FortiFlora and Food with Probiotics

Olórin_Greyhame

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I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask this, but my vet suggested I give my cat FortiFlora, but I just noticed her food is made with probiotics already in it. Does anyone have any experience with this? Should I not give her the FortiFlora - would it be too much probiotic, since it is also formulated into her food? Thank you in advance for any advice!
 

daftcat75

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Does she need FortiFlora? Or probiotics in general?

FortiFlora can be helpful with acute diarrhea for some cats. But in most cases, it’s used as a flavoring because it’s basically what makes dry food so dang appealing. If you have a kibble addict, you can use FortiFlora to make wet food more appealing. If you have an old or sick cat who needs help with her appetite, that’s another popular use of FortiFlora. As a probiotic, it is weak, weak sauce. 😿👎

If you have a cat with chronic diarrhea or poor stools, FortiFlora likely won’t do anything for her. Put another way, if you think she needs probiotics, she probably needs something stronger than what she’s getting. If you don’t think she needs them, save the FortiFlora for when she won’t eat. Or maybe hiding medicine in her food.

Probiotics in food is mostly a fad. If they are working out for your cat, fantastic! But mostly there’s too little of them to make a difference. And gut health is far more than just a handful of strains.

If you really want or need to address gut health, I can’t speak enough about AnimalBiome’s products. Except tonight where I’ve already gone on about them in another thread. 🤦🏼‍♂️😹 Search AnimalBiome in the top right search and you’ll find numerous posts from me. Or simply check them out yourself. They are loads better and more effective than probiotics.

The Cat Gut Microbiome
 

Astragal14

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The probiotics in food are unlikely to be very effective, and they definitely would not interfere with a separately added probiotic. Different probiotic strains generally work very well together, I wouldn't worry about combining them.

This article is for dogs, but it holds true for cats:

Probiotics in My Dog's Kibble? - TuftsYourDog
A separate study by Dr. Weese and colleagues showed that none of 19 dry commercial pet foods claiming to contain probiotics actually had what was listed in the ingredients list of the food. (Probiotics can only be included in dry kibble because the heat involved in the canning process would kill them.) Granted, that study was conducted back in 2003. But while the inclusion of probiotics in pet foods has increased in popularity since then, there is no proof that the quality control has also increased.
Why did your vet recommend Forti Flora? It's fairly weak, it has only one probiotic strain and a low CFU count. It works well for occasional cases of mild diarrhea. It actually works very well as a food topper to entice inappetent cats to eat.
 

Cat.mama

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I use Nutramax Proviable-DC for my dog and cats. It has 5 billion bacteria vs like 1 million of the pro plan. I looked into the pro plan awhile back and it had a calorie count too! I could never get any answers about that from manufacture. Nutramax was recommended to help with diarrhea and has helped ongoing with firmer stools.
 

Tobermory

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My vet carries both FortiFlora and Proviable. I asked him which one he gave his cats, and he said he uses Proviable. I thought that was telling! I do keep FortiFlora on hand, but I use it only when the girls are reluctant to eat.
 

daftcat75

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I use Nutramax Proviable-DC for my dog and cats. It has 5 billion bacteria vs like 1 million of the pro plan. I looked into the pro plan awhile back and it had a calorie count too! I could never get any answers about that from manufacture. Nutramax was recommended to help with diarrhea and has helped ongoing with firmer stools.
If you need probiotics on an ongoing basis, I encourage you to have a look at AnimalBiome's Gut Health testing and Gut Restore Supplement for a more complete solution. Even your best high CFU multi-strain probiotic is only a handful of strains compared to the rich diversity of a healthy microbiome. Gut Health Testing will reveal where the imbalances are and if extra care is needed for unfriendly strains like clostridium and e. coli. AnimalBiome did a cross-sectional study of all the samples they've processed over the years and have determined that most cats have problematic levels of e. coli in their gut even if they aren't symptomatic for it. E. coli feeds off dead epithelial cells in the gut. Inflammation feeds more inflammation. It's worth testing and correcting.
 

stephanietx

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I use Proviable DC and saccharomyces boulardii for my kitty with a sensitive tummy. It works for him.
 

Cat.mama

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If you need probiotics on an ongoing basis, I encourage you to have a look at AnimalBiome's Gut Health testing and Gut Restore Supplement for a more complete solution. Even your best high CFU multi-strain probiotic is only a handful of strains compared to the rich diversity of a healthy microbiome. Gut Health Testing will reveal where the imbalances are and if extra care is needed for unfriendly strains like clostridium and e. coli. AnimalBiome did a cross-sectional study of all the samples they've processed over the years and have determined that most cats have problematic levels of e. coli in their gut even if they aren't symptomatic for it. E. coli feeds off dead epithelial cells in the gut. Inflammation feeds more inflammation. It's worth testing and correcting.
is this more than what a fecal pcr test can reveal ? I had that done on the cats which revealedclostridium. However this is common to be found in many cats which may or may not cause issues.
 

daftcat75

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is this more than what a fecal pcr test can reveal ? I had that done on the cats which revealedclostridium. However this is common to be found in many cats which may or may not cause issues.
Way more revealing than a fecal PCR test. And cheaper too. I think I paid $300 for the PCR. The Gut Health Test is $99. Cheaper if you bundle it with their Gut Restore Supplement.

I'm attaching one of Betty's reports here. This is what a course of antibiotics (Veraflox) did to her. Poor girl. I'm starting to believe her ongoing nausea issues might be related to these imbalances.
 

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35 year catdad

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I tried Forta Flora and it worked for the runs in my 15 hr old Martin.
VERY EXPENSIVE so next I tried Wysongs PDG powder at $16 for 8 ounces and its got
Enteroccocus faceium as well as many other pre and probiotics in it One bottle has lasted months now.
It he!ps skinny old cats keep weight on.
Take care

I went to their website and read the article on E Faecium and other tummy aids.
 

Cat.mama

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Way more revealing than a fecal PCR test. And cheaper too. I think I paid $300 for the PCR. The Gut Health Test is $99. Cheaper if you bundle it with their Gut Restore Supplement.

I'm attaching one of Betty's reports here. This is what a course of antibiotics (Veraflox) did to her. Poor girl. I'm starting to believe her ongoing nausea issues might be related to these imbalances.
I’m sorry to hear about your baby. Yes we tried metronidazole for a short time before it was deemed unneeded. I just took a short glance at the website and it looks a lot like a pcr test and with the pcr test I had guidance from my vet. I’m really glad it worked for you and hope it can work for others as well
 

daftcat75

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I’m sorry to hear about your baby. Yes we tried metronidazole for a short time before it was deemed unneeded. I just took a short glance at the website and it looks a lot like a pcr test and with the pcr test I had guidance from my vet. I’m really glad it worked for you and hope it can work for others as well
Have a look at the sample report I attached. It's a lot more detailed than a PCR. It will give you some basic overview of the different core bacteria and suggestions on how to increase or lower, e.g. what kinds of foods or prebiotics would help restore balance even if you don't go with their Gut Restore Supplement. Their customer support is also very good. They will respond to questions usually within a day.
 
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