Health care and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in cats

Dr. Dr. Martha Cline

Dr. Philips Sherman, University of Toronto, Canada

Dr. Sven Pettersson, Karolinska Academy, Sweden

Mark Lyte, Texas Tech University

Feline diarrhea, also known as loose bowels, is a common feline illness. It can occur in cats of any age, from young cats under 6 months of age to older cats. Gastrointestinal problems are also one of the most common clinical diseases in cats. Because of gastrointestinal is associated with the digestive system, problems will affect the absorption of nutrients, Ming many animal diseases hospital disease problems, are related to the gastrointestinal system has a lot of joint relationship, so we often say the animal's second brain is intestines and stomach, a healthy cats live healthy longevity it first must have a good gastrointestinal system.

Chapter 1 Causes gastrointestinal problems in cats and common diseases are those:

1. Because of the shallow stomach pocket, young cats will not control their food intake, if not properly fed, it is easy to cause gastroenteritis. (It is particularly important to maintain food control for young cats and to avoid excessive intake of indigestible food.)

2. The reason for eating spoiled or improper food may come from the food easy to corrupt, resulting in acute inflammation of the cat's stomach and intestines. The cat ate some indigestible food such as milk and sweets. Or THE cat swallowed a foreign body by mistake, stimulate the stomach and intestines, affect the digestion and digestion function, so that the cat has diarrhea.

3. The common situation of improper feeding is to change the original food of the cat once, without the gradual adaptation period of mixing the old and new food; Or LET THE cat excessive hunger/OVEReating, resulting in the cat overeating, indigestion caused by.

The above problems can be, eat probiotics, with montmorillonite powder, and a few anti-inflammatory drugs

Gastroenteritis treatment should first "fasting and water prohibition", to avoid aggravating the cat vomiting symptoms: FROM the cat vomiting after the start of water prohibition, at least 8 hours later if the cat no longer vomit to give a small amount of warm water, in addition to feed the CAT animal with glucose water saline mixture, to prevent CAT dehydration. Stop vomiting for 24 hours or so before you give your cat something digestible.

4. Parasites Cats may suffer from parasites and some may also have vomiting or diarrhea, such as coccidia, tapeworms, etc. Some cats have vomiting, diarrhea, vomiting and feces sometimes with visible parasites, bloodshot. Treatment method: the diarrhea caused by parasites, had better be confirmed to the hospital laboratory test first, fasting for a long time, and then use Bai Chong Qing, enteroqing and other anthelmintic drugs for insect repellent.

5. Poisoning: Many cat owners may not know that "lily plants" can be deadly poisons to their cats,

If you happen to have pica cats, it is easy to eat lilies and poisoning. Other common home plants that are dangerous to cats include Cyclamen, Malabar chestnut (fortune tree), golden ivy, evergreen, Poinsettias, and so on. In case of poisoning, you must go to the hospital immediately, because it is life-threatening. (So owners with cats should be aware that some plants should not be grown).

6. How to tell whether a cat has gastroenteritis or cat fever? If a cat has gastroenteritis,

The main symptoms are depression, vomiting and diarrhea. But cat wen incubation period of approximately 2-8 days, clinical symptoms and the virus will be in accordance with the cat age power varies: a kitten a few weeks is usually shown more acute onset, symptoms have a high fever (over 40 ℃), fatigue, anorexia, vomiting (vomit a yellow-green), mouth and eyes nasal secretions, excrement and urine is sticky stiff with blood, anemia and severe dehydration.

Chapter 2 The manifestations and symptoms of gastroenteritis in cats?

1. Vomiting: "vomiting" is one of the common reactions of cats, because cats have a highly developed vomiting center, but the causes of cat vomiting are many. Vomiting is one of the most important symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, most of which are persistent, and most of the vomit is food residue and gastric juice. When you find the cat vomiting, you should carefully observe the "reaction after vomiting" : if the cat has no obvious abnormality after vomiting, you can rest assured.

2. Diarrhea: the main symptom of gastroenteritis is diarrhea, feces are loose with water, and there is a fishy smell. If the intestinal mucosa has been severe bleeding, stool will be dark green with blood and black blood clots.

