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Probiotics Search - Human Grade and CFUs
- Thread starter raintyger
- Start Date
I hate to even ask, but has lymphoma been ruled out at this point? IBD can morph into small cell lymphoma.... 
Due to his age (14.5 yrs) we elected to not test for lymphoma and manage the IBD until he develops another problem and/or his condition deteriorates to the point where we will have to put him down. He very well may have it. I suspect he does and I suspect my Vet thinks he probably does as well. Biopsies are generally hit or miss unless you open them up and I didn't want to put him through that at his age.I hate to even ask, but has lymphoma been ruled out at this point? IBD can morph into small cell lymphoma....
He's generally in good spirits just a little thin. He hangs out with us and the kittens. The kittens literally bow down to him. He'll give them a lick on their ear or a light pawing.
JClark, one thing you might want to try that will help him to maintain his weight - besides increasing the amount of food, of course :lol3: - is Enzymes, rather than probiotics.
All my cats were losing weight until that I added enzymes to their diets - then they stopped.... and GASP, gained! :lol3:
It has helped their digestion greatly, especially my IBD boy, and my girl Lucky, who I strongly suspect she has IBD - she is the "pukey" type with a VERY sensitive digestive system, and has a LOT of hairball issues.
Anyways, here is the one I use: Prozyme
All my cats were losing weight until that I added enzymes to their diets - then they stopped.... and GASP, gained! :lol3:
It has helped their digestion greatly, especially my IBD boy, and my girl Lucky, who I strongly suspect she has IBD - she is the "pukey" type with a VERY sensitive digestive system, and has a LOT of hairball issues.
Anyways, here is the one I use: Prozyme
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thanks. I'll take a look at that.
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My huz and I compliment Science Diet for all our animals longevity. I have to go over your posts to read ur concern.
Rather than start yet another topic on probiotics, I figured I'd piggy back off of this recent thread. I have a question about how many CFUs are appropriate per cat per day. I read that LDG and Carolina are doing 15 billion (1/2 cap 2x daily of the Nexabiotic). What is everyone else doing?
My focus is on Sebastian (of course). Right now he gets a 13 billion (10 strain) capsule 1x daily (PM), and a 5 billion S. Boulardii capsule 1x daily (divided between AM and PM). I had considered doing the 13 billion capsule 2x daily, but then he would be getting 26 billion per day. Is that too much?
By the way, I've been using the Renew Life version of the S. Boulardii and Sebastian doesn't mind it in his food at all. It actually smells like beef bouillon to me, so maybe it does to him, too!
Boo and Caesar get the 13 billion capsule 1x daily, and that is fine for them.
My focus is on Sebastian (of course). Right now he gets a 13 billion (10 strain) capsule 1x daily (PM), and a 5 billion S. Boulardii capsule 1x daily (divided between AM and PM). I had considered doing the 13 billion capsule 2x daily, but then he would be getting 26 billion per day. Is that too much?
By the way, I've been using the Renew Life version of the S. Boulardii and Sebastian doesn't mind it in his food at all. It actually smells like beef bouillon to me, so maybe it does to him, too!
Boo and Caesar get the 13 billion capsule 1x daily, and that is fine for them.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #48
Right now I do 5 billion of Total Factors and .5 billion of Total-Zymes.
Rather than start yet another topic on probiotics, I figured I'd piggy back off of this recent thread. I have a question about how many CFUs are appropriate per cat per day. I read that LDG and Carolina are doing 15 billion (1/2 cap 2x daily of the Nexabiotic). What is everyone else doing?
My focus is on Sebastian (of course). Right now he gets a 13 billion (10 strain) capsule 1x daily (PM), and a 5 billion S. Boulardii capsule 1x daily (divided between AM and PM). I had considered doing the 13 billion capsule 2x daily, but then he would be getting 26 billion per day. Is that too much?
By the way, I've been using the Renew Life version of the S. Boulardii and Sebastian doesn't mind it in his food at all. It actually smells like beef bouillon to me, so maybe it does to him, too!
Boo and Caesar get the 13 billion capsule 1x daily, and that is fine for them.
How much to give might be a tricky question, though. I don't know if the amount I'm giving is doing a lot of good because Poppy has IBD, so that will affect how much is absorbed.
Not much help, I know, but something to consider. It seems like the brands that have a lot of different strains are human grade and have way more CFUs than the pet brands.
