Cat probiotics?

My 14-month-old cat has very stinky poop and sometimes seems to strain to get it out. I'm considering adding a probiotic to her diet, but there are so many out there that it's hard to choose. Any suggestions? (Note: I'm not interested in probiotic products intended for humans.)

Hi there, nwfn

I want to ask what is your kitty's' diet, specifically? As far as I know, probiotics won't really control the odor of cat's stools. It's usually the food that is consumed that is more likely to be suspect, or something going on in the GI tract. From your description, your cat seems to be constipated. I'm not sure probiotics (human or animal types) will work for constipation on felines, either. If he has trouble eliminating, it usually signals a lack of moisture in his diet.

My recommendation is to try to get your kitty on a good quality grain-free, canned food for a while to see if it helps. If wet food is totally new, you could introduce it slowly and add any type of probiotics you like to minimize diarrhea from occurring.

Hope this helps you in the right direction...best wishes to you and your kitty! 

Having a cat that is prone to constipation, I have to tell you that probiotics do not help much in this area - there are other things that do, like water, lots of water and SEB (slippery elm bark), for example.

The odour is food related, which means you can give her probiotics and other supplements, but as long as the food is the same, the smell will most likely be the same.

I am wondering, why not human grade probiotics? I give my cats human probiotics and I would not give them pet probiotics (which are usually fermentation products, do not have live cultures, have less strains than human ones, have useless ingredients like salt and are more expensive).

My cat currently eats one 5.5oz can of grain-free canned food and 1/8th cup of Orijen dry daily. She's also on Vet's Best Hairball Control, which includes slippery elm bark. I don't want to overemphasize the constipation, since it's more an occasional thing, but the smell of her poops is truly amazing and seems like it can't be normal. I've had cats before, but I have never smelled anything like it.

Human gut bacteria and cat gut bacteria are not the same, so I am not interested in cultivating human gut bacteria in a cat. There are lots of pet probiotics with live unfermented cultures.

I would be more concerned about the smell/what is causing it and apparent constipation. As the others have said, food can make poop stink bad. Are you feeding dry? I would switch to wet, it helps both in regards to smell and constipation.

Probiotics can help with constipation, but there are many possible causes and every kitty reacts differently. It helps by creating the right pH for peristalsis (bowel movement stimulation). It is not usually one of the top remedies for constipation, though.

If you want to try probiotics, try to find one with many different strains. I went with Total-Biotics from NWC.

http://total-zymes.com/products.html

Many members do use human grade probiotics successfully. Their advantage is that it is easier to find larger dosages and lots of strains in one product. The argument against them is that bacteria is usually species specific, so human probiotics may not do much for cats. But then again pet probiotics are typically made from other animals besides dogs and cats.

When you said Orijen dry, my alarm bells went off. While Orijen is in general a great dry food, I found that it made my cat's stools extremely smelly and in addition it made her poop a lot (i wish she would start pooping again) I think Orijen may be a bit too strong for your cat. Try a slightly lower protein dry food - perhaps Acana which is made by the same company as Orijen, but it has more limited ingredients.

Thanks, I will look at NWC Naturals.

Good point about the Orijen, though for more background, she's been pooping like this since before I switched her to Orijen. Before that she was on a pet store brand and had the same problem. But I will try switching her to Acana when this bag of Orijen is done in case that might help.