# Help my cat poop **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 22, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094 "2021-07-22T22:09:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2021, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/21 "2021-07-25T19:38:28Z")
Best of luck with your notional kitteh! They’re stubborn about food but they give in eventually. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/22 "2021-07-26T00:51:45Z")
**Never** do this with cats. Thirty years ago, I needed to switch my cat from one type to another. He refused to eat for days. He died of liver failure. The situation at this link: [How long can cats go without food? - Cattify](https://cattify.net/cats-without-food/) is precisely what happened to my cat. I have never gotten over the guilt from letting my poor baby starve. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/23 "2021-07-26T14:43:50Z")
I’m giving her wet food now. Her crunchy bowl is almost empty and she’s begging for more. So you’re cat refused to eat wet food? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/24 "2021-07-26T15:17:04Z")
I’m not convinced that dry food is nearly as awful as @SmartAleq thinks. > **[Canned or dry food: What’s better for cats?](https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/cats-and-food-september-2019/)** > > Is feeding canned or dry food better for cats? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/25 "2021-07-26T15:20:07Z")
FWIW, I’ve gotten out cats accustomed to a routine of dry food in the morning and canned food (with some extra water mixed in with a little potato-masher) in the evening. That may be the best of both options. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/26 "2021-07-26T15:34:36Z")
Our two youngest kitties get a tiny bit of dry atop their moist three times a day. [They’re on a special diet](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003V5E5FM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) because we weren’t keeping track of their food when they were kittens, turned out they had been stealing the senior kitty’s food when he turned his back. They’ll still do that whenever we forget to pick up senior’s food right away. The kittens initially refused to eat any moist food; our vet recommended stirring in a tiny bit of [FortiFlora](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JU2IVLO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). They don’t need that stuff anymore; they even eat shreds or pate style now. Getting them to eat either of those was the most difficult. They do mind if we forget to put the dry atop the moist but they soon start eating anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/27 "2021-07-26T15:45:35Z")
“Dry cat food” covers a lot of ground, from the mystery bags sold at grocery stores, which contain salt and food coloring, to those top-dollar brands based on freeze-dried raw meat. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/28 "2021-07-26T17:54:25Z")
Did cat poop? ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/29 "2021-07-26T18:01:28Z")
Since I made the post, yes, but it’s been about a day and 1/2. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/30 "2021-07-26T18:12:06Z")
Take it up with the two veterinarians who strongly recommended I get my diabetic cat off dry food. Then go look at the bag of dry food and notice something–it doesn’t TELL you the breakdown of how much carbohydrate is in it. It tells you “minimum” this and that but no actual numbers the way YOUR food is required to do. Cats are obligate carnivores whose natural diet includes maybe 3-5% carbs, mostly from eating the stomach contents of whatever little critter they had for lunch. Dry cat foods are allowed to contain up to 30%, but there is ZERO way for you to know what YOUR cat food consists of. Pate style (NOT gravy style) is the only type of cat food that can be reliably assured to not have excessive carbs in them and carbs for cats is a fast track to diabetes. > **[Cats and Carbohydrates: The Carnivore Fantasy?](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5753635/)** > > The domestic cat’s wild ancestors are obligate carnivores that consume prey containing only minimal amounts of carbohydrates. Evolutionary events adapted the cat’s metabolism and physiology to this diet strictly composed of animal tissues ... So if you wade through all that you’ll see that cats seek out certain levels of macronutrients and if they don’t get them they’ll keep eating until they do, that starches and carbs are required in the processing of dry foods, not because the cats need them but because they can’t make it into kibble without binding agents, that while cats CAN process carbs it tends to irritate their innards leading to bloat, constipation, diarrhea and other fun things and that the cat digestive system is awesome at converting protein into glucose so they don’t need a bunch of carbs like omnivores do. So, basically, while you CAN free feed your cat on dry food you’re better off feeding them set amounts of low carb wet food so you can monitor their intake and by doing so you make the litter box a much less horrifying thing to have in the house AND you protect your cat from obesity and diabetes. The cans of Friskies are right next to the bags of dry food and costwise it’s not that different, while the benefits for the cat and the owner are absolutely greater. I can tell you right now that diabetes supplies and insulin for one diabetic cat (including yearly vet checkups and blood work) more than offset any difference in cost when shopping for pet food. But hey, it’s your cat, do what you want. