Tag Archives: Colon Health
How Healthy is your Cat’s Colon?
Posted on 04. Apr, 2009 by admin.
The Colon Cleansing & Constipation Resource Center asked:
When it comes to colon health, cat digestive systems are quite similar to those of humans. Just as with humans, cats can suffer from a number of digestive disorders. In fact, constipation is relatively common in felines. Therefore, as a pet owner, it is important for you to understand how to recognize digestive problems as well as how to help your cat maintain a healthy colon.
Feline Constipation
Concerning colon health, cat constipation is relatively easy to recognize. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to help your cat recover from feline constipation.
Just as with human colon health, cat colon health problems have a great deal to do with the age of the cat. As in humans, older cats are more susceptible to constipation. Those that are eight-years-old and above are more likely to become constipated. Nonetheless, it is possible for a cat of any age to become constipated.
A cat with bowels that are functioning efficiently will usually have one or two bowel movements every day. Of course, just as with humans, every cat is different. Signs of feline constipation include:
No bowel movements, or very infrequent bowel movements
Straining during a bowel movement
Painful bowel movements
A sudden decrease in the amount of stool produced
When it comes to colon health, cat constipation is a sign that something is not working correctly within the digestive tract. And, if you fail to take action, your cat may become quite ill. Signs the constipation has advanced and is becoming serious include:
Failure to keep itself groomed
Lethargic behavior
Loss of appetite
Crouching and hunching up
Vomiting
Passing a small amount of diarrhea, which is runny and blood-tinged
Some potential causes of cat constipation include:
Ingesting foreign bodies, hair, and animal bones
A dirty litter box
Recent hospitalization
Lack of exercise (let your cat out to run)
Obstructions, such as improperly healed pelvic fractures or tumors
Medication
Hair matted with dirt/mud
Injuries from cat fights
Obesity (don’t overfeed your pet please or share your meals)
Parasites, usually obtained from dirt, animals, or unclean water
To maintain proper feline colon health, constipation needs to be treated as soon as possible. The first approach is to address the underlying cause of the problem. A cat that is dehydrated, for example, may receive intravenous or subcutaneous replacement fluids to help encourage a bowel movement.
If a change of the underlying cause is not enough to get things moving again, the veterinarian may administer an enema to your pet to help induce a bowel movement. If the cat is severely constipated, however, it may be necessary to place the cat under anesthesia and remove the feces manually. This can be a very time consuming process.
Feline Obstipation
Feline obstipation is similar to constipation, but must be treated differently. Whereas constipation is characterized by difficulty in eliminating waste, obstipation occurs when the cat’s bowels are blocked and it is unable to pass any waste at all. The cause of obstipation and the signs and symptoms of the disorder are usually the same as with constipation.
Feline Megacolon
A cat that suffers from chronic constipation or obstipation may ultimately develop Megacolon, which is a distended colon with poor movement. When this occurs, fecal matter remains in the colon and becomes continuously drier. As a result, the colon becomes filled with waste almost as hard as concrete.
Maintaining Colon Health Cat Style
Maintaining your cat’s colon health requires many of the same steps for maintaining the health of a human colon. Placing your cat on a high fiber diet, for example, will help prevent your cat from becoming constipated. Like humans, cats are unable to digest fiber. As the undigested fiber sits in your cat’s colon, it absorbs water and helps loosen the stool while also providing it with extra bulk.
Since cats tend to have more sensitive digestive systems than humans, however, it is important to implement a high fiber diet slowly. Changing your cat’s diet too abruptly can cause it to experience gas pain. Therefore, you should spend about five or seven days gradually modifying your cat’s diet.
Foods that can be added to your cat’s diet to increase its fiber intake include:
Canned pumpkin
Bran
Vegetable meal
Whole grains
Your cat may not want to eat any of these foods alone. Therefore, you will need to mix them in with your cat’s canned cat food. It is also important to ensure your cat drinks plenty of water. This is particularly important when increasing fiber consumption since the fiber will absorb water within your cat’s digestive system.
