How much Bene-Bac Gel to give 10-12 wk old kitten? (loose poops)

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the_food_lady

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Because of the various antibiotics my rescue kitten has been given lately, wondering if her loose poops could be due to imbalance in good intestinal bacteria so have been reading up on Bene-Bac Gel.   I'm here in Canada and it seems that there's a local pet store that sells it.  In all of the dosing directions I'm reading about it online, it seems to be geared toward newborn kittens..............but what is the dose for a 2.5 lb kitten that's about 10-12 weeks old?   Will the tube give me clear directions about how much and how often to give?

Thanks
 
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I'm pretty sure the tubes has dosing instructions for all ages and sizes, although you can't really overdose a probiotic so giving more wouldn't be a problem. . .however. . .Bene-Bac isn't a great probiotic, IMO. It's better (and possibly cheaper) to buy a human-grade probiotic, one with at least 10 billion active cultures, and add that to his food. Like I said, you can't really overdose (worst that could happen is a bit of gas) so sprinkle freely!
 
jlc20m

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my 11-wk-old bella has the same problem. our vet put her on a short course of antibiotics (8 days) and "fortiflora" by purina veterinary diets. it's a nutritional supplement containing live active cultures (enterococcus faecium) and vitamins a, e, and c. she takes 1 gram (packet) per day in wet food for 30 days. the excitement of adoption from the spca and getting used to new food has upset her system. this combo i hope helps her get back on track to a healthy immune and digestive system. just wanted to share...

jlc20m
 
bigperm20

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I've never heard of the stuff but I'm in the states. I have had a similar problem with kittens before. I I mixed a little bit of plain yogurt in with her wet food.
 
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Benebac is okay and most kitties will lick it right off your fingers. The directions should be on the label. Good luck with the kittens. :)
 
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the_food_lady

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As suspected, I bought some Bene-Back Gel today and the instructions were useless.   They seem to be geared more to newborn animals.   There are no instructions with respect to giving to an older kitten / based on weight / or how often one can give.   I ended up squirting one of the entire 1gm tubes into her mouth as it seemed to say that for animals "under 1 pound, give them 1/4 to 1/2 tube."  Can you give at the same time that antibiotics are given?  I gave it then gave her Flagyl about 2 hours later.   Pretty stupid stuff to have such useless directions.  I've even been to their website (PetAg) and same thing.

I don't think plain yogurt is a great idea because of the dairy in it (can cause upset tummy/gas/diarrhea in some cats as cats have difficulty digesting cow's milk).   I've never heard of FortiFlora here in Canada but you think that Vets would carry some kind of probiotics for animals.
 
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the_food_lady said:
...

I don't think plain yogurt is a great idea because of the dairy in it (can cause upset tummy/gas/diarrhea in some cats as cats have difficulty digesting cow's milk).  

...
Click to expand...
The commonest thing that gives many cats and some people problems is the lactose.  Plain live yoghurt doesn't contain any - the organisms that turn it into yoghurt digest the lactose. 
 
jlc20m

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the_food_lady said:
As suspected, I bought some Bene-Back Gel today and the instructions were useless.   They seem to be geared more to newborn animals.   There are no instructions with respect to giving to an older kitten / based on weight / or how often one can give.   I ended up squirting one of the entire 1gm tubes into her mouth as it seemed to say that for animals "under 1 pound, give them 1/4 to 1/2 tube."  Can you give at the same time that antibiotics are given?  I gave it then gave her Flagyl about 2 hours later.   Pretty stupid stuff to have such useless directions.  I've even been to their website (PetAg) and same thing.

I don't think plain yogurt is a great idea because of the dairy in it (can cause upset tummy/gas/diarrhea in some cats as cats have difficulty digesting cow's milk).   I've never heard of FortiFlora here in Canada but you think that Vets would carry some kind of probiotics for animals.
Click to expand...
hi the_food_lady,

just to let you know, i live in vancouver, british columbia, canada. we are neighbors! my vet just last week prescribed "fortiflora" by purina veterinary diets for my little bella. you can't buy it over-the-counter. it's a presribed med. surely if it's available in my neck of the woods, it's available in yours. hope this helps.

jlc20m
 
 
otto

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Forti flora is available on line in most pet supply stores, including Amazon, no prescription needed. :)
 
otto

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jlc20m said:
is this available in canada? i've been to the major pet supply stores in my area and never seen it. just curious. thank you for the information. :)

jlc20m
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Well, it is on Amazon Canada, but wow it's expensive:


While I know some people who swear by benebac, I'm inclined to agree with Willowy's advice:


Willowy said:
I'm pretty sure the tubes has dosing instructions for all ages and sizes, although you can't really overdose a probiotic so giving more wouldn't be a problem. . .however. . .Bene-Bac isn't a great probiotic, IMO. It's better (and possibly cheaper) to buy a human-grade probiotic, one with at least 10 billion active cultures, and add that to his food. Like I said, you can't really overdose (worst that could happen is a bit of gas) so sprinkle freely!
Click to expand...
 
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