Palatable S. Boulardii

Tobermory

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.”
Thread starter
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
9,137
Purraise
25,933
Location
Pacific NW
One of the kitties at the sanctuary where I volunteer has had diarrhea for months. The animal care manager, with the guidance of the vets who help out on a volunteer or reduced-price basis, has tried almost everything. Rain continues to “rain” liquid poop on the sides of the litter boxes. (I spent an hour today scrubbing litter boxes. She also pees outside the box but that’s another problem for another time.)

The only time it got better was when they gave her metronidazole. They could do that long-term, of course, but I suggested Jarrow S. Boulardii + MOS and bought it for them to try. Although Rain has always scarfed down anything and everything they give her, she wouldn’t eat her food with the Jarrow in it. I was afraid of that having read that a lot of cats won’t eat their food with it added.

As friendly as she is, she cannot be pilled or syringed. Multiple people feed the cats so putting half a capsule of powder in a Pill Pocket twice a day isn’t really feasible. It would be hard not to get the powder on the outside, and these are young interns or part-time people. Small sanctuary, almost no money.

Does anyone know of an effective s. boulardii product that’s more palatable for cats? I’ve read several threads on TCS and it seems that the Jarrow S. Boulardii + MOS is the most effective for this purpose, but that’s not going to work in this instance. I also can’t tell from my reading which brand really is the most acceptable to kitties. Thoughts?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

Tobermory

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.”
Thread starter
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
9,137
Purraise
25,933
Location
Pacific NW
Thanks, LTS3 LTS3 . I thought I remembered you saying in another thread that you use Nexabiotic. I’ll suggest that they give the Jarrow another try using baby food (and I’ll get it for them to make sure they have the right kind), but I’ll probably buy the Nexabiotic for them, too. Do you give your kitty 5 billion a day split into two meals? I understand that’s the therapeutic dose.

I read through this older thread and there was also a mention of slippery elm bark and psyllium husk. Have you tried either?

Saccharomyces Boulardii use for diarrhea and GI disease (incl IBD)

I asked the animal care manager if Rain had IBD. She said she doesn’t know but thinks she probably does. They feed canned Friskies to the cats. Is there a better food I can recommend for Rain? I don’t have any experience with IBD.

Edit: One that may be better than Friskies but still affordable for the sanctuary. If they’re feeding it only to her, the cost factor won’t be such an issue.
 
Last edited:

ineedhelpnow

I love FURBABIES!
Young Cat
Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Messages
74
Purraise
122
Before I start rambling, this is important to note before you tamper with any pills intended to be swallowed:

If the pill or packaging or wherever says "LA, ER, XL, CR, SR" on it then it means it is time release and not crushable and shouldn't be opened. And if it's prescription, for you or your pet, then I would just check with the doc or vet before tampering.

Okay. The problem with most people syringing food, water, or medication into their cats mouth is that they're not doing it correctly and causing additional harm to the cat. Don't force the syringe into the back of the throat because the cat isn't going to have a chance to swallow it on their own so what ends up happening is that they spit some of it out, aspirate some of it into their lungs which can be life-threateningly dangerous and none of that substance goes where it's supposed to be, down the esophagus and into the stomach.

Syringe feeding isn't supposed to be force feeding. Force feeding is only when a feeding tube is surgically installed. Syringe feeding is taking a substance, syringing it into their mouths, onto their tongue where they swallow it by themselves. Think of it as spooning your baby food. You don't shove it into the back of their throat. You gently place it onto their tongue.

What I found to be most successful is gently placing only the tip of a 10mL syringe into that gap between the canines and the molars and slowly pushing down on the plunger in intervals. Syringe a milliliter or two into the mouth then let them swallow, then a little more, and continue until the desired amount is administered. Don't be invasive and shove the whole top half of the syringe into their mouth or you will only hurt yourself and the cat. Make sure they're sitting down and calm, gently approach them and start to syringe feed. If they freak out you need to step back, take a second to reevaluate why the cat is fearful then come back taking it down a notch and being even more gentle until the cat develops a habit of letting you do your thing.


So my suggestion if you haven't tried already is to try crushing up the pill, grinding it into a paste and thinning it with a little water and trying to syringe it into their mouth. Sorry if this seemed a little rushed I just want to put out some general advice before I went to bed.
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
Thanks, LTS3 LTS3 . I thought I remembered you saying in another thread that you use Nexabiotic. I’ll suggest that they give the Jarrow another try using baby food (and I’ll get it for them to make sure they have the right kind), but I’ll probably buy the Nexabiotic for them, too. Do you give your kitty 5 billion a day split into two meals? I understand that’s the therapeutic dose.

