Probiotics for Cats

Probiotics for cats are one of the few bacterium that cats need to maintain a healthy digestive and intestinal tract. Probiotics are the good bacteria that the body retains from food, to keep the bad bacteria to a minimum.

The focus of probiotics is to attack and minimize the amount of bad bacteria in a cat's body. Bad bacteria can lead to all types of ailments, like urinary tract infections and intestinal infections. When these bad bacteria enter a cat's body, the immune system and the existing probiotics (good bacteria) begin fighting with the bad bacteria in an attempt to protect the body. Unfortunately, sometimes there are not enough probiotics in a cat's system to completely ward off infection and thus, illness ensues.

Causes of Insufficient Probiotics

There are several ways that the level of probiotics in a cat's body can be altered. One of the most common reasons that a cat may not a have sufficient amount of probiotics in his body is old age. As the body begins to age, the digestive system becomes less apt to retain all of the nutrients ingested from food and, as a result, the amount of probiotics retained is not sufficient.

When a cat is being treated for an unrelated condition, it is likely that he will be taking a consistent amount of antibiotics. While antibiotics are meant with the best of intentions and are usually highly effective, they can sometimes be harmful in that they don't have the ability to distinguish good bacteria from bad bacteria. With an excessive or consistent usage of antibiotics, it can actually wipe out the natural probiotics that exist in a cat's body.

Benefits of Probiotics for Cats

A healthy level of probiotics for cats can be greatly beneficial to keeping him healthy and well maintained. Probiotics are not limited to fighting off only one type of infection or only defending a particular portion of the body. They're a part of the entire body's natural defense. So, as long as there is a healthy and sufficient level of probiotics in a cat's system, the likelihood of developing infection or illness significantly drops.

There is growing research that points to the fact that probiotics are indeed highly effective at treating and eliminating conditions like urinary tract infections, yeast infections and digestive ailments, such as irritable bowel syndrome. Probiotics are a great way to help ensure the future health of a cat and help them to stay clear of these types of conditions.

Probiotic Foods and Supplements

As research continues to be developed on the benefit of probiotics, the market of supplements and cat foods containing them continues to grow, as well. There are more selections than ever for cat owners to help assist with their cat's natural need for probiotics.

Probiotics can be administered in the form of food or as a dietary supplement. Name brand cat food manufacturers, such as Eukanuba and Iams, have begun creating formulas that are specifically designed to include the recommended amount of probiotics for cats that are somewhat deficient.

Supplements are mainly used for cats that are already experiencing digestive troubles. If a cat is not digesting his food properly or absorbing all of the nutrients from his food, feeding a probiotic supplement can help to ensure that he gets the probiotics that he needs.

 

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