
Digestive
A grumbling tummy... the foreshadow to a long episode ahead. Let's explore the signs, symptoms and first steps to take at home.
Causes for Gastrointestinal (GI) Upset
Pets can have an upset gut for a variety of reasons ranging from a sliver of a yummy snack they don't normally have, to a parasitic infestation, to pancreatitis to name a few. It is important to monitor your pet closely when symptoms present at home as every detail counts. See the section below, 'Questions to Know for a Visit in Clinic', to help start determining what is important for us to know initially to help determine what testing or course of treatment we should discuss completing first.
Vomiting
Just like people, pets can become nauseous and begin vomiting. Common symptoms you will see with nausea include:
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Lip licking
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Drinking frequent/large amounts of water
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Gagging
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Retching ('Dry Heaving')
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Vomiting
Once we begin to observe these symptoms, the question often becomes "when should my pet come to the vet?" Much of this answer is dependent on the pets current symptoms. If you are ever questioning when your pet should be seen, please contact the clinic to discuss your pet's symptoms further. Knowing answers to the questions below in the 'Questions to Know for a Visit in Clinic' can also be helpful for our discussion. While we cannot diagnose or prescribe over the phone, we can discuss your concerns together and make an appropriate plan for your pet and their health.
Diarrhea
There's nothing worse than a pet that has frequent (or explosive) diarrhea. It's difficult to manage, they are often up many times throughout the night, and obviously uncomfortable. Loose stools can really occur for any reason from something less serious such as stress or a new food, to more serious situation like pancreatitis or intestinal parasites. A phone call to the clinic can go a long way when there are stool concerns with your pet. We can talk through the current situation with the help of the questions below 'Questions to Know for a Visit in Clinic'. From there we may be able to recommend some over-the-counter options, testing to complete to shorten our list of possible causes, or when to get an appointment scheduled depending on the severity of the situation.
Questions to Know for a Visit in Clinic
Vomiting
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How long has your pet been vomiting?
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How many times have they vomited?
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What did the vomit look like? *Pictures if foreign material is present are a appreciated (example : parts of a toy)*
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Is there any blood or foreign material present (i.e. toy, fabric, string, ect.)?
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Is there a specific time that your pet seems to vomit? After eating, outside, after a walk?
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Do you know of anything that they have eaten recently that is new to them? New treats, change in food, ripped up toys, 'special' chews (antler, pig ear, etc)?
Diarrhea
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How long has your pet been having diarrhea?​
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Are they able to hold their bowel for extended periods of time? How often are they needing to go outside?
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Have there been any accidents in the house?
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What does the stool look like? Consistency and color - Reference the link below for assistance.
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Is there any blood, mucus or foreign material present in the stool?
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Do you know of anything that they have eaten recently that is new to them? New treats, change in food, ripped up toys, 'special' chews (antler, pig ear, ect)?
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Have there been any changes in the home or environment? Family visiting, walks at a new park, new pet in the home?
​ *Bonus points* If a stool/fecal sample is provided for testing.
Any sample should ideally be collected within an hour of bringing it to the clinic, but can be refrigerated for up to 12-24 hours if necessary (cannot have been frozen!)
Intestinal Parasites
These pesky creatures are called parasites for a reason. It is important to complete routine testing and treat accordingly. Many preventatives on the market include prevention of a few of the more common parasites seen in clinic. Unfortunately, there is no 'one medication treats all' dewormer out there for full spectrum coverage. To know what we need to treat, additional testing in clinic is necessary and often recommended.
When your vet asks for a stool sample to be brought to an annual wellness visit, these parasites are often what we are looking for. The most common testing is called a Fecal Floatation. Without getting too graphic, we take a small amount of stool, spin it in our centrifuge and then leave it sit for approximately 10 minutes to wait for the parasites' eggs to float up to the top of the tube. We then place a small amount on a microscope slide to observe if any eggs are present and identify which parasite they are from.
Additional testing after this initial 'float' may include a Giardia snap test, or antigen parasite testing. Giardia is a tricky parasite that does not shed an egg that is easily identifiable on the flotation test. Instead, this snap test was created to test for the antigen of only this parasite. This test we can run in practice.
The other antigen parasite testing is newer in the last couple of years and can be extremely beneficial in diagnosis of intestinal parasites. This sample must be sent to an outside laboratory but gives us definitive results regarding parasites present. While the worm may not be shedding eggs at the time that a floatation test is completed, their DNA will be consistently present in the stool. This test will specifically look for that very DNA for a variety of possible parasites that may be infecting your pet. We are then able to treat appropriately for whatever antigen(s) are positive (if any).
Parasite Positive?
Click the diagnosed parasite below for symptoms, treatment and environmental care (yes, some can stick around even in the soil/ground)