What causes GI issues in cats?

In cats, the condition is often due to ingesting a “foreign object,” such as a small toy or a string that gets stuck in the stomach or intestines. Sometimes, blockages are caused by underlying health conditions, such as a tumor or intestinal motion problem. Rarely, it can be caused by a hairball.

What causes inflammation of the small intestine in cats?

Feline enteric coronavirus is highly contagious, especially among cats in close contact. It is very closely related to the virus that causes a more serious disease, feline infectious peritonitis. Infection with feline enteric coronavirus causes inflammation of the small intestine, but is not usually fatal.

How big is the small intestine in a cat?

Note the overall thickening of the small intestine at 3.2 mm (normal is < 2.5 mm) and the thickness of the muscularis layer in particular at 1.5 mm. Chronic enteropathies are a common clinical problem in cats, and in most cases are due to either inflammatory bowel disease or small cell GI lymphoma.

What kind of chronic bowel disease does a cat have?

Chronic enteropathies are a common clinical problem in cats, and in most cases are due to either inflammatory bowel disease or small cell GI lymphoma. Both of these conditions can be effectively treated, with average survival times of years even for small cell lymphoma.

What causes a thickening of the intestinal wall?

Thickening of the intestinal wall in general and the muscularis layer in particular is associated with both lymphoma and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and mesenteric lymphadenopathy can also be seen in both conditions.

Feline enteric coronavirus is highly contagious, especially among cats in close contact. It is very closely related to the virus that causes a more serious disease, feline infectious peritonitis. Infection with feline enteric coronavirus causes inflammation of the small intestine, but is not usually fatal.

Thickening of the intestinal wall in general and the muscularis layer in particular is associated with both lymphoma and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and mesenteric lymphadenopathy can also be seen in both conditions.

Note the overall thickening of the small intestine at 3.2 mm (normal is < 2.5 mm) and the thickness of the muscularis layer in particular at 1.5 mm. Chronic enteropathies are a common clinical problem in cats, and in most cases are due to either inflammatory bowel disease or small cell GI lymphoma.

Chronic enteropathies are a common clinical problem in cats, and in most cases are due to either inflammatory bowel disease or small cell GI lymphoma. Both of these conditions can be effectively treated, with average survival times of years even for small cell lymphoma.