Even Cats get Gas

Clients will periodically enquire about excessive gas in their pets. This is a common condition in dogs, but rarely, cats are the culprits. Sometimes the only sign of excess gas is a swollen abdomen. Sometimes one can just hear gurgling sounds (borborygmus). When the gas is expelled out the back end we term that flatulence. Cats do not belch (burp) as commonly as dogs due to the structure of the upper digestive system. They are less gassy also due to the nature of their diet (pure carnivore). The most common foodstuffs that generate flatulence are the legume plants such as the bean family. Cats are also less inclined to wolf down their food, and so do not inhale as much air into their system as a typical dog. Cats may benefit from a commercial diet that uses a rice source of carbohydrate if they are prone to gas, since rice is less gas producing than other carbohydrate sources in diets.

Though normal cats can have very low-grade rare to periodic flatulence, if it is excessive, underlying digestive disorders should always be ruled out by your veterinarian. Inflammatory, food sensitivity, allergic, or other conditions of the bowels that reduce digestion or absorption of food components may lead to abnormal food processing, and thus excessive gas production in the lower bowels. If disease is present, sometimes diarrhea, vomiting, and weight loss will also be noted. Lactose in the diet (feeding milk to cats) will often produce excess gas because after weaning, most cats lose activity of the enzyme needed to process the sugar, and thus it is passed down into the lower bowels to feed the hungry gas-producing bacteria.

The bad odour of flatulence is due to gas compounds such as hydrogen sulfide (the same component that gives rotten eggs their stink). Non-odor forming gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide and even oxygen and hydrogen pass out as the bulk of the gases. An interesting note aside is that ruminants such as cows that have large fermentation chambers in their digestive tract produce really significant amounts of methane gas! Some large-scale manure systems even trap the methane gas for fuel.

In cats, flatulence that is clearly evident is abnormal and warrants veterinary evaluation unless an easy explanation is evident such as milk or other poorly digestible foods being fed.