Probiotics are living microorganisms, or gut-friendly beneficial bacteria, that are selected according to their usefulness in either humans or animals.

Interestingly enough, the strains of bacteria that offer benefits for cats and dogs aren’t always the same strains for humans.

Researchers are still learning about how probiotics work. They believe these living microorganisms may replenish and regulate the microflora, or gut bacteria, in your pet's intestinal tract as a source of digestive enzymes – and they’re convinced probiotics have a supportive effect on the immune system.

No matter how they work, probiotics promote a number of health-supporting functions, which have traditionally included digestion and bowel health.

Research confirms that probiotics can support a pet’s healthy digestive processes. A study of 16 Beagles found that adding beneficial bacteria to their diet improved fat and carbohydrate digestibility in the gut, as well as stool quality.

Probiotics have been proven safe and effective for promoting total gastrointestinal (GI) health. A healthy GI system allows your pets to maximise their optimum health and well-being, no matter what life stage they are in.

In fact, supporting your pets' GI health is key to them living their longest and healthiest lives possible.

For all these reasons, traditional veterinarians are finally agreeing that probiotics may offer benefits for cats and dogs.

Aside from probiotics’ recognised benefits for GI health, researchers are confirming the exciting new potential for these living microorganisms.

A growing body of human and animal research suggests probiotics may offer additional benefits for many aspects of health, including:

• Maintaining a healthy, normal body weight and composition.
• Supporting healthy immune function.
• Promoting healthy blood sugar levels and normal glucose tolerance.
• Supporting liver health.
• Promoting a normal, healthy inflammatory response.
• Supporting skin health.
• Promoting a normal response to allergens.
• Supporting healthy, normal blood lipid levels.
• Promoting a healthy growth rate in puppies.
• Helping to reduce stress and support a calm, relaxed mood.

Dogs and cats need the beneficial bacteria found in probiotics to help maintain healthy levels of friendly bacteria in their guts. When you supplement your pets’ diets with probiotics that flood their systems with the right strains of beneficial bacteria, you’re supporting their total-body health.

In a study to evaluate the effects of probiotics on feline gut health, researchers selected 10 healthy adult Maine Coon cats and gave half of them Lactobacillus acidophilus.

During the five-week trial, faecal firmness and moisture levels were evaluated – assessments considered a good measure of an animal’s gut health. The cats in the probiotic group showed higher-quality stools with greater levels of L. acidophilus, an indication that the probiotic supplement was having the desired effect.

Probiotics can help support your pets’ digestion, nutrient absorption, immune function, overall health and possibly, even their emotional well-being.

Of course, they do.

When probiotics, the good bacteria eat fibre, they produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Acetate, butyrate and propionate are the three key SCFAs in your pet’s body.

SCFAs can remain in your pet’s large intestine, or they can travel throughout the body, where they play important roles in immune and overall health, including:

• Feeding beneficial bacteria and promoting their growth.
• Helping with the absorption of nutrients.
• Promoting metabolic health and healthy, normal glucose levels.
• Supporting the formation of the protective mucus layer in the gastrointestinal tract.
• Promoting healthy cells in the gut lining.
• Supporting the growth of T cells in the immune system.

A full 80% of your pets’ immune systems reside in their guts, so a bacteria population that is both diverse and rich in beneficial organisms is of prime importance for not only their immune health but also their total body health.

Plentiful diverse bacteria in your pet’s gut can act almost like a security blanket against insults from stress, poor diet, ageing and environmental toxins. The more beneficial bacteria they have, and of many different strains, the better for your pets.

Yes, they do. 

Just like humans, our pets encounter emotional and physiological stresses every day – and every one of these stresses can potentially affect their GI tract.

Your pets’ GI tracts are the largest immune organ in their bodies and home to an extremely large population of bacteria. In fact, these microorganisms greatly outnumber the other cells in their bodies.

Because your pets’ guts, or microbiomes, are their largest immune barriers, they also bear the brunt of all the stress our pets encounter, whether real or perceived.

And it doesn’t take much to upset the delicate balance of good bacteria in your pets’ microbiomes. Stress and emotional upset certainly affect it. Plus, everything from eating sticks and grass to changes in diet when you’re apart can, too.

Add to that the highly processed pet food diet, and you can quickly understand why supporting your pets' immune systems, healthy digestion and overall good health is so important.

In one study, researchers evaluated the value of probiotic supplements for stress-related digestive and bowel issues in 134 healthy dogs who were moved from their homes to a kennel. Relocation and kenneling are both very stressful events for dogs and can affect a dog’s physiology and behaviour.

Groups of dogs received either a placebo containing no probiotic or varying levels of an oral probiotic supplement containing Bifidobacterium animalis once a day for five weeks prior to relocation to the kennel and then, for the first three weeks following relocation.

Researchers looked at faecal scores, the number of stools per day, microbial populations in the stool and serum cortisol levels, which measure the impact of stress on the body.

With the groups receiving Bifidobacterium animalis, there were positive effects seen with all variables, including optimal stool production and improved quality of stools. The higher the dose of probiotics, the better the results.

Studies and research say yes.

The gut-brain connection, often referred to as the "gut-brain axis," is a communication system between the GI tract and the central nervous system.

Emerging research suggests that the gut microbiota (the community of microorganisms residing in the gut) could influence brain function, mood, and behaviour of both pets and humans.

A study of 24 Labrador Retrievers looked at how beneficial bacteria can help with emotional and behavioural changes. Healthy dogs exhibiting stressed and anxious behaviours were divided into two groups: a placebo group and a study group that received the supplemental probiotic strain Bifidobacterium longum.

For the first six weeks of the study, half of the dogs received the probiotic supplement and the other half received the placebo with no probiotics. During weeks seven through nine, none of the dogs received probiotics. Then the original group receiving Bifidobacterium longum resumed supplementation for the final six weeks of the study.

Researchers evaluated behaviours such as barking, spinning, pacing, panting and trembling, as well as the dogs’ cortisol levels and heart rate to determine stress levels.

An astonishing 90% of the dogs receiving the probiotic supplement showed a reduction in troubling behaviours and other signs of stress.

An integrative veterinarian, Dr Karen Becker, writes that she believes the results from this study and others confirm the value of probiotics for pets, especially those coming from a shelter or rescue.

This probiotic strain may also be particularly helpful for animals who experience or are overly sensitive to stressful events in their lives and display behaviours related to noise phobias, separation anxiety, excessive vocalization and house soiling.

How can probiotics help make such a difference in psychological well-being and behaviour, you might wonder?

Experts believe the all-important gut-brain axis may be involved – the two-way connection between your pet’s GI tract and brain. When you nourish your pet’s microbiota, or gut flora, with beneficial bacteria, that can also support his mood.

All of these studies looked at the effects of only one strain of beneficial bacteria. What if you combined them and offered multiple strains of dog- and cat-friendly probiotics – at the same time?