Friday, October 23, 2009

Pet Tip Of The Week: Yogurt

OUR MIRACLE!

The Benefits of PLAIN No Sugar Yogurt For Your Dog or Cat.


DISCLAIMER: Before using yogurt to maintain good health for your pet, or any homeopathic treatment, please check with your vet FIRST.


Many cats and dogs are intolerant to dairy products because of the lactose. It can make them gassy and give them loose bowels. As much as we would like to treat our little fur babies, especially the feline kind, to a small bowl of warm milk or cream, it is better for them that you don't. However you may give them as a treat kitten or puppy formula. KMR formula is the best and its only pennies more then other brands.


Yogurt is a dairy product but it contains live active cultures called Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. These cultures break down or kills the lactose in milk, which is what most pets are intolerant to.


Yogurt is actually good for pets and for you too. The live active cultures promote good digestive health and is a natural boost for the immune system.


We all, including our pets have good bacteria in our bodies. This good bacteria is called Flora. You have it on your skin, inside your mouth, and in your digestive tract.


Using Yogurt To Restore Good Health

When your pet becomes ill and your vet prescribes an antibiotic to kill the harmful bacteria, yogurt can help restore the balance of the good bacteria in your pet. I always suggest that whenever your pet is on medical treatment to also "treat" your pet to some yogurt. When your pet is sick with an infection, the bad bacteria is battling the good bacteria and winning. The yogurt puts the good stuff back into the body and therefore helps the medication do its job, and by restoring the good bacteria through yogurt, helps the immune system fight the infection. Yogurt enhances the effect of the antibiotic.


Also de-worming can disturb the good flora. Many times a dewormer can cause loose bowels which shows an off-set in the good flora. Feeding yogurt will restore the good balance.


Sometimes Vets will suggest using "Forta Flora." It comes in packets in a powder form. This is very good but can take about 30 days to do its job. Yogurt takes about 2 weeks and is WAY less expensive.


Using Yogurt To Maintain Good Health:

I stumbled on the good effects of yogurt by accident. We have a cat that suffered stomatitis. This is advanced gum disease. After having his teeth cleaned, several rounds of antibiotics, and a couple of sterroid shots to boost his immune system to fight off the gum disease, and flushing his gums daily, I started giving him kitten glop as a treat. I was feeding some young kittens the glop and my cat liked it too, so as a treat I was giving him about 1/4 of a cup. He's a good kitty and deserves spoiling! Shortly after giving him his daily treat of kitten glop we had an appointment with his dental vet. She told me that she has never seen his gums looking so healthy and his teeth were so clean. She asked what I was doing different then before and the only thing I changed was giving him kitten glop as a treat. WOW light bulb moment. She said it was the yogurt in the kitten glop. The active cultures in the yogurt was keeping his flora balanced in his mouth and fighting off the gum disease. That was more then a year ago. Chuggles gets a tbs of yogurt on a potato every other day, the stomatis is gone and he is the picture of excellent health.


Using yogurt as a maintenance after treatment is so beneficial. Many times medications can off set the balance of good flora. Even using the yogurt with the medication, it is important to also use it afterward because of the effects on the immune system. As a rule, I use it every other day for our cats in our rescue. A tsp of yogurt over their food is a yummy treat. On occasion, a cat will turn his nose up at yogurt. Just like people, Yogurt doesn't appeal to everyone. However I have found that mixing a little tuna packed in water or some fresh boiled chicken in with the yogurt, they usually become very interested in it. They just need a little bit of fooling. Dogs I find need less inciting. Just give them a spoon of yogurt and watch them lick it off!


Thank you for reading. I hope you find this tip of the week helpful. If you would like to treat your dog or cat to a healthy gourmet treat, please take a moment to contact me at: MarysMiracleKittyRescue@Yahoo.com.

All sales go to help support the kitties in our rescue.


Thank you

Mary's Miracle Kitty Rescue

35 comments:

  1. I started feeding my cat plain yogurt after I talked with you a while back about it. Since I started feeding it she is seldom plagued with loose bowels any more. She can't wait for her yogurt in the evenings. She used to make a game of wanting me to chase her down to bring her in before dark. Now all I have do is open the door and yell for her to come and get her yogurt and she comes running at break neck speed.