3. Excessive thirst: A cat with gastroenteritis will show obvious signs of thirst, but will often vomit after drinking water.

4. In a shrinking posture: Because of abdominal pain, the cat will shrink its stomach and constantly look in the direction of the stomach. It may also be seen that the cat will retreat into a corner after vomiting and put its stomach against the cold ground, etc

Chapter 3 Food Allergy and gastrointestinal conditioning diet for cats unable to adapt to high protein diet

Why DID MY CAT CONTINUE to HAVE diarrhea AFTER BEING DIAGNOSED BY the DOCTOR, tested IN all aspects, and changed food

Because even if we provide the most nutritious diet for cats, it may not be the right food for them. Because substances in food can trigger allergic reactions, leading to hard-to-diagnose gastrointestinal or skin problems.

Cats are physically similar to humans and have an excellent immune system. It can recognize bacteria, viruses. The immune system's weapon of choice is inflammation of certain tissues: when the body is attacked, certain parts of the body become inflamed at the expense of others. Unfortunately, the immune system can sometimes confuse some chicken or beef proteins for bacteria or viruses. The resulting inflammation can lead to various types of symptoms. Large proteins entering the body are often mistaken by the immune system for foreign body invasion and fight back. Proteins that have been hydrolyzed are often referred to as allergies because the molecules are smaller and less likely to stimulate the immune system. The protein that causes the reaction is called an allergen.

The most common allergens for cats are beef, lamb, seafood, corn, soy, dairy and wheat gluten. As you may have noticed, the most common allergens are the most common ingredients in cat and dog food. Food allergies in cats often cause chronic vomiting and sometimes diarrhea. According to a recent study in the United States, nearly 10 percent of cats have food allergies.

Although some blood and saliva tests can be performed, the only way to confirm a food allergy is to eliminate potential allergens from the cat's diet. Your veterinarian may use food elimination methods: give your cat a comminuted protein diet or a diet with an unusual protein source for 3 months, and watch your cat's skin and poop to see if it eases; Switch to another food until you choose the most suitable one, and then feed it for a long time.

The current common approach is to use prescription foods that contain hydrolyzed proteins that can help diagnose (and treat) food allergies. The proteins in these formulations are broken down into smaller molecules that are less likely to cause an allergic reaction.

Low sensitive ingredients

The most common allergenic ingredients were rare meats, such as venison, duck, Turkey and fish, which are not often found in pet food. Since the current definition of a hypoallergenic food is the statistical probability (positive rate) of the food causing an allergy, the more common the food, the more likely it is to have a record of causing an allergy. Rare MEAT, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS MEAT THAT MOST CATS HAVE NEVER BEEN EXPOSED TO, SO IT IS LESS LIKELY TO HAVE A RECORD OF CAUSING ALLERGIES, AND THEREFORE IS CONSIDERED STATISTICALLY HYPOALLERGENIC. Although these ingredients are classified as hypoallergenic and will not cause allergy to most children, it does not mean that they will not cause allergy to the baby at home.

Protein hydrolysate

In addition to hypoallergenic ingredients, hydrolyzed protein feeds are also a good choice for dogs and cats that are very susceptible to allergies.

Hydrolyzed proteins are proteins that have been enzymatically cut so that their molecules are smaller than normal proteins. When the protein molecule is smaller than a certain degree, it is not easy to cause allergic reactions, so the hydrolyzed protein can be said to be the real low sensitive food ingredients! But a proteolytic diet is expensive, and a single meat source allows you to easily avoid known allergens, and the protein is too small to trigger an allergic reaction. The less and simpler the raw materials and additives used, the simpler the types of protein in the diet will be. The hydrolyzed protein not only improves the nutritional value and function of the original ordinary protein, but also makes the protein more easily absorbed by the body and improves the utilization rate of protein

Chapter four: The latest foreign methods of gastrointestinal health care: microbial flora

Recent decades of research have demonstrated that the gut microbiota of humans and cats has a significant impact on digestive health. The gut microbiota of dogs and cats not only plays an important role in digestive problems, but also plays a key role in determining the overall health of dogs and cats. Thus nourishing and maintaining the gut microbiota creates new opportunities to improve digestion and health.

