, summer squash (he loves summer squash) and I steam them and puree them together and give him about 2 tablespoons a day along with beef (I buy Natures Promise Beef, cook it and add a little to his moist food (Natures Balance) he likes this, along with the B complex vitamins, dandelion root. To my surprise, he’s moved his bowels a tiny, tiny bit maybe 3 times this week on his own, not a lot, but it’s a good beginning. I also add a tiny bit of organic wheat grass, it has every vitamin I can think of in it. Anyhow, I want to try the yellow dock if I can’t find the gycerine form I will give him a pinch of the powdered form, will this be o.k. too?? I always start at low doses.

Thanks for your input and I will let you know how he does on the potatoes maybe that’s what getting him going.

Yes, any of the herbs you mention may be given in powdered form. However, herbs with an affinity to the liver tend to be bitter in taste so palatability may become an issue. Hence the idea of employing herbs like yellow dock (Rumex crispus) in glycerine form. The recommended dose for milk thistle (Carduus marianus) in its dried form is: 50 to 100 mg per day (split into three doses) and for yellow dock in its dried form is: 25 to 200 mg (divided into three doses) per day. As for the foods you mention, please remember that a cat is an obligate carnivore. This means that he has evolved to eat primarily protein (i.e., meat). I do not know what the basis of your earlier raw diet was but I repeat, please have a look at the work of Richard Pitcairn, "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats", "The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat" by Juliette de Bairacli Levy and "The Barf Diet" by Ian Billinghurst for further information as well as recipe ideas.

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