Q.I have a cat named Pumpkinator whom we rescued. We have a colony of ferals that we tend to and she has always been the sickest of the bunch. I am in need of advice as to what herbs can we use to help her have normal stools (they are so loose and smell so bad). She is about five pounds and will not groom herself.

 

A.It sounds like she has inflammatory bowel disease, a condition we see all too often. Fortunately, we have been very successful in treating it and getting cats off all conventional medications and back to normal. Here’s a list of several of the many things we would use: Acetylator by Vetri Science Labs, the herb slippery elm (either by itself at 1/5 the human dose or in pre-formulated combinations for intestinal function), the potato diet I wrote about in my book The Nature of Animal Healing (you can omit the slice of leek as it is in the onion family which is supposedly toxic to cats), and a homeopathic combination remedy such as BHI Diarrhea mixed with BHI Intestine, Diarrhea Aid by Professional Health Products or Diar-Relief by Dr Goodpet. Always, the switch to a very high quality diet of whole foods can, in general, do wonders with conditions like this. Two other commercially available products that could help include a hydrolyzed fish product called Seacure and Primal Defense by Garden of Life.