Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2024;1446:39-53. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-54192-6_3.
The nutritional health of dogs and cats is important to pet owners around the world. Nutrition is inextricably linked to the health of the gastrointestinal system and vice versa. Gastrointestinal signs, such as vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, or weight loss, are one of the most common reasons that dog and cat owners make non-routine appointments with veterinarians. Those patients are evaluated systematically to identify and/or rule out the causes of the symptoms. Some causes of chronic diarrhea are within the gastrointestinal tract while others are secondary to pathogenic factors outside the digestive system. Some useful biomarkers of chronic intestinal disease (enteropathy) exist in serum and feces. After determination that the clinical signs are due to primary gastrointestinal disease and that there is no parasitism, specific diets are used for at least two weeks. There are several types of diets for pets with chronic enteropathies. There are limited ingredient diets and hydrolyzed protein diets with reduced levels of allergens. There are also highly digestible and fiber-enhanced diets. Some diets contain probiotics and/or prebiotics. If symptoms do not improve and the patient is stable, a diet from a different class may be tried. For chronic enteropathies, the prognosis is generally good for symptom resolution or at least improvement. However, if interventions with novel diets do not ameliorate the symptoms of chronic enteropathy, then antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, or immunosuppressant therapy or further, more invasive diagnostics such as taking an intestinal biopsy, may be indicated. Pancreatitis is a common gastrointestinal disease in dogs and cats and patients may present with mild to severe disease. Many patients with mild to moderate disease can be successfully treated with early supportive care, including feeding a low-fat diet. A novel pharmaceutical, fuzapladib (Panoquell-CA1) looks very promising for treating more severe forms of acute pancreatitis in dogs. Maintenance on a low-fat diet may prevent pancreatitis in at-risk dogs. Future advances in medicine will allow pet owners and veterinarians to use dietary management to maximize the health of their dogs and cats.
狗和猫的营养健康对全世界的宠物主人都很重要。营养与胃肠道健康息息相关，反之亦然。胃肠道症状，如呕吐、腹泻、厌食或体重减轻，是狗和猫主人与兽医进行非例行预约的最常见原因之一。这些患者会接受系统评估，以确定和/或排除症状的原因。一些慢性腹泻的原因在胃肠道内，而另一些则继发于消化系统外的致病因素。一些慢性肠道疾病（肠病）的有用生物标志物存在于血清和粪便中。在确定临床症状是由原发性胃肠道疾病引起且不存在寄生虫后，至少使用特定饮食 2 周。有几种针对患有慢性肠病的宠物的饮食。有限的成分饮食和低过敏原的水解蛋白饮食，以及高度易消化和富含纤维的饮食。有些饮食含有益生菌和/或益生元。如果症状没有改善且患者稳定，则可以尝试使用不同类别的饮食。对于慢性肠病，一般来说，症状缓解或至少改善的预后良好。然而，如果用新型饮食进行干预不能改善慢性肠病的症状，那么可能需要抗生素、抗炎或免疫抑制剂治疗，或者更具侵袭性的诊断，例如进行肠道活检。胰腺炎是犬猫常见的胃肠道疾病，患者可能表现为轻度至重度疾病。许多轻度至中度疾病的患者可以通过早期支持性治疗成功治疗，包括喂食低脂肪饮食。一种新型药物，fuzapladib（Panoquell-CA1）对治疗犬的更严重形式的急性胰腺炎非常有前景。低脂饮食维持可能预防高危犬胰腺炎。未来医学的进步将使宠物主人和兽医能够使用饮食管理来最大程度地提高他们的狗和猫的健康。
