Pet Article

DOGS, CATS AND DIARRHEA

Diarrhea can be one of the most common medical symptoms in cats and dogs. As a pet owner you should always note when diarrhea started, should your dog or cat begin to suffer, how often it is happening, how much your dog or cat is straining to defecate, what color is the diarrhea, bloody, black, mucous like or otherwise. You should also try to remember if your cat or dog has eaten anything unusual recently.

Diarrhea occurs when an accumulation of dissolved substances in the intestine causes excess water to move intot he intestine. This accumulation may be a result of decreased absorption of food, increased secretion of electrolytes by the intestine, or both. If your cat or dog eats something it cannot absorb, like adult cats and dogs cannot absorb milk sugar lactose, the overload of these solutes in the intestine may cause diarrhea.,br>
If not much of your cat or dogs intestine is functioning, there can be a decreased amount of area to absorb food. This decreased surface area can be caused by surgical removal of a part of the bowel, diseased state of the bowel, or decreased interation time between the intestine and food. Mucosa, the lining of the intestine, needs time to absorb what is ingested. Diseases can cause more rapid movement of food through the intestine.

Motility modifiers, drugs that can increase or decrease movement of food through the intestines, may be suggested by your veterinarian, this will help to control the diarrhea for around 24 to 48 hours, or until a diagnoses can be made. These motility modifiers should not be used in the long term, for example, should your dog or cat have e.coli induced diarrhea, these modifiers will retain the toxin that e.coli secretes and may cause a life threatening distention of the bowel. It is also important to realize that a high frequency of bowel movements is not synonymous with diarrhea. Your dog or cat can have more than one bowel movement in a day, so long as the amount of fecal water is normal there should be nothing to worry about.

Should diarrhea begin in your dog or cat, you should notify your veterinarian for help in deciding whether you should wait the diarrhea out or make an appointment to have your veterinarian assess the situation. This is especially significant in younger pets. If you have a puppy or kitten who has not had its vaccination series with diarrhea, then you should call your veterinarian right away. Some viral diarrheas, such as parvo virus, could kill your kitten or puppy. Kittens and puppies dehydrate very quickly and you will need your veterinarian to initiate rehydration and fluid support.

For diarrhea in adult cats and dogs, it can best to "starve" them for around 12 to 24 hours. Then re-start your pet on small frequent meals to see if the diarrhea has stopped. It is important to remember that, should you find blood or foreign objects passed in the diarrhea, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian. Chronic diarrhea with sustained weight loss needs to be checked out also.

Some easy thing to remember or do to keep your dogs and cats safe and to help prevent diarrhea are:

1) Do not feed your cat or dog with people food. people food may cause diarrhea as well as pancreatitis.

2) Always keep your cat or dog away from foreign objects that they may swallow.

3) Get your puppies and kittens vaccinated and keep your pets away from unvaccinated animals.

4) Keep your dog or cat on a steady balanced diet. if you are not sure whats best for your pet, consult with your veterinarian.

5) Have your cat or dogs stools checked every year to control parasites.

Feces consistency and content are clues veterinarians rely on to tell them what might be occurring with your pet. You can use these clues as well if you watch your pet's feces for changes. Also, when you do bring your pet to the veterinarian, bring a fresh stool sample. For further information about diarrhea in pets, call your local veterinarian.

Mark Woodcock
1 Flea Control