Pet Gastroenteritis: Care Tips & When to See a Vet

Abbey Vets in Shrewsbury looks upset tummies in dogs

14th February 2025

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Blog by Abbey Veterinary Centre in Shrewsbury

Medically referred to as Gastroenteritis meaning inflammation of the stomach and intestines.

Symptoms include:

Vomiting

Diarrhoea

Lethargy and

Abdominal pain

There are many causes of Gastroenteritis in animals and most will get better after a few days.

It used to be common practice to starve animals for 24 hours if they had an upset tummy!

But new research suggests that feeding a good quality food specifically formulated for tummy upsets is actually better than starving.

The cells of the gut lining (called enterocytes) absorb nutrients from food and rely on what they absorb from food to receive the nutrients they need to perform.

So if there’s no food passing through the gut then they don’t get the nutrients they need.

For any healing to happen cells need to have the right nutrients to heal and repair.

Feeding your pet a special gastrointestinal food little and often will help keep the gut nourished and aid the healing.

There are some cases that we would recommend seeing and if you are concerned it is always best to contact your vets.

When to contact the vets:

Constant vomiting

Very watery diarrhoea

Blood in vomit or poo

Appears unwell

Stops eating and or drinking

Symptoms not improved within 24hours

If they are very young or old

If they have any other underlying health conditions

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