What is Faecal Testing?

Dogs and cats are not just pets. They are members of the family. Just like any member of your family, it is important to keep your furry friend healthy and free of parasites.

It is very common for dogs and cats to be infected with internal or external parasites during their lifetime. Parasites can affect your pet in a variety of ways, ranging from simple irritation to causing life-threatening conditions if left untreated. Some parasites can even infect and transmit diseases to you and your family.

We can help prevent, accurately diagnose and safely treat parasites and other health problems that not only affect your dog or cat, but also threaten the health of you and your family. 

Faecal testing allows us to determine if intestinal parasites are in your dog or cat, such as roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, coccidia, giardia, campylobacter, salmonella, and cryptosporidium among others.

Intestinal parasites live and hide in your pet’s gastrointestinal tract.  Therefore, the only way to detect the presence of intestinal parasites and identify them is by performing faecal testing.

What is involved in faecal testing?

1. We will give you a faecal sample pot to collect a sample.

2. The sample will be sent to an external pathology laboratory for a Diarrhoea Real PCR Panel. These results can take up to 5 days.

3. Once we receive these results, the vet will discuss the appropriate treatment and plan.

We recently saw a gorgeous 6 month old Labrador called Polly for Diarrhoea. Polly was well within herself and had no blood in her diarrhoea. Given her symptoms were mild, Polly’s family decided to trial Pro-Kolin Paste before further testing. Pro-Kolin is a highly palatable beef flavoured paste formulation containing beneficial bacteria to help with digestive upsets in both cats and dogs. 

We advised Polly’s owner to consider faecal testing if the diarrhoea was not resolving within 24 hours. The following day Polly’s dad brought in a fresh faecal sample. It was sent off for a Diarrhoea PCR Panel.

Polly’s results were positive for coccidia, giardia, circovirus and campylobacter. The appropriate medications were dispensed and we will recheck another faecal sample in 2 weeks to ensure the concerning infections have resolved. Once the medications are finished, it is important that Polly take a course of probiotics to help support her gut health going forward. In addition to faecal testing, X-ray and ultrasound may be used to investigate gastrointestinal issues further.

Here at Allambie, we see and treat many gastrointestinal cases that are linked to parasites. Some pets can even have diarrhoea for months. Faecal Testing is extremely important and we recommend discussing this with your vet if your pet experiences either sudden or ongoing diarrhoea.