Thanks! I think I read somewhere that said too much probiotics can cause digestive upset, and that's the last thing I want to do! Just trying to find a good balance, you know.
It can, but it really depends on the cat and the situation. When Chumley was having problems with diarrhea, the holistic vet told me to find a probiotic that had 10 billion CFU and use it 2x a day. So that was the ose I used for everyone, and we didn't have any problems...
For a time, I switched to the Nexabiotic because of the S. boulardii: but it doesn't have much in the way of acidophilus strains in there, and the bulk of the research in cats (so far) has been with acidophilus... and bifidus and rhamnosus strains have been well researched in humans.
So I now give 1/4 of a Nexabiotic capsule 2x a day to each cat, and 1/2 a Natural Factors (double strength, so 10 billion CFU) capsule to each cat 2x a day.
For a time, I switched to the Nexabiotic because of the S. boulardii: but it doesn't have much in the way of acidophilus strains in there, and the bulk of the research in cats (so far) has been with acidophilus... and bifidus and rhamnosus strains have been well researched in humans.
So I now give 1/4 of a Nexabiotic capsule 2x a day to each cat, and 1/2 a Natural Factors (double strength, so 10 billion CFU) capsule to each cat 2x a day.
Hmm....okay. Thanks!
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My cat got diarrhea again since friday it happen about around 4:30 something pm on friday and lasted until 7-8 pm on sat. she did so well had no diarrhea for 2 months. She did have this problem since march-june ran out of options no matter if i even feed her wet it happens more often, eveng got her dewormed, used everything and fortiflora (it really sucks doesn't help) and she was on prednislone as she may have ibs. the only thing that worked for me is antibiotics thats how it got rid of it. I am wondering if i choose human grade over animal essentials or naturvet would it actaully be better? i tried animal essentials it did no help that much. I bought naturvet digestive chews may get in powder formula but want to know what are those human grade probiotic really the safest?
Candie, if your kitty may have IBS, then probiotics alone may not resolve the problem, there may be triggers in the food. What are you feeding her?
Our Chumley had horrible diarrhea when rescued. He was treated for parasites, we used metronadizole a number of times, and it didn't help. The FortiFlora made it worse. In the end, we saw a holistic vet that guided us through a process that resolved his diarrhea - and in the end, it was taking him off commercial diets and making him a homemade food that resolved his problem without needing any more medication of any kind.
With IBD or IBS cats, which probiotic strains to use can be very hit or miss - as is how much of them to use. But bacterial imbalances are a common contributor to IBS / IBD associated symptoms (and may be the cause of them in some cases). Fortiflora is not always the "right" probiotic to use: it has one strain of probiotic in it, E. Faecium - it also has animal digest in it, which can be a trigger for some cats.
There are several strains of probiotic that have shown to help with IBD (I have no idea about IBS). Among them are S. boulardii, L. acidophilus, bifidobacterium, and L. rhamnosus.
If you want to try covering ALL of those bases, you can try the mix I use. I give my cats the Nexabiotic 20-strain probiotic, which has about 5 billion CFU of S. boulardii in it (per two capsules), along with small amounts of a long list of various acidophilus strains. I now give each cat 1/4 of a capsule 2x a day. I also use Natural Factors double-strength acidophilus+bifidus (10 billion CFU per capsule), and I give each cat 1/2 a capsule 2x a day. (It has primarily L. rhamnosus, and then bifidobacterium and L. acidophilus in it).
However, I suspect the issue may be an ingredient in the food - or just the fact that it is so highly processed. Have you tried giving your kitty just plain boiled chicken for a week? Given her diarrhea comes and goes, that may not tell you much. But if it doesn't trigger an episode, then you know the problem isn't chicken - and you may want to consider a homemade diet, either raw or cooked.
Our Chumley had horrible diarrhea when rescued. He was treated for parasites, we used metronadizole a number of times, and it didn't help. The FortiFlora made it worse. In the end, we saw a holistic vet that guided us through a process that resolved his diarrhea - and in the end, it was taking him off commercial diets and making him a homemade food that resolved his problem without needing any more medication of any kind.
With IBD or IBS cats, which probiotic strains to use can be very hit or miss - as is how much of them to use. But bacterial imbalances are a common contributor to IBS / IBD associated symptoms (and may be the cause of them in some cases). Fortiflora is not always the "right" probiotic to use: it has one strain of probiotic in it, E. Faecium - it also has animal digest in it, which can be a trigger for some cats.
