What Should You Feed a Cat If It Has a Stomach Issue?
It’s inevitable. If you own a cat, at some point your cat will suffer some sort of tummy trouble. Like humans, cats can develop stomach issues from a stomach bug, something they ate, stress, allergies, or a more serious issue. You may encounter messy litterboxes from diarrhea or finding the unexpected mess on the floor from your feline vomiting.
It’s not always easy to detect what the cause of the stomach issue is, but one thing is for sure, all signs of stomach trouble needs to be monitored and addressed to make sure your cat recovers as quickly as possible, or if need be, gets checked by his veterinarian as soon as possible if something more serious is suspected. If your cat develops problems, do you know what you should be feeding him? Chicken soup and saltine crackers is probably not the best diet for a feline with stomach issues. So, what should you feed a cat with stomach issues? Let’s see what cat experts recommend.
Signs of stomach issues
A cat is not an animal that will typically go and scarf his food down, unlike a dog. They tend to delicately eat and nibble at their food, sometimes sneaking up to the bowl so quietly, you may not even notice they’ve been in the room. They’re quiet demeanor can make it a little difficult to notice their eating habits unless there are certain signs of stomach issues that are more noticeable. Here are some signs of stomach issues you should watch for.
- Lack of appetite
- Licking his lips a lot (common sign of nausea)
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Blood in the stool or on your kitty’s bum
- Lethargy/sleeping more than usual
- Constipation
- Hiding a lot and not being social at all
There are a number of things that can cause stomach issues. Some things may be less severe than others, but common causes would be, eating something that didn’t agree with your cat, a change in his diet or new food, ingesting a toxin, a stomach bug, a medical condition, and specific medical conditions that have to do with the GI system, medicines, plus a variety of other medical diagnosis’.
If your cat has a stomach issue, first, make sure he always has cool clean water to drink when he needs. Keeping your cat hydrated is critical. Feed your cat bland foods first, to see if he will eat anything at all, like chicken and rice. Baby food in a jar, ones that have meat but no garlic or onions or other additives, can also be easier on your cat’s stomach. If you think it is something your cat ate and needs to get it out of his system, you may want to offer him some safe type of grass to nibble on. Cats like to eat grass but it makes them throw up, which may be a good way to help him rid his stomach of anything that’s in there causing him to be ill.
Stay away from these foods
If your cat has stomach problems, stay away from dark colored kibbles that are the shapely cut pieces. Don’t feed your cat foods with too many carbs, and avoid fish-flavored foods or freshly cooked fish, as this can have a lot of oils in that can upset your cat’s stomach more.
If your cat wont’ eat for more than 24 hours, is throwing up multiple times or you find blood in his stool, you should take your cat to be checked by a vet as soon as possible. If you suspect he has eaten anything dangerous, like a toxin or any other potentially harmful ingredient or item, he should also be checked right away by a doctor.
