Enlarged heart?

[Nicaboli]

So I looked up probiotics for cats online and I'm glad that it comes in more than just pills...yay. The article also said cats can be given yogurt that specifically advertises "active cultures". Have any of you ever given yogurt to your kitten? Is it a good idea for me to try?

 

[WitchyWoman]

Yogurt works as long as the cat isn't allergic to dairy products. Better to try a probiotic in powder form.

 

[Nicaboli]

I think I'll use the powder rather than risk an allergic reaction. Thank you!

 

[Rafiki]

One probiotic that I have had great success with is FortiFlora. My cats LOVE the taste and consider it a treat when it is sprinkled on their food.

 

[Nicaboli]

I was just reading the online reviews for FortiFlora. The consensus is all the same...cats love it. Thanks for the recommendation! I will try that one and hope that Mango considers it a treat too

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Most probiotics formulated for cats are cultures grown on a milk-based medium...so cats like the taste of the powder so can be sprinkled on the food easily. Probios is a powder that really smells like milk powder and as Rafiki mentions so does Fortiflora. I personally prefer formulations like Probios and Proviable because they contain more than one species of bacteria. Proviable might be the best choice for you with the loose stools continuing as it comes both in a powdered form (in a capsule that you can either put down their throat or break open and sprinkle on food) and a paste form that also contains kaolin and pectin which are good when there is active diarrhea as they work to coat and soothe the intestinal tract.

I don't think your vet has done a fecal PCR with Mango yet have they? I might worry that the giardia was not the only pathogen so just treating for that has not treated all the infection...hence the diarrhea continues. But it could also just be an upset system from the medications he's been given...so likely trying a probiotic and a bland diet is a better first approach. My vet suggests putting kittens/cats with diarrhea on a boiled chicken and white rice diet to settle their systems...it can take a few days to work but the blander the diet the easier on their system it is.

As to the pill pockets, I've never had a cat that will willingly eat one with a pill inside. They seem clever enough to work it out and either eat around the pill in the center or leave it well alone. Only works on my dog! BUT for years I used them in a different way, especially with a bitter medication like metronidazole I pinch off a bit of the pill pocket and wrap it around the pill... then push the pill down the throat of the cat. This means that the cat does not taste the bitterness of the medication, and because they are not chewing it they won't know, all they get is the aftertaste of the pill pocket, which is nice enough. You can use cheese and other things too... and you can buy a jar version of the pill pocket material for this use too...

 

[Nicaboli]

Is the Probios and Proviable available over the counter? We are going to make a run to the pet store tonight for some other things and while there we'll check out the selection of probiotics.

I didn't even think of tucking the pill in cheese...I'll try that for tonights dose and see how that goes. Will he be a cheese-eating kitty? Or will he feel too much like Mickey Mouse?......Tune in for next episodes update.

Just the test for giardia was done on Mango's sample as far as I know. Hopefully it's just a mix match of meds causing his loose stool and not another bacteria.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I know some people have said that Proviable was kept by their vet but I think most vets will keep Fortiflora as it is a Purina product and marketed along with their other products to them. I order these online so don't really know. I think places like Petsmart or Petco only keep Benebac, which is another probiotic formulated for cats and dogs and worth trying in the meantime if that is what is available.

See if a little bit of cheese helps the process. I still wouldn't offer it to him as a treat unless he is that crazy about little chunks of cheese that he will swallow them whole.

 

[Patti]

Probiotics is really important to give a cat that's been on antibiotics. Plain yogurt works well if the cat likes it (most of mine don't seem to care for it) or as Brigitte has explained, the powder is actually tasty so Mango will very likely have no problem eating food with it sprinkled on top.

I would give the probiotics a chance to work but if Mango is still having diarrhea after that I would seriously consider running a diarrhea PCR panel on him so that you know for sure you are treating everything that might be causing the diarrhea.

 

[Rafiki]

Rafiki is quite picky about dairy. She loves cereal milk, extra sharp cheddar and parmesan but hates yogurt and ice cream. The only thing I purposely give her is a tablespoon or so of leftover cereal milk, the cheese is always stolen so I have a feeling I could probably give her a pill in cheddar if she thought she had stolen it. LOL Unfortunately all her meds have been liquid so far.