A healthy gut is essential to overall wellness for pets. Whether it’s a cat, dog, rabbit, or guinea pig, good digestive function helps pets absorb nutrients, supports their immune system, and keeps them energetic and comfortable.
Cats and Dogs
Think of your pet’s digestive system like a kitchen and recycling centre all in one. Food goes in, gets broken down, and the useful parts are absorbed to give energy, build muscle, and keep the body running. What isn’t needed passes out as waste.
Mouth and stomach. This is where food is chewed, swallowed, and mixed with stomach juices to start breaking it down.
Small intestine. Here, most of the nutrients (like protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals) are absorbed into the body.
Large intestine (colon) This is where water is absorbed and the gut bacteria (the microbiota) live.
Key to digestion is a good diet and a balanced gut microbiota. These helpful bacteria finish breaking down food, especially fibre, and make important nutrients for health and protect against harmful bacteria. Sometimes bad bacteria can upset the balance creating excessive bad smelling gas, inconsistent stools, constipation or sloppy stools. Likewise, fibre plays a vital role in maintaining this balance. It feeds the good bacteria, keeps bowel movements regular, and helps produce short-chain fatty acids that support intestinal health. Fibre-rich ingredients like oat bran, psyllium husk, pumpkin seed, and chia seed are particularly useful in supporting a thriving gut microbiota.
Rabbits and guinea pigs
Rabbits and guinea pigs are a little different as most of their digestion happens in the large intestine and caecum (a special pouch in the gut). In these areas, trillions of good bacteria ferment fibre from hay, grass, and other plant material to produce nutrients, including vitamins and fatty acids. Because of this, fibre is the most important part of their diet. Without enough fibre, the gut slows down, the bacteria become unbalanced, and serious health problems can occur. This is why hay should make up the majority of a rabbit or guinea pig’s daily food. Another unique feature of their digestion is that they produce special droppings called caecotrophs. These are soft, nutrient-rich poos that rabbits and guinea pigs eat directly from their bottom , a completely normal and essential behaviour! By re-eating these caecotrophs, they get a second chance to absorb vital nutrients created during fermentation. So, while it may look unusual, eating their own poo is an important part of keeping rabbits and guinea pigs healthy. Supporting their microbiota with the right fibre, prebiotics, and probiotics helps this natural cycle run smoothly.
Supporting digestion
Sometimes, pets need extra support. What if you notice a change to the stool or you are concerned they are not getting enough fibre in their diet or maybe they are sensitive to the slightest changes in their diet?
Bentonite clay is a traditional and natural ingredient that can help absorb toxins, firm up the stool and soothe the gut. It’s available in BRN Digestion Care, which can be used during mild digestive upsets or after dietary changes.
Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria and are another key tool. Enterococcus faecium and similar probiotics help restore balance to the gut after stress, illness, or antibiotics.
Prebiotics, like fructo-oligosaccharides, act as food for these bacteria, helping them grow and stay active. BRNAdvanced Probiotics combines probiotics, prebiotics, and bentonite clay, giving a complete approach to supporting gut health when a targeted approach is needed such as an episode of diarrhoea or inconsistent stool.
For ongoing and general digestive support, BRNFibiotic Pro brings together multiple benefits in one formula. It includes fibre sources, gut-friendly botanicals like artichoke, lemongrass, and blueberry extract, bentonite clay, and both para-probiotics and probiotics. This helps maintain a healthy microbiota, supports regular digestion, and can be particularly useful to improve gut health , support healthy weight loss if overweight or during stressful times, after antibiotics, or when pets experience digestive upsets whether constipation or diarrhoea or anything in between.
If your pet is unwell, your first port of call is your veterinarian. Sometimes a dietary change is recommended. Then improving gut health and digestion involves supporting the beneficial bacteria in the gut, providing fibre to nourish these microbes, and using natural agents like bentonite clay and probiotics when needed. Products such as Fibiotic Pro, Advanced Probiotics, and Digestion Care are practical ways to do this in cats, dogs, rabbits, and guinea pigs, by simply adding to food to help them thrive with regularity, comfort, vitality, and overall wellbeing.
Keeping Your Pet’s Gut Happy: Why Digestion Matters for Cats, Dogs, Rabbits, and Guinea Pigs
A healthy gut is essential to overall wellness for pets. Whether it’s a cat, dog, rabbit, or guinea pig, good digestive function helps pets absorb nutrients, supports their immune system, and keeps them energetic and comfortable.
Cats and Dogs
Think of your pet’s digestive system like a kitchen and recycling centre all in one. Food goes in, gets broken down, and the useful parts are absorbed to give energy, build muscle, and keep the body running. What isn’t needed passes out as waste.
Key to digestion is a good diet and a balanced gut microbiota. These helpful bacteria finish breaking down food, especially fibre, and make important nutrients for health and protect against harmful bacteria. Sometimes bad bacteria can upset the balance creating excessive bad smelling gas, inconsistent stools, constipation or sloppy stools. Likewise, fibre plays a vital role in maintaining this balance. It feeds the good bacteria, keeps bowel movements regular, and helps produce short-chain fatty acids that support intestinal health. Fibre-rich ingredients like oat bran, psyllium husk, pumpkin seed, and chia seed are particularly useful in supporting a thriving gut microbiota.
Rabbits and guinea pigs
Rabbits and guinea pigs are a little different as most of their digestion happens in the large intestine and caecum (a special pouch in the gut). In these areas, trillions of good bacteria ferment fibre from hay, grass, and other plant material to produce nutrients, including vitamins and fatty acids. Because of this, fibre is the most important part of their diet. Without enough fibre, the gut slows down, the bacteria become unbalanced, and serious health problems can occur. This is why hay should make up the majority of a rabbit or guinea pig’s daily food. Another unique feature of their digestion is that they produce special droppings called caecotrophs. These are soft, nutrient-rich poos that rabbits and guinea pigs eat directly from their bottom , a completely normal and essential behaviour! By re-eating these caecotrophs, they get a second chance to absorb vital nutrients created during fermentation. So, while it may look unusual, eating their own poo is an important part of keeping rabbits and guinea pigs healthy. Supporting their microbiota with the right fibre, prebiotics, and probiotics helps this natural cycle run smoothly.
Supporting digestion
Sometimes, pets need extra support. What if you notice a change to the stool or you are concerned they are not getting enough fibre in their diet or maybe they are sensitive to the slightest changes in their diet?
If your pet is unwell, your first port of call is your veterinarian. Sometimes a dietary change is recommended. Then improving gut health and digestion involves supporting the beneficial bacteria in the gut, providing fibre to nourish these microbes, and using natural agents like bentonite clay and probiotics when needed. Products such as Fibiotic Pro, Advanced Probiotics, and Digestion Care are practical ways to do this in cats, dogs, rabbits, and guinea pigs, by simply adding to food to help them thrive with regularity, comfort, vitality, and overall wellbeing.