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    1. My kitten came down with distemper. He lost alot of weight his hair was thinking, and eating normal food hurt his tummy. I gave him a spoon full of yogurt and he tolerated it very well. His diarrhea stopped,he got more playful, and his coat got fluffy again. Stimpy survived the distemper and looks forward to his spoonful of yogurt every morning. I didn't know it helped his gums and teeth. Thanks for letting me know yogurt helps with that. He is an awsome kitty and very playful now.

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    2. My kitten came down with distemper. He lost alot of weight his hair was thinking, and eating normal food hurt his tummy. I gave him a spoon full of yogurt and he tolerated it very well. His diarrhea stopped,he got more playful, and his coat got fluffy again. Stimpy survived the distemper and looks forward to his spoonful of yogurt every morning. I didn't know it helped his gums and teeth. Thanks for letting me know yogurt helps with that. He is an awsome kitty and very playful now.

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  2. Replies
    1. PLEASE HELP ME! My names is Mindy and yesterday i gave my KITTEN strawberry yogurt. When I woke up she was sneezing A LOT and hers eyes are pink. I don't want her to die! WHAT SHOULD I DO!

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  3. Great Post and i am really impressed by you MMKR.


    Work Online

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  4. Oh my goodness. My ginger kitty Brian had stomatitis so bad I had to get all of his teeth pulled! Poor fella! Yesterday he lapped up a bit of Greek yogurt I gave him because he was eating mine - I wish I had seen this blog before he had to get all his teeth pulled - maybe it would have cured his little mouth. I will let the vet know about this, though, in case someone else has this problem.
    Thank you from Austin TX!!

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  5. This is good to know...I know for a fact my kitties like the plain yogurt...I just didn't know how good it was for them. I have a kitty that has a UTI and has a doc app today...and I will start giving her the yogurt from then on...Thank you for making this page.

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  6. This is good to know...I know for a fact my kitties like the plain yogurt...I just didn't know how good it was for them. I have a kitty that has a UTI and has a doc app today...and I will start giving her the yogurt from then on...Thank you for making this page.

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  7. Also my kitty with the UTI does NOT have loose bowels...pretty firm infact...will the yogurt hurt her?

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  8. We aren't sure what is ailing our cat, even after extensive lab tests, antibiotics, steroids, prescription food, etc. He throws up almost everyday but sometimes has a good week eating well and gaining weight. He has been this way for about 8 or 9 years. We suspect he has irritable bowel syndrome or gastritis. I am going to try giving him plain Greek yogurt and see if it helps.

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  9. We've been there too….try grain-free/gluten-free cat food. IBD is fairly new in being diagnosed in cats. It usually shows up at 8 or 9 yrs. old.
    Maybe you can find a vet that is open-minded enough to check into it…I had no luck on several vets…they wouldn't even acknowledge the fact…I just wanted them to know what I had found in researching & possibly help other kitties.
    I just ordered "Againt the Grain" brand cat food..grain free, gluten free & gmo free. I'm anxious to see how Bella reacts to this. Wellness Signature seems to be good for her…I've tried quite a few grain free cat foods, I think gluten is the problem.



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  10. Hi, first of all God bless you for been the angel you are, you definitely are exceptional!
    I do some rescues within my possibilities too and I wanted to tell you that since I started giving my dogs and cats yogurt they are a healthier than ever, regardless if they present a mild constipation or loose bowels, yogurt fixes the problem!!
    So far I have been giving them Greek Regular Plain Yogurt.
    My question is what is better : No fat yogurt? Low Fat
    or Regular (with fat) ?
    I pretty much would appreciate your opinion
    Thank you again

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  11. Regular is better for pets the low fat and no fat have chemicals that's can make them sick. I use yogurt for my dog because she has an unknown food allergy that causes her to get yeast infections in her ears. A week of a little yogurt with her food and it goes away.

