Should cats fast if they have diarrhea?

Diarrhea, as a common symptom of cats and dogs, gives many people a headache. Because they don’t know the cause of the disease and don’t know whether the problem is big or small, they naturally don’t know how to deal with it.
Many people think that cats are not much different from people. People can recover from diarrhea on their own, and cats can certainly do the same. However, they forget that cats will never say “I don’t feel I need to take medicine” or “No, I can’t.” Must go to the hospital!”
It doesn’t even know what’s wrong with it…
Diarrhea places a heavy burden on cats’ gastrointestinal tract. Frequent loose stools and soft stools will lead to a decrease in intestinal absorption function and the inability to absorb nutrients after eating. In the long run, this will naturally lead to malnutrition and reduced resistance. Not only will the cat’s body shape change, Weight loss and other physical problems will follow.
Severe diarrhea can easily cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, causing gastrointestinal damage and intestinal flora imbalance.
So when you encounter a cat with diarrhea, don’t think about letting it heal on its own. The key is to stop the diarrhea as soon as possible!

Cat diarrhea is usually caused by intestinal inflammation, so many parents believe that cats should be fasted to reduce the intestinal burden on cats. But this approach is actually wrong. Next, will explain the causes of cat diarrhea and the correct treatment methods.

Why can’t cats fast when they have diarrhea?

When a cat has diarrhea, a large amount of water and nutrients in the body will be lost along with the water and feces. If the diarrhea lasts too long, it will easily lead to dehydration and hypoglycemia in the cat. If the cat is fasted at this time, it will It will speed up the cat’s dehydration and will not help the cat’s physical recovery.
Therefore, when a cat has diarrhea, as long as the cat can still eat on its own, we must provide the cat with food. But try to choose some light and easy-to-digest food, so as to maintain the nutrients needed by the cat’s body and reduce the burden on the cat’s intestines.

Causes of cat diarrhea

Improper diet: 

It may be that the cat has eaten expired and spoiled food, or has eaten something dirty by digging through the trash can, which has stimulated the gastrointestinal tract and caused diarrhea in the cat. In addition, some scavengers do not know that cats cannot drink milk, and giving cats a large amount of milk at once can also cause cats to be lactose intolerant and suffer from diarrhea.

Cat poisoning: 

Cats are poisoned by accidentally eating some inedible food, medicine or plants, and may experience symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. In serious cases, they may also be accompanied by some neurological symptoms.

Parasitic infection:

 When a cat is infected with intestinal parasites, the parasites in the body will suck the nutrients in the intestines, damage the intestinal mucosa, cause bacteria to invade the immune layer, and cause intestinal inflammation, thus causing diarrhea in cats.

Viral infection: 

When cats are infected with feline distemper, coronavirus and other infectious diseases, they will also have symptoms of diarrhea, which are usually accompanied by vomiting, fever, lethargy, loss of appetite and other symptoms.

What should I do if my cat has diarrhea?

When a cat has diarrhea, it is not recommended that the scavenger give the cat random medication. If the cause of the cat’s diarrhea symptoms is not sure, the use of antidiarrheal drugs in many cases will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause, which is not conducive to timely detection and cure of the disease.
Therefore, when a cat has diarrhea symptoms, we need to find out the specific cause of its diarrhea in time. If we cannot judge by ourselves, we need to take the cat to the pet hospital for a fecal examination in time. After determining the cause, we can prescribe appropriate medication.
If you cannot take your cat to the pet hospital in time, and you cannot leave it alone, you can first feed the cat some pet probiotics, antidiarrheal drugs and broad-spectrum intestinal anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve symptoms and prevent the cat from having repeated diarrhea and dehydration. When you have time, take the cat to the hospital for examination in time.