Loose Stools & Fortiflora

wiggles

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My seven month old kitten Wiggles has been having loose stools and I was told to give him FortiFlora and that would help. I have been giving it to him for 2 days but don't notice any change. Does anyone know if it is a good idea to keep giving it to him? I bought it on the internet and didn't go through a Vet. Help!!!
 

catspaw66

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My seven month old kitten Wiggles has been having loose stools and I was told to give him FortiFlora and that would help. I have been giving it to him for 2 days but don't notice any change. Does anyone know if it is a good idea to keep giving it to him? I bought it on the internet and didn't go through a Vet. Help!!!
Two days is not enough time to see much of a change.. Keep giving Wiggles the FortiFlora and at least call your vet for advice. What are you feeding him? Dry, wet or raw? How long has he been having the loose poops? Maybe finding out those things will help.

Welcome to TCS. 
 
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wiggles

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Thank you! He has been having this problem for more than one week but he eats very well, drinks water and plays as usual. In the morning I feed him Nature's Variety Instinct dry food and in the early evening I feed him Merrick Purrfect Bistro canned food and this is where I am mixing in the FortiFlora.
 

catspaw66

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I wonder if you might split the dose and give half in the morning with a little wet food and the other half in the evening as usual. I have never had to give probiotics to my cats, but the l-lysine I give Silly and Julie is split into the morning and evening doses - almost exactly 12 hours apart.
 

shoshanna

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I had gotten a cat from a shelter and he was wormed and given a fecal test that he passed before I got him and then a week later had a huge belly and started having water type of stools and ate like a fiend and drank all the time.  I took him to the vet as he started "crying" and felt very warm.  Turns out he had a type (or two) of worms that are sometimes not found on a first test and usually take a bit more to get rid of than a wormer tablet.  He had 2 shots for the hookworms and a course of worm paste for the tapeworms (a non traditional type not gotten by fleas but by diet).  He had been feral for some time before the shelter got him and the vet said he had probably had them for quite a while;  

Now for the real comment, the shelter felt bad and gave me a whole box of FortiFlora and it took a good week and a lot of TLC and watching the diet (I mixed the FortiFlora in some tuna water in the morning and gave it as a side dish) and it eventually started to show improvement.  As was stated a couple days is not enough time and if it does not help in a week or your kitten feels warmer you need to take it to the vet.
 
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wiggles

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I've been giving him Fortiflora for about 16 days an noticed that if I give him dry food it gets better but as soon as I give him canned food the stools get watery again. He seems happy and playful but he loves the canned food so I hate not being able to give it to him. Any suggestions?
 

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Wet food is way better for kitties than dry; in fact, it is in general better to have cats on a 100% wet diet. So I would not eliminate the wet food (in fact, many would consider you lucky to have a cat that prefers wet over dry). FortiFlora, although it works for some, is not a very good probiotic since it comes from only one bacterial strain. There are pet probiotics in the pet store, or some forum members buy human grade (which is controversial since many bacterial strains are species specific). The human grade brand that forum members use is Natural Factors Double Strength Acidophilus and Bifidus.

http://www.naturalfactors.com/caen/products/detail/2879/acidophilus-and38-bifidus-

The Merrick Purrfect Bistro tends to be high in carbs, too. You could try getting a higher protein food since carbs can cause allergic reactions depending on the type of carb.

If he continues to have problems I would take him to a vet. It's not normal to have chronic diarrhea. If you or I had chronic diarrhea we would make an appointment for the doctor, right? Kitty could have IBD and have special dietary needs.
 

blackcat416

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I was given Purina Forti Flora for my Sally, 8 yo, because of loose stool. 1 packet a day along with 1/2 antibiotic for the first 5 days. Well after the first week she still wasn't tight enough so I started her on Natural Factors human probiotics. 1 capsule a day sprinkled on her food. I also had to take Sally off of all seafood and beef. The vet warned me it would take about 6 weeks for everything to work. When she would eat hard food I was to mix some of the probiotic on the hard food, which is IAM'S original chicken. Then I adopted my 7th cat actually kitten, 12 weeks old. Upon first exam it was discovered she had worms and had to be treated. Then she went on the Purina Forti Flora it was then I discovered while I was mixing it in the food as if it was medicine, that the kitten would eat the FF right out of the dish with no flood. Then I moved her over to the Natural Factors probiotics and she did the same thing, licked the powder right off the dish I would add her food to in order to bury it. After reading a ton of info on probiotics and the benefits of it, everybody in the house is on it, including me and Jim, except we take 2 capsules a day. My 7 cats love the probiotics just to use up all the Purina FF they get it once a week, otherwise they each get the equivalent of 1 capsule a day sprinkled right on top of their food. Now if I serve their soft food without the probiotic they will all go to the dishes that do have it sprinkled on. So for peace shake now every soft food meal, 3 x times a day, gets probiotic sprinkled on their food. Like I said it comes out to about 1 capsule each per cat, per day. Be patient it works.
 
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wiggles

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I took Wiggles to the Vet and a Fecal sample and Intestinal Parasite Fecal Exam were done and the results were negative. The vet gave me Cestex and Metronidazole plus a syringe with Pyrantel Pamoate but no instructions on how to administer. Anyone know if it is to be given with food or on an empty stomach otherwise I will have to wait until morning. Thanks!!
 
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