VetPlus Sustain Synbiotic Sachets for Cats | Enterococcus faecium SF68 Probiotic & FOS Prebiotic | Daily Gut Microbiome & Digestive Health Support | 10 Sachets

FOR ANIMAL USE ONLY — Administer as directed by a veterinarian or as per label instructions. Sustain is a veterinary nutraceutical synbiotic supplement formulated for cats — not a veterinary medicine; it does not require a prescription but veterinary guidance is recommended for cats with chronic or recurrent GI signs (chronic diarrhoea, vomiting, weight loss, or suspected inflammatory bowel disease). Chronic or recurrent GI signs in cats require veterinary investigation to exclude feline inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), small cell lymphoma (the most important differential for chronic feline GI disease), exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), hyperthyroidism, and chronic enteropathy before attributing signs to microbiome dysbiosis alone. Sustain is for daily maintenance gut health support in otherwise healthy cats or cats under veterinary management for GI conditions. Keep out of reach of children. Store in a cool, dry place; keep sachets sealed until use.

VetPlus Sustain Synbiotic Sachets for Cats | Enterococcus faecium SF68 Probiotic & FOS Prebiotic | Daily Gut Microbiome & Digestive Health Support | 10 Sachets

VetPlus Sustain is a veterinary nutraceutical synbiotic supplement manufactured by VetPlus Ltd (UK), specifically formulated for cats. Unlike Promax (the acute-use oral paste syringe for short-term diarrhoea management), Sustain is designed for daily long-term maintenance supplementation to support a healthy feline gut microbiome continuously. Each sachet contains a synbiotic combination of Enterococcus faecium SF68 (NCIMB 10415 — the clinically validated probiotic strain) and fructooligosaccharides (FOS — the prebiotic substrate that selectively nourishes beneficial commensal bacteria). The convenient single-sachet format delivers a precise pre-measured dose that can be mixed directly into wet food or sprinkled onto dry food for easy daily administration to cats. The 10-sachet pack provides a 10-day supply at 1 sachet daily, suitable for a defined course of microbiome support following antibiotic therapy, stress events, or as an ongoing daily supplement.

Feline-Specific Gut Microbiome Characteristics & Why Cats Require a Targeted Formulation

• The healthy feline intestinal microbiome: cats are obligate carnivores (hypercarnivores — requiring >70% dietary protein from animal tissue) with a gastrointestinal tract structurally and physiologically adapted for a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet; the feline GI tract is shorter relative to body length than the dog’s (∼1.65m total vs ∼4–5m in a medium dog), GI transit time is faster (∼12–24h vs 24–72h in dogs), and the feline colon is relatively compact with lower fermentation capacity; the feline intestinal microbiome reflects this carnivore physiology: (a) phylum composition: Firmicutes (∼55–65% — dominated by Clostridia, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Lactobacillales including Enterococcaceae) and Bacteroidetes (∼15–25% — lower proportion than dogs due to reduced colonic fermentation) are the principal phyla; Fusobacteria (Fusobacterium spp. — proteolytic fermenters of amino acids) are more prominent in cats than dogs, reflecting the higher protein substrate availability in the feline colon; Proteobacteria (Gammaproteobacteria — Enterobacteriaceae) are a normal minor constituent; Actinobacteria (Bifidobacterium) are present at lower abundance in cats than in omnivores or herbivores — reflecting the lower dietary oligosaccharide substrate for Bifidobacterium fermentation in carnivores; (b) metabolic profile: the feline microbiome is characterised by proportionally more proteolytic fermentation (amino acid catabolism → branched-chain fatty acids — isobutyrate from valine, isovalerate from leucine — and biogenic amines — putrescine from ornithine, cadaverine from lysine, histamine from histidine, tryptamine from tryptophan; skatole/indole from tryptophan indole lyase in Clostridium spp.) relative to saccharolytic fermentation (carbohydrate → SCFA) compared to dogs and omnivores; (c) feline dysbiosis index: analogous to the validated canine dysbiosis index (DI — a qPCR-based 16S rRNA gene quantification panel developed at Texas A&M University measuring Faecalibacterium, Blautia, Turicibacter, Streptococcus, Clostridium hiranonis, Fusobacterium, and E. coli as a composite score), a feline-adapted microbiome assessment framework is used in veterinary clinical settings to identify dysbiosis in cats with chronic enteropathy
• Common causes of feline gut dysbiosis warranting Sustain supplementation: (a) antibiotic-associated dysbiosis — particularly post-amoxicillin-clavulanate (used for cat bite wounds and URTIs), metronidazole (commonly prescribed for feline GI signs despite its paradoxical microbiome-disrupting effect in cats — Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus depletion documented post-metronidazole in cats), and enrofloxacin (reserved for gram-negative infections but associated with Firmicutes depletion); (b) dietary change — cats are neophobic and highly sensitive to dietary transitions; abrupt protein source changes (chicken to fish, wet to dry) alter the fermentable substrate profile → microbiome shift; (c) stress-associated dysbiosis — cats are particularly susceptible to stress-induced GI dysbiosis via the HPA axis and sympatho-adrenal pathway (see feline idiopathic cystitis Pandora Syndrome — the same stress-neuroendocrine axis affects both the bladder and GI tract in stress-susceptible cats); common feline stressors: multi-cat household dynamics, new animals, environmental changes, hospitalisation, surgery, boarding; (d) post-illness microbiome recovery — following parvoviral panleukopenia (feline panleucopenia — feline parvovirus FPV — infects and destroys rapidly dividing intestinal crypt cells → villous atrophy → severe disruption of the intestinal epithelium and microbiome), upper respiratory infections (calicivirus, herpesvirus), and hospitalisation-associated dysbiosis; (e) aging-associated microbiome changes — senior cats (≥10 years) show progressive reduction in microbiome diversity (reduced Firmicutes, increased Proteobacteria) — an age-associated dysbiosis pattern similar to human aging (‘inflammaging’) that contributes to increased GI sensitivity in geriatric cats

