Does your pet have a sensitive tummy?

Recurrent gastrointestinal upset can be a real bother for both pet and owner, with common symptoms in affected animals including runny, bloody or mucus-covered poos, increased toileting frequency, vomiting episodes, or a reduced appetite.

Whilst a diagnosis of gastrointestinal sensitivity in your pet can be a real bummer, the good news is that there’s plenty we can do to treat that tummy and keep them feeling happy and well in the long term! Depending on your pet’s individual needs, management of their sensitive gut may be achieved by:

1. Testing and treating for infectious causes

It is possible for pets to have long-term infections as the root cause of their gastrointestinal upset, such as chronic whipworm or giardia infection.

For this reason, it’s recommended to perform testing on a sample of your pet’s abnormal stools (known as faecal analysis). In some cases, we may also advise a treatment trial of anti-parasitic medications.

2. A prescription diet

Depending on your pet’s particular problem, they may do best with:

• A consistent, blander diet, avoiding richer, fattier foods or treats
• A highly digestible prescription or home-cooked diet
• A hypoallergenic diet, using either a prescription hydrolysed diet or a novel protein formulation (to avoid certain food proteins that your pet has developed an allergy to)

3. Supportive supplements

For some pets, additional supplements such as psyllium husk or pet-specific probiotics can help to keep their internal bacterial balance in check.

Chat with our vets for recommendations on safe and effective dosing.

4. Medications

For particularly troublesome IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) tummies, our vets may need to prescribe short- or long-term antibiotic or steroid medications to help control ongoing inflammation or bacterial imbalances.

Rest assured that our dedicated and knowledgeable vets will get to the bottom of your pet’s gastrointestinal sensitivity.