By helping your pet maintain proper colon health, its digestive problems should not be of serious concern. However, if problems arise, contact your veterinarian right away to take care of the issue before it worsens.
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Colon Cleanser Tablets
Posted on 03. Apr, 2009 by admin.
The Colon Cleansing & Constipation Resource Center asked:
Colon cleanser tablets are an excellent way to keep your colon clean and healthy. To ensure good results and to keep your body safe, you need to know how to select the right colon cleanser tablets from the many available on the market.
Reasons for Using Colon Cleanser Tablets
As the name implies, colon cleanser tablets are used to clean out the colon. Cleansing the colon should be a part of your regular health routine to help keep your overall health at its optimum level.
You may be surprised to realize the importance of the colon regarding overall health. The reasons are very simple. In response to the foods you eat, your colon naturally produces mucus and sludge to protect itself during the digestive process. The more unhealthy foods you eat, the more mucus and sludge your colon produces. Unfortunately, this mucus and sludge tends to become built up on the inner colon wall and makes it difficult for waste to pass through. Thereafter, constipation may develop.
In addition to causing constipation, the accumulated sludge releases toxins into your bloodstream. These toxins spread throughout your body, causing your immune system to weaken, ultimately leading to many illnesses such as allergies, skin rashes, and general fatigue.
To help keep the colon clean and prevent the spread of toxins within your system, you should use colon cleanser tablets. Using the right colon cleansing tablets will flush out your system and remove the waste from the walls of your colon.
Selecting Colon Cleansing Tablets
If you have been searching for colon cleansing tablets already, you have probably discovered literally dozens of different tablets are available. How are you supposed to determine which colon cleanser tablets are right for you?
You should consider several factors when shopping for colon cleanser tablets. The first thing you need to consider is whether or not the colon cleanser tablets are oxygen-based. Oxygen-based colon cleansers, such as Oxy-Powder®, are capable of liquefying the waste built up on your colon wall. This allows it to be released more easily from your body while also leaving your colon cleansed and healthy.
Many colon cleanser tablets can be detrimental to your health. For example, colon cleanser tablets relying on a laxative effect should be avoided. These types of colon cleanser tablets do not actually cleanse the colon. Rather, they soften the stool that was going to be released anyway. As a result, the mucus and sludge that has built up on your colon walls is not removed. Also, your colon can become dependent upon the supplement, which means you will not be able to eliminate waste properly unaided. On the other hand, oxygen-based colon cleanser tablets are not addictive.
You also need to be careful to select colon cleansing tablets made with fresh ingredients. To save money, some manufacturers use ingredients that are nearly expired or they use parts of plants containing less of the active ingredient than the actual source. This results in tablets that are not potent or that do not provide the proper effect. In some cases, the ingredients may expire and can actually upset your colon or make your digestive problems worse.
Colon cleansing tablets including a variety of ingredients are more effective than those relying on a single ingredient. In fact, some single ingredient colon cleansing tablets can be too abrasive and can damage your digestive system. Those colon cleansing tablets (made solely from Psyllium husks for example) can be detrimental if used too frequently.
Recognizing When Colon Cleansing Tablets are Effective
There are a number of ways to determine whether or not your colon cleansing tablets are effective. First, the appearance of your stool can help you determine if you are achieving success. If your colon cleanser tablets are cleansing the mucus from your colon, you will notice that your stool is shiny. It will probably be dark in color as well, which will help you differentiate between colon cleanser tablets that cause diarrhea and those that are actually cleansing the colon.
You may also lose some weight after using quality colon cleansing tablets. This weight is not fat. Rather, it is weight lost from finally emptying the accumulated waste from your colon. Some people lose as much as 20 pounds after cleansing their colons. Even if you don’t lose weight, most people feel lighter after a successful colon cleansing.
Colon cleansing tablets are beneficial to your digestive system as well as your body. Just choose the right tablets in order to obtain the results you desire.
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