Frequent hairballs could be a sign of a gut health problem

Frequent hairballs may be a sign that your cat's digestive system’s ability to move material along—its gut motility—is impaired. Reduced gut motility means that your cat's food and moisture don’t progress through the intestines the way they should, and digestion suffers. Reduced gut motility also limits the amount of time that pathogens and antigens are in contact with the intestinal walls. When these substances aren’t properly cleared away from the lining of the gut, the resulting bacterial overgrowth.

 

When a cat’s gut bacteria populations are out of proportion, or key beneficial bacteria are missing, we describe the gut microbiome as imbalanced. An imbalanced gut microbiome is one of the factors that can lead to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and chronic inflammation of the digestive tract that can severely disrupt motility.

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Cats who retch up a lot of hairballs may be ingesting an abnormal amount of hair because they’re grooming too much. Excessive grooming can be a sign of anxiety, allergies, food sensitivities, or skin conditions that may be a sign of a gut health imablance. So if you think your cat is grooming too much or too vigorously, check in with your veterinarian or consider giving your cat a gut health test.

 

Benefits of a Healthy Gut

How Healthy is Your Cat's Gut?

Disruptions in the gut microbiome can be caused by a variety of factors, including disease, age, diet, and medications—especially antibiotics. Since 2016 pet parents around the world have used our veterinarian-recommened $75 KittyBiome Gut Health Test to quickly identify imbalances in their cat's gut health. Our test comes with actionable insights and recommendations personalized for your cat to help restore and maintain gut health.

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Customer Reviews

Great knowing what is going on...

It is so great that we can now access knowing what is going on in the gut. Our special needs guy had a few issues and this helps us keep track of biotia. The only down side is you will love it so much you will want to do it for all of your furkids! <3

Rebecca G. - February 27, 2021

Chronic butt leaker no more

We ordered this as a last ditch effort for a cat that we had tried everything for. This did the trick! Thank goodness, he is now adoptable!

Andrew Shawver - January 1, 2021

The test results with Alex was very beneficial.

The gut health test for our Mocha confirmed the imbalance of bacteria in his gut. It was simple to use and return for analysis. The personal review of the test results with Alex was very beneficial.

Dorie - September 17, 2021

Third poop test on my cat

This will be the third time that I have done a poop test on my seven year old, raw fed, male cat. The first two test results gave me very helpful information on the condition of his gut, it was not in good conditon. He had rounds of poop pills after each of the those two poop tests,and his gut health had improved after each round. I am hoping that the results of this third poop test will give results at least as good as the results after the second poop test.

Sheila Black - November 3, 2020

Veterinarian Recommendations

“My clients rave about KittyBiome products.”

 

KittyBiome has brought healing to a new level for pets at my holistic practice who are dealing with long term skin and digestive issues. Their professional reports and consults help with supplement and dietary recommendations for each pet which makes my job easier and my clients are raving about the results.

Dr. Sue Howell DVM, Thrive Wholistic Veterinary Care

"I Trust and Rely On KittyBiome Testing"

 

I trust and rely on KittyBiome testing to give me the most complete picture of my patient’s gut flora good and bad. Their extensive library of bacterial behaviors and functions helps me to guide diet modification, exercise programs, and if formal gut restoration will be helpful. The KittyBiome testing really provides a piece of the puzzle for these difficult cases we otherwise would have neglected. 

Dr. Dianna Drumm DVM, Animal Healing Center

"I Consider KittyBiome an Invaluable Part of My Team"

 

With digestive issues being all too prevalent, I'm grateful to have access to healthy biomes that allow the restoration of my patients' gut flora and as a result their overall health. I honestly don't know what I would do if I couldn't test and treat in this way. With their passion for our animal friends' wellbeing and love of microbes and research I consider AnimalBiome an invaluable part of my team.

Odette Suter, DVM, Peak Animal Health Center

"KittyBiome Has Been a Wonderful Resource"

 

I have used KittyBiome's Gut Health Test analysis and Gut Retore FMT capsules with many patients over the last several years, and have seen remarkable improvements in canine and feline health over time, both in terms of food sensitivities and intolerances and skin conditions. The importance of a healthy microbiome is becoming more apparent every year, and AnimalBiome has been a wonderful resource. I highly recommend them.

Robin Woodley, DVM, CVA, Hawai'i Veterinary Acupuncture

Dealing with a Gut Health Issue?
Try a Gut Health Starter Kit

Our Gut Health Starter Pack includes an at-home KittyBiome Gut Health Test to detect bacterial imbalances and a science-backed KittyBiome Gut Restore Supplement which provides thousands of different kinds of healthy dog-specific bacteria to relieve your cat’s digestive, skin, and immune health issues.

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The Science of Gut Health Testing

A Gut Health Test can tell you a lot about what’s going on in your cat’s digestive system and even how to correct certain problems. By identifying all the different kinds of bacteria in your cat’s gut, microbiome testing can determine whether those different bacterial populations are present in balanced amounts when compared to the gut bacteria of healthy cats. Those correct proportions are the key to a thriving, well-balanced microbiome.

 

Bacteria belonging to the genus Escherichia (a group that includes E. coli), for example, are beneficial members of the community when they make up less than 5% of a cat’s gut microbiome. But an overgrowth of Escherichia can cause diarrhea and other digestive issues. Bacteriophages (viruses that infect and kill certain strains of bacteria) that specifically target pathogenic strains of E. coli (such as PreforPro) can help to bring the digestive tract into better balance. The journal Antibiotics recently reported that such bacteriophages provide an effective alternative to antibiotic use in medical practice.

 

The Fusobacterium genus is also present in most healthy cats. When these bacteria are missing, digestion can suffer, but high levels of Fusobacterium are also associated with digestive issues, particularly diarrhea, so moderation is key. Bacteria in the Fusobacterium family do best in protein-rich environments, so if your cat’s KittyBiome Gut Health Test shows a deficiency in this kind of bacteria, increasing the protein content of their diet may help. If the test shows that Fusobacterium levels are high, the addition of a small amount of prebiotic fiber (like inulin or psyllium husk) to the diet can help bring these levels down by supporting bacteria in the gut that make molecules that help fight inflammation.

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