How To Tell If Your Cat Has a Sensitive Stomach?
Cats are very sensitive and caring creatures. Although the opinion on them are divided, they indeed have a soft side that needs our attention and nurturing. Like every other pet, cats can have certain health issues. There are all sorts and types of those issues and we won’t tell you about all of them today. We will focus on today’s topic and which is sensitive stomach and how to tell if your cat has that problem.
Thanks to the nature of cats, it is sometimes very difficult to tell if they are in pain. Yes, there are some changes in behaviour and the relationship between the pet and the owner but with cats, it is often very hard to pick up on those.
Cats, due to their nature, have learned to hide when they are in pain, and this is the main reason it is hard for us to notice it. This is all due to their origins and basic survival skills primarily because an injured or weak animal is easy prey for others.
There is hope though and we can point you to the certain signs that your cat is in pain, and that the problem is a sensitive stomach from cat food, anxiety, or any other possible situation.
Reduced mobility and hiding
Source: uniquelycats.com
Cats are by their nature active pets and they are constantly doing something, roaming around, or at least around you when you switch places and rooms. The one thing that should pop out immediately is if you don’t see your cat for a while in your vicinity. This should be a red flag especially if you and your cat have a relationship that means you are always near each other no matter what you do and where you go.
A cat that is having pain and problems tends to move a lot less and hides in specific areas in the house. Struggling while going up and down the stairs for a cat that was previously very active and zippy means that they are definitely in pain and that they need your attention, or in the worst-case scenario veterinarian attention.
Grooming habits change
Source: be.chewy.com
Cats are one of the cleanest pets around and their grooming habits are sometimes better than ours. A cat that changes its grooming habits has something happening to it. They are meticulous about their look and hygiene and they will skip or reduce grooming only in alarming situations. So if you notice that your cat has been grooming a lot less than it used to then it probably has a problem that is stopping her to contort herself in all of those difficult yoga positions we often see them in. This is probably the second biggest change in there, otherwise, programmed behaviour and it should be your alarm that will nudge you toward looking around for a problem and investing more time in keeping a close eye on them.
Bathroom habits
Source: annexvet.com
Having stomach problems, usually, are similar to humans and animals. Whether is it too constant or less frequent due to a particular issue, you should notice a change there. A cat that has stomach issues of any sort might start avoiding its litter box because a climb of additional few inches into the litter box might be so painful that it would rather choose to go outside the box.
If your cat has never done this before for any particular reason that this is a thing you have to investigate and try to mitigate. If your cat has problems with its stomach, as we already said it might go more or less, depending on the problem, just like we as humans do. Watch out for the frequency of their bathroom visits and if you notice a problem, react immediately.
Appetite loss
Source: thesprucepets.com
Another common thing that you can see from experience is appetite loss. If you are having problems with your stomach you would probably eat less, or pick which food you want/need. This is the same with animals. They will either totally reduce the amount of food they intake to fight out the problem or they will eat only certain food that is a little lither on their stomach. If your cat ate pretty much anything and wasn’t particularly picky before, and if you see a drastic change now, then there is a problem and you need to take care of it.
Longer sleeping
Source: purrfectlove.net
Cats love their naps. They alternate a lot between being active and then really, really lazy. It is somewhat hard to notice this but if your cat seems to take longer naps and if it is doing it in only one position every time then there is a problem that it is trying to hide. As we said they like sleeping but every owner should know their cat so far and should know how long of a nap is usually and what falls under suspicion. If you also manage to find out that the cat is sleeping only in one position every time, or on only one side then you should react as quickly as possible.
Changes in personality
Source: bbc.com
Cats are usually very cool and calm creatures, that is until you irritate them, or unless they have a particular problem. Being irritated, scared and in pain makes them switch their moods often and drastically. If you notice your cat has been more irritable and cranky than it used to be then this is a red flag for a particular problem. Just be careful in finding out the problem because these mood swings and personality changes in cats can be caused by outside factors as well as inside ones.
As a conclusion, we advise that if there is any type of problem present with your cat, try and not perform anything by yourself and without a certified veterinarian. There might be a certain complicated situation that needs the caring of a professional. There might be stomach problems that you can improve simply by changing food or certain habits, but if those don’t help in a very short period then your cat probably has some bigger problems, and a trip to the veterinarian is a great idea.