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/31 "2021-07-26T18:36:24Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Take it up with the two veterinarians who strongly recommended I get my diabetic cat off dry food. Certainly, if your cats are diabetic, obese, or have special dietary needs, you should follow the vet’s guidelines. But, did you read my link above? > [@](#): > > Though there is some inconsistency among studies, most research has failed to find dietary carbohydrates are a significant risk factor for DM in cats.1,8 One study even found cats who developed diabetes were less likely to be fed dry foods than cats without DM.9 Obesity, of course, is a very important risk factor for DM in cats, but the research evidence is clear that dietary carbohydrates are not a cause of feline obesity.8–11 There is evidence that reduced-carbohydrate diets may be useful in management of feline DM, though such diets can be counterproductive and promote obesity if they are very high in fat.1,12 > [@SmartAleq](#): > > But hey, it’s your cat, do what you want. FWIW, my own cat, who is 20, in good shape for her age, and has never been at all overweight, eats a combination of dry and canned food. With a different cat, I might take a different approach to feeding. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/32 "2021-07-26T18:39:41Z")
Yes, he did. I was trying to get him away from tuna wet food (on the vet’s suggestion) to non-fish flavored wet food. He absolutely refused to eat. I meant no criticism of you; I’m sure you’re doing fine with your cat. I was just upset with the “just starve 'em and then they’ll eat whatever you give 'em” advice. It doesn’t work with all cats, and if it doesn’t it can be fatal. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/33 "2021-07-26T19:23:22Z")
I’m not here to debate dry vs wet food, or discuss carb percentage. BUT…if your cat has chronic gut problems, you absolutely need to read cat food labels. I adopted two older cats from the Humane Society. They were littermates and HS promised they wouldn’t be separated. Both cats had the runs. I tried EVERYTHING, even to the point of mixing canned pumpkin with rice. Anytime someone would tell me, “Oh, all cats love this!” My two would walk away. They eventually developed Giardia. When that cleared up, the runs were worse. Finally, one vet suggested allergy testing. Turns out they were allergic to pork, wheat, white potatoes, and rice. GLUTEN was the biggest offender. Try finding a cat food with no gluten! The canned Friskies mentioned above lists the first ingredient as “wheat gluten.” I started them on the Blue Buffalo dry food, and they’d get one meal of canned stuff with the Fortiflora mixed in. When the one cat would find bread anywhere, he’d chew through the bag and feast. And the stink of the litterbox filled the house. The bread thief really never stopped with having loose stools. He was so miserable, he pooped anywhere. Looking back, I realize he was always sick. Finally, he began losing weight drastically, and the vet diagnosed him with Feline Infectious Peritonitis. Fortunately, his brother tested negative for that. FIP is a terminal disease. There is no treatment. And the cat is in a lot of pain. I had no choice but to kiss him goodbye and tell him one day I’d meet him at Rainbow Bridge. I won’t ever look for a cat from a rescue organization again. You truly have no idea what the animal has been exposed to. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/34 "2021-07-26T20:45:02Z")
I understood what you were saying. My cat may refuse to eat the wet food. So far she’s not eaten much. None of the wet food. She tries to bury it like it’s a poop. This is one high maintenance kitty. Has yet to poop, btw. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/35 "2021-07-26T20:50:34Z")
I don’t know if it helps, but I play the lazer pointer game with her. I figure the more she moves around, the better. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/36 "2021-07-26T23:38:40Z")
Fancy feast dry food caused my cat to have diarrhea. That food is my go to kibble for a cat having difficulty poo-wise. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/37 "2021-07-27T02:54:00Z")
It’s sometimes possible to switch a cat from one food to another by mixing the two: at first a mix mostly of what they’re used to eating with a little bit of what you want them to eat, then gradually change the proportions. – I’ve gotten a lot of cats to their late teens on free choice dry food plus canned twice a day. Individual cats of course may vary in what they need. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094/38 "2021-07-27T03:07:23Z")
Buy an expensive new rug, and leave it in the middle of the floor. Based on my cat-owning experience, there should be fairly quick results. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-cat-poop/947094.md?page=1)