HALO PROMOTES DIGESTIVE HEALTH!
September 30th, 2009 by Dr. Donna Spector
Halo has always been a leader in supporting intestinal health for pets. Halo natural dry dog and cat food formulas promote digestive health in the following ways:
• Whole grains and vegetables supply fiber to promote excellent digestion
• Whole meats, dried eggs and peas are all highly digestible proteins when compared to meat meals used by many competitors
• Probiotics—give your pet a live source of “good” bacteria
• Prebiotics—provide a source of food for the growth of “good” bacteria
Click here to learn more about prebiotics and probiotics and why Dr. Spector recommends them for your pet.
 |
 |
| Receive new blog posts, plus Halo's free holistic pet care newsletter by signing up today! |
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Interesting article on digestive health! I have a Snowshoe Siamese X (10yrs) that just went through major abdominal surgery. Turned out she had gallstones which blocked her bile duct. She also had a pretty good bacterial infection that got into her liver. Her final diagnosis was Bacterial Cholangiohepatitis, including Actinomyces and Obstructive Cholelithiasis. She’s home now and on numerous meds including two different antibiotics. One is long term (8 months) and the other is for two months. What I can gather from the digestive health article is that the pre and probiotics would be a good addition for her. She is currently being tube fed 4 x daily with a Prescription gastro diet and supplemented with Halo Sensitive formula-Seafood Medley. I have just picked this up trying to encourage her to eat on her own. The more she eats on her the less tube feedings I need to do. She seems to be really enjoying the food. Is there any other supplements I could give to augment what she is getting in the food?
Thank you
Terri
October 8th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Hi Terri,
Thanks for sharing the story of your Snowshoe Siamese X–I am glad to hear she is recovering well from her extensive surgery and infection. The bacterial cholangiohepatitis often occurs due to movement of bacteria out of the intestine and into the liver. As such, I agree that a source of pre- and pro-biotics would be a good long term choice for her to keep a healthy balance of good intestinal bacteria. Halo cat foods contain the pre and probiotics only in the dry food–you will need to ask your veterinarian if it is okay that she eat dry food at this time. If not, you can supplement these additives in a paste form that your veterinarian can recommend. The other supplements I would recommend for a cat with this type of liver problem are ursodiol and SAMe–these nutraceuticals help make bile less toxic and improve overall function of the liver with anti-oxidant support. If she is not on these supplements, ask your veterinarian to consider adding them to her regimen. Hope this helps. Good Luck and keep us posted on her progress.
Dr. Donna Spector