# Experiences with S. Boulardii?



## AliDenise (Nov 22, 2017)

Hey everyone, I was just wondering about people's experiences/opinions regarding using S. Boulardii to help with GI problems in cats, and what brands worked/didn't work.

My cat Yoshi has been having GI problems for awhile now; I thought they were solved when we got her on a new food and she gained 2 pounds, but she is still having soft stools. It is better because she's eating a ton, drinking, is playful, and isn't going to her litter box 5 times a day like before, but her stools are still soft. She's had multiple blood tests done & a urinalysis & they all came back normal. The vet said the next step would be an ultrasound to rule out any obstructions but I feel like she wouldn't be eating if that was the case. 

I have her on the Purina FortiFlora right now, but it's been over a week and there hasn't been an improvement. I've read a lot about S. Boulardii online and had some people recommend it to me so I'd like to give it a try.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

One member just tried this recently and last I heard, I believe it was working. Check towards the end of this thread: http://www.catforum.com/forum/38-health-nutrition/388730-loose-stools-2.html

I don't remember if you've tried plain canned pumpkin? Many people have had good experiences, and some cats really like it (not mine, of course...).


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## AliDenise (Nov 22, 2017)

Thanks! I have tried canned pumpkin, she unfortunately does not like it either. I ended up ordering the S. Boulardii & it should be here late next week, so we'll give that a go!


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## AliDenise (Nov 22, 2017)

*Ultrasound Tomorrow- very nervous*

Hi all,

My cat Yoshi has been having GI problems for a few months and I am at my wit's end, so I booked an ultrasound for tomorrow morning to try to figure out what's causing her GI problems. I have never had an ultrasound done on my pets before and I'm very nervous. I know that it's not invasive but I can't help stressing about how scary the experience is going to be for her.

Yoshi has been having diarrhea for a few months now. It has definitely improved since it first began (only happens a couple times a day and is more like pudding instead of water), but it still has not stopped. I had her on vet prescribed wet food for sensitive stomachs and she loved that, and it seemed to help a little. After doing a lot of research and trying out the vet food for about 2 weeks, I decided to try to switch her to raw food to see if something dietary was causing her problems. She was on raw for about a week after transitioning, and she actually had solid stools, but they had bright blood in them. Then she started vomiting over the weekend; on Friday, she refused to eat anything except for the canned food and vomited about 5 times, and had a couple hairballs. After that, she has refused to eat the raw and will only eat the vet food, but is still having hairballs/vomiting around once a day, and still having pudding poop. 

When I took her to the vet about a month ago, she had a blood test and urinalysis done that came back normal except for slightly elevated thyroid levels. The vet and pathologist weren't convinced that her thyroid was causing her GI issues though since she had no other hyperthyroid symptoms. They told me that if the problem persisted to book an ultrasound, so I did.

I also ordered S. Boulardii for her but it hasn't come in yet. All of the vomiting over the weekend scared me a lot and prompted me to book the ultrasound.

I'm so confused as to what is causing this and what the ultrasound could find. She seems completely fine other than the pudding poop and frequent hairballs/vomit. She is eating a ton, has gained a bit of weight, and is very playful. I don't understand why on some days it seems better, but then suddenly changes. The vet food was helping, but did not solve the issue completely. The raw food got her having normal solid stools, but they had what looked liked fresh blood in them. Then the vomiting started, but now it has mostly stopped. I'm wondering if an ultrasound is even completely necessary but I have no clue what else to do to find out what's going on. 

Sorry for going on about it, but I am just nervous. I feel like it could be IBD, but even an ultrasound would not be able to diagnose that completely. I keep putting the ultrasound off because she seems to get better, but then it seems to get worse. 

Has anyone experienced something similar with their cats? Is this ultrasound going to even be useful, or am I putting her through this stress for nothing?


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

Have you had a PCR Diarrhea panel done for your cat?


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## smoda61 (Oct 4, 2017)

So sorry I did not see this thread sooner. I was not around much after loosing Kali to FIP November 29th. I wish someone smacked me so I would have replied.

