Just a picture of my cat curled up asleep.
Why is this such a huge deal for me???
A few months ago I was considering having my cat, Mo euthanised. I felt at a complete loss as to how to help her.
For 7 months she had been depressed, anxious, defecating in unusual places around the house. Scared to leave the house, isolated herself. Didn’t want any attention, wouldn’t play and would only sit on cold hard surfaces.
After blood tests, which didn’t show anything abnormal. My vet referred me to an expert behaviourist, who was wonderful and spent a lot of time assessing Mo’s behavioural changes and eventually, after being stumped (her words), she suggested further investigation, possibly brain scans.
However my insurance company and vet dismissed the behaviourist’s findings and concluded Mo’s behaviours were skin related as she has suffered with itchy skin intermittently throughout her life.
It turns out her behaviourist was absolutely right. It was a brain issue… but caused by the gut. You may have heard about the gut-brain axis?
Mo didn’t require brain scans. She needed a microbiome test. This was a simple faecal sample. This test showed her gut flora was completely out of balance. This was most probably caused by a stressful event. I was always convinced something had happened, possibly with another cat that had started Mo’s problems.
The microbiome is made up of many different species of good and bad bacteria. The balance of these is unique to each individual. This balance can be affected by nutrition, antibiotics, stress and environmental influences.
The populations of species of bacteria can be drastically altered after a stressful event and will take time to repopulate. When that stress continues the longer the problem continues, creating a bigger problem.
The gut and brain are connected and some neurotransmitters that control and influence behaviour are created in the gut. If the gut isn’t functioning correctly then behaviour will be affected.
This is the gut-brain axis!
Mo was given a supplement of specific pre-biotics (these feed the good bacteria). I was told they would take 4 weeks to start to have an effect. Exactly 4 weeks later my sweet little cat was back. It was literally like a miracle.
I still can’t believe I have her back. Her skin is still a problem, which I’m hoping will improve as her gut continues to improve. The gut is the key to EVERYTHING. If it is not functioning correctly it will manifest in problems such as inflammation, disease and behavioural issues.
This relates not only to cats but our dogs and us too, of course.
I believe so many issues that I see in my customers’ pets would benefit from a biome test as a starting point. Whether those problems are physical or behavioural.
It’s also important to point out here that if I hadn’t discovered about the biome myself, my cat would have either undergone unnecessary brain scans and vet visits, causing untold stress for her and financial implications for me… don’t forget my slippery insurance company conveniently wriggled out of honouring her claim!
Or… she would no longer be here.
If you’ve read this and thought maybe your pet could benefit from this simple test you can find more information here…
Tina Clyde LCGI 💚
Penn View Pets 
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