My cat is gassy but active. What food or probiotics should I try?

Hello. Your kitty may be suffering from some type of food allergy. You can switch her to a sensitive stomach type of cat food ( Hill's Science Diet has a good one ), or you can talk to your vet about a Prescription Diet. I would also start using a good probiotic like Forti-Flora. You feed I little packet once a day for a month & see if things improve. Of course, if she is not feeling well, you must consider having her seen by your veterinarian to make sure there is not something seriously wrong with her digestive tract. Hopefully, she will start feeling better soon. Take care.

You should try a gastrointestinal prescription food such as GI royal canin for example, alternatively you can feed her boiled chicken and rice for 3-4 days, once the diarrhea gets better you can gradually put her back on her normal food.

Poor Rodney! You may want to try a probiotic mixed into his food once a day, such as Forti-Flora - this often helps with excessive gas. Another option would be to try a different food, as there may be an ingredient in his current diet that doesn't agree with him - there are companies like Natural Balance and Wellness that make limited ingredient diets that may be a better fit for him. If these things don't help, then it would be a good idea to have him checked by a vet to make sure that nothing else is wrong. Your vet may also recommend a prescription GI diet, or a hypoallergenic diet to see if this is more effective.

Please don't waste your money on those expensive grain free foods. They are not necessary to use except in extreme cases of an actual diagnosed grain allergy which is rare. Grain free diets are now linked to causing heart disease in dogs (we are not sure yet about cats). I recommend you discontinue use of that type of food. My suggestion would be to use a long term course of a probiotic called Fortiflora. Put one packet on his food every day for at least one month. This will help correct any imbalance in good vs bad intestinal bacteria. DO NOT use human probiotics or things like yogurt. Fortiflora is the best in my opinion and it is palatable so cats like to eat it. ( http://www.allivet.com/p-1890-purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-fortiflora-cat-supplement-box-of-30.aspx ) As for diet. I would use this one: ( https://www.royalcanin.com/products/royal-canin-feline-care-nutrition-digestive-care-dry-cat-food/2555 ) If your local pet store does not have this food they can surely order it for you or you can order it online. If these things dont' help, he may have inflammatory bowel disease or something along those lines. You would need to discuss diagnosis and treatment with your vet. Hope this helps. Best wishes!

It's possible there could be something underlying such as a food allergy (protein sources can cause allergies in some pets!), or even something such as parasites or an infection causing excess gas. It would be a good idea to bring in a fecal sample to your vet to check for the most common causes of GI upset, and if nothing is found consider a food trial with your vet to rule out any possible food allergies that could be contributing.

If this is the only sign you could try changing to a highly digestible diet (like Hill’s i/d or Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Low Fat) as long as she doesn’t have any food intolerances or diseases requiring a therapeutic diet. Sometimes I also have people try a probiotic like Fortiflora. If she has also had a decrease in appetite, diarrhea or weight loss you should see your veterinarian.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Diarrhea can be observed with conditions such as colitis, gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They may choose to check for parasites and to start medications for diarrhea depending on the results. Good luck! Hoping for a speedy recovery!