When Your Vet Prescribes Antibiotics
There are a number of reasons why your vet may prescribe antibiotics. Various infections or diarrhea are generally the concern, but also as part of surgical treatment.
The acute problem will determine which type of antibiotic your vet prescribes. The top 4 types of antibiotics for cats are Enroflaoxacin, Amoxicillin, Metronidazole, and Clindamycin (or their respective brand names). Each of these antibiotics serves a specific region of the body and may be very effective at helping your cat solve their health issue.
But, in some cases, antibiotics don't solve the problem completely, and you get stuck in a round-after-round situation of antibiotic therapy. What started as an acute problem now looks like a chronic one. This is most often the case when your cat has diarrhea, yeast infections, or a urinary tract infection.
The immediate steps you take after your cat has finished antibiotic therapy can make a world of difference in their future health. Additionally, the right actions may prevent the need for more antibiotics in the future.
What to Do After Antibiotics
1. Listen to your vet
First of all, take your vets advice. When prescribed antibiotics, give the prescribed dosage on the proper time schedule for the entire duration of the therapy. Even if your cat appears to get better before the antibiotics are finished, it's imperative to follow the advice of your veterinarian. Shortening the duration could leave some pathogens alive to fester up, or worse, create antibiotic resistant strains.
2. Understand how antibiotics work
Second, understand what antibiotics actually do your to cat's body and what issue you're trying to address. In the simplest of terms, they kill all bacteria in the body indiscriminately. Further, antibiotics can continue their activity for a number of days after therapy has ended. This fact poses a problem for the vital good bacteria your cat has been hosting since they were a kitten.
Knowing this, we need to take care to nurture more good feline bacteria and get ahead of the pathogens.
3. Occupy the Gut with Probiotics
Your cat's healthy intestinal flora helps her entire body to flourish and stay in balance. After antibiotics wages their attack, the most important step to take next is to provide plenty of good bacteria to bolster her defenses. This is especially important to resist recurring bouts of diarrhea.
The best follow up prescription to antibiotics is a biologically appropriate probiotic supplement.
Especially for kittens, who have budding immune systems, probiotics are essential in establishing long term wellness. In cases of diarrhea, when metronidazole (Flagyl) is prescribed, regular servings of Probiotic Miracle® can resupply the intestinal tract and help establish a healthy gut microbiota.
One to two scoops of Probiotic Miracle® twice per day in your cat's food can help after antibiotics may help prevent a relapse and boost gut health for recovery.
4. Occupy the Urinary System with Cranberry and D-Mannose to Resist Urinary Infections
In cases of UTI (or urogenital infections), when Enrofloxacin (Baytril) is prescribed, following up with a combination of Probiotic Miracle® and Utrin® is very effective at maintaining good urinary and bladder health. Utrin® is a natural supplement, blending feline cranberry and D-mannose. These beneficial ingredients are shown to resist recurring UTI by inhibiting pathogens from clinging to the urinary system, specifically.
Best of all, these are safe, holistic formulas that won't cause negative side effects. Both are vegan formulas that are free from grain, gluten, and dairy. The Urinary & Bladder Health Pack is a discounted bundle of these two products.
More Questions About Probiotics for Cats
Are Probiotics Safe for Kittens?
Yes. Even in times of good health, a pinch of probiotics each day can help holster good gut health. A strong immune system, when young, is a quality measure towards excellent long-term wellness.
Further, good gut health is linked to fewer allergy symptoms and digestive problems later in life.*
Can I Give My Cat Probiotics During Antibiotics?
It's a controversial issue, whether or not to give probiotics during antibiotics, and we suggest waiting.
Because the probiotics will be killed during antibiotic therapy, it would not be cost effective nor health-effective to supply probiotics during the time that antibiotics are being administered. For this reason, we recommend waiting until your cat has completed the antibiotics, then immediately administer probiotics, and lots of them.
Wait until your pet has completed the antibiotics, then immediately administer probiotics, and lots of them.
When Should I Stop Giving Probiotics?
We recommend probiotics as a wellness supplement, like a vitamin you give daily. Your cat's microbiome is likely bombarded daily with chlorinated water, processed foods, and other gut destroyers. For this reason, a regular serving of Probiotic Miracle is suggested to maintain a positive balance.
Related: Understanding Probiotics for Pets: CFU, Species, and Dosage Explained
Cites and References
Fair, Richard J, and Yitzhak Tor. “Antibiotics and bacterial resistance in the 21st century.” Perspectives in medicinal chemistry vol. 6 25-64. 28 Aug. 2014, doi:10.4137/PMC.S14459
Olin, Shelly J, and Joseph W Bartges. “Urinary tract infections: treatment/comparative therapeutics.” The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice vol. 45,4 (2015): 721-46. doi:10.1016/j.cvsm.2015.02.005
Grześkowiak, Łukasz et al. “Microbiota and probiotics in canine and feline welfare.” Anaerobe vol. 34 (2015): 14-23. doi:10.1016/j.anaerobe.2015.04.002
Stokes JE, Price JM, Whittemore JC. J Vet Intern Med. 2017 Sep; 31(5):1406-1413. Epub 2017 Jul 29. Randomized, controlled, crossover trial of prevention of antibiotic‐induced gastrointestinal signs using a synbiotic mixture in healthy research dogs.
The Truth About Probiotics for Dogs: Antibiotics and Dogs. Published September 2009.
Berry AS, Kelly BJ, Barnhart D, Kelly DJ, Beiting DP, Baldassano RN, Redding LE. PLoS ONE. 2019 Aug 30; 14(8): e0215497. Gut microbiota features associated with Clostridioides difficile colonization in puppies.
PLoS One. 2018; 13(3): e0193507.Published online 2018 Mar 23. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193507. Disentangling factors that shape the gut microbiota in German Shepherd dogs.
Probiotics for Puppies. http://probioticsfordogs.com/probiotics-puppies.html
