Introduction
Diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, vomiting, and gastro-enteritis are occasional irritants affecting all pets and people from time to time.
But for some patients, these problems and other bowel diseases like colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, viral enteritis, and reflux can be either very serious or long term problems that can make your pet miserable. And it's no fun to be the owner of pets with chronic bowel problems either.
Medications like antibiotics, steroids, cancer drugs, and pain medications for diseases like arthritis cause stomach or bowel irritation.
It should make sense to you that what a pet eats is a big factor in bowel diseases. What you eat can either be part of the problem or part of the solution.
If your pet suffers from any bowel disorders, your vet will consider using special diets designed to help or cure the problem. He or she may recommend these diets for a short period or as long term management of the disease.
Each of the major companies that produce therapeutic pet diets offer their own diet designed to prevent, manage, and treat the different types of gastro-intestinal disorders we commonly see in veterinary practice.
Each of these diets are unique (different from each other) in some way so your vet may chose one brand for one condition and another brand for another condition. For example, Hill's I/D (intestinal diet) has low levels of dietary fat and is an excellent diet choice for pets with pancreatitis whereas Royal Canin's HE (high energy) diet contains high levels of dietary fat and is an excellent choice for viral enteritis but not appropriate for pancreatitis.
Royal canin HE for dogs and cats:
High energy density High levels of dietary fat
Moderate levels of high quality, highly digestible protein ,Highly digestible
Optimal levels of mixed soluble and insoluble fiber
Enriched with omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, FOS, MOS, and zeolite to help optimize intestinal health
Recommended for:
Acute and chronic diarrhea
Gastroenteritis
Intestinal parasites (e.g., giardia, worms)
Diarrhea due to dietary indiscretion
Short bowel syndrome
Viral intestinal disease
But because of the high levels of fat, NOT recommended for
Pregnant or lactating bitches, Lymphangectasia, Pancreatitis, or Hyperlipidemia
Hill's I/D Intestinal Diet for dogs and cats:
Eukanuba Low Residue Diet for dogs and cats:
Purina:
Supplements Helpful In The Treatment of Bowel Disorders:
Digestive Enzymes:
Digest-Rite is the brand I find very effective. It contains digestive enzymes (amylase, protease, cellulase, lipase, and pectinase) that break down fats, starches, and proteins ... something that most pets do naturally but something that a lot of pets don't do well ... especially after middle age sets in. And it also contains beneficial amino acids, Yucca schidigera, and probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium,
Bifidobacterium thermophilum and Bifidobacterium longum, and Bacticillus subtilus), all of which reduce bowel inflammation, gas, aid in various digestive disorders and often stops stool eating. And even helpful with weight problems. Disgest Rite is a flavored powder you spoon over your pet's food once a day.
There are quite a few other products containing pancreatic or digestive enzymes either alone or combined with probiotics that probably work well too. Your vet may recommend his or her favorite. You should try them because they often help a lot with a wide range of digestive disorders making life more pleasant for both you and your pet.
Probiotics: As pointed out in the paragraph above, probiotics are often combined with digestive enzymes and herbal treatments like Yucca. You need to know that while most practioners seem to agree that dispensing probioitic products seems to help a lot of pets ... especially those prone to GI upset due to long term medications ... a lot of other vets and physicians are skeptical of any health claims.
A probiotic, sometimes referred to as good or friendly bacteria, is a microorganism necessary for a healthy and balanced intestinal tract. The prevailing theory for using probiotics is that there are two types of bacteria found in the intestinal tract, good and harmful bacteria. Good bacteria, or probiotics, ensure good health as they supposedly:
1. Produce natural antibiotics, which can fight harmful bacteria.
2. Regulate and increase hormone levels.
3. Manufacture B group vitamins, biotin and folic acid.
4. Stimulate the immune system.
5. Reduce food intolerance.
6. Increase energy levels.
7. Inhibit the growth of some yeast.
8. Absorb nutrients, antioxidants and iron from food that is eaten.
9. Reduce inflammation.
10. Increase digestibility of food.
Several things can destroy the intestinal bacterial balance in a pet’s gut. Antibiotic and other prescription medications may destroy good bacteria as well as bad. Stress, poor diet, pollutants in the air, water, and environment may also deplete beneficial bacteria.
