#1. Help, My Pet Has Diarrhea!
Help, My Pet Has Diarrhea!
One of the most tasteless reasons pet owners seek the help of a veterinarian is because their pet has diarrhea. Whether it is a regular occurrence for a pet with an over sensitive digestive system or a one off event, it always signifies that something is not right and requires operation to firm those stools up again. This record explains in uncomplicated terms some of the more tasteless causes of diarrhea in dogs and cats, and how best to deal with the problem.
Help, My Pet Has Diarrhea!
Ok, so you have noticed your pet has diarrhea. The first quiz, to ask yourself is to recite the nature of the feces. The consistency, color and even smell of the feces gives the veterinarian vital clues as to the cause. Here are some questions to ask yourself, so that you are well prepared to answer any questions your veterinarian might ask if you end up seeking his/her advice.
1. How long has your pet had diarrhea for? Has your pet suffered from episodes of diarrhea in the past? If yes, there may be a dietary intolerance to deal with and therefore specific foods to avoid.
2. Is your dog/cat sharp and well or depressed and lethargic? If the latter is true, more urgent diagnostics and treatment may be necessary.
3. How is your pets appetite? If your pet is still eating it is a good sign that the cause of the diarrhea is a uncomplicated one that is easy to fix.
4. Is the diarrhea watery or just slightly loose? If it is very watery then it suggests fluid is being actively secreted into the intestines, and there is more of a danger from your pet suffering from dehydration due to fluid loss.
5. Has there been any vomiting at all? If your pet has been vomiting too then the disease is affecting the front end of the digestive tract (esophagus, stomach and small intestine) in increasing to the back end (small intestine and large intestine). This could be due to something your pet has eaten, or due to toxins in the bloodstream that make the animal feel nauseous.
6. Is there any blood in the diarrhea? Blood can take on two forms; bleeding into the small intestine results in black feces as the blood is partly digested by the time it reaches the anus. Bleeding into the large intestine or rectum leads to reddish feces, with more fresh seeing blood. The nature of the blood and the color of the stool tells us the location of the problem. Puppies and kittens generally have streaks of blood in their feces; this is often no major cause of concern. Copious blood in the feces any way is a huge worry and needs immediate veterinary investigation to check for nasties such as anticoagulant toxicity, severe infections and tumors.
7. Which of these two descriptions best fits the diarrhea:
A) your pet is producing huge amounts of explosive diarrhea a concentrate of times a day at most, or
B) your pet is straining to defecate and passing small amounts of mucus covered diarrhea 4 or more times while the day. If the answer is A, the small intestine is the source of the question whereas if the answer is B, the large intestine is where the disease is. This is also leading in how the diarrhea is treated. 8. Could your pet have swallowed an object that is lodged somewhere? This is far more tasteless in dogs, particularly those that play with sticks and toys, or those that are given bones to chew. any way it does happen to cats occasionally, with things such as elastic, string or cotton. If your pet has swallowed something that is stuck it will ordinarily be vomiting first and foremost, and off its food. An object stuck in the intestine somewhere will often cause diarrhea though, which can lead to rapid dehydration. This scenario requires urgent veterinary attention, for xrays and potential surgery.
Common causes of diarrhea in dogs and cats
1. Intestinal parasites. Make sure your dog/cat is wormed with a licensed veterinary stock every 3 months to preclude an infestation building up and causing diarrhea and weight loss.
2. Bacterial infections. Arguably the most tasteless cause of diarrhea in pets. Many animals are by nature scavengers and will gobble up things they find lying around outside, some of which might be harbouring nasty bacteria that cause vomiting and/or diarrhea. determined bacteria are worse than others; the 3 ones to worry about are E. Coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter as these can be passed to humans. However, bacterial infections are ordinarily of course treated by a procedure of antibiotics. Veterinarians ordinarily prescription a non specific broad spectrum antibiotic to start with, and if the stools do not firm up then a swab is taken to rule the species of bacteria involved and which antibiotics it is sensitive to.
3. Viral infections. Though quite rare nowadays in the Usa and Uk due to whole vaccination, viral infections are often more deadly than their bacterial counterparts. One of the best known and most deadly ones in dogs is Parvovirus, which causes an explosive foul smelling bloody diarrhea, ordinarily with vomiting, and severe dehydration. Since antiviral drugs are seldom used in veterinary practice, treatment ordinarily focuses on retention the dog hydrated via an intravenous drip, and treating any secondary bacterial infections with antibiotics.
4. Dietary intolerance. Also widely known as food allergy, this is a hypersensitivity reaction to determined ingredients in a pets diet. determined breeds are more prone to it than others, and it can occur in pets that have been fed the same diet for years but suddenly organize an allergy to one of its ingredients. The symptoms can Whether be diarrhea, though the animal ordinarily remains sharp with a good appetite throughout, or itchiness, in singular licking at the paws. Diagnosis is Whether via a blood test sent to a specialised laboratory to part antibodies to dissimilar ingredients, or by conducting a precise dietary trial and feeding nothing but chicken and rice for 6 weeks, with no treats at all. Long term resolution is identifying the ingredient responsible and eliminating it from the diet.
5. Inflammatory bowel disease. This is an inflammation of the wall of the intestines, ordinarily due to a defective immune system. It is characterised by a long history of intermittent or constant diarrhea that is non responsive to antibiotics or a dietary trial. Diagnosis is best achieved by taking biopsies of the intestines and having the tissue samples examined by a pathologist. The disease cannot be cured and is often managed with low dose steroids and/or a prescription diet.
6. Liver disease. This tends to occur more in older animals and is of course diagnosed via uncomplicated blood tests. There are medications to lessen the symptoms, and a low protein, high fibre diet is advised.
7. Hormonal imbalances. Disease of the adrenal or thyroid glands can cause diarrhea. These can be diagnosed via blood tests and treated appropriately.
8. Cancer. This is unlikely to occur in young animals. There are a estimate of dissimilar types of cancer that can cause diarrhea, all of which have dissimilar prognoses. Early identification and surgical extraction of some types may be curative, but if they have already spread via the lymphatic system the outcome is poor.
What you should do
If your pet has recently industrialized diarrhea (and/or vomiting) and seems depressed, lethargic or flat, touch your veterinarian immediately.
If your pet is off his/her food completely, or is unable to hold down water, touch your veterinarian immediately.
If your pets diarrhea (or vomit) contains a large estimate of blood or is very dark looking, touch your veterinarian immediately.
If you conjecture your pet has a high climatic characteristic or is dehydrated, touch your veterinarian immediately.
If none of the above apply, first of all starve your pet for 24 hours. Make sure abundance of water is available while this period (not too cold), but no food at all. Once your pet has been starved for 24 hours, offer him/her a small estimate of chicken and rice. If it is eaten, continue feeding small amounts of chicken and rice 3 times a day for the next 5 days. This bland diet will be polite on the digestive system as your pet recovers. The majority of cases of sudden onset diarrhea will answer to this protocol.
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