Benebac

I just got Hercules and GiGi Benebac....I figured Id give it a shot to harden up their poo...Well go figure Ive got the best bather in the world (GiGi) but heaven forbid I get her to take something shes supposed to like! Hmmmmmmmmmmm..Well I smeared it all over hers and Hercs paws to get them to lick it off and Ive got some yellow paws running around here because they are NOT happy with me! Anyone got any experiance in kitties not liking the Benebac and what did you do!?!?

I mixed it up in their wet food - but my Dante still wasn't keen on it. Go figure - I got Baytril down him using Pill Pockets, but Benebac in wet food was a no-go.

I never had a problem with mixing it with food.... Next time try to get the powder at petco, and see how it goes. Good luck!!

I use Animal Essentials brand. It is a white powder and I mix it into their wet food... of course, these boys have never refused a meal!!

I got Archie to take an extended course of metronodizole by mixing it with tuna juice and a little bit of wild canned salmon and warming it slightly. He thinks it's a treat!!

How often should I give it to them. They are being finicky little boogers about taking this stuff. GiGi not so much but Herc is being a ROYAL PAIN! He wont even come near me now!

I have two methods for getting pastes into cats. Mix it with their wet food if it is something that can be covered up or restrain the cat, put it on my finger, open the cat's mouth and smear it directly on their tongue. It sounds rougher than it is, but really it's over in seconds and physically no worse than it would be to check your cat's teeth (which one should be doing regularly). Admittedly, having a second person to hand you the cat or hold it helps, too.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I have two methods for getting pastes into cats. Mix it with their wet food if it is something that can be covered up or restrain the cat, put it on my finger, open the cat's mouth and smear it directly on their tongue. It sounds rougher than it is, but really it's over in seconds and physically no worse than it would be to check your cat's teeth (which one should be doing regularly). Admittedly, having a second person to hand you the cat or hold it helps, too.

Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I do too. Use the classic medicating position, kneel on the floor with your feet crossed behind you and hold the cat facing out, between your knees. She will try to back away and has nowhere to go!

I use Probios rather than Benebac. (can't find benebac around here) Mazy likes it but Jennie and Tolly do not. I just open the mouth and swipe it in.

As for dose, usually a little probiotic goes a long way. I would say just a pea sized amount, daily.

There is also FortiFlora, its a powder (made by Purina) it's very effective, and most cats really seem to like it added to their food. Just sprinkled over it, in fact, not even mixed. It's not cheap though.

^It's also possible to use a depressor/popsicle stick but there's some risk of scraping your cats mouth with it. About the only time that would be safer is if a) you know your cat will probably bite you or b) you have really long/or fake nails that will cut your cat's mouth.


I could have sworn there was a probiotic of a similar name to Fortiflora for humans.

The vet told me to do it by weight and the bottle isnt very good with directions...Ill try the pea sized amount daily for both of them....Im curious of how long it takes for it to be effective or till I know its making a difference in their poo...Im going to go scoop some poo now to see if I can find any difference in it!!! Ive got my fingers crossed this helps their poo problem..Its not super gross or anything its just getting more of a pain washer off the scooper everyday instead of every couple days!!!

Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog

The vet told me to do it by weight and the bottle isnt very good with directions...Ill try the pea sized amount daily for both of them....Im curious of how long it takes for it to be effective or till I know its making a difference in their poo...Im going to go scoop some poo now to see if I can find any difference in it!!! Ive got my fingers crossed this helps their poo problem..Its not super gross or anything its just getting more of a pain washer off the scooper everyday instead of every couple days!!!

Click to expand...

That is the advantage of Bene-bac it is pretty immediate... Because of that, I gauge the need by his poop - softer poop, a little more; normal poop, a little less...
Petco sells Bene-bac Powder, at the small animal section (i.e. ferrets)... You are right - the instructions are for single doses, for food transition, antibiotics, etc... I was giving Bugsy 1/2tsp daily, but now I am down to 1/4 tsp daily, and a full maintenance dose of 2 tsp weekly. It works great! You might want consider adding digestive enzymes to the diet as well...

Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog

Im curious of how long it takes for it to be effective or till I know its making a difference in their poo...Im going to go scoop some poo now to see if I can find any difference in it!!!

Click to expand...

About a week for the bacteria to really establish good levels. Think of it how you would other bacteria or even plants, they take a little while to grow and reproduce. But with gut flora you have the additional problem of everything coming through upsetting the balance more.
Make progress on finding the right food for your cats and hopefully that helps, too. I'm pretty sure I said this before, but the most expensive food isn't always the best per cat so sometimes it may take a bit of trial and error.