Quackery? I don't think so. Probiotics are harmless, they're inexpensive, and a lot of pets seem to feel better and stop having gas, diarrhea, and bowel inflammation after being treated with probiotics. But most of the internal medicine experts I've heard on the seminar circuit say the medical evidence is questionable.
Herbal Supplements for the treatment of digestive disorders: See the column to your left for my comments.
Fiber supplements: The right amount and right type of fiber in the diet can be very helpful in treating pets prone to diarrea as well as pets prone to constipation. This is because fiber regulates the amount of moisture in the bowel... Not too much and not too little.
Fiber supplements often help with hair ball problems, irritable bowel syndrome, colon cramps, and gas pains.
Fiber supplements designed to ferment slowly can aid in weight loss programs helping to make your pet feel full
Hairball treats:
Most brands of hairball treats for cats are mild laxative lubricants and can be quite helpful for those cats with hard stools, uncomfortable straining, frequent gagging or coughing. or frequent upchuckers of hairballs. Other hairball treats of diets claiming to aid in the prevention of hairballs contain either extra fiber and/or enzymes helpful in the digestion and passage along the intestinal tract of hair. All these products seem to work in a lot of cats and not in others. It's appropriate to simply try the treats or the diet to see if this is effective in your cat.
Note: a lot of cats ... and dogs ... that pass excessive amounts of hair have skin conditions that need attention.
For the actual treatment of cats and dogs clogged up with hair, nothing seems to work better than any of the many brands of flavored petroleum jelly available at every vet's office and pet store. But the trick for success is giving a lot more than the directions say. For cats that are feeling blah or gagging and hairballs are suspected, I recommend giving 1/2 tube daily for 2 days in a row. If your cat doesn't poop alot and feel much better after giving this much laxative; it's time to see your vet.
Cats in Italy Grooming Each Other
Click on any of the links below to go to the page describing the diets and/or supplements that are often recommended for certain disease conditions:
On This Page:
An introduction to the special diets and supplements available for helping with chronic diarrhea, constipation, bowel inflammation, and sensitive "stomach"
On Other Pages:
This is a very reputable company heavily involved with the original research work on glucosamine and now offers a line of therapeutic supplements sold mostly through veterinarians.
These supplements include digestive enzyme, probiotic, and herbal concoctions for treating digestive problems.
They're a great company.
You can learn about and purchase their products directly from the company online if you have a user name and password.
You're welcome to use my user name fox and password which is
pets75
Herbal Supplements for the treatment of digestive disorders: There are all kinds of plant or herbal treatments for GI problems that have faded in and out of popularity in various Asian, Indian, African, Aboriginal, and Western civilizations since recorded history. Your vet may be knowledgeable and enthusiastic about herbal treatments and recommend them.
Personally, I know very little about herbal medicine, but every once in a while some salesperson will convince me to try an herbal product that other vets are finding useful, and sure enough, I'm sometimes impressed. One such product that I like is called DiaBac and the primary active ingredient seems to be oregano extract.
(DiaBac is a Proprietary Blend of (Thymol, Carvacrol),Dextrose, Corn Starch, Essential Oils, Calendula oil, catnip oil, olice oil, peppermint, oil, St. John's Wort oil, and Thyme.
DiaBac seems to work well on stress diarrhea for our boarding pets. I'm sure there are a lot of useful herbal products available that I don't know about.
But I've also tried a lot of herbal products touted to be miracle products for everything from arthritis to stupidity that haven't worked a lick. You can usually trust your vet to recommend effective products because he or she will have tried them on lots of pets and have a good feel for what works and what doesn't, but be pretty skeptical about the thousands of products being sold by gurus, mail order, multi-level sales companies, internet, and back to nature marketers. There's a lot ... and I mean a lot... of hokum and snake oil out there on the market.
