Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Pets

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

21 Jul 2008 08:31 PM

After my dogs' recent struggles with upset stomachs, I started looking into possible causes. Moose had been scrounging abandoned food (like chicken bones) around the parking lot. Maybe they changed the recipe on our dog food. The neighbors have a new puppy, could Moose and Lally have caught something from an unvaccinated dog?

In my research, I came across information about inflammatory bowel disease. Inflammatory bowel disease can appear in both dogs and cats, and it thought to be a type of allergic reaction to certain foods. The main symptom is pudding-like diarrhea that lasts for weeks or even months at a time.

You'll need a veterinarian to diagnose inflammatory bowel disease: diagnosis requires a biopsy of the digestive tract while the pet is sedated. There are two different methods for gathering samples -- one is a surgical biopsy and one uses a probe called a colonoscope (similar to a human colonoscopy).

There isn't a cure for inflammatory bowel disease. However, symptoms can be managed in several different ways.

• Corticosteroids or other drugs can help dampen immune system reactions to whatever is causing the distress. Allergy is a kind of overreaction in the immune system, so medications can help calm things down.
• Special diets are available that use ingredients that your pet's system is probably not familiar with -- like venison, rabbit, duck, potato, and peas. I remember when Lally was having her allergy issues, the vet tried her on a fish and potato diet to help rule out food causes. It turns out she was allergic to the plastic bowl! We have lots of guests at the cats-only boarding facility who are on special low-allergen diets.

If your pet has diarrhea for a day or two, it's probably not cause for worry. However, for diarrhea that lasts for more than forty-eight hours, you should talk to your vet.

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Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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