What To Do When Your Pet Has Diarrhoea | Vet Tips

One of the most common problems the ManyPets vet, Dr Kirsten Ronngren sees at her practice is diarrhoea. Here, she explains what can cause your dog or cat to have diarrhoea, how you can treat an upset stomach at home, and when it’s time to seek veterinary care.

TRANSCRIPT

hey everyone I'm Dr Kirsten, vet at Many Pets and today we are going to talk about one of the most glamorous parts of pet ownership and that's what to do when your pet has diarrhea. the good news is is if your pet has one episode of diarrhea and is otherwise acting happy and healthy has no other clinical signs and is still interested in food it's likely okay to monitor at home we'll get to what you can do if they've had more than a few episodes later but here are a few things you can do to support their gut in the meantime I don't typically recommend withholding food for an extended period of time after one non-complicated episode of diarrhea especially For Pets that are very young or very small in reality otherwise healthy animals who have had one episode are likely to do just fine on their normal diet at their next meal often I get pet owners asking me if it's helpful to give something like canned pumpkin or squash when pets have diarrhea honestly the amount that you would need to feed to provide the fiber necessary to see a benefit is going to be a lot more than what people are able to feed especially for large breed dogs there's better ways that we can get fiber into these patients typically Veterinary probiotics are going to be more helpful in these types of scenarios while I often like to recommend Bland diets such as boiled chicken and white rice in cases of vomiting they may not be as helpful in cases of diarrhea because of the decreased amount of fiber it usually goes in one end and out the other feeding your pet a bland diet in the short term is completely safe but in the long term it's not going to be nutritionally balanced if you feel your pet does better on a blender easily digestible diet then chatting with your vet or aborted Veterinary nutritionist can help solidify a plant that will provide that nutrition long term when should you pick up the phone when your pet has diarrhea if you notice any of the following it's time to give your vet a call more than one episode of diarrhea in a short period of time multiple episodes of diarrhea over several days if your pet has a history of chronic illness or gastrointestinal disease if your pet is on any chronic medications if you know your pet or suspect your pet has gotten into any toxins if you spot any blood this may be bright red or even dark black or tarry if your pet is showing other signs of illness such as vomiting lethargy lack of appetite or other changes in their behavior diarrhea is a common issue and has a very long list of causes some of our primary gut causes are going to include things like parasites bacterial or viral infections food allergies diseases like inflammatory bowel disease or even toxins and getting into things that they shouldn't eat there are also lots of non-gi causes of diarrhea such as things like hyperthyroidism or Addison's disease it may even be a side effect of a medication or caused by something like stress my final tip is to stay vigilant while one episode of diarrhea and an otherwise happy and healthy animal with no other symptoms is not usually a cause for panic if you do notice other things such as vomiting lethargy changes in appetite then it's time to call your vet that way we can help you figure out what the problem is before it becomes more serious thanks for listening and I hope you enjoyed this video discussing what to do if your pet has diarrhea foreign