If you notice Fido moping about, you may attribute his behavior to a number of causes…
That bed you bought wasn’t comfortable enough.
It’s just a rainy day.
He missed you because you traveled all day yesterday.
Before you get an inflated notion that Fido gets depressed when he can’t be with you every second, I want to tell you it may be something very different.
If your cat or dog is depressed, it may be because he or she doesn’t have a healthy gut.
We’ve already talked about how a healthy gut helps your pet’s chronic urinary tract infections.
But what you may not know is that helping your furry friend’s digestive system can actually remove
doggy or kitty depression.
Why the Gut Is Connected to the Brain
If you’re wondering how I’m drawing a connection between Fluffy’s digestive system and Fluffy’s brilliant brain, let me back up a bit.
In humans, our gut flora produces 90% of our neurotransmitters. (In case you’re wondering, neurotransmitters are chemicals found in your brain.) That means that the digestive tract is directly connected to Fluffy’s mind.
Surprising, right? Yes, Fido may miss you.
But he may miss you even more if he doesn’t have the right flora in his gut. To better understand this connection, let’s look at a recently published journal article.
How Gut Health Affects Pet Behavior
We have the ability to understand our precious pets a little bit better with some scientific research. In June, Molecular Psychiatry released a study that sheds some light on gut health.
The focus of the research was on the connection between gut flora and major depressive disorder (MDD).
As this article in the New England Journal of Medicine explains, the study involved transplanting the microbiota of individuals with depression to mice, and the result was that the mice began to show signs of depression.
Implications for Your Pet
This study provides a starting point for you to deal with your beloved cat or dog’s depression.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that Precious no longer plays with her favorite ribbon. Or maybe Sam no longer wants to drag you around the park on his leash.
There is something that you can do about it. A study like this shows that you may be able to reverse your pet’s blues by helping him or her to have a healthy gut.
The key to transforming your pet’s digestive system is to change what goes into his or her bowl.
If you’re feeding your cat or dog conventional dry pet food, you are likely contributing to your pet’s abnormal gut flora.
Many times, seemingly healthy chow is only inflammatory because it contains ingredients that attack your pet’s digestive tract.
If you’re wondering what some of these ingredients could be, think corn and wheat. Feeding your dog or cat foods with these ingredients can actually bring harm to your pet.
Your dog was not made to live on corn. And neither was your cat.
In fact, your cat is going to have a very difficult time eating a carbohydrate-filled formula. Your precious kitty is a carnivore, but you’ll still find cat foods that rely on rice and corn.
In the end, your typical cat or dog diet makes it harder for your pet to have a healthy, functioning digestive tract. But this is not the end of the story.
Instead, you can make changes by feeding your pet human food that actually helps your furry friend. (Yes, you read that right. Click on that link to see what I’m talking about.)
To understand how to revolutionize your pet’s eating habits (which will heal his or her gut), read my free report 5 Facts Every Pet Owner Needs to Know about Dog and Cat Food.
This free download will enlighten you to some startling facts about pet formulas that line your local pet store aisle. You’ll walk away armed with information to care for your beloved pet.
Access this free report, and understand the health risks of Fido and Fluffy eating conventional pet food.
