When a Cat’s Intestinal Motility Changes: Understanding the Cause to Bring the System Back into Balance

Dr. Amaya Espíndola, MRCVS is a holistic, cat and nutrition specialist, veterinarian based in Mallorca and the current president of the Raw Feeding Veterinary Society. She offers online consultations worldwide, focusing on nutrition as the first line of therapy. With a background in psychosomatic medicine, Amaya approaches each case by considering the deep connection between physical symptoms and emotional wellbeing, aiming to support feline health from a truly integrative perspective. You can find her at felvet.co.uk and on Instagram at @felvetforcats.  

A cat’s intestinal motility determines almost everything that happens inside the digestive tract and whether the whole system is functioning within healthy physiological limits. When motility speeds up too much, diarrhoea or very soft stools appear. When it slows down, constipation, hair impaction or dry, compact faeces become more common.

Although it may seem “random” from the outside, motility always responds to very clear factors: hydration, the state of the microbiota, the type of natural diet the cat receives, stress levels, nutrient absorption, the presence of parasites, activity levels, pancreatic health and even how much the cat grooms itself.

Understanding these roots allows us to intervene gently and effectively, without improvisation, and always with the guidance of a professional who can assess each case individually.

1. When Motility Speeds Up: Understanding Diarrhoea

Diarrhoea isn’t a disease; it’s the body’s language. It’s the digestive system’s way of signalling that something is irritating the gut, not digesting properly or speeding up transit more than it can handle. For this reason, using anti-diarrhoeic medications without knowing the cause, or adding probiotics and postbiotics automatically, can make it harder for the gut to do what it needs to do: expel what’s harming it and restore its balance. Before adding or removing anything, it’s important to understand what exactly is going on.

A cat may develop soft stools for many overlapping reasons: a sudden change in food, too much fat or too many organs, an ingredient they cannot tolerate, parasites, emotional stress, a disrupted microbiota, or a deeper digestive issue that needs careful evaluation. The appearance of the stools can offer meaningful clues: very liquid stools suggest irritation or fast transit; bulky, pasty stools can indicate poor absorption; yellowish or pale stools often relate to the liver, pancreas or incomplete digestion; and fresh blood or mucus points towards an inflamed colon. It’s also essential to notice whether the diarrhoea comes with vomiting, lethargy or pain, as this completely changes the approach.

A faecal analysis is important to rule out parasites or other organisms. Many seemingly “mysterious” diarrhoeas are not only dysbiosis but the consequence of an intestinal guest that needs to be identified. Even when the issue centres on the microbiota, it’s important to remember that gut balance isn’t restored simply by adding probiotics. What truly helps is understanding what destabilised that microbiota in the first place. A well-formulated natural diet, with real moisture in the food, adequate proteins and fats, and a respectful transition, allows the gut to produce its own short-chain fatty acids, which nourish and regulate beneficial bacteria.

In many cats, a short period of gently cooked natural food, kinder to an irritated gut, helps stabilise the stools while the body recovers, and later they can return to raw safely. The goal isn’t to “stop the diarrhoea”, but to understand why it appeared and support the cat from there.

2. When Transit Slows Down: Constipation and Impaction

Constipation in cats occurs when motility slows and the colon absorbs too much water, or when the intestinal content becomes too dry or too scarce to move easily. This may be due to insufficient hydration in the food or in the cat overall, a history of dry food, low activity, pain when adopting the posture to defecate, stress, excessive hair ingestion, or, less commonly, neuromuscular changes such as megacolon.

It’s easy to overlook how important it is for a cat not only to eat moisture-rich food but also to drink enough water. Some cats on natural diets still drink very little, which directly affects stool consistency. Another key factor is excess weight: a cat with too much abdominal fat often has reduced intestinal mobility and may also struggle mechanically to pass stools comfortably.

Within natural feeding, constipation often reflects imbalances in the proportion of muscle meat, organs and fibre sources. Plant fibre can be useful in many cases, as long as it’s used appropriately, in small amounts and according to the cat’s tolerance. However, it isn’t always ideal. In other situations, animal-based fibre — such as collagen, cartilage, skin or small connective tissues — provides a different type of stimulus and can be gentler for some cats, offering texture and volume without fermenting as intensely as certain plant fibres.