Active Ingredients & Mechanisms of Action

• Enterococcus faecium SF68 (NCIMB 10415) — clinically validated, thermostable probiotic strain: SF68 is the same clinically validated probiotic strain used in VetPlus Promax (see Promax description for the full strain characterisation); in the context of Sustain’s daily maintenance use in cats specifically: (a) feline intestinal colonisation: SF68 adheres to feline intestinal epithelial cells via Esp (enterococcal surface protein) and EF-Tu adhesins binding to feline mucin MUC2 glycoprotein and fibronectin; feline mucin is rich in sialylated (NeuAcα2-3/6Gal) and sulphated oligosaccharides — SF68’s surface lectin-like adhesins (particularly Esp’s MSCRAMM — microbial surface component recognising adhesive matrix molecules — domain) bind these carbohydrate moieties; (b) competitive exclusion of feline pathogens: SF68 produces enterocins with activity against Clostridium perfringens (a common cause of feline diarrhoea — C. perfringens type A and C. perfringens enterotoxin CPE-positive strains are associated with acute and chronic feline GI disease), Listeria monocytogenes, and pathogenic Enterococcus strains; (c) intestinal IgA secretion stimulation: SF68 activates feline intestinal Peyer’s patch dendritic cells → IL-6 + TGF-β co-stimulation of B cells in the subepithelial dome → IgA class switch recombination (activation-induced cytidine deaminase — AID — T-cell-independent IgA switch in GALT) → plasma cell differentiation → polymeric IgA (pIgA) → transcytosis across epithelial cells via pIgR (polymeric immunoglobulin receptor) → secretory IgA (SIgA) released into the intestinal lumen; SIgA binds and agglutinates enteropathogens (‘immune exclusion’) — preventing mucosal adhesion without triggering inflammatory complement or Fc receptor activation; daily SF68 supplementation maintains this SIgA-mediated mucosal immune barrier continuously; (d) Treg maintenance: daily SF68 administration maintains intestinal Treg (CD4+FoxP3+) populations in the lamina propria via TLR2/TLR9 dendritic cell activation → IL-10/TGF-β → Treg differentiation → suppression of excessive Th1/Th17 responses in the feline gut; this is particularly relevant for cats prone to inflammatory conditions (IBD-predisposed breeds: Siamese, Burmese, Ragdoll); (e) clinical evidence in cats: Bybee et al. (JVIM 2011) — randomised trial of SF68 in shelter cats: significantly reduced duration of diarrhoea and improved faecal scores vs placebo; Torres-Henderson et al. (Front Vet Sci 2017) — E. faecium SF68 improved Dysbiosis Index scores in cats; Veir et al. (2007) — E. faecium SF68 increased fecal IgA in cats; note: EFSA QPS (qualified presumption of safety) status granted to E. faecium NCIMB 10415 for use in cats
• Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) — prebiotic fibre, synbiotic partner to SF68, selectively stimulating beneficial feline commensal bacteria: FOS are β(2→1)-linked fructose oligomers (GF2 kestose, GF3 nystose, GF4 fructosylnystose) resistant to mammalian digestive enzyme hydrolysis → reaching the feline colon intact for selective fermentation; in the feline-specific context: (a) feline saccharolytic microbiome augmentation: despite the feline colon’s lower baseline carbohydrate fermentation capacity vs omnivores, FOS