There are several strains of probiotic that have shown to help with IBD (I have no idea about IBS). Among them are S. boulardii, L. acidophilus, bifidobacterium, and L. rhamnosus.
If you want to try covering ALL of those bases, you can try the mix I use. I give my cats the Nexabiotic 20-strain probiotic, which has about 5 billion CFU of S. boulardii in it (per two capsules), along with small amounts of a long list of various acidophilus strains. I now give each cat 1/4 of a capsule 2x a day. I also use Natural Factors double-strength acidophilus+bifidus (10 billion CFU per capsule), and I give each cat 1/2 a capsule 2x a day. (It has primarily L. rhamnosus, and then bifidobacterium and L. acidophilus in it).
However, I suspect the issue may be an ingredient in the food - or just the fact that it is so highly processed. Have you tried giving your kitty just plain boiled chicken for a week? Given her diarrhea comes and goes, that may not tell you much. But if it doesn't trigger an episode, then you know the problem isn't chicken - and you may want to consider a homemade diet, either raw or cooked.
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my cat doesn't like boil chicken she is a finicky eater only likes dry food currently she is eating duck blue wilderness no matter what i do she did had some fancy feast classic but later on she stuck up her nose. i can't force her to eat anything no matter what i do =( i don't know what is the real cause as the test is expensive like a endscopy? is that what its called. the antibiotics did work though just lasted 2 months. is nexabiotic really safe for a cat?
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LDG,
Do you know whether the Nexabiotic strains are resistant to freezing? The caps are so darn fiddly I've thought at times it would be convenient to make up a batch of minced meat patties spiced with probiotics then freeze them.
If freezing kills them then obviously that's a good way to throw away money. But some bacteria seem to be able to withstand the freeze/thaw cycle.
Do you know whether the Nexabiotic strains are resistant to freezing? The caps are so darn fiddly I've thought at times it would be convenient to make up a batch of minced meat patties spiced with probiotics then freeze them.
If freezing kills them then obviously that's a good way to throw away money. But some bacteria seem to be able to withstand the freeze/thaw cycle.
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That's a good question, and I don't know. I'd write to the company - hopefully they'll answer. I know all probiotics have a longer life if refrigerated, but that's not at all the same thing. :lol3:
But yes, it'd be a lot easier just to include them in a batch of food!
Do you have a source for green tripe? Ever considered that? Because just feeding green tripe as a meal a couple of times a week is probably an even better way to get them their probiotics. (It's already balanced for calcium, so if you decide to pursue it, just figure that into your calculations).
But yes, it'd be a lot easier just to include them in a batch of food!
Do you have a source for green tripe? Ever considered that? Because just feeding green tripe as a meal a couple of times a week is probably an even better way to get them their probiotics. (It's already balanced for calcium, so if you decide to pursue it, just figure that into your calculations).
Thumbs up on the Nexabiotic! Helped a lot when Bagel was fighting coccidia... Now the two cats are back on Natural Factors - but I have Nexabiotic on my wishlist if the time comes again.
I also give a thumbs up on green tripe! Hare Today has green tripe in chubs (with spleen, I believe), and green tripe is relatively easy to purchase elsewhere too (online and local) since it's very popular with dog owners. I bought K9 Naturals Freeze-Dried Green Tripe food to try. It's expensive at 16 dollars for 7 ounces at Chewy, but I find it easy to use since I can create a powder/dust using my blender. I add 1/8 teaspoon on top of Lox's food once a day in addition to the Natural Factors. I suppose you can do the same with any green tripe treat. There's also canned green tripe, which I have yet to try.
I also give a thumbs up on green tripe! Hare Today has green tripe in chubs (with spleen, I believe), and green tripe is relatively easy to purchase elsewhere too (online and local) since it's very popular with dog owners. I bought K9 Naturals Freeze-Dried Green Tripe food to try. It's expensive at 16 dollars for 7 ounces at Chewy, but I find it easy to use since I can create a powder/dust using my blender. I add 1/8 teaspoon on top of Lox's food once a day in addition to the Natural Factors. I suppose you can do the same with any green tripe treat. There's also canned green tripe, which I have yet to try.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #60
Hound and Gatos is supposed to have some new flavors, and one of them is tripe. But I can't find any of the new flavors anywhere! Supposed to have announced the new flavors a couple months ago.
