Anyone ever heard of "Pet Flora"???

[christa]

And if so, do you think it would work?

The ad says that it's 95% effective.

We're at the end of our rope with Brodie. He's just not getting any better.

Anyway, here's the site . . . they say their product is in some stores too? I've never noticed it . . .

Pet Flora - SF (http://www.vitalityscience.com/Cat_Vomiting_Causes_Of_Cat_Vomiting_s/26.htm)

Think it's worth a try or a waste of money??? I TRUST your opinions!!!

I mean, look at this little guy! How cute is he? He CAN'T be throwing up forever!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/christa_law/DSC04204.jpg

[rg_girlca]

I'm sorry that I can't help you in regards to this product as I have never heard of it before.

Poor sweet Brody. I'm sorry but I can't remember but have you tried any brands of food for sensitive stomachs?
I pray that you are able to find something that he can eat without throwing up all the time.

Poor him and poor you. ((((((HUGS))))))

[christa]

Oh geez have I ever. I have tried every food available for every possible stomach issue imaginable.

Right now he's eating Prescription D/D, which he is doing the best on . . . he's only throwing up once every day. Sometimes he'll go two but not usually.

We thought maybe it was a food allergy but this D/D is a hypo-allergy food, or however you put that, and he's still tossing it. His nose has cleared up though! LOL

One thing he is keeping down consistently is wet food. Every night, he gets 1/3 of a can of wet D/D.

We are considering putting him on an ALL WET diet. We'd have to find another brand that he could eat though because the D/D is so expensive. It's about 2 bucks a can!!!

Anybody got cats that eat ONLY WET FOOD? How does that work? How much do they get per day?

[Craftlady]

Educated guess here,
6 oz can (large) I would feed 1/2 in morning and 1/2 in evening.
1 can per day.

3 oz can (small) I would feed 2 cans a day to equal a 6 oz can.

Can food tends to be more fattening.

Only bad thing about all wet is the effect of cats teeth. The kibble keeps things cleaned and tarter free.

[Catty1]

The idea of flora is a good one, I think - though the site was not specific about what the ingredients are. Find that out first! Email the company and ask - or maybe your vet can request the info.

Meanwhile....in humans and pets, a good quality PLAIN yogurt will have the flora that are killed off by antibiotics and lots of other stuff.

My cat Oscar loves it - Cole won't go near it.

I just give him a 1/2 tsp at a time. Every other day or so.

Why not try this on Brode? Do the old dab-on-the-paws trick if he won't lick it off a platter.

He IS too cute!

hugs
Catty1

[Glacier]

Anybody got cats that eat ONLY WET FOOD? How does that work? How much do they get per day?

My vet strongly recommends that all cats eat at least some canned food and that any cat with urinary tract issues eat only canned food. I can't convince Pete to eat only canned, but most of his diet is canned. He eats about a small can of prescription food a day(Royal Canin S/O). I buy it by the flat. 24 cans for about 30 bucks from my vet. Maybe you could get a deal if you bought in bulk?

[Lizzie]

Yogurt, for those cats who will eat it, can work like a charm on digestive upsets. I used it on my irritable cat, until he decided he didn't like it any more. And I've used it many times when cats got diarrhoea from antibiotics. I found that I have to get the full fat for cats to enjoy it.

I can imagine how utterly frustrated you are at not being able to help Brodie. My favorite cat had IBS for several years and I had to switch diets on him about every 8 months as he became sensitive to it or stopped liking it.

[Sonia59]

I had a quick look at the website. It is a probiotic and they give a vague bacterial content of the product, but it does not say so much. Some of the species they mention could be good and other ones could be bad, there is not enough information about them. Their claims may be scientifically proven but it is not very clear. I checked the name of the scientist mentionned. He has participated in a study testing probiotics in humans with IBD, but I did not find any published study with cats and dogs. The only clear thing is that the bacterial content is completely different than the yoghurt bacteria. It could work and I tend to believe in it, but I would like to know more about it before I use it.

Have you tried giving yoghurt to Brodie?
My cats love yoghurt!

And yes, Brodie is very cute! He deserves t(and you too) having his problem solved! :)

[christa]

Yogurt, for those cats who will eat it, can work like a charm on digestive upsets. I used it on my irritable cat, until he decided he didn't like it any more. And I've used it many times when cats got diarrhoea from antibiotics. I found that I have to get the full fat for cats to enjoy it.