I had a problem before where Herc wouldnt put on any weight with food he was eating and the dyes would change his poops color. So I had to go with something that had minimal dyes and helped him put some weight on. Purina is the only thing that helped that after going thru what seemed like a million and one types of food. I use Purina Indoor but after talking to the vet about it he said that I should really switch to the kitten formula because of GiGi and it would be no worse for the wear on the other 2, just might make them put on some more weight because its for kittens. I dont know honestly its hard to make the switch on food...Ive got to get to the store this weekend to buy some more cat food anyways. Im going to look for a good kitten food that doesnt have a million and one by products especially as the first ingrediant, Im going to try and avoid corn products and something with little to no dye in it. Right off the bat anything that looks red is OUT!

*UPDATE* So its weird to be anxious to be checking poo in the litter box but I just wanted to pass on the update..Its working..Its not as normal as I would like but things are firming up quite nicely. Ill be sticking with using Benebac for them...Im going to keep using the gel form that Ive found and search and see if I can find something cheaper online but if not just keep getting it from the vet.

Thank you for the update. I learned here about this product. I'm going to get some as soon as I can for our kitten who has had issues with the runs. I have found it for under $5.00 online but you still have to pay for shipping.

Thanks for the update!

Originally Posted by StormySkiez

Thank you for the update. I learned here about this product. I'm going to get some as soon as I can for our kitten who has had issues with the runs. I have found it for under $5.00 online but you still have to pay for shipping.

Click to expand...

I pay $5.00 for the powder at Petco - 4.5oz... It is NOT at the cat NOR at the dogs area... it is at the FERRETS/hamsters area, and you need to tell them that it is labeled for Domestic, exotic, and wildlife mammals... It is the same one as the cats and dogs, but for some reason that is where they place it.... Make sure it is the one for mammals - they have one for reptiles, and one for birds...
It is really cheap.

I dont know how it would go mixing it up into the food in a powder form. I would try doing it with tuna or something but Herc DOESNT eat treats at all..He is my anti snacker...So far the best thing for me to do with both is to use gel because Herc will let me just open his mouth right up and rub it on his tongue..Like its a game...Can I get the gel at Petsmart or online? Its 12 for a bottle at the vet and so far (going by the dial I have 2 gms left on one bottle and 10 left on the other) So its lasting a while giving them about 2 peas sized amount every morning. Ive also gotten a good look at everyones teeth and they are spic and span Im going to get cat tooth paste if I can find some..I brush the puppies teeth weekly with one of those finger tip brushes so I was thinking about looking for something for kitties.. Geez they are going to hate me between bathing ear cleanings and now Bene-bac..They are going to disown me..LOL

Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog

I dont know how it would go mixing it up into the food in a powder form. I would try doing it with tuna or something but Herc DOESNT eat treats at all..He is my anti snacker...So far the best thing for me to do with both is to use gel because Herc will let me just open his mouth right up and rub it on his tongue..Like its a game...Can I get the gel at Petsmart or online? Its 12 for a bottle at the vet and so far (going by the dial I have 2 gms left on one bottle and 10 left on the other) So its lasting a while giving them about 2 peas sized amount every morning. Ive also gotten a good look at everyones teeth and they are spic and span Im going to get cat tooth paste if I can find some..I brush the puppies teeth weekly with one of those finger tip brushes so I was thinking about looking for something for kitties.. Geez they are going to hate me between bathing ear cleanings and now Bene-bac..They are going to disown me..LOL

Click to expand...

So, he doesn't eat wet food at all? I see...
You can get the gell form at Petsmart, and maybe at Petco - but I was always able to get it at Petsmart... I never saw the big syringes there though, just the little tubes... it's cheap, like a dollar for three little tubes - it should last you a little while if you are only giving a pea size at a time...

I went to Petsmart yesterday and went on the hunt for BeneBac and I couldnt find the powder or gel there....Im going to look for it online and just order it there when I get close to running out of the stuff from the vet...If its cheaper otherwise the vet I got it from is right down the road from my house so its not a pain to drive there and pick it up.

My Petsmart used to have Benebac in the cats aisles, but I haven't seen it lately. I think they still have it in the dog aisle, and I'm not sure what, if any difference there is, but I know when they still had the 'cat' version, the dog version cost more. I'm going to have to check Petco re the other forms, and thanks for the tip about the small mammals aisle. I wouldn't have thought that. Hmm, wonder if Petsmart moved it to the ferret aisle.