conscious living, health and happiness for cats and their humans
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I consider probiotics one of the most important supplements for cats. They are crucial to promoting good intestinal health. A healthy gut is critical for a strong immune system, healthy body weight and composition, and even mental health, and minimizes the risk for numerous diseases, including diabetes and cancer. Continue Reading
This post contains affiliate links*
I consider probiotics one of the most important supplements for cats. There has been a fair amount of research on the human side on how critical a healthy gut is for a strong immune system, healthy body weight and composition, and even mental health. A healthy gut also minimizes the risk for numerous diseases, including diabetes and cancer. Probiotics are crucial to promoting good intestinal health, and while there are far fewer studies about the beneficial effects of probiotics for animals, the studies that do exist have found that probiotics have the same positive effect on animals as they do on humans.Continue Reading
This post contains affiliate links*
I consider probiotics one of the most important supplements for all cats. There has been a fair amount of research on the human side on how critical a healthy gut is for a strong immune system, healthy body weight and composition, and even mental health. A healthy gut also minimizes the risk for numerous diseases, including diabetes and cancer.Continue Reading
There has been a fair amount of research on the human side on how critical a healthy gut is for a strong immune system, healthy body weight and composition, and even mental health. A healthy gut also minimizes the risk for numerous diseases, including diabetes and cancer. Probiotics are crucial to promoting good intestinal health, and while there are far fewer studies about the beneficial effects of probiotics for animals, the studies that do exist have found that probiotics have the same positive effect on animals as they do on humans.Continue Reading
Enzymes are tiny protein molecules that are found in every living cell. They are responsible for vital chemical reactions in your cat’s body, including proper digestion and absorption of nutrients. A lack of enzymes in your cat’s system will result in digestive upsets and a less than optimal immune system.
Chronic diarrhea is probably one of the most frustrating conditions, both for the affected cat, and for her guardian. Diarrhea is considered chronic if symptoms persist for longer than three weeks, but any time your cat has diarrhea for more than a day or two, a visit to your veterinarian is indicated, especially if your cat is not eating or drinking water and/or is vomiting as well. Chronic vomiting and diarrhea can lead to dehydration, and, if left untreated, can become life threatening.
Causes for chronic intestinal disease can vary, and include
I’m a big believer in supplements for both cats and humans. You should see my kitchen counter: between my supplements (I didn’t earn the name “supplement queen” from my friends for no reason!) and Allegra and Ruby’s supplements, there’s not much space left for anything else. And I’m only half kidding.
I rarely accept supplements or food for review unless it’s something I’ve already thoroughly researched and/or tried. I won’t use Allegra and Ruby as product testers for products whose claims I can’t verify. Full disclosure: I have not used Pet Naturals of Vermont’s products, but based on what I’ve read about the company, and the ingredients listed for their products, these look like good products to me. I was particularly impressed to find out that Dr. Roger Kendall, Pet Naturals® vice president of research and development, and Dale Metz, Pet Naturals® CEO, are founding members of the National Animal Supplements Council. The NASC seal guarantees that pet supplements meet guidelines for quality, integrity and truth in labeling.Continue Reading
How many times have you seen the words “complete and balanced” on a pet food label? Would this lead you to believe that the food baring this claim is all your cat will ever need to be in perfect health? If so, you may be wrong.
The claim of “complete and balanced” simply means that the pet food company making that claim for any particular food is stating that when a sample of that particular product was subjected to a chemical analysis, that sample was found to contain the currently “known to be essential” nutrients at the currently recommended levels according to the currently accepted provisions laid down by AAFCO. (Source: Dr. Billinghurst’s BARF Diet).
Sounds like a mouthful? What it means in plain English is that commercial pet food contains every nutrient that our pets require. It does not necessarily mean that it also contains all the nutrients our pets need to be in perfect, healthy balance.
I think the concept that a cat can thrive on the same food, day after day, no matter how high a quality, simply doesn’t make sense. Continue Reading
Source: Holistic Pet Info
Many of us think of bacteria as harmful, or even deadly, but did you know that certain bacteria are not only desirable, but necessary for your pet’s good health?
“Friendly” bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifido-bacterium bifidum, and Lactobacillus bulgaricus are just a few of the helpful microorganisms that can reside in your dog or cat’s intestinal tract where they play an important role in defending his body against disease and illness. These kinds of bacteria are referred to as “friendly” because, rather than causing illness and disease, they serve to defend your pet from harmful organisms which can invade his body from time to time.
Keeping this complex ecosystem of microorganisms in balance, however, is not always easy. In this ongoing “tug of war” between friendly and harmful bacteria, sometimes the friendly bacteria get outnumbered due to a number of causes:
Probiotics and Antibiotics
One of the most common ways that the ratio of friendly-to-harmful bacteria gets nudged out of balance is through the use of antibiotics. Of course, the use of these drugs is not always avoidable, especially if your dog or cat is fighting a serious infection.
Unfortunately, antibiotics are not able to distinguish between friendly and harmful bacteria, so when eradicating the harmful bacteria (the source of many serious infections), they also kill off a large number of friendly bacteria. This leaves your pet with even less of a defense the next time he is exposed to harmful microorganisms.
Chemicals in the water supply and soil can have much the same effect. They do eliminate many of the harmful bacteria your pet is exposed to; but they also upset the balance between good and harmful bacteria. In this way, chemicals can also have a negative impact on your pet’s health.
Even a natural event such as aging can affect the balance of good and harmful bacteria in your pet’s intestinal tract. Regardless of the cause, if your pet shows any of the signs of an unhealthy intestinal tract, this should serve as a red flag: It’s time to intervene and help your pet get his intestinal ecosystem back on the right track. Some of the most common symptoms of an unhealthy digestive tract are the following:
Probiotic Supplements for Dogs and Cats
One of the simplest and most effective remedies for poor digestion is to administer probiotics to your pet. Probiotics are supplements comprised of different kinds of friendly bacteria. The ingredients in them may vary from brand to brand, as do the methods of delivery. For instance, probiotics may come in capsule, paste, liquid, or tablet form. They may even be included in some brands of commercial pet food, although this is not considered the best source since, according to some studies, certain brands do not contain the amount or even the kind of probiotics that are stated on the labels. For this reason, supplements are considered the more effective way to go.
The Right Formula
So what should you look for when shopping around for probiotics? Above all, you want a formula that is comprised of quality ingredients that will help restore the balance of microflora in your pet’s intestinal tract. A formula that contains a 1:1:1 ratio of Lactobacillus Casei, Bifidobacterium Thermophilum, Enterococcus Faecium should address this need.
If you are looking for information on how to manage your pet’s health with holistic or natural pet care products like nutritional supplements, vitamins, nutraceuticals and other natural medicines, Holistic Pet Info is the place for you. They carry more than 100 natural pet products including vitamins and nutritional supplements, nutraceuticals and other natural medicines. The site also offers a wide range of well-written and researched articles and other information on animal health issues.