Cats With Colon Problems
Many cats suffer from colon problems because of underlying illness. In some cases, the illness and relating colon problem is curable; in others, it's not. Determining the cause of the colon problem is crucial to restoring the feline's colonic health.
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Types
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Common colon problems in cats include constipation, diarrhea, feline megacolon, inflammatory bowel disease and parasites. These conditions can affect the cat's entire digestive tract, or centralize in the colon, depending on the type and severity of the illness.
Causes
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Parasites, food allergies or kidney or liver disease can cause diarrhea. Dehydration is a common cause of constipation, which, if left untreated, places the cat at risk for megacolon. Inflamed digestive tract cells cause inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, explains Cornell University.
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Symptoms
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A feline suffering from diarrhea is obvious; symptoms of constipation and megacolon are subtler, and include vomiting, the inability to defecate, or painful and strained defecation producing bloody, dry and hard stools. Colonic IBD causes bloody, mucous-covered diarrhea.
Treatments
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Depending on the colon problem's cause, treatments can range from medication, to hospitalization, to surgery. For example, IBD might be treated with a simple change to the cat's diet, whereas megacolon might require surgery to remove the expanded portion of the colon.
Warning
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All colon problems are serious, and the cat should be taken to the vet. Cats that have diarrhea will dehydrate; megacolon results in an expanded colon that prevents defecation; colonic IBD produces chronic and severely painful diarrhea and parasites can cause anemia and malnutrition.
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References
- Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine: Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Doctors Foster and Smith Pet Education.com: Megacolon and Constipation in Cats
- Vetinfo: Impacted Colon in Cats
- PubMed.gov: Enteric Function in Cats After Subtotal Colectomy for Treatment of Megacolon
- Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine: Gastrointestinal Parasites of Cats
- Photo Credit cat sleeping covered with blanket image by Nino Pavisic from Fotolia.com