Dogs and cats, like humans, need a balanced gut microbiota. What is the gut microbiota? This ecosystem, which sits in your pet's digestive tract, contains billions of microbiota and other microbes -- both good and bad, and each pet is unique and proprietary. Balancing your pet's gut microbiota with nutrients can affect the transition between acute or chronic illness and health.

What is the gut microbiota?

Think of your pet's microbiome as a mini ecosystem that plays a key role in balancing your pet's digestive health and overall well-being. Like a meadow or garden, if you want it to flourish, make sure you choose plants that thrive in the environment.

Through new insights into the health and nutrition of the gut microbiome, we know that a combination of fibrous foods rich in beneficial bacteria for dogs and cats can simultaneously maintain and nourish the existing gut "ecosystem" -- the gut microbiome.

How does the microbiome affect your pet's overall health?

Gut bacteria not only aid in digestion, they also produce synthetic vitamins and essential amino acids, help prevent infections, strengthen the immune system, and aid overall health. Studies have shown a link between gut microbiota and diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune diseases such as asthma and allergies, gastrointestinal diseases such as IBD and colitis, and other conditions.

For the highest degree of influence may be "intestinal bacteria phase", because the intestinal tract occupies a large area, contains a large number of bacterial flora, and participates in metabolism and absorption and has a large number of neurons distribution, known as "animal second brain". From the above description, we can see that animals and these invisible small life, in fact, is a symbiotic state! This also explains why "antibiotics" are bad for animals. The reason lies in the effect of antibiotics, which in fact eliminates many bacterial flora involved in our metabolism, causing disorders in our physiological and metabolic functions, and even allowing some harmful bacteria with good drug resistance to take advantage of the deficiency. In recent years, the incidence of immune diseases is increasing rapidly, which is related to the serious imbalance of intestinal bacteria in many people and animals caused by the abuse of antibiotics.

Gut bacteria are determinants of physical and mental health

Mark Lyte of Texas Tech University published a paper in 2010 entitled "The microbial organ in the gut, a driver of body stability and disease". If an animal's body were a supercomputer, gut bacteria would be the program that turns it on; If the body were a limousine, gut bacteria would be the driver. Gut bacteria are the determinants and promoters of physical and mental health.

To put it bluntly: intestinal bacteria, like the heart, brain, liver and gastrointestinal tract, are one of the essential organs of the body. Without intestinal bacteria, animals cannot live. If intestinal bacteria are unhealthy, all animals are unhealthy.

What kind of nutrients animals send into the large intestine, feeding intestinal bacteria, the results will be very different, if let a large amount of fat, protein into the large intestine, the fat-eating Gram-negative bacteria in the large intestine will proliferate in large numbers, producing a lot of lipopolysaccharide into the blood, circulating throughout the body, causing chronic inflammation everywhere, In the long run, it can lead to obesity, diabetes and other metabolic symptoms

On the contrary, if the appropriate intake of high-fiber foods, the cat is not easy to digest cellulose into the gut, not only will expel toxins in the intestinal tract, adsorption and decomposition of fiber hyperplasia of good bacteria that produce a large amount of short chain fatty acids (acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, etc.), to keep the intestinal micro acid, inhibit the growth of bad bacteria, these short chain fatty acids will be absorbed by the intestinal cells as energy, It also plays physiological functions including immune enhancement.

Research by Philips Sherman of the University of Toronto in Canada, published in Gut in 2011, even linked Gut bacteria to memory. When the animals were infected with bacteria and subjected to mental stress, the intestinal bacteria were in a temporary disorder, and the memory test scores were significantly decreased. However, when the appropriate probiotics were given at the same time to maintain the balance of intestinal bacteria, the memory test scores were not affected at all even when the pressure was high.

In a 2011 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) titled "Gut Bacteria Regulate Brain Development and Behavior," Sven Pettersson of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that in germ-free animals, connections between nerve cells in the brain were so weak that they affected behavior patterns. More advanced than the brain-gut axis, the "brain-gut axis" means that intestinal bacteria can directly affect the central nervous system, and the central nervous system can directly regulate intestinal bacteria.

The way to cat intestinal health

Good bowel care, the most important is diet and exercise. The key to diet is water, probiotics and microbiota