Digestive Issues in Pets: Solving Poop Problems

Digestive issues aren’t fun, especially when your pet is suffering. From diarrhea to hairballs, here’s how to help your dog or cat feel better fast (and save your carpets in the process).

Common Causes of Digestive Issues in Pets

To avoid these issues in the future, it helps to know what’s causing the problem. Digestive issues in dogs and cats can come up for a lot of reasons, some mild and others more serious. Here are some of the most common culprits:

• For dogs, eating garbage, spoiled food, or even scraps from the dinner table like fatty meats, onions and garlic, and chocolate can be toxic. For cats, eating dairy products, raw fish, and fatty leftovers such as fried chicken skin can cause an upset stomach.
• Changes such as moving, traveling, encounters with new pets, or altered routines can stress your pets and trigger digestive issues, especially in sensitive cats.
• Underlying issues like pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or kidney disease can cause persistent vomiting or diarrhea. If stomach issues are severe or last several days, or your pet also has symptoms like losing weight, drinking a lot, peeing a lot, or yellowish eyes then your furry friend would require a visit to the vet.

How to Help a Dog with Diarrhea

If your dog has diarrhea, you can try these simple steps:

• Temporarily stop feeding your dog or feed them small amounts of a vet-recommended gastrointestinal diet. These diets support your dog’s good gut bacteria and immune system during recovery¹.
• Add probiotics like FortiFlora² to support your dog’s healthy gut bacteria. After using it for about a month, many dogs are digesting their food better, have healthier coats, and are more comfortable overall.

Common Question! Does Pumpkin Help a Dog With Diarrhea?

Mild diarrhea in dogs often clears up on its own, but plain canned pumpkin can help speed recovery. Its fiber absorbs excess water in the intestines and helps firm up stool. Some tips for feeding pumpkin to your dog are³:

• Use plain canned pumpkin (never pumpkin pie filling) for its vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• Add 1–4 tablespoons to your dog’s food, starting with just a little to avoid too much fiber.
• Pumpkin powder made for pets is a good alternative.

Avoid pumpkin with added salt, sugar, spices, or fillers!

How to Help a Dog with Constipation 

Common causes of constipation in dogs include low fiber, dehydration, lack of exercise, medications, obesity, stress, and medical problems like intestinal blockages or neurological disorders. Senior dogs are often more susceptible to constipation because they digest more slowly. Some tips to try at home are⁴:

• Always provide fresh water and consider feeding your dog wet food to boost hydration.
• Gradually add fiber-rich foods like plain canned pumpkin or vet-recommended supplements.
• Increase your dog’s daily activity to stimulate digestion.
• Trim fur around the bum to prevent feces buildup.
• Avoid feeding your dog foods that can block their digestive system or worsen constipation, such as cooked bones, which can get stuck in your dog’s digestive tract. Avoid giving your dog too many treats or human foods since they can be high in fat, sugar, or artificial ingredients.

How to Help a Cat with Diarrhea

Common causes of diarrhea in cats include diet changes, parasites, infections, stress, and underlying health issues like inflammatory bowel disease or kidney disease. Some tips to try at home are⁵:

• Don’t feed your cat for up to 24 hours to let their digestive system rest or feed them a vet-recommended gastrointestinal diet. These diets support your cat’s good gut bacteria and help them recover.
• Once the diarrhea stops, gradually transition your cat back to their regular food over a week to 10 days to avoid upsetting their system.
• If diarrhea lasts more than a few days, worsens, or is accompanied by other concerning signs, it’s time for a visit to the vet.
• Depending on the cause of your cat’s diarrhea, your vet might also suggest probiotics, de-wormers, or other medications to manage your cat’s symptoms and support their gut health.

How To Help a Cat with Constipation

Constipation in cats can result from hairballs, eating indigestible items, obesity, lack of exercise, certain medical conditions, or dehydration. Some tips to try at home are⁶:

• Feed your cat wet food and provide fresh clean water to increase hydration.
• Work with your vet to develop a healthy weight plan to reduce the risk of constipation from excess weight.
• Give your cat regular physical activity to stimulate intestinal movement, which could help your cat pass stool more easily.
• Cats can be picky about litter box location and cleanliness. Have more litter boxes than cats, and place them on different floors or rooms to encourage regular use and help prevent constipation because they are avoiding using a dirty little box.
• Increase the amount of fibre your cat eats to adds bulk and softness to their stool, making it easier to pass. You can also give them probiotics to support healthy gut bacteria balance. Both can improve digestive health, but should be introduced gradually and under veterinary guidance.

How to Help a Cat Pass a Hairball

Cats groom themselves often, swallowing fur that can form hairballs and cause vomiting or discomfort. Long-haired and older cats especially tend to have more hairballs. Some ways to help are⁷:

• Feed your cat a hypoallergenic diet (especially foods labelled for hairball control) to help your cat digest the hair more easily.
• Treat your cat with specially formulated treats that can boost your cat’s fibre intake and reduce hairball formation. These treats work best if they are combined with a high fibre diet.
• Use lubricating products that can coat the swallowed hair to ease its movement through the intestines. But note that forcing your cat to take these can cause stress, and flavored versions might conflict with special diets. A common trick is to apply lubricant to your cat’s paw so they lick it off themselves.
• Regularly brush your cat to remove loose fur they swallow it to reduce hairball formation. Follow up by wiping your cat with a moist towel to catch extra loose hairs.

When to See a Vet

Many digestive issues can be managed at home, but head to a vet if you see these signs:

• Their diarrhea or constipation lasts more than a day or gets worse.
• Your pet seems dehydrated: like they seem lethargic, or have sunken eyes or dry gums.
• Your pet has vomiting, blood in their stool, or unusual behavior as well as stomach issues.
• Their digestive problems keep coming back or become chronic.
• You think your pet ate something toxic or a foreign object. This is an emergency and you should get help immediately.

When in doubt, a quick vet visit can save you and your pet a lot of worry, fix problems before they get worse and help get them back to feeling their best!