Get More Info Below....
Digestion Problems & Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Its three o’clock in the morning and you are suddenly awaken by your cat making horrible
sounds on the end of the bed. You bolt from bed, worried about your cat (and your
bedspread), flip on the light and find that Fluffy has just spit up yellow-green slime all over
the place. While this is worrisome, you clean it up, take care of the cat, replace the
bedspread and go back to bed. This scene is repeated over the course of the next week.
What is happening?
It is highly probable that your cat is suffering from one of a number of digestion problems.
These issues can range from inflammatory bowel disease to diarrhea or constipation to an
intestinal blockage. There are several signs to be on the look out for at all times with your
cat, these symptoms are regardless of age, but greater vigilance is required with young
kittens and geriatric cats.
The most common form of inflammatory bowel disease in cats is the presence of lymphocytes
and plasma cells, which produce a diagnosis of lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis (LPE).
This disease can develop in one of two ways. The inflammatory cells can enter the intestinal
wall in response to an injury or infection. Or, parasites, food intolerance, bacteria, fungi, or
cancer can cause activation of the immune system and subsequent inflammation.
Inflammatory bowel disease (or IBD) in cats as with humans, this condition can cause
diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss among other symptoms. An inferior intestinal wall that
cannot keep infections at bay basically causes it. Vomit resulting from inflammatory bowel
disease will generally not have any food or hair mixed in. If these two are present, this
would indicate that there is an issue with the stomach as well as with the bowel.
Digestion Problems - The most common symptoms include:
Weigh loss
Vomiting
Stomach rumbling
Diarrhea
Abnormal thirst
Abdominal pain
These are just a few of the many signs. However, if you see your cat exhibiting any single
symptom or combination of symptoms for longer than a few days, a trip to the vet will be in
order.
Diarrhea issues in a cat can be caused by any number of things - diet, illness, parasites, even
stress can cause a cat to develop diarrhea. If the issue persists past a couple of days, a
trip to the vet will be necessary. The veterinarian will run the required tests to determine
the cause and the treatment that is needed to solve the problem.
Constipation generally has a little different cause than does diarrhea. Among these are
dehydration, trauma, diet, stress or even medications that the cat may be on. Often,
constipation in cats can be brought on by a litter box being moved or a new cat being
introduced into the home. If anything stressful has happened, this could be an easy fix to
the problem. However, if stress isn’t the issue, please see your veterinarian to rule out any
major health issues that could be causing it.
Intestinal blockage is also a cause of digestion problems that needs to be ruled out by a
veterinarian. Cats are notorious for swallowing string. If this happens, the string can
become wrapped up inside of the intestines causing a blockage that, if left untreated, will
eventually kill the cat.
If you notice your cat suffering from any of these symptoms, please make an appointment to
have him looked at by a veterinarian as soon as possible.
Correct your cat behavior
problems! Check out this
site for the latest info on
cat behavioral problems.
Informational sites
and eBooks.
|