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  12. My cat has stomatitis. I have tried everything. At first when I noticed it, it was by accident. He was looking up and I noticed how read his gums were. The doctor didn't know what it was, I had to do research and found the name for his problem. My  doctor and i tried antibiotics, Tests for allergies, where we had to send it to a lab..they came up with all kinds of things he was allergic to and gave me vials and syringe..Color coated labels and a certain grouping. Didn't see any changes. So i give him depo medrol shots every other month , But sometimes it stops working before it's supose to, Then I give him prednisone 5 mil pills every other month to give his system a break .Also vitalog1cc, now that's supposed to last 3 months but I would be lucky if I would get a month and a half. Time release or extended release of anything is not good for the liver, so I really worry about him. I also make him a food vitamin mix, that has chlorophyll, B12 drops, Astragalus extract, 
    Milk thistle for his liver. Zinc drops, a little bit of olive oil, vegetable turkey dinner number two earths best baby food. I give this to him in a shot class that is half full.. A little heat from the microwave makes it less cold and more inviting for six seconds, Then feed with a syringe. I put him between my legs and out the shot class between my two feet and a napkin.Then i hold his head and tilt it gently and once he tasted it, I tell him ready and he starts eating..I always say ready to give control..I guess I could pull out all his teeth.. But like you, I'm trying everything.. Now i used to put Yogart in with his little potion that I would feed him once or twice a day.. depending on if he was taking a pill.. which i would mix in. I stopped the Yogart till he was sick and throwing up and had diarrhea. Gave him a little yogurt mix with water, and the little honey like a drop for the antibiotic properties. So i Googled Yogart and found you. Now I'm hopeful about the yogart. Any ideas? Blessings

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  13. My cat Toby thinks he needs my cup of yogurt every time I eat some. I finally got tired of fighting with him and gave him his own little bowl of it. He at almost all of it.. I googled to make sure it wouldn't hurt him and that is when I found your blog. Thank you for a well informed blog..

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  14. I rescued 4 kittens at 5 weeks their mommy left, they were born on my patio. One has had leaking poop and the vet has said she has roundworm. So we dewormed all kitties and I have been giving her anti diarrah meds I'm going to try Greek yogurt today and see if it helps out.

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  15. Informative post! I make homemade yogurt from a Bulgarian heirloom culture regularly and our kitten loves it. She's a very good easter and doesn't mind when I mix a bit of spirulina in it too. Our two adult cats aren't interested in it though, so I'll try with the tuna next time, that's a great idea for sure.

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  16. Informative post! I make homemade yogurt from a Bulgarian heirloom culture regularly and our kitten loves it. She's a very good easter and doesn't mind when I mix a bit of spirulina in it too. Our two adult cats aren't interested in it though, so I'll try with the tuna next time, that's a great idea for sure.

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  17. Informative post! I make homemade yogurt from a Bulgarian heirloom culture regularly and our kitten loves it. She's a very good easter and doesn't mind when I mix a bit of spirulina in it too. Our two adult cats aren't interested in it though, so I'll try with the tuna next time, that's a great idea for sure.

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  18. Ok - I just put down some lo-fat or no-fat (can't remember) yogurt after reading part of this and now I see it should be "regular." Will what she has eaten hurt her? I'll get the regular tomorrow morning. I want to try to combat the loose bowels (it is not severe but it is beginning to annoy us both and she's getting sore at that end a little from excessive and obsessive cleaning...)...

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  19. My Siamese kitten has had diarrhea and spotting problems since we picked her up at the local humane society three months ago. After rounds of deworming and parasite treatments, a vet decided it was a bacterial infection and she's now on an antibiotic regimen for the next week. He also suggested giving her plain, whole milk yogurt. She loves it, and our other two kittens love it as well. My question is this: How much is too much? The three of them have eaten a quart of it in two days. Will too much cause more diarrhea, or have the yogurt cultures gotten rid of all the lactose? They're still growing kittens, so I hope I'm doing the right thing for them.

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  20. Super thanks for the tip. I just rescued a kitten from a coworker who rescued her from beside the road. My coworker has bulldogs that started salivating every time she let the kitten out of the bedroom she kept her in while they were at work. She just couldn't keep her. I took her to give to a neighbor who had to leave her cat behind when they moved from California to Georgia. She has to convince her husband of another pet, so I've got the kitten until they decide; they have two dogs. She stays at home, so she can introduce them. I was eating my breakfast this morning of plain Greek yogurt and fruit. The little mynx (a tuxedo) dove right in. I only let her have a few tablespoons, but will treat her again this afternoon as her bowels are loose. I've looked for signs of worms but don't know if she has them or not. I hope the yogurt will help her. She is very small for being 8 weeks and almost two pounds. This will help boost her weight!

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  21. Ok - since I first read this tip a while back, and posted back then, I have been giving her from a teaspoon to a tablespoon, every other day, mixed into her wet food. She loves it and seems to have no side issues from it. This also ensures she eats most of the canned food which is one way to get the needed moisture into our felines - they tend to not drink as much as they should because in the wild, they get it from the live prey they kill and eat - although I had one male, just before this female, who had a very healthy water habit...

