The best probiotics for cats with IBD will balance a felines natural microbiome, and they will help alleviate intestinal inflammation, malabsorption, and discomfort.
To manage Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) you’ll need to select the best probiotics for cats that have strains of bacteria that help control IBD such as Enterococcus faecium and Saccharomyces boulardii.
You can find our top 5 best probiotics for cats with IBD listed below. Also, you can get more information about IBD in cats, and learn more about each one of the probiotic supplements in the following article.
Best Probiotics for Cats with IBD
Best Probiotics for Cats with IBD – Natural Probiotics for Cats
Purina Pro Plan Fortiflora for Cats
Purina Pro Plan Fortiflora for Cats (Buy Online) is one of the best probiotics for cats with IBD that’s recommended by most veterinarians. It contains 100 million live Enterococcus faecium bacterial colonies per packet.
Fortiflora for cats is especially good at controlling diarrhea in kittens and adult cats. Enterococcus faecium bacteria can reduce the duration and severity of diarrhea, and it can limit the recurrence of diarrhea when given to a cat as a prophylactic.
Fortiflora for cats only contains a single strain of probiotics, which can be helpful if you have a cat that has a very sensitive intestinal tract. In some cases, probiotic blends can cause intestinal problems of their own. Single bacteria products make it much easier to assess which ingredient is causing any potential side effects.
Fortiflora for cats also contains a blend of vitamins and minerals that help support a cat’s intestinal health. Each satchel has a mix of dried yeast, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-Carotene, zinc proteinate, taurine salt, manganese proteinate, ferrous sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, and sodium selenite.
Just keep in mind that probiotics that contain multiple species of probiotic bacteria tend to perform better in cats that can tolerate them. The rest of the probiotics in this article all contain a blend of probiotic bacteria that might be a better choice if you have a less sensitive cat.
PetUltimates Probiotics for Cats
PetUltimates Probiotics for Cats (Buy Online) is one of the best probiotic supplements for cats on the market. It contains over 20 probiotic species, and each serving has over 5 billion live bacterial colony forming units (CFU) per scoop. It’s also made in the USA in a GMP-certified facility, so you won’t have to worry about this product containing any potentially dangerous ingredients.
Each scoop of PetUltimates Probiotics for Cats has a concentrated blend of twenty specially selected probiotic strains that help balance a cat’s intestines and help reduce IBD symptoms in cats.
PetUltimates Probiotics for Cats contains Beta-glucan that acts as a prebiotic, and Beta-glucan also regulates and enhances a cat’s immune system. Also, the PetUltimates Probiotics formula contains Alpha-galactosidase that can help reduce gas and bloating, which is helpful since gas is a common problem for cats that suffer from IBD.
The 20 species of probiotic bacteria in PetUltimates Probiotics for Cats are:
Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus salvarius, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus gasseri, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactococcus lactis, Bifidobacterium animalis, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium lactis, and Streptococcus thermophilus
Nutramax Proviable Health Supplement for Cats
Nutramax Proviable Health Supplement for Cats (Buy Online) will help control diarrhea, vomiting, and IBD in cats. It contains 7 strains of bacteria and each capsule has 5 billion live colony-forming units (CFU) per capsule.
Nutramax Proviable also has a good mix of prebiotic carbohydrates like Fructooligosaccharide, gum Arabic, and maltodextrin. These complex sugars act as a food source for beneficial bacteria so they can quickly colonize your cat’s intestines and out-compete the bad bacteria that can harm your cat.
Vetoquinol Pro-Pectalin
Vetoquinol Pro-Pectalin (Buy Online) helps soothe a cat’s intestines and it will reduce the occurrence of diarrhea and vomiting. It contains 600 million CFU (colony forming units) of Enterococcus faecium per tablet. Each tablet has also been encapsulated with a protective layer that will help the bacteria survive the low pH environment in a cat’s stomach.
Vetoquinol Pro-Pectalin contains Kaolin which helps reduce the inflammation that comes along with IBD by absorbing excess water and flushing out harmful bacteria. There is also some added pectin in Vetoquinol Pro-Pectalin that helps firm up a cat’s stool, and it will help reduce vomiting and the hairball problems that most cats with IBD have.
Vetoquinol Pro-Pectalin Oral Gel for Cats
Vetoquinol Pro-Pectalin Oral Gel for Cats (Buy Online) is a great probiotic for cats that have trouble swallowing tablets. This gel-based probiotic contains 200 million CFU (colony forming units) of Enterococcus faecium, in either a 15cc or 30cc syringe.
Vetoquinol Pro-Pectalin Oral Gel for Cats contains all the same ingredients that Vetoquinol Pro-Pectalin Tablets have like Kaolin and pectin just in an easier to administer gel.
