How to treat my pet’s diarrhea problems?
The health of our pets is of great concern to us and sudden diarrhea often causes concern. To help you restore the situation and relieve your dog or cat, here’s how to analyze the situation in 3 times.
1. Detect the problem
Diarrhea is defined as increasing the frequency and changing the texture more or less liquid of the stool, often of a very different color and odor, caused by inflammation of the intestine. Diarrhea can be acute, that is, a sudden attack that lasts only 4 to 5 days at most. This one is the most common in our pets. It can also become chronic if symptoms occur repeatedly that can reach more than 15 days.
2. Understanding the origin of the malfunction
Food Origins:
Overeating
It is the most common origin. An animal that eats too much food or treats may have soft stools or diarrhea. To avoid this problem, be sure to reduce the portions of your pet if its level of physical activity decreases, plus, treats should not exceed 10% of calories ingested daily.
Changing food without transition
When changing food, it is important to make a transition from 7 to 10 days in order to allow the intestinal flora to get used to the new ingredients.
Ingestion of toxins
Spoiled food, cleaning products, and even some plants may contain toxins that are dangerous to animals. Make sure you keep them out of their reach.
Food intolerance
Food intolerance implies an inability to digest certain ingredients.
Bacterial and parasitic origins:
The Pests
With stool analysis, a veterinarian can validate the presence of pests such as worms, coccidia or giardia.
A contaminated bowl
Poor hygiene of the bowls can cause diarrhea because it causes bacteria to develop. It is important to wash your pet’s bowls regularly.
Stress can also affect the digestive system and lead to diarrhea.
3. Choosing the right treatment
Chronic diarrhea is often related to an underlying medical problem. It is therefore important to consult your veterinarian who will suggest the appropriate treatment.
Acute diarrhea is often non-specific and usually resolves in 24 to 48 hours.
Unless the animal is very badly in focus, diarrhea is not an emergency and home treatment is usually satisfying. Diarrhea is not, in itself, a disease, but rather a reaction of the digestive system to an irritant.
Attention: The treatment of diarrhea at home is to be avoided if the animal is amorphous, dehydrated, has blood in the stool, has black stools or if it suffers from abdominal pain. It is also to be avoided in young animals as well as in dogs and cats susceptible to hypoglycemia.
- Make a fast from 12 to 24 hours with only water or rice water. To make rice water, boil 1 cup of rice with 4 cups of water for 20 to 30 minutes, until milky water is obtained. Reserve the rice for step 2.
- Following fasting, offer in small quantities a mixture of 50% extra lean ground beef or chicken breast and 50% rice. Do not use any oil or spice.
- After 48 hours, slowly return to its usual food with ideally 3 to 5 small meals the first few days alternating usual food/lean meat mixture and rice. If after 48 to 72 hours diarrhea persists and/or your pet appears feverish, restless and shows signs of abdominal pain, visit your veterinary surgeon. The veterinarian will make a precise diagnosis and advise you on proper treatment.
The case of puppies and kittens
Puppies and kittens are more prone to diarrhea because of the sensitivity of their digestive system.
To treat diarrhea in the puppy or kitten, you can follow the same treatment methods previously mentioned.
