Author Topic: Little Mew when Pooping  (Read 3663 times)

Offline Fire Fox

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #17 on: February 25, 2010, 13:11:54 PM »
As he's an indoor cat, maybe he needs some grass in his diet. Some peeps grow it for their cats - I think you have to be wary of which varieties.
Also, indoor cats do get flea: we bring in the eggs/fleas from outside on our shoes and clothes, so it's not a given than being indoors means no fleas.
You mentioned that he can't reach his bum to clean it, is he a bit podgy? If so, this may be causing pooing problems.

Thanks for you reply.

I grew some cat grass when he first arrived but no interest from Noah! Perhaps I should try again? I know there is a small risk he could get fleas, but he is white so flea-dirt would be easy to see and the vet used a flea comb and didn't find anything suspicious. Noah is a large cat and I was worried he was a bit overweight so asked for him to be weighed, but the vet weighed him in at 6.5kg which he said was fine just a very big lad. I looked up weight ranges and this is the top of healthy? Interestingly his tiny baldy patch near his tail seems to be growing back!! ;D
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Offline Hippykitty

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #16 on: February 25, 2010, 04:07:56 AM »
As he's an indoor cat, maybe he needs some grass in his diet. Some peeps grow it for their cats - I think you have to be wary of which varieties.
Also, indoor cats do get flea: we bring in the eggs/fleas from outside on our shoes and clothes, so it's not a given than being indoors means no fleas.
You mentioned that he can't reach his bum to clean it, is he a bit podgy? If so, this may be causing pooing problems.
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Offline Mark

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #15 on: February 24, 2010, 12:59:02 PM »
I found this good NHS website. It says that bran used to be recommended for IBS but isn't any more http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome/pages/healthylivingpage.aspx

One thing that I am curious about on the site is that that say while Probiotics are recommended, prebiotics aren't. I think most probiotic tablets/capsules also contain prebiotics? - I will have to have a look at the ones I use.
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Offline Fire Fox

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #14 on: February 24, 2010, 02:29:23 AM »
I thought I'd update to say no more mews; Noah has had ground flax seed most days and it is definitely bulking his stools without introducing any smells which is great.  ;D Am going to place a VetUK order as Mark recommended at the end of the month.
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Offline Fire Fox

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #13 on: February 09, 2010, 12:39:19 PM »
 :thanks: very much for all the responses and sorry it's not a nice subject! Giggling at all the cats announcing their visits or requesting an immediate clean up. Last week Noah made such a stink that he actually returned to the tray to make a better job of burying it.  :evillaugh:

The little mew was mid-poop, like there was a bit of pain but he isn't struggling to eliminate. Noah is not scooting and can't reach his bum to clean it anyway!  :sick: His poops changed when I adopted him - three stinkers a day when in foster (Felix JWB) down to one not usually smelly doing on the high meat stuff (Orijen, Feline Fayre, raw) that I give him. He might need more bone as Den suggests, I am out of chicken wings and he has been having slightly more Feline Fayre instead.

I gave Noah a little ground flax seed this morning in with his wet, but I like the idea of the psyllium mixed with probiotics, thanks Mark. IIRC from my nutrition modules psyllium is soluble fibre like oat bran and most fruit and veg, wheat and rice bran contains insoluble fibre which is much harsher on the gut. There is a school of thought that many cases of IBS are down to an imbalance of bacteria in the gut and irritation of the lining of the gut by poor diet - these often start with gastroenteritis and can be largely resolved with probiotics, slow introduction of a more natural diet and essential fats to reduce inflammation. Other cases are 'true' chronic IBS and they are aggravated by stress, insoluble fibre, spicy foods etc.
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Offline Mark

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2010, 12:27:31 PM »
I just think the use of bran is an outmoded idea - maybe some vets are out of date with their info. I don't rate vets much for nutritional info - especially as most sell Hill's  :evillaugh: . Royal Canin, Orijen etc use psyllium husk as a bulking agent as it is so gentle. It is possible that cats are different but I have been told to steer well clear of bran. I heard a specialist on the radio once - she said that the reason bran makes people go to the toilet is that it irritates the sensitive lining of the bowel and the body tries to expel it.
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Offline Wibblechick

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #11 on: February 09, 2010, 12:19:59 PM »
Interesting - Id had bran recommended by a previous doctor to help IBS symptoms - my more recent (and thankfully I think much better) doctor says no, its too "violent" but that this is a more recent thinking and that lots of the "old school" still suggest bran.  So maybe some recommend and some dont ?
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Offline Den

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #10 on: February 09, 2010, 12:09:03 PM »
I don't know Mark, but bran comes highly recommended for anal gland problems as it bulks out the stools and makes them much firmer. Even my vets recommend it. Is it possible that it has a different effect on humans than with other species?

