Cilantro
New Member
My Samantha Sweetiepie was just diagnosed with FIV. She came to us this way from an ignorant neighbor who had reassured us she had been vaccinated and tested before giving her to us, a household with two other live-in cats. The mighty three have lived lovingly together for three years, without any spread of the disease. However, Samantha had to have her leg amputated a couple of weeks ago. When we put her on Buprenorphine, we also had her on antibiotics of various kinds to try and get the disease out of her bone before we took more desperate measures. She had diarrhea. I put her on a probiotic regimen, adding a powder to every meal, and also mixed pumpkin into her food to help her form healthy stools.
When I was recently diagnosed for Type 1 Diabetes, my scientist father encouraged his department, when he was chair, to start researching the cause of it. Right now, a hypothesis they are working with is that the overuse of antibiotics can destroy the gut bacteria in humans to the point of disabling someone's capacity to digest foods appropriately, leading to a destruction of the functioning of the digestive system and processing of sugars, causing Type 1 Diabetes. So when I saw diarrhea, I immediately went to the probiotics for Samantha as a precautionary measure. We all know about eating yogurt after taking antibiotics, but I am thinking a much more proactive measure needs to be taken with a kitty that already is fighting off a disease. She is doing great, by the way, and started having very healthy bowel movements a few days before I ended her meds. And yes, there is withdrawal in kitties from Buprenorphine. As we are substance abuse counselors, and she was on the medication for a couple of months, we knew to wean her off of it slowly...but she is definitely experiencing discomfort from the withdrawal, and it is a different kind of suffering that from any residual pain from the surgery. There is a sadness in her that wasn't evident while she was still on the medication, but that, too, is becoming diminished with each passing day. She is a very brave kitty, and otherwise is recovering really well.
When I was recently diagnosed for Type 1 Diabetes, my scientist father encouraged his department, when he was chair, to start researching the cause of it. Right now, a hypothesis they are working with is that the overuse of antibiotics can destroy the gut bacteria in humans to the point of disabling someone's capacity to digest foods appropriately, leading to a destruction of the functioning of the digestive system and processing of sugars, causing Type 1 Diabetes. So when I saw diarrhea, I immediately went to the probiotics for Samantha as a precautionary measure. We all know about eating yogurt after taking antibiotics, but I am thinking a much more proactive measure needs to be taken with a kitty that already is fighting off a disease. She is doing great, by the way, and started having very healthy bowel movements a few days before I ended her meds. And yes, there is withdrawal in kitties from Buprenorphine. As we are substance abuse counselors, and she was on the medication for a couple of months, we knew to wean her off of it slowly...but she is definitely experiencing discomfort from the withdrawal, and it is a different kind of suffering that from any residual pain from the surgery. There is a sadness in her that wasn't evident while she was still on the medication, but that, too, is becoming diminished with each passing day. She is a very brave kitty, and otherwise is recovering really well.
