My Pet has Vomiting and Diarrhea... }

Most of our pets have had an upset stomach manifested as either not eating, vomiting, or diarrhea at one time or another. When it happens, pet parents are left to wonder if they should be concerned. There are many possibilities as to why this is happening and there are some key points to consider when deciding whether to seek medical attention or to try some therapy at home first.

Gastrointestinal signs can be commonly caused by stress, eating a foreign body, garbage ingestion, intestinal parasites, viruses, pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, medication side effects, cancer, and less commonly other causes. Looking at your pet’s history can be helpful in trying to figure out the most likely diagnosis. Recent stresses in the pet’s environment, a change in diet of any kind, or paying close attention to signs that become chronic can provide a clue as to the possible causes.

One of the first things to assess is how long the problem has been happening, as well as the frequency of the vomit and/or diarrhea. Pets can become dehydrated quickly if not replacing their losses and their electrolytes can become dramatically affected which can make them more ill. Also, a little bit of blood in diarrhea or vomit is common, but any

Should I be Worried?

more than that should raise concern and you should seek medical attention.

Diarrhea by itself, without a large volume of loss, can be treated conservatively for a day or so without any big concern. Signs along with that such as not eating, vomiting, lethargy or blood in the stool should be addressed with an exam. One of the first things to do is to start feeding a bland diet such as plain chicken and rice or a prescription gastrointestinal diet along with a probiotic. The bland diet may be just enough to get your pet on the road to recovery.

Vomiting more than one time is always something that should be addressed with your veterinarian. If your pet just vomited one time, you could try fasting for 12-24 hours to see if the signs resolve. Once the fast is over, if no further vomiting has occurred, you can try feeding small amounts of a bland diet. Ongoing vomiting prevents giving food or fluids that can help your pet recover which results in faster dehydration. Based on the age of your pet, exam findings, and clinical history, your veterinarian will likely want to run some tests to help determine how to treat.

Recommended tests for a patient with gastrointestinal signs include but are not limited to abdominal x-rays, a chemistry profile, complete blood count, electrolytes, cPL (pancreatitis test), parvo test, fecal testing, giardia test, abdominal ultrasound, and a barium study. Once a diagnosis is made, or at least ruling out more serious problems that require surgery, treatment may be able to be handled on an outpatient basis or could call for hospitalization. Treatment typically involves intravenous or subcutaneous fluids, anti-nausea medication, acid blockers, pain medications if indicated, +/- antibiotics, and a bland diet.

Patients with chronic problems that haven’t really been bad enough to require testing or treatment, should be evaluated for possible causes. It is very probable that something simple can be done to help your pet long term. Sometimes a simple diet change or a medication to help with gastritis is all that is required to alleviate the signs. If stress seems to be playing a role, anti-anxiety medications may be helpful.

Keeping a journal of your pet’s eating habits and clinical signs can be very helpful for your veterinarian to find the right diagnostic path to follow.