Hi again! I'd like to try this for Phoebe's diarrhea/constipation. In the instructions you linked it looks like for diarrhea the powder can be mixed into their wet food. I couldn't find how much powder to use though?
Slippery Elm Bark
The usual dosage is:
- 1/8 to 1/4 (0.125 – 0.25) of a teaspoon of the organic or wild-crafted slippery elm bark powder once or twice a day; or
- one 350-400mg capsule a day. You can give these whole or open them and sprinkle on the cat’s food once or twice a day.
Most cats are given slippery elm bark daily, but some cats do not need it every day, so experiment and see what works best for your cat.
I open the capsules and sprinkle the slippery elm bark into my cat’s food and mix it up, but slippery elm bark has a bittersweet flavour which some cats do not like. In that case, try giving it in a capsule, either the one it came in (though these may well be too big for the average cat) or, if you are using loose slippery elm bark, purchase
gelatin capsules separately for this purpose.
Some people have found their cat will eat slippery elm bark if it is mixed in a little
baby food (make sure the baby food does not contain any onion).
Syrup Recipe
You can also make slippery elm bark into a syrup that is used for digestive problems or for mouth sores or ulcers. It has the same soothing and healing effects in the mouth — try dabbing in your cat’s mouth ulcers if required. The syrup is weaker than the straight powder, so you can give a little more of it. Some people have told me they find it hard to place the syrup on their cat’s mouth ulcers if they are in hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. In such cases, you may wish to use a syringe to aim the syrup at the ulcers.
If you are using slippery elm bark decanted from capsules, you need pure slippery elm bark with no fillers, otherwise the syrup will usually not thicken properly.
Stovetop Method
- Take a stainless steel or heat-proof glass pan (not an aluminium or non-stick one).
- Put one cup of cold water in the pan.
- Sprinkle 1 to 1.5 tsp of slippery elm bark powder on to the water.
- Let it sit until the powder is damp (this should not take too long), then bring to the boil stirring constantly.
- Reduce the heat and simmer, still stirring constantly, until it thickens, about 3 minutes or so. It will be the consistency of watery egg whites.
- Allow to cool and give ¼ – ½ (0.25 to 0.5) teaspoon up to 4 times a day.
- This will keep at room temperature for a day or in the fridge for up to five days.
Microwave Method
For the non-cooks among us, one of my support group members came up with this method but it may not work with powdered slippery elm bark.
- Take a glass container which holds two cups.
- Put one cup of water in the cup.
- Add 1 to 1.5 tsp of slippery elm bark powder.
- Heat in the microwave on high for about 1.5 minutes.
- Remove from the microwave and stir, then put it back in for about another 30 seconds.
- Keep an eye on it because you do not want it to boil over.
- Remove from the microwave and stir again.
- Allow to cool and give ¼ – ½ (0.25 to 0.5) teaspoon up to 4 times a day.
- This will keep at room temperature for a day or in the fridge for up to five days.
USA
San Francisco Herb Co sells loose slippery elm bark powder at the best price I’ve found, US$29.95 per pound plus exact shipping cost, but their minimum order is for US$30. They may waive this on request and charge a US$7 small order fee instead; alternatively you could stock up on other products such as catnip.
Frontier Co-Op sells loose slippery elm bark, in both organic and standard forms. You can also find Frontier products on
Amazon (where it seems to be cheaper).
Mountain Rose Herbs sell 4 oz of slippery elm bark powder for US$17.75 or 1 lb for US$54.50.
Oregon’s Wild Harvest sells organic slippery elm bark at US$21.25 for 4 oz or US$65 for 1 lb.
Whole Foods Market sells slippery elm bark in bulk in its stores in USA and Canada.
Vitacost sells 4 oz of the NOW brand for US$11.39.
Iherb sells 4 oz of the NOW brand of slippery elm bark powder for US$12.24.
Vitamin Shoppe sells slippery elm bark capsules for US$8.79.