opinions on Spirugreen supplement

i receive the Dr Karen Becker daily emails, and always find them interesting and enjoyable -- both the articles and videos about care and nutrition and health/medical related, and the cute videos.

today's email had a link to the mercola website and a very interesting article about spirulina and astaxanthin, and a new supplement available from mercola called Spirugreen -- for those interested in reading that article, here's a link to it http://products.mercola.com/healthy...n=20160114Z1&et_cid=DM97212&et_rid=1311341291. that was a very interesting article, and has me thinking about the Spirugreen as a possible supplement for my 3 cats -- especially my little 5 month old Allie, who has herpes.

Allie having herpes is my first time caring for/treating a cat with herpes. under the supervision of our vet, i'm treating Allie's current flare up with lysine (Viralys/Vetoquinol lysine gel, given orally; will be switching to Now Foods L-Lysine capsules once they arrive here -- will pop open the capsules and measure out doses and mix into wet food, dosage as recommended by our vet). i'm wondering if this Spirugreen might be something to discuss with our vet, as a daily supplement for Allie and to treat her herpes flare ups.

i'm also wondering if this Spirugreen supplement may be something that could reduce (some) inflammation for cats with IBD, as well as help to provide some easily absorbable nutrients and proteins.

so i thought i'd ask the TCS community for your thoughts on this new supplement, and what medical conditions it might be considered for treating (or used along with medications to treat) -- like herpes and IBD, for example.

as always, it's best to discuss adding any supplement to your cats diet with your vet first -- especially if your cat(s) has any medical issues and/or are taking any medications.

I read that article myself and considered buying a bottle.  My only issue is....will the cats eat the food with this on it .   That's always a question, one that Dr. Becker mentioned herself.   I know my cat's HATED her probiotic, so I finally ended up giving it to one of my dog loving friends

Everything she said makes sense, and I know those ingredients are great, at least for HUMANS.  But since she normally proposes feeding a species appropriate diet, I'm guessing she knows what she's talking about. 

Hi! I asked a similar question back in 2013. Here's the thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/270235/bio-algae-concentrates-bacs-spirulina-etc

The Spirugreen supplement isn't new, as I tried it for Boo a couple years ago. The Vitamin Shoppe near me carries it in their pet section and was readily available to me at the time. I still have the bottle (full, nonetheless, and still not expired).

I bought it for him for his arthritis. The supplement is in tablet form, and they are rather large, seemingly too large for a cat to just take and swallow comfortably. So I tried to half it. But they are hard as a rock and cannot be cut easily. I ended up having to bite it in half and felt like I could've lost a tooth.     Surprisingly, Boo took the half tablet out of my hand like a treat and just swallowed it whole. Unfortunately, this only lasted a few days and he would no longer take it. I started pilling him with it (whole pill). I'm pretty good at pilling, but because of the shape and size of the pill, I just didn't feel comfortable pilling it any longer. It never seemed to go down easy. Trying to crush it and add to food was virtually impossible. You'd need a hammer and really good aim. 

My second experience with a spirulina green supplement is with my IBD/pancreatitis/now cancer kitty Sebastian. I was using BioSuperfood/BioPreparation. He reacted to it very badly and it brought on a flare-up, despite a slow introduction.

My conclusion: Use spirulina/algae green supplements with caution in cats with overactive immune disorders - IBD (Crohn's-like activity), stomatitis, EGC, etc. These supplements are pretty powerful immune boosters and may not work well in cats with immune systems already in overdrive. However, these kinds of spirulina/algae green supplements may be beneficial in cats with underactive immune disorders - FIV, FeLV, etc. However, I've never tried them in this regard. Perhaps this is where FHV and FCV would fall, but I can't say for sure. So talk to your vet, do your research, and read the reviews. I'm not a vet and can only offer what I've gained on personal experience, research, and interacting with others who have used them.

I have been using this product for almost 2 years on my large dog who has recurrent UTI's that lead to cancer of the urethra.  She underwent radiation treatment and then metronomic chemotherapy.  She has been in remission for 18 months!  The Spirugreen was recommended to me to help with her immune system function.  I had no idea if it was helping her or not so over the summer when I ran out, I stopped giving it for about 6 weeks.  After a few weeks, she was not as energetic and just not herself.  I couldn't put my finger on what had changed.  I realized the Spirugreen was missing from her daily regime.  I reordered and after a few weeks she was perkier!