I am actually pretty impressed with what S. Boullardi has done for my boy Han. What he has been getting is s. Boullardi and a separate probiotic. As I understand the theory, the S. Boulardi will modulate the behavior of the intestine. It does not actually change the bacterial composition. While it is being used, it is supposed to calm the situation (all my non-science description - at home I have the actual articles and can get them to you but I am out of state at the moment). Then you also need a probiotic to actually colonize the intestine. I get my supplies off of Amazon. I buy the Now brand S. boullardi and Now brand probiotic-10 25 Billion. Over the course of the day Han gets about two full capsules of each (he is a pig, he eats four 3 oz cans a day and each get a half capsule of each). Are his stools perfect? no. I have yet to prove it, but I believe that dry foods are a contributing factor to soft stools. Sudden changes in food also cause a back sliding. But I would say that if I am steady on his food with the boullardi and probiotic, he is "normal" 80 - 990% of the time.

A week ago, we adopted another kitty, Harry so that Han would have a friend after losing Kali. Harry is an occasional vomiter. Lucky me. First time was a hard ball. All the other times I attribute his vomiting to eating too fast. Han tried to steal his food and I think he rushes gets ann air bubble and then vomits ( i guess cats don't know to burp  ). So now I sit on the floor at meal time and put a spoonful in the bowl at a time (about 1 oz each). This seems to be helping.

Oh, I have also tried slipper elm syrup. Not sure if it helped. I did it for about 4 days.


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## AliDenise (Nov 22, 2017)

@LifeofKati

My girl Yoshi has been on the S. Boulardii since Thursday, getting half of a capsule twice daily for a total of 5 billion CFU daily. I haven't seen an improvement yet- she is still having diarrhea. She is actually having a pretty bad day today.. she has barely eaten anything and threw up bile this morning. I don't know what to do at this point.

She had the ultrasound on Wednesday and they found nothing; no sign of IBD, no tumors, no masses, no inflammation. They have no clue what is causing this and told me to just bring her in for a follow-up in about a month as long as she is eating. She isn't eating today though 


@ Mochas Mommy

No, I haven't. The vets never talked about it or asked to do one. They did an ultrasound though and found nothing. 


@ smoda61

Hi! I'm glad to hear that Han is doing better. Unfortunately the S. Boulardii has not worked for Yoshi yet, although it's only been about 3 days. The vets did the ultrasound and found nothing wrong with her and no signs of IBD, so we're all stumped on what's causing this. Yesterday was a great day for her- she ate a lot, played, cuddled, and seemed so much better. Today she is not so great.. not interested in food at all and threw up this morning, and won't cuddle. She just wants to be by herself. It's so frustrating watching her go through this and not know how to help her or what's wrong. I don't know what else to do at this point.


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## smoda61 (Oct 4, 2017)

AliDenise, I am so sorry for your stress and I can totally relate. So the level I have gotten to is more more liquidy stools and no visible blood and mucus that did occur at times. I am still figuring it out, but I believe I am getting closer and Han is happy, active and as at about 10 pounds of lean muscle, up from the 8.25 lb we adopted him at.

Things I am avoiding for the moment. No dry foods, no kitty "treats", all wet foods are grain free and on the low carb end, no fish. When I am thinking, all wet food gets both S. Boulardi added in as well as probiotic.

Options the doctor has suggested for downs the road and i have avoided so far, steroids, fecal transplant, colonoscopy w/ biopsy. 

Yesterdays stools were perfect, today it was half perfect and half soft. I am wondering it that is because there was one meal that I did not add the bourlardi and probiotic.

The food I am using at the moment is not special, it is the Fancy Feast classic pate. It is budget food that I can get without issue regardless of where I am, and is grain free/low carb. Oh, and no carrageenan.

articles: I hope I am allowed to link. In case the links must be deleted, I'll give you titles you can search on yourself as well. Please not that I no nothing about these writers, but I found there theories worth exploring.

Food Fur Life "My Cat has Diarrhea - What do I do?"
My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?

For Fur Life "Probiotics for Cats - Why and Which ones"
Probiotics for Cats - Why and Which Ones


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

I would recommend the full PCR diarrhea panel.
Your kitty would need to be off meds for 2 weeks for a true reading, but this test is very comprehensive.

You could also try adding some pure pumpkin or psyllium to kitty's food. They firm things up but doesn’t cure anything. I’d also recommend continuing with the slippery elm bark twice daily to coat the GI tract....at least until you know what’s causing this.