The dosage recommendation for cats is to administer 1cc of gel every 8 hours, so each 30 cc syringe should last 10 to 15 days.
Dr. Mercola Complete Probiotics for Pets
Dr. Mercola Complete Probiotics for Pets (Buy Online) is a good multi-purpose probiotic supplement for both dogs and cats. It contains 14 strains of bacteria and each serving has billions of live colonies-forming bacterial units. Overall, this probiotic is good for daily probiotic maintenance, or if you want a good probiotic that you can use on all your pets.
NASC Approved Probiotics for Cats – NASC supplements
Rx Vitamins Essentials Biotic Powder for Pets
Rx Vitamins Essentials Biotic Powder for Pets (Buy Online) is an NASC approved probiotic for cats. It contains 2 billion live bacterial cells per serving and it also contains prebiotics that helps speed up the colonization of beneficial bacteria in a cat’s intestinal tract.
The primary strains of bacteria in Rx Vitamins Essentials are Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium Lactis. Along with prebiotic carbohydrates like Fructooligosaccharides and Larch Arabinogalactan.
Cat Food with Probiotics
Nulo Adult & Kitten Grain Free Dry Cat Food with BC30 Probiotic
Nulo Adult & Kitten Grain-Free Dry Cat Food with BC30 Probiotic (Buy Online) makes it easy to give your cat their probiotics on a daily basis. Also, this dry cat food is grain-free, so it doesn’t contain any soy, wheat, or corn that can upset your cat’s stomach.
The main ingredients in Nulo Grain-Free cat food are: Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Deboned Cod, Whole Peas, Lentils, and Chicken Fat. It also contains Dried Bacillus coagulans probiotics, along with Yucca Schidigera Extract, and Dried Chicory Root that serves as prebiotics.
Purina Pro Plan SAVOR Adult Dry Cat Food With Probiotics
Purina Pro Plan SAVOR With Probiotics (Buy Online) is an extremely popular cat food that you can get in two flavors: Chicken & Rice or Salmon and Rice. It’s made with over 40 percent protein, 16 percent fat, and 2 percent fiber. It also contains 600 million CFU/lb of Dried Bacillus coagulans probiotic bacterial colonies, along with vitamin A, omega 6 fatty acids and taurine.
What Causes IBD in Cats
Bacteria
Bacterial infections can cause IBD flares in some cats. The most common strains of bacteria that cause IBD in cats are Salmonella or E. coli. Cats usually ingest salmonella through contaminated food, or they can get E. coli from a dirty litter box.
You want to make sure you keep your cat’s litter box clean to prevent them from getting an E. coli infection. If you’re having a hard time keeping up with regular litter box maintenance then you might want to get a self-cleaning litter box.
Salmonella is usually present on raw food, or any wet cat food that’s been left to sit out unprotected for too long. If you need to let your cat’s food sit out you should look into getting an automatic cat feeder with a lid to keep their food protected.
Parasites
Parasitic infections can also be a root cause of IBD in cats. Some of the most common parasitic infections are Giardia or Tritrichomonas. These can be treated by a veterinarian, but sometimes the damage they cause can leave persistent side effects.
These types of parasites are usually contracted by outside cats. Most cats get these types of infections from mice or other animals. If you want to avoid parasites all together you might want to consider keeping your cat indoors or limit their time outdoors to reduce the risk of them picking up a parasite.
Allergies
Food allergies can cause inflammation in a cat’s intestines that can cause persistent IBD in some cats. They can either be allergic to certain proteins in their food, or it could be the grains or any one of the additives you commonly find in commercial cat food.
To resolve a food allergy you can try eliminating any of the foods that are causing your cat stomach problem symptoms. Then you can slowly replace them with a limited ingredient cat food to see if you see any improvement.
You also might want to try creating your own homemade cat food, so you can have more control over all the ingredients in your cat’s diet.
Is IBD in Cats Painful?
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is associated with intestinal inflammation, vomiting, and diarrhea. All of these symptoms can cause pain and discomfort for your cat. The inflammation can also cause damage to your cat’s intestines, which can lead to malabsorption of nutrients and chronic weight loss.
Can I Give My Cat Human Probiotics?
The bacteria you find in human and cat probiotics have some overlap, but there are some bacterial species that cat probiotics have that human probiotics lack. Also, certain bacteria can have similar names but they can be different strains that function differently in a cat’s intestinal tract.
It’s always a good idea to get probiotics that have bee formulated for cats especially if they have IBD. Since most human probiotics don’t contain Enterococcus faecium and Saccharomyces boulardii which can help control IBD in cats.