Now there's an idea! He does get *some* yogurt ever now and then but we eat the LITE stuff . . . I never thought about getting him some full fat yogurt! I bet he'd LOVE that. Might help a lot too! I might try that.

[Catty1]

Let us know how that works! *fingers crossed*

hugs
Catty1

[christa]

I had a quick look at the website. It is a probiotic and they give a vague bacterial content of the product, but it does not say so much. Some of the species they mention could be good and other ones could be bad, there is not enough information about them. Their claims may be scientifically proven but it is not very clear. I checked the name of the scientist mentionned. He has participated in a study testing probiotics in humans with IBD, but I did not find any published study with cats and dogs. The only clear thing is that the bacterial content is completely different than the yoghurt bacteria. It could work and I tend to believe in it, but I would like to know more about it before I use it.

Have you tried giving yoghurt to Brodie?
My cats love yoghurt!

And yes, Brodie is very cute! He deserves t(and you too) having his problem solved! :)

Thanks for your input, Sonia . . . like I said, I really just didn't know about this product and really value everyone's opinions on this stuff! Anyway, sounds like you know what you're talking about :) . . .

About yogurt . . . we used to give Brodie yogurt all the time . . . but I was confused becuase I couldn't remember if we stopped giving it to him and then it started throwing up or if he started throwing up while we were still giving it to him. So I guess I was afraid that it was causing or contributing to his throwing up. But now that I think back, I believe that he was throwing up less, maybe none at all when we were giving it to him like every day . . . because I remember that we would give it to him with L-Lysine . . . at the time, we were having herpes issues. That was our main problem. No vomiting at all . . .

I think I will go get some full fat yogurt . . . he hasn't been eating our Lite stuff as well lately, I think he's sick of it. Or maybe doesn't like the taste . . . I don't even really like it, LOL . . . Thanks guys!

[sirrahbed]

YES, Brodie is a cutie and that picture is just adorable :)

As for the yogurt - you can also buy acidophilus capsules instead. These are in health and nutrition stores and I am pretty sure this is the same bacteria that makes yogurt. You keep the capsules in the fridge and open them to sprinkle on kitties food. One a day. This was really good when my kittens had stomach upsets the first half year of their lives. Someone here suggested them and they really did help. Acidophilus is supposed to restore normal bacterial flora. I take them also :)

Sure do hope something will be found to help Brodie feel better.

[christa]

As for the yogurt - you can also buy acidophilus capsules instead.

Thanks for the suggestion Deb. At this point, I am willing to try just about ANYTHING.

I know this is gross, but hey, this is Pet Talk . . . The *smell* of his vomit doesn't bother me so much, it just smells like his food . . . it's the smell of the cleaner that's starting to get to me. YUCK! And maybe the mix of the two together, I don't know . . . anyway, I can smell it all the time . . . hubby says it's just me, where I clean it up all the time . . . he says he can't smell it . . . must be just me.

Poor baby . . . here he comes now . . . wanting to lay on my lap while I work. :)

[sirrahbed]

it's the smell of the cleaner that's starting to get to me.

Maybe switch to another cleaner? I know what you mean here :p The smell of a product starts to remind you of the yuck it is cleaning....it seems like it gets into your pores and stays in your nose eh? Have you tried OUT!? That one does not seem to have any odor at all to me. Works great for pee on the tile floor where someone keeps going :rolleyes:

[christa]

Maybe switch to another cleaner? I know what you mean here :p The smell of a product starts to remind you of the yuck it is cleaning....it seems like it gets into your pores and stays in your nose eh? Have you tried OUT!? That one does not seem to have any odor at all to me. Works great for pee on the tile floor where someone keeps going :rolleyes:

The thing is, we have hardwood *laminant* floors and there are only so many products you can use on those . . . know what I mean??? As far as cleaners go anyway. I wonder if OUT is safe for that type of floor? Guess I'll have to go to the store and do some reading! :eek:

[jazzcat]

I hope one of these things will help Brodie. I would definitely try the tablets Debbie suggested or the yogurt first.

What you said about the cleaner smell getting to you made me think of Richard. He can't handle anything Pine Sol smelling because he says he remembers in grade school the kid next to him throwing up everywhere and the janitor cleaning it up with pencil shavings and then mopping it all down with Pine Sol. He almost turns green when he smells it today. LOL.

I hope Brodie gets some relief soon, poor little guy.

