The roll of additional fiber as a supplement for a four year old cat on a raw diet?
My little guy has been on a prescribed raw diet for plus minus two months, his weight, general demeanor, appetite, coat conditioning, eyes all give the impression of a healthy young cat.
However his stool is very inconsistent it varies from hard and solid to hard and solid with a mucous excess and occasionally slightly runny. The mucous excess has been quite predominant in the last two weeks. Opinion I have received has varied from a lack of fiber to healthy process of detoxification. I am not sure exactly where I should be looking? I have been advised of two different approaches 1.) A natural supplement such as Benifiber or small portions of grated sweet potato as a fiber alternative.
His diet consists of a breakdown of :- Lamb mussel meat, Lamb hearts , lamb livers, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken necks, with added multi vitamin supplements, Salmon oil, egg yokes, Benifiber (as an alternative to PSYLLIUM POWDER), an occasional treat of tuna in water.
Any other alternative fiber suggestions would be appreciated. A suggested approach and a slightly better understanding to what degree fiber is actually necessary in the healthy functioning of cats in general would certainly help.
Your advice is appreciated.
September 1st, 2009 at 11:19 am
In the wild cats don’t eat fiber or grains. They *might* eat the stomach of their prey and it’s contents (this is debated) but that’s it - no grains and no fiber, just meat. I’m not a raw diet feeder (can’t - I foster for rescue or I would) but it may be that one of the meat sources you are feeding him just isn’t agreeing with him? The diet I do feed is all-meat (canned cat food, no by-products) and I know that some of the meat sources can cause loose stool in some of the cats. Hopefully some of the raw diet experts will chime in, but I don’t think fiber is the answer.
September 4th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Fiber has lots of benefits. It prevents constipation by increasing bulk and drawing water into the colon. Increased bulk seems like a bad thing with constipation but it can help move stool along, especially when the added water softens it up. Fiber can also benefit animals with diarrhea because the increased bulk will absorb the extra water, thereby slowing down the movement of the stool through the body. You can think of fiber as a binder that holds the stool together.
The inconsistent stool your cat is having is an indication that the diet you are using is not working out. Increased mucus in the stool can be a sign of intestinal inflammation. This inflammation can be caused by bacterial overgrowth, sensitivity, or allergies. Raw food may contain parasites and without a doubt contains bacteria that can cause stomach and intestinal upset. Homemade diets also increase the risk of deficiencies and toxicities.
This quote is from the link listed below regarding Benefiber:
Little is known about hydrolyzed guar gum, as found in Benefiber. The ingredient has not been approved by the FDA as a nonprescription ingredient but is being marketed as a dietary supplement. The National Academy of Sciences, in its Dietary Reference Intakes for Fiber, states that guar gum has “little effect on fecal bulk or laxation.”
-Medscape
September 5th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
The supplement powder I use has psyllium in it for fiber. I don’t understand why that is objectionable in your cat’s food.
Raw diets do include some fiber source as in nature a cat would ingest skin and hair or feathers from prey even in very small amounts. The amount of psyllium in the supplement powder only amounts to 2 teaspoons per two pounds of ground meat. That’s a very small amount.
Grated sweet potato might do the trick. You will just have to work at tweeking the diet. Hard stools can result from too much calcium in the diet. Are you using the uncooked bone? Maybe too much in the chicken neck department as they are mostly bone.
I would suspect the mucous results from difiiculty in passing the hard stool.