#gi upset

[ask-a-vetblr]

Hiya !! I'm just curious about this one. We just adopted three cats (mom and two four month old kittens) from a shelter last week !! They're lovely, healthy kitties (if not a touch underweight, they're of unknown origin and surrenders originally adopted from a different shelter.) Around the second day we had him, one of the boys couldn't keep his food down. Worry not, he's doing much better now that they're on a simple ingredient, grain-free diet! (☣, 1/2)

But it was ONLY the one boy, the other two had no problems with the other food, and he's very much otherwise healthy and eating at a normal pace. It took him a while (3-6 hours) to actually throw up, and it completely stopped once we switched him. Is it possible he had a food allergy, or just a sensitive tummy? It just seems so odd that his brother and his mom had no problems, but he couldn't keep anything down. (☣, 2/2)

Hi, Sueanoi here

Firstly, this is a question suitable to ask your vet. Young animals vomiting every meal out is not something to be taken lightly. Time sensitive questions are NOT suitable to ask a blog.

Secondly. Food allergy is very rare in animals at that age. I see more often animals at the age of 7-8 years old. And most cats and dogs’ allergen would be meat protein, not grain. There are other causes of GI upset. Example: sudden diet change. This is best to be diagnosed by your vet.

Lastly, this sounds dangerously similar to a case of mine with vascular ring anomaly, a congenital disease caused by a vessel in the heart not disappearing properly. It forms a ring that constrict the esophagus. It is a serious disease that needs veterinary intervention.

Ask your vet. fast.

[disability-can-be]

Tea!

[Image: a large mug with a chimpanzee on it. One of the chimp’s arms makes up the cup’s handle.]

This mug was a gift from a Reddit gift exchange I did a while ago. (Isn’t it cute?)

The tea inside is ginger, turmeric, and lemon verbena. Here are some links to science about these ingredients and their properties:

Ginger - anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory

Turmeric - anti-inflammatory, antioxidant

Lemon verbena - antibacterial, tasty

I chose it to help relieve some GI symptoms associated with a medication I have recently started taking, but remember that herbs and natural remedies do not replace regular medical treatment by licensed professionals. Always consult your doctor before using or stopping any medication or other remedy.

[avocados-and-co]

I think I need to stop eating dairy. My GI system has been so upset. Has anyone gone through allergy or sensitivity testing that actually lead to a beneficial diet change? I know some triggers, but definitely have not found all of them. And I don’t know if its worth getting formal testing or if I should just track symptoms. Any tips?

[dien-cai-dau]

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

It’s not  “all in your head.”

[cassohwary]

A resounding rendition of the 1812 Symphony

Featuring (for some reason) only the internal structures of my dumbass gastrointestinal system

[vettechnicallynotyet]

So this Guinea Pig was brought in...

So picture this: young guinea pig brought in due to bleeding out of the rear end (not sure if vulva or from anus) and not eating, which is something that happens when GPs feel sick–they lose their appetite. So, the Doc recommends a full work up, since we’re not sure where the problem is coming from AND this GP isn’t eating. Luckily for her, her teeth were fine (it’s usually a big issue in these little guys). Unluckily for her, the work up is intensive: bloodwork (checking a CBC and chemistry, making sure there isn’t a full blown sepsis or anything weird going on with the kidneys), X-rays (checking the intestines and to make sure there are no bladder stones/sludge–also a big issue in GPs), urinalysis (making sure this isn’t a UTI or presence of any crystals), and possibly a urine culture (just in case it’s a bacterial infection, and then what kind and what they are susceptible/resistant to). We also included two antibiotics (broad spectrum, good for guinea pigs) and a pain relief med–she needed it: she was hunched up in the corner of the kennel and did not feel like moving. Finally, I heavily recommended some critical care–it’s like a guinea pig baby food: it’s mostly ground up timothy hay and some other additives like vitamins and minerals. All in all, the estimate was somewhere around ~$800.

I was the one who called to go over the estimate with the owner.

She opted for just the exam and the critical care, saying that she couldn’t afford Dx–which i get, it’s friggin expensive. But she didn’t take pain relief OR antibiotics. I told her her GP’s condition was serious, especially since she wasn’t eating. The owner told me, that no, she probably wasn’t in pain–she’d be fine, and that the antibiotics (about $25-$30ish) were too expensive for her and that she would “talk it over with her husband and come back if she needed them.” She then told me that all she wanted was the critical care, believing that it would do the trick and be the best thing for the GP.

What.

WHAT?

I…just can’t.

I know that when you go to a store and pick out a pet for your kids, you want something sweet, easy to take care of, something that the kids will like, etc. 

Guinea pigs are not “easy” to take care of. Sure, they don’t require a whole lot of space, and they are indeed sweet animals, but when they get sick, it’s not good. And many people don’t even notice their guineas getting sick until they’re already almost gone. then they expect the bill to be cheap because “Well, it was only $30, I don’t see why I should have to pay over $100 for it’s health costs. I’ll just put it down.” Add to this, a lot of people don’t know how to really take care of a guinea pig either. 

About a good 80% of clients who bring in their GPs don’t have the right bedding, food, or vitamin C supplementation for their pets. And these GPs are usually overweight too. And owners had no idea they were doing the wrong thing because they were just getting what was cheap or following the sales associate’s advice from the pet store.

Anyway, the owner was actually really nice, even if she only just took the critical care. As much as I complained just now, I honestly hope that the critical care will do the trick for her pet. That piggie was really sweet and deserves a happy life.