AniForte Slippery Elm Bark Powder

Most upset stomachs come right on their own. The hard part of living with an animal that has one is telling those apart from the ones that will not, and doing it at nine on a Sunday evening with nothing but a bin bag and a hunch to go on.

This is a single-ingredient powder: AniForte give the composition as 100% ground American elm bark, and nothing follows it. They describe it as forming a protective layer on the stomach and intestinal lining, and list it for digestive upset, for easing the passage of hairballs in cats, and — separately — for external use on minor wounds. It mixes into food or into broth. AniForte also list it as carrying fibre, vitamins A, B complex, C and K, and calcium, magnesium and sodium.

• 100G tub
• Composition is 100% ground American elm bark
• Gently dried and ground, with nothing added
• Mixed into food or broth
• AniForte also list it for external use on minor wounds
• AniForte list fibre, vitamins A, B complex, C and K, plus calcium, magnesium and sodium

There is no amount on this label and no analysis behind it. AniForte publish no quantity per animal to us and no figures for any of the nutrients they name, so there is nothing to portion by and nothing to compare against another brand. They describe it as forming a protective layer on the gut lining; what they do not say is whether that layer affects anything else given at the same time, so if your animal is on medication this is a question for your vet before it is a purchase. And an animal that is vomiting repeatedly, passing blood, or flat and not drinking needs a vet the same day — a supplement is not the answer to that.

Who it's for: owners who like having something gentle in the cupboard for a short, mild upset, and cat owners dealing with hairballs. It is a single-ingredient product, which is what makes it usable on an animal that reacts to additives.