Vet for alternative treatment, specifically probiotics

My cat was on a lot of antibiotics...and has been having a gut issue...I tried a Salmon Oil probiotic from petco and is does help somewhat -maybe 50% better. I did stop it for a day and it got worse again....may or may not be a coincidence.....The regular vet is clueless beyond saying it might help and wouldn't hurt and didn't have any specific recommendations.

Are there any vets that are specifically knowledgeable about this...or even anyone that can offer any advice on a more specific course of treatment.
He is hard to feed..won't eat any soft treats....I have to syringe feed the Salmon Oil concoction...and frankly the constant fish smell is bothering my stomach! he has also coughed it up a couple times...

jmitw said:

My cat was on a lot of antibiotics...and has been having a gut issue...I tried a Salmon Oil probiotic from petco and is does help somewhat -maybe 50% better. I did stop it for a day and it got worse again....may or may not be a coincidence.....The regular vet is clueless beyond saying it might help and wouldn't hurt and didn't have any specific recommendations.

Are there any vets that are specifically knowledgeable about this...or even anyone that can offer any advice on a more specific course of treatment.
He is hard to feed..won't eat any soft treats....I have to syringe feed the Salmon Oil concoction...and frankly the constant fish smell is bothering my stomach! he has also coughed it up a couple times...

How old is your cat? Is it Inflammatory Bowell Disease?

He's about 15..I am at least the 3rd owner...1st known owner just dumped him, 2nd only had him a couple years and couldn't take him when she moved...but pretty much left him outside all the time anyway....He could be a few years older or younger..

His symptoms are slurping (when not eating), and throat congestion. Sometimes it sounds like its in his nose. It had been about 80% improved with pepcid and antibiotics (before probiotics) but then we tried prednisone to see if that would finish the job, but it got worse.....it did get somewhat better when I started the probiotics..worse when stopped for a day...and then somewhat improved again....symptoms come and go throughout the day.

Vet said his esophogus looked somewhat displaced and inflamed in the xray.

odd thing is that he is pooping normally...now it is about half as bad as the worst point..Vet doesn't want to try more antibiotics...he doesn't have a fever or signs of an actual infection.

he had an apparent nasal infection in about June that did respond to antibiotics..but 1st time Vet wrote 1 ml 2x/day when it was supposed to be once (BioMox), symptoms came back-tried 2nd round, had to discontinue after 2 days because he was vomiting and not eating at all...a week and a half later tried Convenia, followed by a 2nd injection about a month later...changed vets, tried 28 days doxycyline which it did seem somewhat better after 24 hours, but pepcid had also been started a week earlier....

after all that it sounded like he could have nasal inflammation as it sounded dry, but we could hear the air going through his noise....which I stopped hearing after the prednisone, but now he has the throaty wet sounds/slurping again.

Have you tried spoonfuls of plain yogurt?

he won't eat yogurt, i wouldn't be able to get much in him. I just ordered a product from only natural pets that is a capsule that I can blend with water or stage 1 baby food and syringe feed. Last night I started wondering if it was maybe the salmon oil that was somehow helping and not the probiotics....before I started the salmon oil probiotic and the day after I skipped it, he was so loud I couldn't sleep...with it the noises aren't as loud and subside periodically...he ie a bad eater as it is...he is on medication for that too..but even with that he only ate 75 calories yesterday..most days I am lucky to get 125. I try hand feeding, heating the wet food, etc....he even refuses treats at times, but once in a while if he starts losing too much weight I just give him a pile of treats just to get him to eat something. I had tried Culturelle kids powder and had a lot of trouble with that. I have heard that cats may respond to different probiotics that humans.

It's hard to find an doctor expert in a treatment for which there is little evidence of efficacy

there are a bunch of 'alternative' vets that do things like chiropractic and chinese medicine...so they are out there..i just don't know if any of them specifically work with probiotics...i know for a fact it helps me...I was having a lot of gut issues..trying more fiber, less fiber, various pills, etc...they didn't help..but eating yogurt does...i do feel a lot of the alternative experts are just quacks out to make a buck...so its hard to find one who is truly knowledgeable and wants to help you. I used to go to a rheumatlogist who also practiced non traditional medicine...and he wasn't mentally there...my theory is that he OD's on his natural treatments and it has the same effect as misuse of traditional meds...i would go in, the nurse would write out the same prescriptions ...for meds I was not taking anymore and hadn't for 2 years...everything I said went right over his head...and he sent me on my way...

ive used Purina pro plan probiotics. Got them from the Westfield Vet when the kittens had diarrhea. Order them online from chewy.com. Try Westfield. Also I can give you several packets to try. Email me at joy.yagid@gmail.com

Is that the Fortiflora? Do you need a prescription for that? I'm sure the regular vet would give me an Rx if I needed it. And how easy would it be to syringe feed it? I have to use a small 1/4 teaspoon size syringe to be able to get anything in his mouth.

its a powder. I sprinkle it over their food. One site said I needed an Rx, but chewy.com allowed me to order it w/o. They seem to love it so much I need to keep it in the cabinet or else they will chew open the packets.

I've used the Fortiflora but switched over to this product, available thru Amazon and other online sites. I feel it's a bit more comprehensive. No Rx needed.

http://www.vanbeekpets.com/products/cat-products/synacore-cat