Digestion starts in your cat’s mouth. Cats don’t chew like humans because their jaws only move up and down. Ours can also move from side to side. We can chew our food thoroughly, while cats swallow pieces of their food in larger chunks. The cat’s tongue will mix the food with sa...
Digestion in puppies is generally faster, although their digestive system takes time to fully develop. In many animals (including cats) the digestive system becomes less efficient as they age, although digestibility studies carried out in dogs have shown no evidence of an age-related decline in di...
IBD occurs when inflammatory cells infiltrate the intestinal lining. This results in a thickened intestinal lining. When this occurs, the digestion and absorption of nutrients are altered. In addition to vomiting and chronic diarrhea, dogs often have poor appetites and weight loss. However, due to...
Dogs lick their paws to groom themselves. That's normal, as long as they don't overdo it. When dogs lick their paws too much, it's often because of an infection or skin allergy. Sometimes, it's a habit. Talk to your vet to find out the cause and how to treat it. Glow-in-the...
Learn how to recognise if your dog has an upset stomach or sensitive stomach issues, how a veterinarian might treat it and how nutrition can help.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a catch-all diagnosis for inflammation of the digestive tract. The big illnesses that fall under the IBD label are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. What these diseases have in common is an altered relationship between intestinal microbes and the immune ...
Your vet will most likely run blood work and fecal examinations to determine if the symptoms are caused by IBD. In addition, your vet may also need to use a radiograph and/or ultrasound to determine the location of your cat's affliction. To treat IBD, your vet may prescribe your cat cor...
Once swallowed, the esophagus muscles move the food into the stomach for further digestion. Cats havesimple stomachs, meaning they consist of only one compartment. After food settles into the stomach, acids break it down further. When the food has turned into a liquid in the stomach, it passe...