I read through this older thread and there was also a mention of slippery elm bark and psyllium husk. Have you tried either?
I give one capsule which is 5 bullion CFu daily, split between breakfast and dinner.

I have not tried slipper elm bark or anything holistic of that type.


Before I start rambling, this is important to note before you tamper with any pills intended to be swallowed:
S. boulardii and probiotics come in a clear capsule. It is not a solid pill or capsule or time relased. The capsule can be pulled apart and the product can be poured out and mixed into food.
 

ineedhelpnow

I love FURBABIES!
Young Cat
Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Messages
74
Purraise
122
I give one capsule which is 5 bullion CFu daily, split between breakfast and dinner.

I have not tried slipper elm bark or anything holistic of that type.




S. boulardii and probiotics come in a clear capsule. It is not a solid pill or capsule or time relased. The capsule can be pulled apart and the product can be poured out and mixed into food.
Yeah I just wanted to put out some information for future reference because I've heard of people crushing up controlled release pills like Mucinex and giving it to their kids, but yes there's no reason for a probiotic to be time release so you don't have to worry about it.

If it's a clear capsule then it should much easier to draw into a syringe and administer orally. I've given azithromycin to my cat before which I've taken myself (it's really bitter) and the worst I've seen him do is gag but eventually swallow the medication, so I thought it might be worthwhile to try going that route even if it's really bitter.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

Tobermory

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.”
Thread starter
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
9,137
Purraise
25,933
Location
Pacific NW
Yeah I just wanted to put out some information for future reference because I've heard of people crushing up controlled release pills like Mucinex and giving it to their kids, but yes there's no reason for a probiotic to be time release so you don't have to worry about it.

If it's a clear capsule then it should much easier to draw into a syringe and administer orally. I've given azithromycin to my cat before which I've taken myself (it's really bitter) and the worst I've seen him do is gag but eventually swallow the medication, so I thought it might be worthwhile to try going that route even if it's really bitter.
Thanks! Good info to have. I had to syringe feed my old guy near the end so I know how careful you have to be!

Unfortunately, according to the animal care manager, they’re not able to syringe feed or pill Rain. She turns from a smaller-than-average sweet kitty into a raging carnivore, all fangs and claws. She came to the sanctuary as part of a hoarding case, and some of that group are very hard to handle, even for the pros. So I want to find an alternative to the Jarrow.

They take wonderful care of all of the animals, but they don’t have the services and attention of a full-time vet. This problem has gone on for so long that I want to try to help. I’m surprised she’s not dehydrated, but she eats and drinks well, and when I pull up the skin on her shoulders, it springs back nicely.
 

taylamo

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2015
Messages
41
Purraise
55
Have the vets ruled out giardia? It can be persistent and require more than one series of treatment. Metro knocks out giardia, so if she got better while on it, I would wonder if she’s dealing with a stubborn case of giardia and she contracted it again maybe from the environment after she was off the metro.

Metro tastes terrible. We had to give it in liquid form to an approximately 8 week old kitten and it was very difficult. Lots of head-shaking and drooling made us worry he was getting enough of the dose. I wonder how they gave it to Rain before?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

Tobermory

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.”
Thread starter
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
9,137
Purraise
25,933
Location
Pacific NW
Unfortunately, I don’t know what the vets have said. The animal care manager wasn’t clear on that. And I’m there only once a week as a volunteer, but I’m the one who told them months ago that it was Rain who had the diarrhea. The kitties are in a “group home” setting—all in one room with access to a screened in porch. None of the others had or currently have diarrhea so Rain came to the sanctuary with the problem and it’s not communicable.

She spent weeks alone in isolation (where she was desperate for attention) while they tried to solve the problem and to make sure she couldn’t spread it. They tried limiting proteins, but they did it all with the Friskies canned they feed, which, to me, isn’t a good test at all. No change. They tried some tinctures prepared by a holistic vet. No change. They tried metronidazole with some improvement, but I don’t know how much. They’ve tried Fortiflora. No change.

I have no idea how they administered the metro given what the manager said about hard it is to treat her. And it’s hard for me to tell how much attention the manager and vets are really paying to this problem. But I’ve watched Rain poop and she simply shoots out liquid which runs down the sides of the litter boxes. She’s back with the general population kitties...six cats in total with six litter boxes. She’s still the only one with diarrhea. I’m pretty frustrated with them.

The animal care manager’s last day is Wednesday, and a new one has already started. I’ll try to support her as much as I can to solve the problem. And I appreciate your comments. It gives me something else to talk to the new person about.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

Tobermory

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.”
Thread starter
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
9,137
Purraise
25,933
Location
Pacific NW
Top