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Xan

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    Ibd - Happy Starving!

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I am the WORST pet mom! :( We've been playing the will-she-eat-today game with Happy (age 10 1/2) on and off since she came to us a couple years ago. We finally narrowed down a raft of more obvious (nasty stool, skin issues, anorexia) and blood-test-type symptoms to a presumed IBD. Okay. Got her on a grain-free venison kibble, and she did pretty well. Gained weight, good energy, usually hungry.

     

    Over the last few months, while her energy seemed alright, she's been going on more and more hunger strikes. I started fiddling with add-ons, take-it-out, warm, cold, freshly crunchy, soaked and mushy, but it just went downhill.

     

    Last week, she had eaten very little for 4 days. I took her to the vet on Monday. She's down from just over 60 lbs to 51.7. The blood tests came back indicating she's "been starving for awhile". :eek I'd open my veins for her; how could I not see it?? She's not death-camp skinny (two ribs, points of the hips), but, looking closer, you can see she's lost most of her muscle mass. :unsure Oh, and she has a raging UTI. She never complained. She never peed in the house. I missed that, too. :headbang

     

    Okay, so do anything to get her to eat, vet says. Stick with the venison; maybe find some actual venison meat. I called around, drove from store to store, and ended up with Primal raw frozen venison mix. Oddly, every fur-bearing member of the household thought it was for him/her! :lol She did eat it up, mixed with some kibble. GREAT! Two meals like that. Then a little less enthusiasm. Today she wouldn't eat at all. *sigh*

     

    She seemed to me dehydrated, depressed, not hungry. I called the vet. Bring her in for fluids and a change of antibiotics. Okay, brought her home, and got her pumped up with one bag of IV fluids (to be repeated 2x/day for three days). Added more venison to her kibble mix from this morning.

     

    Nope. Won't touch it.

     

    So, my question after this saga is, going on the possibility that the venison is not working for her any more, that beef has been fed to her in the past and is not to be trusted anymore, and that bison meat is locally available, does anyone know if bison meat and beef are far enough apart protein-wise to be a viable possibe option?

     

    Did you read all that?? :P

     

    Thanks for your help, if you have any, or for good thoughts if you don't.

    Possible Cancer In Smiley's Toe

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Ha! Missed that last update!

     

    :confetti :confetti :confetti

     

    Since it was an outside toe, his adjustment should be pretty easy. It's the center "weight-bearing" toes that are a little harder, I was told (when Brilly broke a toe that took a long time to heal).

     

    I wonder if it isn't a circulation issue that makes foot and lower leg things take so long? Especially when we have to bind them up, which must make it even harder to pump blood and lymph down and through the tissues.

     

    Anyway, great news, and I'm going to celebrate right now. What shall I do to celebrate? Hm. Something dog-appropriate. Roll in something smelly? Eat cat poop? Eviscerate a stuffy? Run around and spin like a dervish barking at the walls?

    :P

    Good thing I work at home, huh? :lol

    Drake's Healing Progress - After Mass Removal From Both Left Legs

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Congrats! That's great news that he's finally healed up. Best wishes for NO LICKY! What are you going to do with all your free time now that you won't be spending so much of it at the vets? Going to Dr. P's house for Thanksgiving? :lol

     

    Deirdre! :lol

    That's ABsolutely the best news and pictures I've seen in a long time! I'm so thrilled!

    I'm keeping the chant going for a nothing-to-see-here-let's-move-along outcome on the knee. :)

     

    Drake's foot will dry up, and get back to working order shortly. I second (or third, or wherever I come in) the sock idea. Might help toughening up the pad a bit, too, with its mildly abrasive walking surface. *shrugging* Maybe.

     

    Going to go off now and have a little spinny dance of celebration!

    Chase Episode

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Positive thoughts coming from here. Happy did a similar thing, vet said vestibular, and that was that. 2+ years later, and that was the only episode (that we saw). She recovered fully very quickly.

     

    Chanting going out that it's a one time bobble for Chase, too!

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