One of our readers has tried a new probiotic for their cats who were diagnosed with colitis...
Q) My two cats (brother and sister) have been diagnosed with colitis. I have been micro-managing their colitis for over a year using microchip feeders (measured food) and had managed to get it under control.
Life happens, the manufacturer changed the recipe of their food and I was left with the problem of variable stools (normal to diarrhoea), with or without blood. Five months later, I was desperate so I looked on the internet and found a holistic vet called Dr Becker. Well would you know it, Protexin make a UK probiotic called Bio-Kult which is easy to obtain (in Boots the chemist) and it has 14 strains of bacteria in it, most of which Dr Becker uses in the product she endorses.
With my vet on board, I started using Bio-Kult. I could not believe the change and how quickly (within two days) I was seeing perfect poos. I have been using Bio-Kult for three weeks now and I am still in a state of disbelief. Could this mean that their colitis is cured?
Your Cat reader
A) Aga says: I am so glad that you have finally found a way to manage your cats’ colitis. I am not familiar with the product you described but I will definitely look into it. The answer to your question is not easy. It will very much depend on what was the cause of colitis in the first place.
Very often, we are not able to successfully diagnose the exact cause. To be able to give you a more detailed answer, I would have to look at all the tests that have been performed in order to diagnose the colitis. Occasionally, the diagnosis is based on clinical signs without further testing. In those cases, it is even more difficult to decide on the long-term outcome.
Having said that, I always try to remain optimistic. If the probiotic you use seems to be doing the job (and from your description it is!), I would continue and possibly with time consider reducing it to see if it is still necessary.
My concern is that there may be some underlying process in your cats’ colons that predisposes them to recurrence (for example, an issue with the local immune system). If you stop probiotics and the problem doesn’t return, then we could potentially call them cured. I am going to keep my fingers crossed that the resolution of the colitis remains permanent!