FortiFlora/Animal Digest and....Temptations treats??

pezkat

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Please do not ever let your cat miss more than 1 day of meals, especially if they are overweight at all!  They can get a very serious liver-related disease (hepatic lipidosis).  I would also advise against mixing wet and dry food if it is to be left out for any period of time (dry food is very susceptible to bacteria growth when moistened).

As for texture, there are several 'chunky' canned foods that might be more enticing to an all-kibble kitty than pates.  You can also place a little wet food on the edge of the plate for several meals so they get used to the scent & then are (supposedly, I haven't tried it) more likely to eat it.  Or of course if they will eat a flavor of Fancy Feast or whatever, mix a little healthy wet in w/that & gradually change the balance to switch them over (I did this w/Nat. Variety Instinct).
 

jill-e

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many pet stores sell, raw mice... they are live mice :D
Usually, they are sold for snakes and other reptiles, I think.
 

jill-e

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I have never seen frozen mice here only  live ones for reptiles. I could not feed my cat a live mouse. I am admittedly a wimp. In grad school I was forced to do experiments on them and when it was time to sacrifice them I got hysterical and refused. lol 
I've never seen frozen mice in any pet food store in the US, but then I haven't actually looked for them. I know about the live mice being sold because I've known people who had reptiles they fed them to. However, I won't get them as I don't want live mice running around in my house. I imagine these mice are sterilized so they can't breed, but I don't know that for sure. Still, my cats would go ballistic trying to catch them, and I don't have any proof they would actually eat it if they did.

A holistic vet I went to years ago had dead frozen birds (crows and magpies) in his pet food storage area and offered them to me once, and only once. I couldn't bring myself to buy one though. I told him I didn't want to teach my cats to eat birds. It's bad enough they occasionally killed one, but they never ate them. Well, that's not 100% true. Two cats I had years ago would eat them, but they lived outside a great deal of the time anyway.
 

jill-e

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Jill-E,  I read your post with great interest and agreement.
however, I wonder about the Proviable for use with a diabetic cat given that the first listed ingredient for this product is a carbohydrate/sugar.
any insight would be appreciated.
I wrote you a private email concerning this, but just so others here know...
Upon looking at the ingredients of both the Proviable-KP (the paste) and Proviable-DC (the powder in the capsules), I don't see the first ingredient as being a carbohydrate. In my 50+ years of caring for cats, dogs and horses, I've never cared for a diabetic one; so, I can't say if it's a good idea or not. I'm also not a veterinarian. So, this is a question to be asked of your vet, and I'd recommend speaking to a holistic or natural vet too, for another opinion.

To my knowledge, animals are not born diabetic, but I could be very wrong. I'm pretty sure they become diabetic because of their diets, those that are human made, as opposed to their natural, wild diets.
 

GemsGem

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It's actually illegal in England to feed live mice to any animal. I think its classed as animal cruelty to the mouse. But unless you film yourself doing this, I don't see how they could enforce it. That probably why we see a lot more frozen mice over here.
 

jill-e

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Jill-E,  I read your post with great interest and agreement.
however, I wonder about the Proviable for use with a diabetic cat given that the first listed ingredient for this product is a carbohydrate/sugar.
any insight would be appreciated.
I just looked at the box of the Proviable-DC capsules I have and I do see one of the first ingredients as being fructooligosaccharide. Not knowing what that was, I looked it up. Below is what I found...

This article gives a good description of how fructooligosaccharides behave in humans with Type 2 diabetes. Seems they don't have an effect on insulin at all. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10827212

Fructooligosaccharides are considered a prebiotic, acting as food for "good" bacteria in the colon; seems they pass through most of the intestines unchanged until they reach the colon, the lowest part of the intestines. Here's the WebMD article that tells more:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-suppl...&activeIngredientName=FRUCTO-OLIGOSACCHARIDES

I don't know if tests have been conducted with fructooligosaccharides in diabetic cats and dogs though. Your vet has access to trade-specific articles I can't access, that might be more definitive. If in doubt, you, and/or your vet, should contact the manufacturer and ask for any studies that they may have done or know of.

I recommend to everyone who has an ill cat to discuss everything you are doing with your vet(s), especially if it's something unconventional or holistic. There may be some things they can enlighten you on, and vice-versa too. It's so interesting when you have a vet who is open to new ideas in vet medicine and animal care. I've had very interesting conversations with my vets on the more holistic approaches in care of all my beloved animal companions over the years. My latest conversation was on the use of Slippery Elm for several intestinal disorders and mucosa rehabilitation. There are 5 vets in the practice I use and I've seen all of them at one point or another. They are all willing to go the extra mile in researching things they doesn't know about and call me to discuss their findings and advice. Just a few years ago, several of them trained in the use of acupuncture, acupressure, and massage too, not that any of my house pets have had much need for those, but I had a horse who was seen regularly by my chiropractor who did those things for him. But I digress. My current vets' practice includes a state-of-the-art surgery center, a dental practice, and a rehab area that includes a warm pool for dogs. They are a bit more expensive than some other practices around here, but after having seen a number of other vets in my area over the years, I can honestly say, I'm sticking with these guys. I just hope that when I move, I can find some as trust worthy as these folks are.

Hope this helps.
Jill-E
 

raintyger

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Fructooligosaccharides are commonly referred to as FOS. Due to their effect on blood sugar and prebiotic qualities, they are added to quite a few pet products. For instance, a glucosamine chrondrotin/MSM product I looked into once has it.
 

35 year catdad

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Funny that Forti-flora is claimed to be a probiotic but I see zero good bugs in it.
You know...like Lactobaccillis Acidopholis and L Casei (most important one for us humans I've read )
I use Bene-Bac from Pet Ag Co. I trust Pet Ag, and they make KMR.
Using Bene-Bac makes the cat box smell much better! I use a bit less than they recommend and a bottle of dry powder should last me many months with my three cats. I put it on top of a just opened can of wet food and smush it in. Cant say it makes the food taste better but for increasing healthy flora I'd use Bene-bac instead.
 
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