Constipated Cats, Flax as an Alternative to Mice & Bird Bones

Constipation
Constipation is a problem that plagues cats fed many modern commercial kibble diets. In previous Caring for Pets discussions, we’ve covered many facets of cat constipation, including increasing water, increasing exercise, supplements, medications, and resolving joint pain so your cat can squat to defecate. We’re going to cover flax as a fiber source once again because some readers misunderstand why holistic veterinarians recommend flax for obligate carnivores.

Mice & bird bones are a source of natural fiber
Cats evolved eating mice, and they had to eat a lot of them because there is not much meat on a mouse. A 9 lb (4 kg) cat evolved over millions of years eating 8-9 mice a day. About half a mouse is muscle and internal organs (heart, kidneys, lungs, liver) and half a mouse is skin, and bones and connective tissue. Thus, cats evolved eating plenty of fibrous material.

Unfortunately many modern cats don’t eat mice. Many eat kibble. And, many modern cats are constipated because they eat kibble. Kibble has less than 10% moisture. Mice, like other mammals, are 2/3 water and blood; so eating a mouse provides a cat with a very moist diet that is naturally high in fiber.

Making the switch to raw diet with bones can cause problems
When the modern cat becomes constipated, many pet parents make the switch from kibble to a healthier raw meat and bone diet. Unfortunately making the switch too fast can cause constipation. Bones don’t contain moisture and too much bone in a diet definitely constipates cats, but the right amount of bone keeps them regular. So, the if your pet has become constipated, consider slowing down the rate at which you transition it to raw bone and meat diet and ensure plenty of water consumption.

Flax as a mouse & bird bone alternative
There are constipated cats that won’t or shouldn’t have a raw diet with bones. For example some cats shouldn’t be fed a raw diet because of their health—the fragile geriatric cats with poor immune systems. Other cats live in families with immune-compromised humans and the family cannot risk having a cat that might develop salmonella diarrhoea. So, what can we feed these cats to provide fiber if they can’t eat bones? Feed flax.

Slow transition with flax, just as with bone
Just as we can feed too much bone too quickly, we can feed too much flax too quickly. And just as we can feed bone without sufficient water, we can feed flax without sufficient water, so make changes slowly. Carefully increase fresh ground flax from ½ teaspoon to 1-2 tablespoons over a couple weeks.

Best source of flax? Missing Link Feline
Missing Link Feline or the vegetarian Missing Link Well Blend are two of the best fiber sources we have for cats. Cats like the taste, the product is packed in nitrogen so that it doesn’t oxidize sitting on the shelf, and flax is a good source of lignin to combat cancer—about 1/3 of our cats develop cancer.

Missing Link Feline
I wish I had stock Designing Health, the company that makes Missing Link but I don’t, and I don’t receive any money from them. I simply believe in their product. Why? Well, my patients proved it was good. About 10 years ago Jim Wagoner gave me Missing Link samples at the Central Vet Conference in Kansas City. Before recommending it to my clients, I fed it to my own pets could see the difference in their coat. What we see on the outside reflects the health of the organs on the inside, so these pets were becoming healthier. Being curious, I stopped the Missing Link for a couple months and it was obvious that the coats lost their bloom.

Seeing is believing, what I tried
Because the primary ingredient in Missing Link is flax, I decided to feed just freshly ground flax rather than Missing Link but the pets never looked as good as they did when on Missing Link. That’s when I decided to recommend Missing Link to my clients. I believe pets benefit from the synergy of ingredients in Missing Link. Over the past 10 years many supplements have come and gone; many have reverted to cheap ingredients, but Missing Link has only gotten better.

We carry Missing Link at Waterworkz
Missing Link Feline was the first feline product we began to carry at Waterworkz, and it remains the single best product we carry for cats, constipated or not. Missing Link ranks more highly than Nordic Naturals Omega 3 Pet as a cat supplement because about 1/3 of cats simply do not like fish—Missing Link and Nordic Naturals Omega 3 Pet would be neck and neck if all cats ate fish.

Fortunately, almost all cats, constipated or not, accept Missing Link Feline. Be sure to start slowly and mix it into the moist food so your pet doesn’t sniff the fine powder up its nose.

Using Missing Link, water, pumpkin, raw or canned diets, exercise and meds when necessary will help your cat have normal stools. Your cat will appreciate everything you do to keep it regular, even if it doesn’t tell you in this lifetime.