Cat Constipation & Butter: Will It Help?

cat constipation and butter

Cat constipation and butter as a remedy is a highly debatable topic.

Some cat owners argue that since most cats become lactose intolerant as they age, incorporating butter into their diets can be detrimental to their health.

Others disagree, saying if the cat can tolerate butter, milk, and dairy in general, then using butter as a remedy for constipation is a solid idea.

So, what’s the deal? Will butter help cat constipation? Or are the risks only not worth the trouble?

Is Butter Good for Cat Constipation?

The debate over butter being either a good or bad remedy for constipation lies in these two things:

  • Veterinarians almost always recommend not to use butter for cats because some cats are lactose intolerant, which could cause significant irritation in their tummies.
  • Pet owners attest to adding butter to their cat’s food to help ease constipation and claim it to work.

Both statements are true and have happened to numerous cats.

But because every cat is different, we cannot make a generalized answer as to the efficiency of butter as a constipation remedy.

However, what most cat owners agree on is that:

  • A little butter now and then isn’t going to hurt your cats,
  • That butter should only be mixed into a cat’s diet whenever she is constipated, and
  • That cats who are lactose intolerant should choose other constipation remedies

There’s no other way to learn if your cat is lactose intolerant than to give her a bit of milk, butter, or other dairy products.

And if she suffers from diarrhea, vomiting, or upset tummy several hours later, then it’s confirmed.

3 Ways to Use Butter for Cat Constipation 

The best advice always given is to take her to the doctor.

A vet will analyze your cat’s hydration levels and general health and rule out any other probable clinical reasons. 

Another reason a professional checkup is the best treatment for cat constipation is that the vet team will take quick action if the disease is severe.

But regardless, butter and some other home remedy like pumpkin puree have been said to be very effective in mild cases.

Constipation in cats happens due to various things, including:

Dehydration

If your cat doesn’t like drinking water, she might be dehydrated and lack the necessary liquids to process food and pass poop smoothly.

Water will remain the most effective preventive measure to handle dehydration, but if your cat is constipated now, you must act quickly. Using laxatives may help in loosening stool more quickly.

Hairballs

Cats are notorious for self-cleaning, often leading to hairballs that eventually cough out. Sometimes, hair is ingested instead and piles up inside the tummy.

If this happens, your cat will find it hard to pass stool.

Depending on the severity of your cat’s ingested hairballs, vets recommend increasing water intake, eating foods known to soften the stool (such as pumpkin and butter), then adding supplements to prevent future recurrence. Severe hairballs could even lead to surgery.

Diet low in fiber

Cats require meat in their diets – it is a biological necessity.

But unfortunately, the ancestors of our household cats used to follow meat-only foods, which led to cats losing the ability to make certain amino acids and vitamins in their bodies.

The job of pet owners like you and me is to give our beloved cats a balanced diet, especially if they’ve been constipated many times in the past.

If you have senior cats, you’d have to take this much more seriously since older cats get constipated more than their younger counterparts.

Cat Constipation and Butter Uses

Generally speaking, veterinarians will tell you never to feed your cat dairy because it could lead to diarrhea. However, if your cat’s bowels are already backed up, adding butter to your cat’s food, vitamins, and drink, can become useful to her dilemma.

Here’s how you can incorporate half a teaspoon of butter as a remedy for a constipated cat:

  1. Mix 1/2 teaspoon of butter into the canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree.  If you’re making this pumpkin recipe at home, make sure to remove the skin, stems, pulp, and seeds from the pumpkin
  2. Remove the oil from canned tuna and add a hint of butter. If your cat is a tuna lover, she’d probably not notice the difference.
  3. Add 1/2 teaspoon of butter into the wet cat food. Mix well so your cat wouldn’t know something was up. Some cats love the taste of butter, but others do not.
  4. Combine 1/2 teaspoon butter with pumpkin puree and vegetable mix.
  5. Mix a hint of butter into aloe vera juice. Some cat owners swear by this concoction.
  6. If your cat loves raw meat, blend raw liver with butter, raw cat food, and pureed pumpkin for intense flavor.
  7. If you’re making pumpkin puree and have a lot of leftovers, add butter to the mixture, then freeze in ice cube trays. These could serve awesome treats for your cats without them knowing there are “meds” in there too!
  8. Cats who are not lactose-intolerant should check if yogurt with 1/2 teaspoon butter could help promote intestinal health and loosen bowel movements
  9. Those who prefer dry cat food could still benefit from butter use, but you’d have to melt the butter before pouring it into the pellets. Butter can serve as the much-needed moisture for dry cat food.
  10. Psyllium husks or soaked flax seeds are both fiber-rich sources. You can add a bit of melted butter to the mix.

Wrap up

Unlike pumpkin purees that you can incorporate into your cat’s diet on a day-to-day basis, butter isn’t recommended to be part of a cat’s regular diet.

Once your cat’s bowel movements return to normal, you can immediately take out butter from her meals because too much butter could lead to diarrhea. We wouldn’t want our cats to suffer from another condition.