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  22. My kitten came down with distemper. It hurt him to eat. He had sever diarrhea and he lost a lot of weight. Well he did ear plain yogurt and his tummy handled it very well. He got over distemper and over his diarrhea. I didn't know about gum disease and how plain yogurt helped control this. Stimpy is putting on weight his diarrhea has gotten better along with the gums in his mouth. He is more active and his fur is getting fluffy again. He is full of energy now and every morning he has a spoon full of yogurt. Boy he looks forward to that. Also to add he don't have hair balls yea!!!

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  23. My kitten came down with distemper. It hurt him to eat. He had sever diarrhea and he lost a lot of weight. Well he did ear plain yogurt and his tummy handled it very well. He got over distemper and over his diarrhea. I didn't know about gum disease and how plain yogurt helped control this. Stimpy is putting on weight his diarrhea has gotten better along with the gums in his mouth. He is more active and his fur is getting fluffy again. He is full of energy now and every morning he has a spoon full of yogurt. Boy he looks forward to that. Also to add he don't have hair balls yea!!!

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  24. Thank you Mary for creating this blog and to all the commenters. My son’s indoor Ocicat was diagnosed with Toxoplasmosis in November after a week at the vet hospital for hydration and warming. He had been vomiting and was down to about 8 pounds. After a round of antibiotics for a urinary tract infection, they then told us about the toxoplasmosis (killed a mouse in August) and he had to be on Clindamycin for a month. Also Pepcid AC ¼ tablet twice a day. Although he was eating, it was only small amounts and aside from the Prescription dry food for sensitive digestive systems, he would only eat small amounts of a good moist food and wasn’t gaining weight and was miserable. I found this blog and started putting about a Tbsp of plain yogurt on the moist food. Initially he would only eat the yogurt. I think the good bacteria finally restored to his intestines as he’s now eating ferociously, but if he eats more than ¼ cup of moist at one sitting, he still vomits a bit. So now he’s getting 8 small meals a day with about a tsp of yogurt each time. He has a belly again, is putting on weight, is totally animated playing with his toys and rubbing up against us. Will gradually increase the portion size and add some dry food and hopefully this episode will be behind us for good. One more note, around the same time as starting the yogurt, I also purchased a people heating pad, turned it on low setting and put it on the rug under a fleece blanket with a bumper of rolled up towels in a half circle around his backside since he seemed cold and his paws were cold. For about 3 weeks he wouldn’t leave the warming blanket for more than 2 minutes, but now is up walking around other rooms and laying on rugs and chairs. I hope this information is helpful to others.

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  25. I have a 7 week old constipated kitten will the yogurt hurt her and more important will it help her have a bowel movement?

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  26. I have 2 cats 4 months of age.ginger eat her dry food n boiled chicken with no problem.but smokey the other one is so stressful.i have to put food in his mouth fir him to start eating.plus he hates dry foods.now he is getting loose stools.a pharmacian who has vetenary knowledge told me to give him a rehydratation ors to clean his intestines.one week ok.stool ok.but then it starts again.loose stools must force him to eat plus he starts to vomit today.i just dont know what to do.iv already deworm them 5 days ago.please helllllp!!

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    1. Go to vet, make sure you 'wipe out' water bowl every two days or so, it gets slime that will make them throw up

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  27. Shabnaaz, this has nothing to do with yogurt, but I had a happy side effect of the kibble that my Vet ordered for my gently obese (well, to be honest, FAT) 6 yr old (Hill's Prescription R/D reduced diet)...she was a shelter cat, and in the 4-1/2 yrs I've had her, until that new kibble, which she took to quickly (very small easy to eat kibble), she has had perfectly normal stool every day since mid-February; and I have not, since then, had to brush or clean her rear fur from loose "stuff" - I suspect the kibble has excellent fiber content, etc. - anyhow, she also was never a heavy water-drinker, but I found these sauce pouches at PetSmart and I only give her one a day, at intervals, after tearing open the pouch and adding some water to dilute it...since all of this, Feb. 14 forward, I even was able to wean her from her addiction to Temptations. I guess I'm advising all of us to read our ingredients these days - I never bothered in all my 77 years before this - now I realize and enjoy the results. Oh, and she's gently losing the weight - I used to look down on her and her little round sides made her look like a basketball on legs; now she is even more energetic and I've got to play with her to keep her from being bored...

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