supplementation in cats has been shown to specifically increase Bifidobacterium (Actinobacteria) and Lactobacillus (Firmicutes) counts — both genera express β-fructofuranosidase for FOS fermentation; FOS thus ‘seeds’ saccharolytic fermenters in an otherwise proteolytic-fermentation-dominated feline colonic environment, introducing beneficial SCFA-producing commensals; (b) butyrate and SCFA production in the feline colon: Bifidobacterium-derived acetate is cross-fed to butyrate-producing Firmicutes (Roseburia intestinalis, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii — both present in healthy cats) via the acetate-to-butyrate cross-feeding pathway (Roseburia uses exogenous acetate as a co-substrate for butyrate production via the butyryl-CoA:acetate CoA-transferase pathway); this maintains feline colonocyte butyrate supply, tight junction integrity, and Treg induction even in a lower-saccharolytic-flux environment; (c) synbiotic pairing: FOS acts as the preferred growth substrate for SF68 in the feline intestinal lumen — SF68 expresses a fructose-specific PTS transporter and β-fructofuranosidase that allows it to ferment FOS intracellularly; this FOS-driven SF68 colonisation and persistence advantage is the mechanistic basis of the synbiotic formulation — FOS selectively enriches the FOS-fermenting SF68 in competition with non-FOS-fermenting commensals and potential pathogens; the sachet format protects the probiotic-prebiotic combination from moisture and heat between uses, maintaining SF68 viability and FOS structural integrity until administration

Indications

• Daily long-term maintenance probiotic and prebiotic gut support for cats
• Antibiotic-associated gut dysbiosis in cats — concurrent or post-antibiotic use (amoxicillin-clavulanate, metronidazole, enrofloxacin) to protect and restore the feline intestinal microbiome
• Stress-associated GI disruption in cats — boarding, rehoming, multi-cat household changes, veterinary hospitalisation
• Post-illness microbiome recovery — after panleukopenia, upper respiratory infections, or any hospitalisation event
• Senior cats (≥10 years) with age-related microbiome changes and increased GI sensitivity
• IBD-predisposed breeds (Siamese, Burmese, Ragdoll) as adjunctive microbiome support alongside veterinary IBD management
• Post-dietary change gut support during protein source transitions

Directions for Use

• Administer as directed by a veterinarian or per VetPlus label instructions
• Mix the contents of one sachet into wet food, or sprinkle onto dry food daily
• For best results, administer consistently at the same meal each day
• 10-sachet pack = 10-day supply at 1 sachet daily; for extended maintenance supplementation, use continuously or as directed by veterinarian

Safety Information

• For animal use only — keep out of reach of children
• E. faecium SF68 is susceptible to all major veterinary antibiotics; Sustain can be used concurrently with antibiotic treatment
• Seek veterinary attention for chronic or recurrent GI signs (lasting more than 7 days) — chronic feline GI disease requires investigation to exclude IBD, small cell lymphoma, hyperthyroidism, and EPI
• Store in a cool, dry place; keep sachets sealed until use; do not use sachets that have been opened or damaged