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6 Best Cat Probiotics in Canada 2025. Do Cats Need Them?
- Max Wu
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Not Every Cat Requires Probiotics, But Many Can Benefit
Whether cats need probiotics isn’t a simple yes or no. Many cats do benefit from probiotics, especially if they have digestive troubles or ongoing health issues. But if your cat’s healthy and eating a balanced diet, daily probiotics probably aren’t necessary.
When probiotics might help your cat:
After illness or medication
Switching foods or dealing with sensitivities
Stressful changes at home
Getting older and slowing down
Needing a little immune boost
Healthy Cats With Balanced Diets May Not Need Probiotics
If you’ve got a young, healthy cat who never seems bothered by stomach issues, probiotics probably aren’t on the must-have list. Their bodies tend to handle things just fine through regular meals and daily routines.
Signs your healthy cat is doing fine without probiotics:
Normal, firm poops
Good appetite and playful mood
No tummy troubles
Consistent weight and shiny coat
Not dealing with much stress
What Are Cat Probiotics?
Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that live in your cat's gut and help with healthy digestion. While cats should ideally have a balanced gut on their own, a lot of things can throw it off. Stress, illness, antibiotics, and even a new diet can mess with the gut flora. Probiotics step in to help restore the balance when things get out of whack.
Key Benefits of Probiotics for Cats
Digestive Health Support
The digestive tract is full of bacteria, and they need to stay balanced. Too many bad bacteria can cause diarrhea, constipation, and poor nutrient absorption.
Benefits:
Better stool consistency and fewer loose stools or diarrhea
Improved nutrient absorption
Lower intestinal inflammation
Enhancing Immune Function
Probiotics influence the immune system in ways that support overall health; not a cure-all, but helpful adjuncts under many conditions.
Benefits:
Decrease in inflammatory markers in the gut and bloodstream
Better resistance to gut pathogens (fewer harmful bacteria) and improved gut barrier function, which may help reduce risk of infections
Support During Stress and Dietary Changes
Cats are sensitive to stress (boarding, moving, new pets, travel), which often causes digestive upset. Probiotics can help stabilize the gut during these periods.
Benefits:
Lower risk of stress-induced diarrhea (e.g., shelter or travel cats)
Smoother transition during diet changes
Improved appetite and food tolerance in some cases
6 Best Cat Probiotics in Canada
Nutramax Proviable-DC multi-strain probiotic capsule packs 5 billion CFUs to help support your cat’s digestion.
Main Uses: Restoring gut balance, easing upset after antibiotics, helping with diet changes, and managing stress-related tummy troubles.
Key Ingredients: Features seven probiotic strains—like Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and several Lactobacillus species. Also includes fructooligosaccharides as prebiotic fuel.
Product Highlight: Veterinarian-recommended formula from Nutramax, a well-known supplement brand. Capsules are easy to open and sprinkle on food, which is helpful if your pet hates pills.
Pricing: $23 - 57 CAD per 30 - 80 capsules
Things to Consider: If you’re also giving antibiotics, space them out by 1-2 hours for best results. Only once a day, so it’s easy to remember.
Aventi GI Essentials daily powder gives synbiotic support, mixing prebiotics and probiotics for long-term digestive maintenance.
Main Uses: Everyday digestive support, better stool quality, immune system help, and healthy gut flora.
Key Ingredients: Each 2g sachet contains Lactobacillus acidophilus (1.8x10¹⁰ CFU), Lactobacillus plantarum (2x10⁹ CFU), and Enterococcus faecium (1.05x10⁸ CFU). There’s also fructooligosaccharides (720mg) for prebiotic fiber and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast.
Product Highlight: One sachet daily for any cat size. The powder blends right into food, so even picky cats won’t notice.
Pricing: $40 CAD per 30 Sachets
Things to Consider: You’ll need to give it daily for best results, and it might take a couple of weeks to really see stool improvements.
Aventi GI Complete Paste is loaded with antimicrobial peptides, probiotics, and nutrients—basically a full-on rescue for cats with sudden digestive problems.
Main Uses: For sudden diarrhea, gut recovery after illness, or when your cat’s stressed and their stomach’s acting up.
Key Ingredients: Contains Lactobacillus acidophilus (5.7 billion CFU), several probiotic strains, fructooligosaccharides (190mg), plus antimicrobial peptides like lactoferricin B and nisin A, vitamins and electrolytes.
Product Highlight: It’s a Health Canada registered product and uses unique antimicrobial peptides alongside probiotics. Comprehensive support with electrolytes and vitamins to promote recovery and hydration.
Pricing: $22 CAD per 15ml paste
Things to Consider: This one’s meant for short-term use (about 1-2 weeks) during flare-ups.
Proviable Forte Probiotic Kit is a bit more involved. It is a two-step system with paste for quick relief and capsules for longer-term gut health.
Main Uses: Great for sudden digestive upsets, after antibiotics, when your cat eats something unusual, travel stress, or when you just want to get their gut back on track.
Key Ingredients: The paste has several strains and delivers 0.5 billion CFUs per gram. Capsules have 10 billion CFUs with Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and Streptococcus thermophilus, etc.