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## smoda61 (Oct 4, 2017)

Mochas Mom - can you explain what a PCR panel is. Han has had what was claimed to be complete stool analysis twice before the internist. And the internist, while considering other evaluative procedures, has not mentioned evaluating the stool further. Therefore, I am assuming Han has had full analysis and there is nothing more for him in this genre. Also, if a cats stool of firm or mostly firm through diet modification and the two probiotics, do you feel I could be covering up a problem that needs to be found. What I am doing with Han appears to be good, but I do worry about doing the best for him. (I did ask this of the internist, and I believe that he feels that if the stools are good with the probiotics, then we just continue to monitor with for further action unless there is a regression)


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

The full diarrhea panel is the most comprehensive panel. Regular diarrhea panels done by vets only test for some things...this one tests for some conditions that the others miss and that are particularly nasty. 

I had a kitten with diarrhea that I could use all the pumpkin, psyllium, raw food, and antibiotics to “clear up” the symptoms. GI system seems better while she was on everythin too. But, as soon as i reduced these things, the diarrhea came back. My vet kept wanting the less expensive/less comprehensive tests...I finally insisted on this one and it came back as TF. We treated and no problems since...and a healthy cat.

Your cat may or may not have one of these, but I’d want to rule all causes out first. You can read more on the panel here. http://www.idexx.com.au/pdf/en_au/s...tes/realpcr-canine-feline-diarrhea-panels.pdf

You want the kitty off all meds etc before a stool test as they can and do alter results.


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## smoda61 (Oct 4, 2017)

Are the probiotics considered "medicines" that could alter a test? I'll certainly ask about this. I am surprised that it was not suggested before fecal transplants and colonoscopies. hmmmmm


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## AliDenise (Nov 22, 2017)

Hi all, thanks for the replies. Yoshi had to be brought into the vet yesterday morning due to her not eating and constantly throwing up bile (every 1-2 hours). I gave them permission to repeat any tests if necessary while she was there. They found that her kidneys are abnormally shaped, and that her intestinal wall has thickened. Her blood tests came back normal, and her kidney enzymes are normal, but the vet believes due to the lack of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea for the past two months, all considered with her age, that she most likely has small cell GI lymphoma. She gave a 25% chance that it's IBD + polycystic kidney disease. 

I'm going to be starting another thread to talk about this new diagnosis so I'll give more info there. A biopsy confirmation and chemotherapy is not an option for her, so we started her on steroids this morning, as well as anti-nausea meds, an antibiotic, and an appetite stimulant. Hopefully this gets her back to eating (she hasn't thrown up since yesterday afternoon, which is great) and the steroids can give her a happy life for as long as possible. 

@ Mochas Mommy

They did do the full PCR diarrhea panel and found nothing wrong except for a bit of bacteria, which they believe to be a secondary processes caused by the IBD/lymphoma, and is now being treated with antibiotics.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

A normal test of a stool sample is a fecal flotation. I don't know what exactly that involves, but the limitation is that some parasites won't always be present in a stool sample. With giardia, fecals would need to be repeated several days in a row to be sure it's not present. I'm not a science person, but if I remember, PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction, and a PCR test looks for antigens that would indicate the presence of a parasite, even if the parasite itself can't be seen. I found a good link a few weeks ago. I'll see if I can find it again.


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## smoda61 (Oct 4, 2017)

AliDenise - We are all thinking of you and Yoshi

Sprite - thanks for the added info. As I recall, even though the fecal tests came back negative Drontal was give both times just to be safe.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Apparently I didn't bookmark the article, but this article explains why a fecal flotation wouldn't necessarily be effective for giardia. It may be the same case with other parasites. MM, I don't think it was giardia that you had to deal with, was it?

https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/12/03/giardia-infection-cats.aspx


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## smoda61 (Oct 4, 2017)

Thank you both, Sprite and MM


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

We dealt with TF, not giardia. I am not sure if probiotics can alter a PCR diarrhea panel....When I do this panel with my incoming cats, I ensure it’s at least 2 weeks of nothing but food and water going in. I want as true a reading as I can get.

Has the vet discussed dry FIP as a possibility for Yoshi? The symptoms you indicate are very similar to what my Simba has been going through for the past two years. Did you get full blood tests?


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