Natural treatments to help soothe and relieve stomach pains related to colic in cats and dogs.

Colic

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What is Colic?
What Causes Colic?
Diagnosing Colic
Help for Colic
More Information on Colic

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What is Colic?

Dogs and cats are just as susceptible to colic as babies. Colic is the term used to describe abdominal pain that is caused by an accumulation of gas in the abdomen. It affects pets of all ages and breeds, but young animals are particularly prone to it. It causes extreme discomfort, and if not treated immediately has the ability to be potentially life threatening.

What Causes Colic?

Colic is usually the result of feeding your pet incorrect foods, ingesting spoilt food, garbage, toxic or poisonous substances such as household detergents, pesticides or fertilizers. In addition, colic may occur because of a bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections and systemic diseases such as liver failure, kidney disease, ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis or complications during pregnancy.

Diagnosing Colic

Warning signs that may indicate that your pet has colic include abdominal pain, arched back with feet tucked in, abdominal distension, loss of appetite, overall weakness, restlessness and often the animal may thrash around on the floor.

If colic is acute, your pet may even collapse from the pain. Consult your vet immediately – a thorough examination, complete blood count, biochemical profile and urinalysis will be performed.

Other tests include x-rays, abdominal ultrasound, endoscopy and parvo testing on puppies. Treatment involves withholding food for at least 24 hours to allow the stomach to rest. Follow with a bland diet of cooked rice and chicken and ensure that water is provided. Some pets may require fluid and electrolyte therapy, antacids, antiemetics and gastric protectants.

Help for Colic

Natural Remedies

Natural and holistic treatments have been used for centuries to maintain healthy digestion and maintain control of digestive gases. Herbal and homeopathic remedies are safe and gentle to use for both humans and animals without the harsh side effects of conventional medications.

Carefully selected herbs such as Pimpinella anisum (anise) and Foeniculum vulgare act as a digestive aid and also helps to detox the body’s system. Homeopathic ingredients such as Magnesium phosphate, Carbo veg and Nux vom provides digestive comfort while also absorbing excess gas and toxins in the body.

More Information on Colic

Tips to prevent colic

There are a number of things that you can do to relieve the symptoms and prevent the onset of an episode of colic and these include:

Feed your pet high quality commercial food or a well balanced all natural diet without additives, preservatives or colorants
Avoid feeding your pet sugary foods or table scraps
Make sure that your pet always has fresh, clean water available
If your pet has symptoms of colic, withhold food for 24 hours to rest the stomach
Avoid exposing your pet to spoilt food, garbage cans, chemicals or poisons
Avoid making any sudden changes to your pet’s diet – introduce new food slowly by mixing with old food so that your pet can become accustomed to it. Introducing a new diet should take place over 3-5 days.
De-worm your pet regularly