4/4/2023 Cat diahrrea update. I recently discovered Instinct Freeze-dried Raw Cage-free pellets, and I am happy to say that feeding them in dry form to my hyperthyroid cat, Chippie, works even better for diahrrea than the fresh cooked sweet potato mixed into his wet food. And the pellets have no sodium selenite (toxic) or kelp (high in iodine).

Thank you so much. I’ll have a read.

It may be toxic to blood, kidneys, liver, skin, central nervous system of your pet https://www.essentialstuff.org/essentialstuff.org

2.94 times more toxic than Selenium Yeast https://truthaboutpetfood.com/truthaboutpetfood.com

There is no provision in the federal code that states explicitly that sodium selenite is allowed in dog or cat diets https://www.petfoodindustry.com/petfoodindustry.com

Is Selenium Toxicity a Concern for Our Pets?
https://truthaboutpetfood.com/is-selenium-toxicity-a-concern-for-our-pets/
Is raw selenite safe for cats?
-Damage to the liver and spleen in animals has also been observed, according to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). According to the 1986 edition of the Handbook of the Toxicology of Metals, daily intake of about one milligram of selenium as selenite can be toxic.Aug 24, 2011

-The EPA (reminder: the EPA sets NOAEL – No Observed Adverse Effect Level – based on very detailed reviews of numerous studies) determined the highest allowable daily intake of selenium (for a 121 pound human, but based on animal studies) to be 0.853 milligrams per day.
-The American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has determined an adult maintenance dog food can have a maximum of 0.57 milligrams per day (based on recommended daily calorie intake, not body weight);
-AAFCO has no maximum level of selenium established for cat food within their pet food regulations.

Beware: Sodium selenite in pet food is toxic
https://www.catsfork.com/CatsKitchen/beware-sodium-selenite-in-pet-food-is-toxic/
…as counter-intuitive as this sounds, it is a truth: the smaller the concentration of toxic selenium, the greater the harm because small concentrations mimic hormones, especially estrogen.

Role of Selenium in Pets Health and Nutrition: A Review
https://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=ajas.2011.64.70
Research (Fan and Kizer, 1990; Olson, 1986) proved that inorganic selenium sources can be toxic in high doses; affecting an animal’s blood, liver and muscles. Inorganic selenium cannot be fully metabolized or stored in the body. Consequently, selenium deficiencies still arise in animals that are supplemented with inorganic selenium (Lopez et al., 1969).
Selenium concentrations in pet foods is highly variable.
However because inorganic selenium cannot be stored in the body, organic forms of selenium are being increasingly used as they are safer and more efficiently used in the body.
CONCLUSIONS
The role of trace mineral selenium in animals particularly pets is discussed and reviewed. Selenium deficiency is found to be one of the key factor behind many diseases like Kashin beck disease, cardiomyopathy, etc., Selenium levels and its forms in the diets play an important role in managing the trace mineral level in the body of the pet animal. However, toxicity associated with the high dose of selenium makes it vulnerable to pets and other animals due to the narrow difference between its required dose and the toxic dose. Current selenium supplements are mainly dependent on inorganic sources like sodium selenite which are found to be less bioavailable and also toxic. However, relative uses of selenium and its forms would be dependent on its nature of application and end use requirement. Keeping safety of the pet animals and environment as main focus areas, organoselenium compounds would be a good and alternate prospective choices for research scientists working in pet animal nutrition.

[###### This announcement below indicates the likely timeframe when other pet food companies started adding sodium selenite to cat food. This makes sense to me in that before this timeframe none of my cats–even aging ones–were having any hyperthyroidism issues.######]
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENT ADDED TO OUR HUMAN GRADE PET FOODS
[The Honest Kitchen] August 14, 2016
https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/blog/new-addition-vitamin-premix/

Thanks for sharing your experience. I would like to note, for others’ reference, that Fortiflora is not a prescription drug. It’s a food supplement that anyone can buy through many different retailers without a prescription. Additionally, it would be helpful to see some sources on the notion that sodium selenite is toxic to cats. Are you referencing Spallholz, I. E. and Raftery’s 1987 “Nutritional, chemical toxicological evaluation of high selenium yeast” published in the International Symposium of Se in Biology and Medicine, pages 516- 52? I wasn’t able to find this study’s original text, but it does seem to find some dangers to sodium selenite consumption. Nonetheless, I’ve not found any substantial pieces indicating that it causes hyperthyroidism. Anyway, thank you for sharing what’s helped you, and I also hope that it can be beneficial to someone else.