Thanks for the link..while I can see some promise and possibilities in using Human probiotics, we also still aren't totally positive that in the long run, they aren't going to prove problematic for other species.
So if there's a species specific strain of probiotic available, I want to use that first. If it doesn't work, then I'll consider moving on to broader strains that have already been researched on humans.
The real concern here is: Are we just going to use human oriented probiotics because someone
feels they work, without digging into and studying the special needs of felines? The human probiotics may provide a temporary stopgap. Better something than nothing..but the use of these is still in infancy. Only a few researchers have really 'weighed in' yet. For one study that says they work..another may pop up down the road that says they might not be the best. Not enough research yet. Jury is still out.
My feeling is that it would be a mistake to stop researching and using feline specific strains of probiotics, just because human ones appear to work 'pretty good'. There's not enough data yet to confirm that feline probiotics wouldn't be better. "Hasn't been proven yet" = sin of omission. We humans, especially companies publicly owned and concerned with profit, tend to take the easy way out. We stop looking when we think we have the answer. Later on, down the road, we find this to be in error, for how do we know that human strains of probiotics might prove to have an ultimate negative effect 'down the road' with subsequent litters, grand-litters, (not a word but it's handy
) etc..
In essence, this is exactly what happened concerning the dry pet food industry. Researchers 'felt' that dry foods were fine for cats..and for years, corn and other grain based dry foods have been sold with the constant affirmation that it was 'good for your cat'. Purina and other companies are still attempting to stack the deck in favor of their use. That's no surprise. They have millions of dollars poured into creating these brands, and they have been very profitable. People trusted them. To do a sudden and total turnaround would cast suspicion on them and people would lose confidence in the company as a whole.
Now, after many more trials and understanding what it means to be an obligate carnivore, we're finding out that dry foods aren't fine. Cats survive, but they don't thrive, on dry food.
Same thing happened concerning past trials for human diseases. Almost all trials were done on men. It was assumed that was proven for men, would also be proven for women. Medications have been sold for years based on the logic that hey, human is human is human.
Well, Women aren't 'little men'. It's a mistake to treat us as such when conducting trials. And this is two genders within the same species.
But getting pharmaceutical companies to run trials using women has been like pulling teeth. Will this happen with felines vs.canines vs. humans when it comes to drugs and probiotics? We now know that gut flora in humans can possibly cause such issues as obesity, and perhaps even mood disorders and mental well being. And there's even the possibility that the human genome might be affected for future generations. Everything is connected, and all the parts that are connected within each species are designed to work together.
I don't dispute that human probiotics might not have their place right now. But unless it's such a dire emergency that time is of the essence..I'd rather go with a species specific probiotic first if it's available. It's not time to throw them out.
Jus sayin
