Gastritis in cats is quite common. The disease is associated with the inflammatory process of the walls of the stomach. Gastritis can be chronic or have an acute course. Also by origin, it can have a primary or secondary appearance.
Disease onset
Why does gastritis appear in cats? First of all, the appearance of gastritis is associated with improper nutrition of the pet. And it, in turn, is due to the following symptoms:
- It happens that pet owners buy low quality feed for their pets. This is due to savings or the fact that the owner of the animal does not attach particular importance to the quality of the products he buys. Some people have the opinion that a cat should eat anything.
- Failure to comply with the feeding regimen. That is, the animal can overfeed or, conversely, not give food for a long time, and then give a large portion sharply.
- Feeding an animal with food that has an irritating effect on the walls of the stomach.
- Use of unacceptable foods from a person’s table in feeding. Often animals beg, and their owners follow their lead and give them products that subsequently cause gastritis.
In addition to the above causes of gastritis in cats associated with malnutrition, there are other factors that can cause this disease. These include various stresses and allergic reactions of the pet.
If the cat already had gastritis earlier, then its secondary appearance can cause other diseases. For example, toothaches, impaired liver and kidney function, as well as other ailments and malfunctions in the body. The occurrence of gastritis can contribute to various infections, fungi and viruses.
Signs
By what signs can you determine what cats have gastritis? For certain symptoms, you can independently determine this disease. Now we will consider them.
- As a rule, with gastritis, the cat's condition becomes depressed.
- The animal quickly gets tired, becomes inactive.
- If you press on the area of the stomach, then the cat has painful sensations.
- Gastritis is usually accompanied by profuse saliva.
- Cat stool becomes unstable. Periodically, diarrhea and constipation occur. You should pay attention to the appearance of feces. It contains mucus. Vital waste also has an unpleasant odor.
- The animal may begin to feel sick immediately after eating. Vomiting contains mucus.
- During an exacerbation of the disease, the pet's temperature may rise (usually by half or one degree).
- With gastritis, the tongue of the animal covers a white coating.
What to do to the owner
If the owner of the cat noticed these signs in his pet, then it is necessary to provide him with timely veterinary care. It will be better if the animal is examined by a veterinarian and prescribes the necessary treatment. In case of failure to help, gastritis in cats can cause complications to other organs and systems of the body. For example, heart failure may develop. It is characterized by a frequent pulse and the appearance of shortness of breath.
There are frequent cases that the acute form of the disease becomes chronic. Such a disease can be present in the body of a cat for several years. The chronic form of the disease has periods of exacerbation. In a cat that is sick, the color of the coat fades, it smells bad from the oral cavity, and its eyes are dull.
What should be done if signs of gastritis are detected
The presence of signs of the disease should prompt the owner to go to the veterinary clinic for an accurate diagnosis. The veterinarian will ask the pet owner to describe the symptoms that he noticed before contacting a specialist. Next, he should examine the cat and take the necessary tests for examination. Based on the results of research, examination and the story of the owner of the cat, an accurate diagnosis will be made and appropriate treatment will be prescribed. Analyzes are necessary in order to refute or confirm the presence of an infection in a pet.
Treatment of gastritis in cats at home
First of all, the cause of the disease should be identified. Namely, you should understand what is the impetus for the appearance of gastritis. Perhaps this is an improper diet or the cat experienced some kind of stress.
You can consult your veterinarian about which feed is best for your pet. Also, the specialist should tell what is included in the diet of the animal at the present time. After the cause of the disease is identified, it must be excluded. Thus, the source of the emergence of new outbreaks of exacerbation will be removed, and the treatment will have a positive effect.
In any case, you should protect the cat from food during the first days after determining the diagnosis. Then gradually, in small doses, you can begin to feed the pet. But you should follow a strict diet. The veterinarian will tell you how to feed the cat at home and which diet to make.
The treatment is to remove the inflammation from the walls of the stomach. For this, the cat must be given special decoctions of rice or oatmeal. In addition to them, it is recommended to brew herbs that will remove the inflammatory process.
An excellent tool in the fight against gastritis is activated charcoal. It is necessary to dissolve the tablet in boiled water and give the cat. If she herself does not want to drink this solution, then it should be poured into the animal's throat. It should be noted that throughout the course of treatment the cat should be given only boiled water to drink. In no case should you give milk. It may cause vomiting. It is also necessary to follow the recommendations of the veterinarian regarding how to feed a cat with gastritis.
Nutrition recommendations
As a dietary food, you can offer a cat a vegetable broth or boiled beef (finely mashed). Do not give fatty foods, which can aggravate the situation. If the animal withers, then you need to urgently show it to the veterinarian, he will tell you what therapeutic food with gastritis in cats will have a beneficial effect. There are cases of poisoning pets. For example, neighbors can throw something at the cat if she leaves the apartment. Also, the animal may accidentally poison in the apartment with household chemicals or anything else.
Treatment of acute and chronic disease
If uremic gastritis in a cat is acute and the temperature rises, then antibiotics are prescribed. When contacting the clinic, physiotherapy can be prescribed. These procedures provide positive dynamics of recovery and disposal of this disease.
Treatment of chronic gastritis differs from the acute course of the disease in that a mandatory sampling of the gastric mucosa is done to determine the composition of the microflora. Next, medications for gastritis in cats are prescribed. If there is an increased acidity in the microflora of the stomach, then antibiotics are prescribed. Do not give the animal drugs on its own. So how can you do harm. This drug group of drugs is prescribed by the veterinarian according to the results of the examination.
Disease Prevention
If you follow the recommendations for prevention, you will be able to protect the pet from the occurrence of such a disease. The following are basic guidelines for pet owners:
- First of all, you should decide what to feed the cat at home. There are two options. Namely: feed the animal with purchased food or natural products. If the first option is chosen, then you should choose a quality product in which there will be no dyes, and its composition will be natural. You can consult your veterinarian about which food is best for your pet. When food from natural products is given as feed, then the animal should not eat from the general table. It is necessary to cook food in a separate bowl and refuse to feed the pet with raw foods.
- You can’t give the cat hot food. Food for the animal should be at room temperature.
- It is necessary to monitor the condition of the cat. Exclude the possibility of parasites in her body. This must be done by giving the pet special preparations. It is also worth showing the veterinarian and taking tests. It must be remembered that it is always better to prevent the disease than to get rid of the acquired disease later.
- Vaccines for viruses and infections should be given. If they are not in the body, then the likelihood of gastritis will decrease.
- It is necessary to ensure that the cat ate from its dishes.
- It is necessary to comb out the animal and give special means for removing wool from the stomach.
Conclusion
Now you know how gastritis manifests itself in cats, why it arises. We also gave recommendations that will help you protect your pet from the appearance of such a disease.