I don’t know when it started, but probiotics suddenly became popular. Not only are people eating them, but they are also popular in the pet industry. Nutrition tablets, tooth cleansing powder, pet yogurt, cheese paste, whether it is a health product area of Taobao or a recommendation copy of a book, you can see that probiotics are the C position. As long as there are three words "probiotics" in the product, the shovelers will crazily add the grass planting list. Is the probiotic that seems to cure all diseases really the better?
Take a certain gastrointestinal treasure that we can search on the Internet for example. Its softness mainly revolves around a total of more than 20 billion bacteria and the added lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. It can effectively control diarrhea, diarrhea, bad breath, and long-term consumption is recommended. However, the test results show that the number of bacteria is only more than 1 billion, and no lactic acid bacteria or yeast is added! Therefore, long-term consumption of this type of product can easily cause "fungal disorder" for pets.
Image of intestinal bacterial flora
In addition to a certain pet, the keyword "prebiotic" can also be seen in the product details of many probiotic products. What is the difference between them? Let's first briefly understand them.
What brand of probiotics is good for cats? How to feed cats probiotics appropriate? What is the difference between probiotics and prebiotics?
There are billions of bacteria in the pet's digestive system to keep their stomach healthy. Probiotics refer to these microorganisms (bacteria and yeast) that are beneficial to pet gastrointestinal tract. They can help food digest, fight potential pathogens, make nutritious vitamins, and increase the immune system. Many probiotics are now used as supplements and are used in many forms for pets, such as powders, capsules, tablets, liquids or sprays.
prebiotics are an indigestive carbohydrate that stimulates and promotes healthy bacterial growth and activity in the gastrointestinal tract, and fructose oligosaccharide (FOS) is the most common type of prebiotics. Oligosaccharides, Arabin galactans and lactulose are also known as prebiotics. Beans, fruits, grains and vegetables are all major sources of prebiotics.
Generally speaking, probiotics are beneficial bacteria, and prebiotics play a good advancing auxiliary role.
Does probiotics need to be consumed for a long time?
Although there are no reports on the side effects of taking probiotics, do probiotics really cure all diseases? I believe that many parents will use probiotics when cats are constipated. In fact, there is no clinical diagnosis of constipation at home and abroad that probiotics can treat constipation.
And some probiotics are added with pancreatic enzymes, and the cats secrete digestive enzymes themselves. Therefore, if healthy cats eat this type of probiotic for a long time, they are prone to dependence!
Under what circumstances are suitable for probiotics?
· Inflammation and impaired intestinal peristalsis
This type of situation is usually accompanied by diarrhea, mainly caused by bacterial disorders. Probiotics can help maintain intestinal balance and improve the symptoms of diarrhea in cats, but the main treatment method should be to prescribe the right medicine, and probiotics can only be used as auxiliary.
· Vomiting caused by hairballs
Cats who vomit more than twice a month have hypotension, also known as chronic hairballs. Probiotics can restore improved motility of gut bacteria. Although probiotics are important, they are not panacea. We also need to help them solve their symptoms by improving their daily diet.
· Chronic gastrointestinal diseases
For cats suffering from these diseases, probiotics are ideal for use.
How to correctly select probiotics?
· Ensure channel safety
First of all, we must ensure that probiotics meet national standards, and secondly, we must see whether the additional additives are safe. Just like many probiotics contain some allergenic substances, if cats allergic to this type of substance eat probiotics, it is no benefit.
· Choose the right form
Choose dry powder as a supplement for probiotics. Compared with liquids, tablets, pastes or snack products, powder is the most stable form. A spoonful of powder contains more natural probiotics than any other supplement form. Store under appropriate conditions and can also maintain activity better. Generally speaking, good bacteria include Bifidobacterium, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, yeast, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Clostridium sedatives, and Lactobacillus acidophilus.
· Avoid too many bacterial species
bacteria are active. When they attach to the intestine, they will compete with each other to control the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, in order to make them survive more harmoniously, it is recommended to choose less than 6 probiotic species, which can ensure that the five valuable species will not be diluted by the others. Choosing a probiotic formula that is too complex may cause gastrointestinal discomfort in the cat!
· Looking for prebiotics in the formula There are many materials used as prebiotics in the formula, such as fructose oligosaccharide FOS, inulin fiber or gum arabic. Their main purpose is to increase the activity of probiotics in hot weather, helping them eat and reproduce. Prebiotics are essential for any probiotic!
· Choose the right dose
The cat is very small and has a very effective digestive tract. Research results show that there are about 500 million live bacteria every day to maintain the health of the cat. If the amount of probiotics you choose exceeds 10 billion, then this is definitely used by humans. However, when cats are in the recovery period after surgery, the amount of probiotics can be used 2-4 times.
· Refer to actual cases to share that
probiotics have no side effects, but whether they can work also varies from cat to cat. No matter what trouble the master has, you should search for any relevant posts online, because cats have different physical constitutions. Referring to parents’ experiences and sharing is the correct answer~
Warm tip:
Although probiotic treatment can be used as an auxiliary helper, healthy cats have the ability to regulate their own intestinal bacteria, so they do not need to take probiotics for a long time.