Slippery Elm Bark

[Middle Child]

As an anti-inflammatory?  Constipation remedy?  Good for IBD? Good for hairballs?

I'm looking into it for SK. Wondering if anyone has any first hand knowledge and experience, or even second or third hand for that matter.

[Pookie]

Hi MC,

I personally don't have any experience with it, but this is what I found on IBDKitties.net (http://ibdkitties.net/tipsandtricks.html).  By the way, she also suggests canned pumpkin to help with constipation, but I think you've tried that and SK wouldn't eat it, is that right?

Tip #1: When giving slippery elm bark for nausea, take a tablespoon of hot water and mix it with about 1/2 capsule of SEB powder. As it starts to cool, it will thicken. Sometimes you can add more powder and sometimes more water to get it to a thin enough consistency that you can fill a syringe. The easiest syringe to use is a 3ml, and fill completely. Then insert the syringe in the back corner of your cat's mouth and let them drink it down. Just be sure to make it as thick as possible as it helps coat the lining of the GI tract, similar to Pepto Bismol. (NEVER use Pepto Bismol). They call it a "liquid band aid". Slippery elm should be given at least two hours away from any other medications or supplements. 30 minutes isn't long enough for the mucilagenous coating in the digestive tract to dilute enough to let absorption take place, mostly in the intestines.  Many holistic vets believe that when given with a meal, it can inhibit the absorption of nutrients from the food.

And here's a link to an article by Dr. Jean Hofve on littlebigcat:  http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/.  You might want to do a search on her site for slippery elm, because she may have more info elsewhere, but this looks like the main one.

I hope this helps!

[Mo]

For cats: I've used it mostly for stomach upsets, and I do think it works very well for cats. Stomach upsets being vomitting/diarrhea/constipation and it worked for all of those. It actually also helps Mikey's asthma and hairball problems! 

For calves (aka baby cows ) I have used it on some calves that have scours, and didn't respond to normal treatments.  The main one was a calf that just never got over it and I was allowed to give Slippery Elm Bark/B12 a try before she was put down.  She had been fighting scours (liquid yellow diarrhea) for about three weeks at that point.  One week after getting Slippery Elm Bark and B12 everyday, as well as some probiotics, she was back to normal, and actually turned out fairly well after all of that. 

[Middle Child]

Thanks you guys.  I'm having a little trouble deciphering a paragraph of Dr Hofva's

In the case of cystitis (bladder inflammation), Slippery Elm is thought to soothe the bladder lining. However, it is somewhat high in magnesium, so may be contraindicated in dogs who have an active infection with an elevated urinary pH, where struvite crystal formation may be a risk. (In cats, urinary tract infections are very rarely bacterial.)

First, I disagree with her that cats rarely have bacterial infections.  My struvite kitty has had three, my Top Cat had one, when she first came here, and one of my Bridge Angels had them twice after her kidneys began to fail. And second if the high magnesium is a risk for dogs that are prone to struvite, wouldn't it also be a risk for CATS who form struvite?

This gave me a big pause, because of course it is my struvite kitty for whom I am considering this supplement.  I guess for now I will stick with the Vet's-Best which contains psyllium, slippery elm and marshmallow.

[Middle Child]

PS

By the way, she also suggests canned pumpkin to help with constipation, but I think you've tried that and SK wouldn't eat it, is that right?

Yes I tried pumpkin, she hated it.  I tried for months and did get her eating it, but she hated it, and to get enough into her I had to add small amounts to every single serving.  It just didn't seem right that she should hate her food so I gave it up.

I don't think pumpkin is what she needs anyway, she is not constipated,  it was the soothing and anti-inflammatory properties of the SEB I am interested in.  But...the high magnesium makes me not want to try it in any pure form, for now.  I'll keep it on the back burner though, in case I get desperate.

[Pookie]

I read Dr. Hofve's statement as:  if there's elevated urinary pH, it may not be a good idea to use slippery elm.  However, given the issues that SK has had in the past, I totally understand your concern.  Better safe than sorry.

[DeeDee]

I've used Slippery Elm for myself before...it's in sore throat herbal teas. It can definitely upset your stomach if you drink too much of it--so I think it might with any other animal too.