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The gastrointestinal tract consists mainly of the stomach and intestines. The stomach is an extremely important component of the digestive system. The stomach is responsible for breaking down the food that gets passed down to it and the intestines function to absorb nutrients and water from indigestible food.
The most common GI tract infection in pets is gastritis or gastroenteritis. Gastritis is a condition in which inflammation of the stomach lining occurs and gastroenteritis is a condition that causes the stomach and intestines to inflame.
Symptoms of gastrointestinal tract infection include:
Gastrointestinal tract infection can be diagnosed by a physical examination performed by your veterinarian.
It is quite easy for pets to get infected as they are often outside and put things into their mouths or lick things that they are not supposed to. Gastrointestinal tract infection can be caused by a number of reasons. When pets eat things that they are not supposed to, such as garbage, spoiled food, and some plants, it can cause GI tract infection. Bacteria are often the reason for a GI tract infection. Also, poisonous toxins found in fertilizers and cleaning products can lead to GI tract infection.
Other causes of GI tract infections could be the presence of other diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.
Oftentimes, gastrointestinal tract infections can be treated with simply changing your pet’s diet. A healthy diet is necessary in order to recover. At first, you should not give your pet much to eat and instead make water readily available. This will allow your pet’s stomach to relax as it does not have much food to work upon. After this stage, feeding your pet a bland diet is recommended. At this time, water should be given frequently but in small amounts.
In some cases, hospitalization is necessary.