# Metamucil for cats/scooting



## hersheybar (Jan 3, 2011)

I'm looking to add some Metamucil to my cat's raw food, and I was just wondering if sucrose is safe for cats. The only plain one they had at the store had sucrose in it.

Also, I noticed her scooting today, despite the fact that her anal glands were emptied after she was scooting about a week and a half ago. Is it possible for a problem to recur so quickly? I'm wondering if her diet is the issue. Since I switched her to raw food a month ago, her poop has been very dry and there hasn't been much of it (which is why I want to add some fibre).


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

If you're not going to use the psyllium husk powder (as I mentioned earlier, this is the typically recommended fiber ingredient in raw food diets), then I'd suggest you get a recommendation from your vet. I would never feed a medicine meant for people to a cat without a veterinarian's ok, as there are a LOT of people meds that are unsafe for cats.

You might also try increasing the quantity of water your cat drinks by mixing it with her food.

I looked up what you're feeding, but I can't find a list of ingredients, nor their percentages. Is it listed on the package? Can you post that here?

AC


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## hersheybar (Jan 3, 2011)

Hi Auntie Crazy,

According to the bottle (which I ended up not buying), Metamucil is psyllium husk powder...from what I've read, it can be given to cats. I will see if I can find a version that does not have anything else added, otherwise I'll try a health food store for the powder. Unfortunately the grocery store selection was limited, and the pharmacy was closed today. I added some water to her food as you suggested in your other post, and will continue to do that.

Here are the ingredients from the raw patties: 89% double ground turkey and bones, 10% organ meat (heart and liver), botanical blend of seeds, roots, and grasses including ground black oil sunflower seeds, alfalfa, dandelion leaf, lemon grass, burdock root, oatstraw, parsley, red clover leaf, kelp, plus herring oil.

In any case, if she continues scooting, I'll call the vet. Thanks for your help.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Why are you wanting to add the metamucil? What are you trying to achieve by adding it?


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## hersheybar (Jan 3, 2011)

My cat hasn't been pooping very much (I understand this is normal on raw food diets, but the amount seems really small to me), so I just want to make sure that she's digesting everything properly. I don't know if there's any connection between her food and the scooting (and neither did the vet, for that matter), so I want to give it a try to see if she improves.

According to the Metamucil website, all their varieties have something added, so I'll have to call around to a few places tomorrow to see if they carry pure psyllium husk powder.


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

hersheybar said:


> Hi Auntie Crazy,
> 
> According to the bottle (which I ended up not buying), Metamucil is psyllium husk powder...from what I've read, it can be given to cats. I will see if I can find a version that does not have anything else added, otherwise I'll try a health food store for the powder. Unfortunately the grocery store selection was limited, and the pharmacy was closed today. I added some water to her food as you suggested in your other post, and will continue to do that.
> 
> ...


Is it possible for you to purchase a different kind of commercially-prepared raw food? I'm concerned about a few things here - the first, and most important for your particular case, there is no percentage listed for bone content so there is no way to judge whether your kitty is getting enough bone, or too much bone (and I'm leaning toward the latter). 

Two, the only organ listed is liver and that's an unbalanced diet (for raw-feeding purposes, heart counts as meat, not organ, because it's a non-secreting organ).

Three, everything from the word "botanical" on (except the oil) is neither necessary nor recommended in an obligate carnivore's diet.


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## hersheybar (Jan 3, 2011)

I found a couple of brands: 

PoshNosh :: Cat Products
Home Made Pet Cuisine | Pets4Life.com

The first one doesn't list much detail - I would have to go check it out at the store. Do you have any suggestions based on the info here?

Re: psyllium husk supplements. I haven't been able to find it in powder form. Would ground be okay? I could try putting it in the blender. There are also gelcaps, but I'm not sure if what's inside is in powder that could be added to food. There is also magnesium stearate listed as an ingredient, which may be inside or part of the capsule itself.


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

hersheybar said:


> I found a couple of brands:
> 
> PoshNosh :: Cat Products
> Home Made Pet Cuisine | Pets4Life.com
> ...


Sorry, Hersheybar, I can't help you with specifics on this supplement, as I feed using the frankenprey model and don't use supplements.

Maybe someone who feeds a ground diet can pitch in here?


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## Church's Mum (Jan 6, 2011)

Metamucil can be given to cats. I've used it on the advice of one of the vets I used to work for. You have to use the unflavoured one, though.


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## razzle (May 20, 2010)

My cats are on Metamucil powder for constipation as recommended by the vet. I give 1/2 tsp 2 times a day. Metamucil is fiber. Might need a stool softener

Kathy


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## beamjoy (Nov 6, 2010)

My old buddy Ansen was on Metamucil his last year or so. It did wonders for him. The vet recommended it over anything she could give me.

He was real picky about things being added into his food like that, but for some reason he never minded the Metamucil.


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## hersheybar (Jan 3, 2011)

Thanks for the info, everyone. I'm now considering going the do-it-yourself route since there really isn't much info on the prepared diets (I'll probably try frankenprey, given my lack of a meat grinder and squeamishness about handling whole mice). I gave Zena some pieces of turkey this afternoon and she took to it right away. I'll do my reading and hopefully start the switch this weekend.


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## Kattt (Dec 20, 2008)

My vet had me try Metamucil for my constipated cat, so it is safe for cats.

However, do be careful. Metamucil/psyllium husk as previously mentioned adds extra fiber to their diet, which in turn bulks up their stool sometimes making it harder to pass if your cat truly is constipated, because the extra fiber makes the stool too big. Thats what happened with my cat. She was more constipated with the extra fiber, than without.

From the butt scooting symptoms it does sound like possible constipation if the anal glands were already cleared. My cat also did the butt scooting, and she was diagnosed with chronic constipation, in which she's been on Miralax for over 7 months now.

Each cat is different with their individual needs. I wouldn't add extra fiber until you first determine the problem. So it is definitely a good idea to call your vet if the butt scooting continues. Because as I'm sure you're already aware, a cat scooting their butt is a sign that something is irritating their back end.

Good luck.


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## Church's Mum (Jan 6, 2011)

Kattt said:


> Because as I'm sure you're already aware, a cat scooting their butt is a sign that something is irritating their back end.


It is _possible_ for a cat to just like scooting, but it's highly unlikely. I have one that does it for no other reason I can find. She just likes it. But she thinks she's a dog, so...


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## hersheybar (Jan 3, 2011)

Yeah, I'll probably avoid supplementing her food with anything without talking to the vet. She did go a couple of days without pooping but is fine now, and I haven't noticed any scooting since last week.


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