Here again, the microbiota plays a crucial role. A colon that produces few short-chain fatty acids loses tone and becomes slower. A balanced microbiota, supported by a varied, moisture-rich natural diet, creates the conditions needed for stable motility.

Hydration is an absolute pillar. A natural diet, whether raw or cooked, brings much more moisture than dry food and results in softer stools that move more easily and are less likely to compact. Sometimes adding a bit more moisture to meals is enough. Other times, it’s necessary to consider the cat’s physical condition, stress levels, the composition of the diet and even the possibility of joint pain.

3. Hair Inside the Intestine: From Normal to Problematic

Cats naturally swallow hair as part of their grooming routine. In healthy cats, most of this hair moves through the digestive tract and is passed in the stools without difficulty. However, when hair begins to cause problems, such as frequent vomiting of hair, noticeable amounts of hair mixed with the stools, or small compacted plugs that struggle to move along, it is often a sign that intestinal motility is not functioning as it should.

Hair builds up more easily when a cat is stressed and over-grooming, when they have allergies or itchy skin, when stools are too dry or when transit is slow. Equally, a well-hydrated, balanced natural diet helps hair move along smoothly, blending with the stool and exiting without becoming impacted.

Commercial malt pastes, traditionally given for hairballs, are not a healthy solution. Many contain inappropriate by-products and even petroleum derivatives. More importantly, they don’t address the underlying issue: why the hair isn’t moving properly. Understanding whether the cat is over-grooming due to stress, pain, allergies or boredom — or whether their stools are too dry — is far more effective than relying on products that bypass the true cause.

A balanced natural diet, rich in moisture, with high-quality fats that support skin health and the right type of fibre, plant or animal, is an essential tool. But if a cat continues to vomit hair or cannot pass it comfortably, the situation should always be evaluated by a professional.

4. Natural Diets: Raw, Cooked and Supporting Motility

Within natural feeding, both raw and cooked diets have their place, and both can support motility when used appropriately.

Raw diets typically offer excellent nutrient absorption, intact amino acids, textures the digestive system recognises and deep hydration. They also support a more diverse microbiota, which helps stabilise motility in the long term and encourages the production of short-chain fatty acids.

Cooked natural food can be especially useful during periods of digestive irritation, during delicate transitions or when a cat needs a temporary digestive rest. Its immediate digestibility helps calm the system, and once the gut has recovered, many cats return to raw without difficulty.

The key is not choosing one over the other, but understanding what the individual cat needs at that moment. Flexibility within natural feeding, varying textures, cooking levels, ingredient proportions, hydration and fibre type,  is one of the most powerful ways to restore healthy motility without overwhelming the digestive system.

What doesn’t make sense, especially in cats with recurrent digestive issues, is reverting to highly processed “gastrointestinal” dry foods that contradict feline physiology and do little to address the underlying problem.

5. Always With Guidance: Avoiding Improvisation

Every cat has a unique digestive history, individual tolerance, its own motility rhythm and a particular way of responding to stress, grooming habits or dietary changes. For this reason, avoiding improvisation is essential. Sudden diet switches, home-made remedies or combining multiple products without a clear plan can easily make things worse.

If a cat has recurrent diarrhoea, persistent constipation, ongoing hairball vomiting, very dry stools, visible blood or significant behavioural changes, the most responsible approach is to consult a professional who can assess the whole picture, understand the cause behind the altered motility and adjust the natural diet safely and respectfully.

References

• Fredriksson-Ahomaa H. et al. (2017). "Raw Meat-Based Diets in Dogs and Cats." Veterinary Sciences. [DOI: 10.3390/vetsci4030033]
• LeJeune, J.T. & Hancock, D.D. (2001). "Raw meat–based pet feeding and food safety." JAVMA.
• Rivera-Chávez F. et al. (2016). "Depletion of butyrate-producing Clostridia from the gut microbiota drives an aerobic luminal expansion of Salmonella." Cell Host & Microbe 19(4):443-454. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2016.03.004]
• EFSA (2022). "Risk assessment of Salmonella in animal feed." EFSA Journal.
• Little, S.E. (2013). The Cat: Clinical Medicine and Management. Elsevier.
• FDA (2022). Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 690.800.

CDC (2023). "Outbreak of Salmonella linked to dry dog food."

“Please speak to your veterinary practice for further advice”? Or if you need further advise, please contact Amaya Espíndola at  felvet.co.uk or click on link below 

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