I will say, the tablets for dogs are kind of large and very hard.  I have no idea how you could give one to a cat.  Maybe they have a capsule you could sprinkle on the food.

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
I read that article myself and considered buying a bottle.  My only issue is....will the cats eat the food with this on it

.   That's always a question, one that Dr. Becker mentioned herself.   I know my cat's HATED her probiotic, so I finally ended up giving it to one of my dog loving friends

Everything she said makes sense, and I know those ingredients are great, at least for HUMANS.  But since she normally proposes feeding a species appropriate diet, I'm guessing she knows what she's talking about. 

Click to expand...

oh, yes! it definitely doesn't help if the kitties won't eat it on/in their food!

yes, i always think Dr Becker knows what she's talking about.  

our little Allie has responded very well to the lysine supplement, to treat her herpes flare up. i'm thinking i'll stick with the lysine, for all 3 of my cats.

GoHolistic said:

 
Hi! I asked a similar question back in 2013. Here's the thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/270235/bio-algae-concentrates-bacs-spirulina-etc

The Spirugreen supplement isn't new, as I tried it for Boo a couple years ago. The Vitamin Shoppe near me carries it in their pet section and was readily available to me at the time. I still have the bottle (full, nonetheless, and still not expired).

I bought it for him for his arthritis. The supplement is in tablet form, and they are rather large, seemingly too large for a cat to just take and swallow comfortably. So I tried to half it. But they are hard as a rock and cannot be cut easily. I ended up having to bite it in half and felt like I could've lost a tooth.  

  Surprisingly, Boo took the half tablet out of my hand like a treat and just swallowed it whole. Unfortunately, this only lasted a few days and he would no longer take it. I started pilling him with it (whole pill). I'm pretty good at pilling, but because of the shape and size of the pill, I just didn't feel comfortable pilling it any longer. It never seemed to go down easy. Trying to crush it and add to food was virtually impossible. You'd need a hammer and really good aim. 

My second experience with a spirulina green supplement is with my IBD/pancreatitis/now cancer kitty Sebastian. I was using BioSuperfood/BioPreparation. He reacted to it very badly and it brought on a flare-up, despite a slow introduction.

My conclusion: Use spirulina/algae green supplements with caution in cats with overactive immune disorders - IBD (Crohn's-like activity), stomatitis, EGC, etc. These supplements are pretty powerful immune boosters and may not work well in cats with immune systems already in overdrive. However, these kinds of spirulina/algae green supplements may be beneficial in cats with underactive immune disorders - FIV, FeLV, etc. However, I've never tried them in this regard. Perhaps this is where FHV and FCV would fall, but I can't say for sure. So talk to your vet, do your research, and read the reviews. I'm not a vet and can only offer what I've gained on personal experience, research, and interacting with others who have used them.

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thank you for sharing this! very good points you made too! 

i've heard of some vitamins/supplements pills being literally rock hard. just really not helpful for those of us who need to cut them into smaller doses/pieces, or crush them.

ShadowsRescue said:

 
I have been using this product for almost 2 years on my large dog who has recurrent UTI's that lead to cancer of the urethra.  She underwent radiation treatment and then metronomic chemotherapy.  She has been in remission for 18 months!  The Spirugreen was recommended to me to help with her immune system function.  I had no idea if it was helping her or not so over the summer when I ran out, I stopped giving it for about 6 weeks.  After a few weeks, she was not as energetic and just not herself.  I couldn't put my finger on what had changed.  I realized the Spirugreen was missing from her daily regime.  I reordered and after a few weeks she was perkier!

I will say, the tablets for dogs are kind of large and very hard.  I have no idea how you could give one to a cat.  Maybe they have a capsule you could sprinkle on the food.

Click to expand...

that's great that your large dog benefited so much from the Spirugreen supplement! 

ahhh.....so like @GoHolistic had suggested, that the spirulina/algae green supplements may be beneficial (in cats) with underactive immune disorders...

so i'm thinking that using the spirugreen as a supplement for a cat may be an individual kind of thing, as to their reaction/benefit from it.