Gastrointestinal (GI) cases are among the most common reasons dogs and cats present to first-opinion practice. While many resolve with straightforward management, others become far more challenging. Persistent vomiting, intermittent or chronic diarrhoea, weight loss and fluctuating clinical signs can leave clinicians questioning the most appropriate next step. 

Should you investigate further? Is a food trial warranted? Has the food trial been conducted correctly? Is endoscopy or referral necessary? 

Alongside these clinical considerations, veterinarians must often balance owner expectations, financial constraints and patient-specific factors when developing a diagnostic and treatment plan. 

Getting the basics right 

Managing chronic gastrointestinal disease successfully often depends on establishing a systematic approach. Selecting appropriate diagnostics, ruling out differential diagnoses and implementing effective dietary trials can significantly influence both diagnostic outcomes and long-term patient management. 

Food-responsive enteropathy remains one of the most common causes of chronic gastrointestinal signs in dogs and cats, yet dietary trials can be challenging to execute successfully. Compliance issues, access to suitable diets, concurrent treatments and uncertainty around interpretation can all impact results. 

For this reason, objective diagnostic information can be valuable in helping clinicians assess the likelihood of underlying gastrointestinal inflammation and determine whether additional investigations may be beneficial. 

Supporting diagnostics with objective information 

When clinical signs are non-specific or persistent, deciding on the most appropriate diagnostic pathway can be difficult. 

Faecal calprotectin is a non-invasive biomarker that provides objective evidence of gastrointestinal inflammation from a simple faecal sample. Rather than replacing clinical judgement or more advanced diagnostics, it can complement clinical assessment and routine investigations by providing additional information about intestinal inflammatory activity. 

The GIQuest device is a patient-side faecal calprotectin test designed to provide rapid information on gastrointestinal inflammation. Used alongside clinical examination and other diagnostic findings, it may help clinicians better understand the inflammatory status of a patient and support discussions with owners about further investigations or treatment options. 

In practice, objective biomarker information may help clinicians: 

• Support decisions around whether further investigation is warranted 

• Identify patients who may benefit from additional diagnostic work-ups 

• Monitor response to dietary or treatment interventions 

• Facilitate discussions with owners using objective clinical information 

• Assess gastrointestinal health during long-term case management 

Learning from real-world cases 

While guidelines and consensus statements provide valuable frameworks, chronic GI cases rarely follow a textbook pathway. 

Many clinicians have encountered patients that fail to respond as expected, cases where food trials produce inconclusive results, or situations where the most appropriate diagnostic approach is not immediately obvious. These cases often provide the greatest learning opportunities. 

Understanding how experienced clinicians approach challenging patients, select diagnostics, assess dietary interventions and adapt their management plans can provide valuable insights that translate directly into everyday practice. 

Join the discussion 

To explore these challenges further, Carus Animal Health has partnered with The Webinar Vet and The Chatty Vets Podcast to present a practical CPD webinar: 

Confessions of a GP Vet: The Chronic GI Cases That Keep Us Awake at Night 

Hosted by small animal vets Dr Brendan Ruban Williams and Dr Charlotte Griffin, this webinar will explore genuine chronic GI cases encountered in first-opinion practice. Through practical case discussions, attendees will examine approaches to selecting appropriate diagnostics, running more effective food trials and managing persistent gastrointestinal signs in dogs and cats. 

The speakers will share lessons learned from real-world cases, discuss common pitfalls that can delay diagnosis or treatment success, and explore how tools such as faecal calprotectin testing can support clinical decision-making throughout the diagnostic journey. 

Whether you're looking to refine your approach to chronic enteropathy, improve the success of dietary trials or gain confidence managing persistent GI cases, this webinar will provide practical advice that can be applied immediately in practice. 

Register today 

Join Carus Animal Health, The Webinar Vet and The Chatty Vets Podcast to discover practical approaches to diagnosing and managing chronic gastrointestinal disease in dogs and cats.