The noises generated by the digestive system in its normal transit are called borborygmos They are completely normal sounds but if they sound excessively strong and frequent and, above all, if they are accompanied by other symptoms such as diarrhea, pain, straining to defecate or vomiting, they will require a visit to the vet.
In this article on our site we are going to explain why a cat's guts rumble, the most probable causes and their possible solutions. Do you want to know why your cat has bowels rumbling? Find out!
Digestive activity
In normal digestive activity, as we have said, noises are produced as a result of gastrointestinal movements and gases. After eating it is normal that, if we put our ear close to our cat's belly, we hear a soft rumbling sound.
These noises also occur in the opposite case, that is, when the stomach is empty. What sounds then is gas, although it is difficult to find ourselves in this situation since it is normal for our cat to have food at home at his free disposal, so it is rare that he spends hours with el empty stomach
These borborigmos can be stronger if it has coincided with the cat swallowing too much air while eating, for example if we offer him some food that excites you and eats it with craving. It should be solved by giving the food in smaller and more frequent portions.
Out of this normality, if our cat's rumbling is very strong, continuous and, in addition, it presents other symptoms, we can think of certain alterations that explain why our kitten's guts rumble. We will see them in the following sections.
Parasites
Sometimes significant rumbling can indicate the presence of internal parasites. Parasites such as coccidia or giardia will also cause diarrhoea. Although in he althy adult cats parasites do not usually represent a problem, in already sick, very old or very small animals they can be serious, since profuse diarrhea in these cases can lead to rapid dehydration
Therefore, if your kitten's guts are rumbling, you should bring it to the attention of your vet, even if you have already dewormed it. Your kitten may have been re-infested or the product that has been administered may not have covered the parasites it has. In addition, it is not always easy to identify which ones it is and it may be necessary to take several stool samples and from different days. Before giving our cat with borborygmus and diarrhea any dewormer, we should consult our veterinarian because if the symptoms are not caused by parasites, deworming can be counterproductive.
Digestive transit disorders
In this section we will include the different causes that can make digestion difficult and, for this reason, explain why our cat's guts sound. They are as follows:
- Foreign body: Although it is a more common problem in dogs, cats can also swallow objects, especially threads or strings, that hinder their intestinal transit and, consequently, produce borborygmos but also obstructions, injuries or even perforations. Therefore, if our cat, in addition to roaring his guts, presents vomiting or lack of appetite, we should go to our veterinarian.
- Malabsorption or poor digestion: there are several causes that can affect the digestive system and make it not absorb the nutrients contained in food in an effective way. In addition to borborygmus, our cat, even fed with quality feed, may present an increase in food intake, gas or weight loss, among other symptoms. It is a situation that will also require veterinary assistance. It is usually caused by pancreatic problems.
- Empacho: although it is more common in dogs, it can also occur in cats, especially if the animal has access to a food that he especially likes or it is a malnourished cat that we pick up and eats too much at once. We will hear borborigmos after this excessive intake and these should subside in a few hours. If they continue or other symptoms occur, we should consult our veterinarian. Borborigmos can also occur if we suddenly change our cat's food.
- Dysbiosis: we can explain it as an alteration of the normal flora of our cat's digestive system. The breakdown of the balance of this microbiota may be the explanation why our cat's guts roar. If this balance is not restored, we should consult our veterinarian.
As we can see, if our cat's guts rumble at a specific moment, which will generally be before or after eating, it will not be a cause for concern and will subside on its own in a few hours. On the other hand, if the borborygmos are accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea or any other sign of discomfort, we should go to the vet
Inflammatory bowel disease
When our cat has frequent rumbling that also lasts over time and is accompanied by other symptoms such as decomposition, vomiting or weight loss, we can think that it suffers from some intestinal pathology, such as the inflammatory disease, more common in adult cats.
Sometimes the symptoms are mild and nonspecific, and its diagnosis is not very easy, for which endoscopy and biopsy are resorted to, which serves to differentiate this disease fromintestinal lymphoma In this case, the inflammatory disease explains why our cat's guts are rumbling. As we can see, although borborygmos do not usually indicate pathology, we must pay attention to them, especially when they are prolonged and the cat shows other symptoms.
