How to know if probiotics are helping?

[elfin]

I'm not sure where to go from here with our foster cat's food and probiotics. She's just had a delayed reaction to chicken after a week on it and we're back to square one - bloating, liquid diarrhoea, itchy face and new sores from scratching. The vet wanted the chicken cooked, so she was getting chicken bone broth with the meat off the bones, with a probiotic sprinkled on it twice a day. At first it looked like she was going to be okay with it, but there's no question now that's she reacting to it. Next on the list was turkey but I've skipped to venison (just mince as I can't get hold of any bones to make broth with) in case she has issues with all poultry.

How do I know if the probiotic is having a positive effect? She's obviously having an allergic reaction to the chicken, which I assume the probiotic can't help with. At what point will I either be able to see that it's helping or have to accept that it's making no difference? I'm at my wit's end with her dietary problems, especially since she's unlikely to be adopted until it's all under control. All I want is a small selection of foods that she can eat without problems. So far everything we've tried her on has led to one problem or another within a few days, usually either vomiting or diarrhoea. I was hoping that the probiotics would help . The vet's advice to just work through the list of meats and move to the next one when problems arise isn't particularly helpful when we're running out of things to try. Is adding the probiotic the right thing to do at this stage? I badly need a banging-head-against-a-wall emoticon here. 

The probiotic she's on is MICROgenics Probiotic 8 (dairy free) (http://micro-genics.com.au/probiotic-8/):

5 billion viable cells comprised of the following species:

• Lactobacillus acidophilus
• Lactobacillus plantarum
• Lactobacillus casei 
• Lactobacillus brevis
• Lactobacillus delbrueckii spp bulgaricus 
• Bifidobacterium bifidum 
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus 
• Lactobacillus kefir 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, you are correct in that if she has food allergies, the probiotics are not going to enable her to be able to eat that particular food.  Probiotics just help keep the gut healthy.  So if she has gas, or constipation or diarrhea, or even lethargy or it could be the bacteria in her gut is out of whack.  I've not heard of vomiting being a side effect of this, however.  Probiotics can help with the bacteria, but they can't "fix" IBD, for example.   Here's an article about them:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/282685/how-to-know-if-probiotics-are-helping

I give all my cats probiotics just to prevent issues. 

Unfortunately, I don't know the history of your foster cat.   I'm guessing you are doing food trials.  Are you making all of her food, or have you tried some of the hypo allergenic foods like Royal Canin or Natures Variety Limited?

 

[elfin]

Thanks. She's continued on the probiotics and they do seem to make a difference to the quality of her stool, because when she was taken off them for a few days it became very soft again. As long as it's safe to do so I think I'll continue with them.

We've done fresh meat trials and have found that she has problems with chicken and beef. I was making food for her but I can't continue with that, partly because I just don't have the time and partly because we won't be able to rehome her unless she's on a commercial diet. She did well on the venison. The vet had us move to fish and Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, which she seemed to be okay on for a few days, until she had a severe reaction to vaccination. She now has huge sores on her back legs and raw areas around her ears from scratching, and she was vomiting again for a while. It's possible that she's still reacting to her food, but we can't tell while she's like this from the vaccine. Off to the vet for a cortisone shot this afternoon.

 

[momto3cats]

Having dealt with food allergies before, I don't understand why your vet had you move on to something else so quickly. If she did well on venison, IMO the next step should be to try a venison-based commercial food, since you need her to be on a commercial diet. Once you find something that doesn't make her react, give her at least six weeks on ONLY that, so her system can settle down and recover. If she keeps being exposed to allergens she'll be more sensitive and more likely to react badly to all kinds of things that might not be so bad otherwise. Later, when she's been doing well for a while, that would be the time to try and find other foods she can tolerate so you can begin a rotation that will help prevent new allergies from developing.

 

[elfin]

Unfortunately commercial diets based on anything other than chicken are very rare and very expensive here. It basically comes down to a choice of chicken, fish or hypoallergenic diets (which are invariably based on chicken anyway). As of yesterday we stopped the hypoallergenic food in case the proteins in that aren't broken down enough for her, and she's continuing on the grain-free fish-based commercial diet. She's also on cortisone and antibiotics. If she flares again after she finishes the course of cortisone she'll go onto Z/D. If that doesn't fix her we'll have to look at sending her to another carer. 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

 
Having dealt with food allergies before, I don't understand why your vet had you move on to something else so quickly. If she did well on venison, IMO the next step should be to try a venison-based commercial food, since you need her to be on a commercial diet. Once you find something that doesn't make her react, give her at least six weeks on ONLY that, so her system can settle down and recover. If she keeps being exposed to allergens she'll be more sensitive and more likely to react badly to all kinds of things that might not be so bad otherwise. Later, when she's been doing well for a while, that would be the time to try and find other foods she can tolerate so you can begin a rotation that will help prevent new allergies from developing.

  When you WERE feeding her venison, what exactly was it (brand, type (canned, kibble, raw?)).  Natures Variety Instinct LID comes in venison, and can be purchased via the internet, although I don't know if it can be shipped to Oz

How are her sores doing?  Are they healing?

 

[elfin]

The only venison I could get was fresh mince, which I was making into patties and partially cooking. I found one commercial venison-based food (Ziwi Peak), but the cost of feeding her on that is beyond what we can manage. I did buy a small bag of their air-dried venison to try and she vomited the first night after having it, so I didn't try it again. I looked for Nature's Variety but it doesn't seem to be available here, and the freight costs to buy food in from overseas are prohibitive.

She was still scratching and opening up new sores yesterday. She only started on the cortisone and ABs last night so it's a bit early to tell. She has had a normal stool since stopping the RC Hypoallergenic (they were loose before) so hopefully that's a good sign. Unfortunately this is a stressful time for all of us, including moving house TODAY, and that can't be helping.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

What about Addiction?  That's from a company in New Zealand.  And their Hunter's Stew is Venison, hypoallergenic, etc.  It's pricey up here, but maybe since you're in their neck of the woods, it would be more reasonable.  Or maybe if you contacted them with your story, they would be sympathetic and give you a break  on the cost

  That's not unheard of.  Ziwipeak might even do the same, if they knew of your situation with this little one.

 

[bonepicker]

Natural balance has green pea and venison

 

[bonepicker]

My cat eats duck but not chicken