Product Highlight: Cats can get fast relief from the paste and ongoing support from the capsules. Supported by multiple published studies and contains beneficial probiotic strains shown to help maintain and restore healthy gut balance.
Pricing: $31 - 36 CAD per 30ml paste & 15 capsules
Things to Consider: Both paste and capsules are started on the same day. This makes it slightly more involved than single-form supplements but offers a broader benefit.
PetAg Bene-Bac Plus Pet Gel is a concentrated probiotic supplement for small animals (including cats) dealing with digestive stress.
Main Uses: Perfect for adverse conditions like stress, dietary changes, antibiotic recovery, or supporting hand-fed orphans and newborns. Also great when you need a gentle probiotic boost during transitions or challenging times.
Key Ingredients: Contains seven strains of lactic acid producing bacteria delivering 20 million CFUs per gram, including Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and others. Enhanced with fructooligosaccharides (FOS) as prebiotics to help the beneficial bacteria establish and thrive.
Product Highlight: Simple weight-based dosing. The gel comes in convenient 15-gram syringes. Pet owners can place it directly in their cat's mouth or mix it with food.
Pricing: $15 CAD per 15g gel
Things to Consider: The CFU count is lower than some advanced formulations, so it may not be sufficient for severe or chronic digestive issues. This supplement is mainly for intermittent use.
Advanced GI Oral Paste offers quick gastrointestinal support for cats dealing with digestive upset. It's a veterinary-formulated paste that works fast to help normalize digestion and improve stool quality.
Main Uses: Perfect for cats with diarrhea, dietary sensitivities, chronic gastrointestinal conditions, or any time you need to get their digestive system back on track quickly.
Key Ingredients: Features a comprehensive blend of potent prebiotics to support beneficial microbes, multi-strain probiotics to populate good bacteria and displace harmful ones, premium adsorbing clay to clear toxins and stabilize stool quality, digestive enzymes for healthy digestion, and B vitamins for accelerated results.
Product Highlight: The convenient dial-a-dose tube makes administration easy, and cats love the taste. One tube provides a complete 24-hour treatment protocol with three doses spaced 6-8 hours apart for maximum effectiveness.
Pricing: $21 CAD per 15mL gel
Things to Consider: This is designed as a short-term intervention rather than daily maintenance. After the initial rapid response treatment, you may want to switch to their powder formula for ongoing daily support.
What To Look for When Choosing Cat Probiotics
Choosing a good probiotic supplement for your cat isn’t always easy. There are many products out there with different strains, strengths, and formats. The following criteria are well supported in veterinary nutrition literature and can help you make an informed choice.
Key Factors to Consider
Strain Specificity & Clinical Evidence
Look for probiotic products whose bacterial strains have been tested in cats, especially for the condition you’re trying to address (e.g., diarrhea, antibiotic use).
Multi-strain formulas offers borader digestive support, strenthens immunity and may help regulate inflammation more effectively than singe-strain products.
Example: Nutramax Proviable-DC which has published research supporting use in cats.
Prebiotics Included
Prebiotics (like fructooligosaccharides, FOS) help feed beneficial bacteria and improve the survival of probiotics in the gut.
A formula with both probiotics + prebiotics (“synbiotic”) is preferred for more complete support.
Example: Aventi GI Essentials contains prebiotics (FOS and MOS) and probiotics for long-term digestive maintenance.
Delivery Form & Palatability
Cats can be picky. The format matters: paste, powder, gel, capsules, flavored treats, etc. The more appealing and easy to administer, the more likely your cat will accept it.
Powders/Capsules: FortiFlora (powder packets), Proviable-DC (capsules that can be opened and sprinkled).
Paste: Aventi GI Complete Paste, Advanced GI Oral Paste and PetAg Bene-Bac Plus Gel
Tablets: Aventi GI Complete Tablet
Dosage Strength (CFU Count)
Check the number of live organisms (CFU = colony-forming units) guaranteed on the label. Make sure it’s high enough for your cat’s issue.
The currently recommendation for cats is 1-5 billion CFUs per day. While more isn’t always better, a higher CFU count often provides better efficacy.
Safety and Vet Guidance
Always consult with your veterinarian before starting any supplement, especially if your cat has underlying illness, is immunocompromised, or is receiving other treatments.
Watch for side effects like mild gastrointestinal upset, and discontinue if symptoms worsen.
Cat Probiotics FAQs
Q: Should I be giving my cat probiotics?
Probiotics might help if your cat’s having digestive problems or certain health issues. Vets usually recommend probiotics if your cat is vomiting, has diarrhea, or isn’t eating much.
Common situations where probiotics help:
After antibiotics
During diet changes
Gut upsets
Skin issues
Respiratory problems
How often should I give a probiotic to my cat?
The right schedule depends on your cat’s health and the specific product. Most probiotics are designed for once-daily dosing, but the duration of use will vary:
Short-term course
2-4 weeks for after antibiotic therapy, during diet transitions, or when a cat experience acute diarrhea or soft stools
Fast-acting products like Aventi GI Complete Paste, Proviable Forte Probiotic Kit help stabilize the gut quickly
Long-term:
For chronic issues, recurrent diarrhea, or to support immune health.
Multi-strain formulas such as Proviable-DC are often used continuously and they provide broader strain coverage, supporting both digestion and immunity over time.
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