How Malnutrition in Pets Can Lead to Diarrhea!

As is recommended with humans, a well-balanced diet is fundamental to a pet’s health. A failure to incorporate healthy food options, or perhaps feed your pets the wrong way, can lead to complications like obesity, organ problems, heart disease, and diarrhea.

Diarrhea is a common issue because pets eat almost anything. If your pet experiences symptoms like loose stools, loss of appetite, weight loss and vomiting, this is an indication that steps must be taken.

Fortunately, addressing these complications isn’t as difficult as you’d think. Your overall goal should be to implement preventive measures that limit recurrences. With that being said, how exactly can malnutrition play such an influential role?

Whether it’s the amount or quality of food entering your pet’s mouth, malnutrition is a concern for pets who aren’t receiving the nutrients they need to flourish. Poor nutrition can trigger underlying health issues too, so it’s essential this is corrected as soon as you notice symptoms.

-       Body Odour

-       Dandruff

-       Dull Coat

-       Bad Breath

-       Hair Loss

-       Flatulence

-       Increased Allergies

-       Obesity

-       Skin Disorders

-       Weight Loss

Diarrhea in pets is fairly common. Though it’s cause for concern, diarrhea is a problem that can be corrected by remedies for diarrhea or lifestyle changes. There are two main types of diarrhea you should watch out for: small bowel and large bowel.

The former is characterized by large quantities of stools excreted frequently throughout each day. On the other hand, large bowel diarrhea usually results in watery stools, experienced often. This can be addressed with dietary changes, something which can be introduced in conjunction with advice from your veterinarian.

There are many supportive treatments offered by veterinarians, including intravenous fluids which correct imbalances. The main remedy for diarrhea is to treat the underlying cause of the deficiency. For example parasites, tumors or polyps in the digestive tract, diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, bacterial overgrowth, etc.

Once all of the medical issues have been addressed, information about your pet’s diet can be used to rectify problems. Changes to your pet’s diet will be recommended by your vet. Introducing new foods, supplemental vitamins and perhaps even increasing activity levels, have proven successful in treating diarrhea.

A high fiber diet can be beneficial, alongside introducing other key nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, fiber, fat, etc.

There are several at-home treatments for you to experiment with, meaning you won’t be powerless to helping your pet when they need you most. Though medical intervention can be necessary, if there are no additional symptoms the following remedies can be highly useful:

1. Provide your pet with access to clean water. Dehydration is a common cause of health complications, knowledge which will encourage you to ensure your pet has enough to drink throughout the day. In addition, you can supplement water with a chicken or beef broth, with Pedialyte added optionally as a corrective measure.

2. Changing your pet’s diet can involve using similar principles for correcting a human’s diet. Offer your pet a small meal of white-meat chicken with no bones and skin, with white rice or sweet potato. Over time, a simple dietary change like this can help your pet’s stools return to normal consistency.

3. If the condition worsens as you introduce home remedies, remember to have a vet on standby. They will be more qualified to evaluate your pet’s diarrhea and prevent the condition from worsening.