Digestive problems in your cat can make it feel extremely ill.
The most common digestive disorders in cats are vomiting and diarrhoea. Both can be serious and lead to dehydration if not taken care of quickly. You need to find out what is causing this as soon as you can.
As with humans, kittens and older cats are usually most susceptible to diarrhoea and can become dehydrated quickly which can become potentially life threatening. Possible causes of uncontrolled diarrhoea can be as simple as an allergy to a new food, or as complex as a bacterial or viral infection. If the diarrhoea lasts more than a day, I strongly suggest taking your cat to your vet so he can rehydrate it with intravenous fluids as well as taking samples of blood, faecal matter and urine to diagnose the problem.
Often kittens and cats will get diarrhoea if they drink cow’s milk or if they have eaten other human foods. It is important to not feed your cat scraps off your plate as they are allergic to many human foods. Chocolate is something that can cause severe reactions in cats so please, never leave it where your inquisitive cat or kitten might eat it. Chocolate can cause your cat to go into a coma or die. As garlic, onions and tomatoes are also toxic to cats, avoid giving your cat gravy off the roast as it may contain onion and/or garlic. The leaves of the tomato will also cause an adverse reaction so do be aware of this when planting your garden. Alcohol can also cause severe allergic reactions leading to vomiting and diarrhoea in cats so if you do happen to knock over that glass of wine, please don’t let your cat lick it up.
Don't allow your cat to lick up spilt wine.
Excessive diarrhoea can sometimes cause an anal prolapsed where a small section of the bowel protrudes from the anal opening. If you notice this take your cat to the vet as he is qualified to put it back in properly. Your cat may require a stitch or two to keep it in place.
Stop feeding your cat if it has persistent diarrhoea, just for a day. This is to prevent further irritation to the digestive tract. If you are changing foods, do it gradually by adding a little more of the new food each day. Always have plenty of fresh water available to prevent dehydration.
Vomiting in cats is different to us in humans. We vomit when our body rejects something in our stomach such as chicken that has gone off or when we have picked up a gastrointestinal bug. Vomiting in cats can be a painless and fairly normal activity. Often you will find cats eating plants or grasses to induce vomiting to get rid of a hairball for example.
However, sometimes vomiting can be a sign of illness. If your cat vomits repeatedly, especially after eating, I’d advise taking it to the vet for a check-up. If it is a serious problem, the earlier it is caught the better. Your cat may vomit if it has a large worm infestation, heat exhaustion, has eaten a rodent that has been poisoned or something that it is allergic to. Sometimes cats can vomit just because they have eaten too quickly and sometimes the problem can be an infection they have picked up from another cat. Use your judgement as to whether there are any other problems such as diarrhoea or if your cat is running a temperature.
If your cat is female and hasn’t been spayed, vomiting could also be a sign of pregnancy as cats can also get morning sickness.
Blood in vomit or diarrhoea needs immediate attention.
Keeping your cat well involves some simple measures such as keeping it away from other cats that can infect it, not feeding it table scraps and general common sense in knowing your cat and when there is a serious problem that needs immediate attention.
