Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been weaning my 2 cats off of a dry-food only (lower quality brand name) to a combination of higher quality dry food and wet food. I use the Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul brand.

I am doing it slowly. I am up to about 50/50 original food/new food. I have noticed that there is no solid waste in the litter box for a few days at a time. When there is, it is usually very compact and "hard" looking.

I do add some extra water to the canned food (recommended to do that b/c of one cat having urinary issues in the past).

Is this something I should be concerned about? Can I add any fiber to their food to make things move along better?

You can add bran or psyllium husks to the food as fiber will make for bulkier, softer stools and more bowel movements. The better quality food has less residue, which is generally not a problem. The stools eventually will be smaller on a meat-based diet, but they usually are quite regular.

How much of the bran or the husks can I add? I don't want to overdo it and cause any issues in the opposite direction!

Bran is interesting in that it tends to normalize stool through the property of holding water. If the stool is normally hard and dry, by holding water, it tends to soften the stool. In a case of diarrhea, the bran, by absorbing water, tends to firm up the stool. You can give up to a teaspoon per meal, but the actual amount depends on what the cat will eat.