Thoughts For The Future

[Montgomery]

Montgomery met someone new yesterday. His new friend (he liked her very much) has a great deal of experience with human digestive problems and raised some good questions. The first one is, could he possibly have ulcers, seeing how a great many things (such as probiotics) will give him foul, watery black diarrhea. The next thing she said was that he could be prone to osteoporosis and arthritis as he gets older. He'll be nine in March, which is barely middle-aged, but I want to keep him healthy and strong. He's a normal, active cat.
His veterinarian has never brought anything like this up, but I'm wondering what your experiences with aging animals are. Frankly, I haven't been able to get much in the way of answers from the clinic lately and I'm getting frustrated. Their answer to the extreme and very scary bout of reverse sneezing? Is he eating and drinking? Okay then. No, that was not okay.

[Olesia711]

hmmm... interesting question. It depends on how dark and if the stools have kind of a tarry consistency to them that would then make me worry.... cause that could indicate stomach bleed....and yes, that could be triggered when one has ulcers.

However.... just darker stools when giving probiotics could be a particular ingredient in the probiotic that is triggering this, and if one is not drinking enough water and on the edge of dehydration, that too can trigger darker stools. Many times, certain foods (the color of the food) will also trigger a darker stool... so it really depends if this is something to consider (ulcers) or not...............

The stinky smell... to me that would suggest that something in the current probiotic you are giving is simply not agreeing with Montgomery's personal own digestive gut flora..... can you change products and when you do, try giving a lot less? See if the same thing happens? Doing something like this might also help you have a better clue to what is going on.

The problem with OTC probiotics is that they are "one-size-fits-all" and each of our animal's gut flor is very individually composed of it's own set of bacteria.... so one-size fits-all probiotic may agree with many but not always every animal. I personally could not give ANY probiotics to my EPI gal, Izzy. However, my other dog does just fine with probiotics............

Not sure if this helps, but maybe if you tried a different product that would give you a clue.

The other thing you can try is try raw green tripe instead of packaged probiotics. it might (or might not) work better......... i would recommend https://www.greencuisine4pets.com/products.htm but the company is in the USA and you are in Canada if i remember correctly.... but maybe if you contact them they can give you a Canadian source...........

[Montgomery]

I don't feed him probiotics because every time I've tried, he's developed this watery black diarrhea long before we ever get close to a theraputic dose. He's tried ProGut, FortiFlora, Omega Alpha, and something else from the clinic but I don't remember the name. It was an obscure thing we'd used years ago on a different cat and it worked for her, but not for him. His stools are usually formed, and about the same colour as his cat food. They don't smell as bad since we switched to Enzyme Diane.
I'm concerned that I should be doing something for joint support as he ages, which is why I brought up the Triacta, which I use with two of my senior cats with great success. I'm wondering if he's going to be a good candidate for bone and joint problems as he ages because of all his digestive difficulties, and if I can at least prevent some of it from happening.

[Olesia711]

Montgomery sounds like my Izzy..... she couldn't do ANY brand of probiotics.... so we just didn't. WHen she had a flare-up (which thankfully was not very often) we gave her Tylan.

Ahhh.... hip and joint... i think it just depends on the individual EPI pet. And i am basing this opinion solely on my personal experience.... so this is just an opinion not fact. My Izzy was diagnosed with EPI at 1+ yrs old ... she lived until she was 15 years old and even though her bones and teeth were smaller then the norm for her breed.... she was still jumping up by herself on the couch 1 wee until she passed away,.... and the night before she still did the turkey (or frog) position when she laid down.... she obviously had no debilitating joint/hip concerns.

My remaining dog (same breed) who does not have EPI, is having a LOT of trouble with her hips and joints.... so my take away is that it al depends on the individual pet... i suspect EPI does not influence, or not to any big degree, joint/hip issues.........................................

[Montgomery]

Thanks, that was really helpful. I'd be lost without this forum. You've helped me so much with this little guy!

[Jean]

Hi

My Kara couldnt do pre orprobiotics either

as for joint support have youthought of

Extract of green lipped mussel, its as it says extract of mussels from the sea, and is from New Zealand, helped all three of my Sheps and an elderly cat who lived to 20, cat would eat them ! very fishy smell

Glad he has a new friend

[Montgomery]

I do Triacta HA and green-lipped mussels with my eldest cat, and have seen a huge improvement in her mobility. Its funny, because the mussels I got from the veterinarian smell like tomatoes, the ones I got from Big Country Raw smell extremely fishy.
He makes friends like crazy. Can't take him anywhere. I'm not the most social person, so it can be a challenge sometimes.

[Madelon]

Montgomery is so lucky to have you! My EPI boy so far has not been able to tolerate any probiotics - poop always goes to diarrhea not black or smelly but just runny and soft.

Thanks Olesia for the information as always