What To Do When Diarrhea Or Vomit Is The Problem

Gut health is important for humans and for our pets. Just as we take care of ourselves we want to make sure to take care of our animal companions. Two of the most common symptoms of gastrointestinal issues in dogs and cats are diarrhea and vomiting. Chinese call vomiting, “Violent Chi”, with “Chi” meaning “Energy”. Diarrhea is letting all of your natural fluids go out of your body. Neither state is healthy. 

The most common questions surround a healthy gut. What do you do when diarrhea or vomit is the problem?

Diarrhea

If your dog or cat has diarrhea the first thing to do is try to give the gut a rest. Remove food from your pet for 18 hours. Don’t withhold water, in fact, increase the water intake if possible. 

An at-home tip to help harden stool is to serve your pet rice water. Just boil rice, once cooked, remove the rice and chill the water. Then serve your pet the water. (Don’t forget to chill it to room temperature first!) The rice water serves as a natural binding agent and will help harden the stool. 

Our best tool to support proper GI tract structure, stop diarrhea and stress associated with garbage gut, food sensitivities, age, and traveling is my Quick Relief Pro. It’s a mega probiotic with B vitamins that you use 3-4 times a day for two days and this will help stop diarrhea naturally. 

When to call the vet

• If they have bloody diarrhea
• If they have diarrhea that doesn’t clear up in a day or so

Most times they will need you to take a small poop sample into them to be analyzed for parasites. Dogs and cats can get parasites such as worms from eating garbage or bad food which can lead to both diarrhea or vomiting. For daily gut health, I recommend using our G.I. Balance. But if your dog or cat is prone to getting parasites then you could use our all-natural G.I. Balance Plus Supplement. 

Vomit

If it’s 1.5-3 hours after eating and your pet vomits it might be an illness requiring vet intervention.  A good way to gauge this is to immediately take the water and food away to let the stomach settle down. After about 2 hours, reintroduce just a small amount of water. If your pet is able to keep water down, you can reintroduce food slowly after several hours. 

When to call the vet

• If they vomit hours after eating( regurgitation is directly after eating and is normal if they eat fast)
• If they consistently vomit within a day without eating
• If the temperature is elevated and you have vomiting and diarrhea (Normal Temperature: Dog is 101.5 degrees and cat is 100 degrees; if your pet is constipated, the temperature can be a little lower) 

In my house, sweet potatoes are my go-to secret for a natural way to calm the gut down, particularly after vomiting or diarrhea. Just whip them in a food processor and put a little bit on top of the food they are already eating. Cooked sweet potatoes and barley also help dogs with diarrhea have a firmer stool. 

Regurgitation

Regurgitation is more common in cats than dogs and although it isn’t as serious as vomiting, it’s still a sign of an unhealthy pet as it burns and erodes the esophagus. 

Here are 3 easy tips to try to stop regurgitation in dogs and cats: 

1. Raise your animal’s food and water bowl off the floor to match their height. 
2. Slow your dog or your cat’s eating time down and try to get them to take smaller bites. 
3. Give your pet our daily probiotics. 

I’ve also found in my practice that lean meat is far better for most dogs and cats as well as to have a diet that consists of lean single protein foods.

With a few changes in your pet’s diet and some extra help with probiotics, you can ensure your animal companion ages healthy and happy.

Contact us for a food consult or allergy testing.