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Offline Mark

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2010, 11:53:07 AM »
Bran would work

Sorry but I don't agree with that - bran is an irritant and can cause pain and inflammation  - especially with sensitive insides - I speak from experience and the specialist told me this. Psyllium is much more gentle - I suppose that is why they use it in pet stuff.

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Offline Wibblechick

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2010, 11:11:47 AM »
Mr T likes to announce all his litter tray visits - and when he has achieved his objective!

This is probably because he,  and Chloe,  like the litter tray spotless and he is calling for instant "removal" of his offering ....  It could also be that as he becomes increasingly deaf, he does tend to shout his way around the house.

I think as he cant hear, he thinks we cant either!
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Offline Den

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2010, 10:58:32 AM »
I would think if it were his glands you'd know about it. He'd be paying more attention to his backside when out of the tray. Plus you'd probably smell it a bit.

If you want to try bulking him out then give him a bit more bone in his meals. Bran would work (from a health food place), but I don't know how you'd get a cat to eat it Lol.

Have you noticed a change in his poops ... Bigger? Smaller?  If they are bigger then maybe feed less bone.

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Offline madamcat (Edd)

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2010, 10:38:42 AM »
My girlie (long-haired) had anal gland problems last year and we switched to a high fibre diet food (Hills WD) to create the bigger (and smelly!!) poos to empty the glands when she pooed. It worked.

The underlying cause for her was constipation so the poos were too small and dry (nice subject!!). I did get the vet to empty the glands which was very painful for the cat - only takes seconds if you know where and how to squeeze.

I know some people who have been shown by the vet how to check the glands to see if there is a problem there but think that has been on recurring anal gland problems.

Constant licking and scooting across the floor on their bottom can be signs of anal gland problems.

Is the meow when he is actually trying to poo?
 

Offline Kay and Penny

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2010, 10:32:36 AM »
Tosker is another one - I have always assumed that the urge to go but only after digging  10ft deep hole causes him to be a bit frantic for 10 seconds or so, and that is why he squeaks a bit
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Offline clarenmax

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2010, 09:19:44 AM »
Smartie has always made a noise before going in the litter tray - its like he is telling me he is going to use it  :rofl:  .
I get a few meows and noises for a few mins then he eventually gets in it and goes fine !!

Poot is the same, especially when he's going for poos, he walks around shouting at me for at least 5 minutes before going downstairs to the tray, then has the standard mad 5 minutes of hooning around when he's done  :evillaugh:

That's something he's done from day one since we adopted him, so is normal behaviour for him.

If this is new behaviour for Noah it might be worth mentioning to the vets  :hug:

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Offline Mark

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2010, 06:21:39 AM »
Quite a few foods contain psyllium husk to bulk their poo these days. You can also buy pysllium husk powder with probiotics http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5_172&products_id=769
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Offline bunglycat

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Re: Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2010, 01:46:07 AM »
Smartie has always made a noise before going in the litter tray - its like he is telling me he is going to use it  :rofl:  .
I get a few meows and noises for a few mins then he eventually gets in it and goes fine !!

Offline Fire Fox

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Little Mew when Pooping
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2010, 01:30:36 AM »
Today Noah made a little mew when he was using the litter tray  :sick: this is definitely not a wee nor intended to be a wee as he was digging for Australia beforehand! This is the second time I have heard this, the first was maybe a week ago and I thought I had imagined it.  :doh: He doesn't seem to have any problem actually going, it's over and done with quickly. He is a good drinker and good pee-er, definitely not trouble in the water works.

Anyway a few days later the following was said to me in a forum discussion on raw food, by someone I think is a vet but I find quite difficult to question so no further information:

" I wasn't suggesting he was constipated and it wouldn't necessarily be a symptom of impacted anal glands. This usually manifests itself in the cat over-grooming the area around the lower back area and base of the tail, often producing sores/scabs that can initially be mis-diagnosed as flea dermatitis.

The contents of the anal glands are naturally emptied each time the cat/dog passes faeces. For this to happen the faeces have to be sufficiently large enough to exert the required pressure on the glands. When fed on diets that produce a smaller faecal volume this can cause a problem for some animals."


Noah was at the vets for a checkup/ claws clipping recently and was given a clean bill of health. The vet used a flea comb on him and found 'bits', which he said were dermatitis but definitely not fleas (Noah is indoor and vet didn't find any evidence), I also told the vet he has a tiny balding patch near the base of his tail but that I don't see him digging at it. So now I am wondering if the vet should have checked Noah's anal glands?

The vet visit was quite traumatic for us both as we have to go in a taxi, so I don't really want to repeat it unnecessarily! But clearly I don't want Noah making a noise when he uses the litter tray. Is there any supplement or OTC medication I can give him to help clear his anal glands? He tried various kibbles designed for indoor cats when he first arrived which made him stink the flat out.
:'( My beautiful Noah rescued 13/02/09, adopted 11/10/09, taken 11/02/11 :'( You deserved so much more.
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