[Sonia59]

Christa, this is just the field I am working in! ;) Which does not mean I have the 100% good advice for Brodie. I don't know much about cats intestinal problems and I also don't know exactly about the origin of Brodie's problem. But if my thoughts can help a bit...

About yoghurt, except if Brodie is allergic to something specific in yoghurt he should not throw up more if you give him some. And it's full of healthy compounds.

Debbie, acidophilus is not the same as the bacteria contained in yoghurt. The acidophilus you take is probably a probiotic and has been selected to have more beneficial effects in the intestine than the classical yoghurt bacteria.

The difference between acidophilus and Pet Flora is that acidophilus is supposed to be adapted to humans and Pet Flora is for cats and dogs, who do not have the same microbes as we have. And I have no idea whether it is good or bad to give human bacteria to a cat! If you decide to try it may be you should give Brodie a dose lower than for humans.
And in any case, yoghurt or other, this is never a short term "treatment". It has to be eaten daily and you will see effects after let's say two weeks or so.

Pet Flora also contains different bacteria, which is expected to be more efficient than only one. But from what I read from the website, they do not explain how they have selected the strains, what the strains are exactly, what the amounts are and if they have tested their safety. You should be careful with these probiotic products because most of them actually do not contain what's claimed on the package. It is already vague for humans but I think it is even worse for animals. Since my previous post I checked a bit more about the available studies in this field...and I could find almost nothing!

[christa]

Wow, thanks so much guys . . . Especially Sonia for all the info. Your doubts about it are enough to steer me in the opposite direction! :eek:

Anyway, I am on my way out the door right now to the store to get the little guy a tub of his own yogurt!

How much do you think per day??? Spoonful or so?

I just hope the yogurt doesn't come back up . . . I can only imagine what a mess that would be to clean up! GROSS!

[Sonia59]

Your doubts about it are enough to steer me in the opposite direction! :eek:

Anyway, I am on my way out the door right now to the store to get the little guy a tub of his own yogurt!

How much do you think per day??? Spoonful or so?

I just hope the yogurt doesn't come back up . . . I can only imagine what a mess that would be to clean up! GROSS!

I feel a bit guilty, if ever this would be good for Brodie and you choose not to give him... :( Please do not take only my opinion into account, but from a scientific point of view, if I would see this, I would hesitate to give it to my own cat. The claims are not strong enough. I truely believe in probiotics as long are they have been seriously checked. May be you could try to write them and get more info on the content, the tests they have made, etc... and see what they reply.

A spoonful of yoghurt sounds good. May be not too much at the beginning, to be sure he won't throw up. If he throws up there could also be something not good for him in the yoghurt.

[kuhio98]

Christa ~ I can't remember all the things you've tried, but have you tried human baby food? Meat flavored, of course. When Kuhio was getting very ill, it was the only thing she could keep down. I checked with the vet and he said it was fine. She ate a jar or 2 a day. Those suckers are $1 a jar up here. But, it was definitely worth it not to have to clean up puke all the time and it helped keep her weight up.

[christa]

Well, Brodie just had his first spoonful of plain full fat yogurt. At first he didn't act like he was going to like it, took a couple of licks and walked away, smacked his lips, went back, took a few more licks . . . and so on . . . he seemed to like it more when he was licking it from Meowmie's finger! :rolleyes: Anyway, he ate most of what I gave him. I will keep this up for awhile and see if it will make a difference. If not, I will try something else.

Can't hurt to try.

[catmandu]

I Hope That You Can Find Something As The Found Cats,will Lose Thier Dinners Occasionally, No Matter What I Feed.
I Wonder If Its The Fact With 14 Cats, They Eat Too Quickly To Eat Thier Share Before The Aggressive Gobblers.

[orangemm]

Let us know how the yogurt works! Poor little Brodie (and poor you!).

[RedHedd]

Aww! Poor Brodie. I do hope the full-fat yogurt works. When Goldie first started getting sick and we didn't know what was wrong, I tried acidophilus - it's available in capsules, tablets or liquid. She would have nothing to do with any of it.

[christa]

I Wonder If Its The Fact With 14 Cats, They Eat Too Quickly To Eat Thier Share Before The Aggressive Gobblers.

Gary, I even thought of that being the case with Brodie because he does have a tendancy to gobble his food down. I went as far as to feed him BY HAND for a few months :rolleyes: just to see if it would make a difference. It didn't. :( It was fun though . . . I felt like a momma bird, LOL. :D