Probiotics for my buddy?

My 15 year old cat has been having painful poops. After he poops he jogs around and yowels. I was wondering if I give him Florajen3, it may help him. Ive tried so many different foods over the last 3 months. Its the same thing. And I have little money. Maybe this would help him out! What are your ideas / opinions? 

Hi,

Is he having diarrhea or constipation?

Diarrhea. Not watery but bad. And it stinks SO BAD!!!  

My vet gave me a probiotic for my cat that had reoccurring diarrhea...I can't remember the name though. Has he been to the vet?
Have you changed his food recently? It might be coccidia if it smells really bad.

I think the probiotics would be a great thing to try. The Florajen3 looks good. Probiotics basically completely solved my cat's painful constipation, and at the very least, if they don't solve the problem, they shouldn't make anything worse. Probiotics are most effective if you can feed them about half an hour before a meal, but often they do well just sprinkled onto the food.

A spoonful of canned pumpkin can also sometimes help with mild diarrhea. If it's not getting better, though, it sounds like a vet visit would be a good idea, especially because it is painful and smelly.

No. No vet. I cant afford one

I havent changed foods in the last 2 months. Purina One, Purposeful Nutrition. Stools have gotten better but still... yoweling after poops. 5 minutes after the poop he is fine. Then he rubs his butt on my carpet  

I really want him to be a happy healthy cat but my funds just dont include a vet. Im a horrible pet dad I know.  I just cant pay $100 vet bills when my OWN healthcare is $330 a month with a $6000 deductible! 

Plus I just paid $250 for front rotors and pads on my car! I am besides myself  

Hi, when is the last time he was given worm medicine?

I would try probiotics, and if it persists, you're going to need to get him to the vet. Three months is a long time to be in pain. Ask your vet for a payment plan, find a low cost clinic around you, ask your friends and family, whatever you need to do, do it. He deserve it

Ah, his anal sacks might be impacted as well. Normally they get expressed naturally when a cat pushes out a solid bowel movement, but if he's been having diarrhea for a long time that could cause them to get clogged up. The scooting is a possible symptom of that. It's much more common in dogs, but cats can have it occasionally. A groomer or a vet can express them, but I really hope you can get to a vet because it's gone on so long it could be bad.

(Most of) my cats will eat plain yogurt right from the spoon!  They LOVE it!  Try some of that.  Pet stores sell FortiFlora but I have never had good results with that.  For constipation, put about 1/4 tsp of Miralax in his wet food.  And in regards to food, feed him a wet food only diet - that adds moisture into his system, making stools flow easier.

A 15 year old cat needs a vet visit. In fact he should go at least twice a year for a full work up including labs to test his kidneys and thyroid. If you can't afford it look into care credit.

Secondly you really need to upgrade is food to high quality wet food only. The only decent grocery store food is fancy feast classics only. Here's a list of good wet and raw foods to try.

I only recommend human grade probiotics. Forti flora is a crap probiotic and does basically nothing. But diarrhea could be from a lot of things from food to hyperthyroidism, so please get him to a vet. I use Nexabiotics for my own crew. The link below explains dosage for it and why probiotics are good. 

http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2010/12/the-7-best-natural-commercial-cat-foods-so-far/

http://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/probiotics-for-cats---why-and-which-ones.html

I know this isn't what you want to hear but I have to add to the "see a vet" chorus. Thing is, you have no idea what's wrong with him. Probiotics is basically some bacteria/bacteria food. Usually it's too little to really change anything in the bowels so it doesn't do much. If you do find something that has some effect (or use the kind of dosage that will) there's no telling if you won't be making matters worse, rather than better. 

We have an article with ideas on how to pay for vet care. As others have mentioned, some vets will work with you on a payment plan. Or maybe you can find a low-cost clinic through a shelter near you. Your cat really does need to be seen by a vet. Home treatments, especially when you have no clue about the diagnosis, can cause more harm than good.

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Oh, and I would definitely not try raw food at this point! Feeding raw should never be taken lightly and it's not something to start with a sick senior cat. The pathogen load is just too dangerous, IMO.

I agree wholeheartedly with missmimz and Anne.  Your cat desperately needs a vet visit and you really need to advocate on his behalf.  Start calling vets NOW and apply for care credit if you can't find someone who will work with you.  Friends and family are fair game.  Let them know what's going on and hit them up for money.  Your cat has no one but you and other posters are right when they say three months is a long time to be in pain.

When poops smell that bad, its usually some kind of intestinal infection.  They would need to see the cat, with a poop sample to put under the microscope and perhaps can give you some antibiotics...I sure understand having no money for the vet, been there , done that.  Perhaps you can stop by your local cat rescue ( or animal rescue ) and see if they might have their visiting vet look at the cat, for a small fee, or maybe they will be helpful and just help you out.  I sure hope you can find help for this.