What can cause vomiting and diarrhea?

• Dietary Indiscretions: The most common cause of vomiting in dogs and ferret is dietary indiscretions - the eating of garbage, grass, plant leaves, etc.
• Diet Change: Changing a dog, ferret or other pet's diet from one brand of food to another often causes diarrhea or vomiting for a few days. This problem is worse when the diet is changed to a bargain priced generic food high in indigestible protein, rending plant meal and roughage, but it occurs even when the change is from one name brand to another. This problem can be avoided by making the change gradually.
• Eating too rapidly: Dogs, ferrets, and other animals that are not fed frequently enough or feel competition from other pet members may vomit undigested food soon after eating.
• Intolerance to specific food items: Pets love to beg at the dinner table. The fact that you seem to relish a food item makes it fair game to your pets. Hot dogs, pastrami, pizza, deviled ham, and the like get wolfed down fast - but often come back up just as fast. These pets are not actually allergic to these foods. Dogs have a very easy vomit reflex and the slightest irritation of the stomach brings these things back up. If you cannot bear to stop feeding table scraps, feed them in smaller portions. Pleasure is in the eating - not the portion size.
• Food Allergy
• Car Sickness
• Overeating
• Stress: Some pets - toy dogs and ferrets in particular - vent stress through their intestines. This can take the form of vomiting, refusal to eat, diarrhea or blood in the stool.
• Antibiotics and sulfonamides: Many antibiotics and sulfas disrupt the normal helpful bacterial flora in the intestine as well as killing pathogenic (dangerous) bacteria. When the normal acterial flora of the intestine is destroyed diarrhea may result. Giving your pet yogurt or bacterial gel pastes, decreasing the antibiotic dose, or changing to a different antibiotic will all help.
• Other drugs from the pharmacy: Many medications that are dispensed to your pet can cause diarrhea. Thyroid medication, NSAID's such as Rimadyl and aspirin, worming medications, and topical insecticides are only a few of the medications that can cause diarrhea.

*These statements have not been evaluated by Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The information on this Web site or in emails is designed for educational purposes only. The information on this web site is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician or veterinarian. This information is not intended as a substitute for the reader's independent judgment and personal responsibility. Health issues are far too important to delegate to anyone else. It is highly recommended you research and seek information and counsel from as wide a variety of sources as possible, so you can make well informed educated decisions about you, your child's, or your pet's health, as in the end YOU make the decisions.