Colitis is essentially an inflammation of the large intestine, or colon. The term Colitis is used to cover several different conditions of the gastro-intestinal tract and can include:
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (a condition where the animal’s white blood cells invade the intestine and cause inflammation to occur). The result is that nutrient absorption is impaired and this causes weight loss and general GI disturbance
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which can be related to stress
- Pancreatitis in which the pancreas becomes inflamed
- Parasitic infections such as giardia, hookworms or whipworms
- Bacterial infection such as Campylobacter or salmonella
- Food allergies in which an animal is intolerant of certain ingredients.
Thy symptoms of colitis include diarrhea, which can sometimes alternate with constipation. Mucus or blood in the stool and excessive gassiness are also signs of Colitis. Stool volume may be reduced but there may be much straining and the frequency of defecation may increase.
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