Eating His Weight In Food, But Keeps On Losing

[Guest BooMooandDoo]

Old Man Tuck just turned 11, but has always had issues keeping weight on. He should weigh 65 lbs, but in the 8 1/2 years he's been with me, he has very rarely reached that weight.

 

About 3 years ago he was diagnosed with IBD and we've been controlling it with limited protein source home made raw. He's done really well, his energy level was high, his appetite hearty, his weight good, and overall he was doing really well for an old man.

 

2 months ago he started vomiting on a regular basis, and after consulting with a vet and taking in a stool sample, the vet suggested that he may be developing an intolerance to the proteins we had been feeding, which consisted of mainly beef and pork.

 

We switched him to Vension and Rabbit premade raw with limited ingredients. He's been eating like a champ and stopped vomiting. The only problem is. . .he's RAVENOUSLY hungry, begs for food all day, and is now looks like a skeleton. We've been feeding him twice the amount he should be getting. . . he's eating the same amount of a 100 lb dog. . .and I think he's teatering around 52-55 lbs.

 

I have him on the Honest Kitchen Perfect Form bowel supplement, salmon oil, a probiotic, and joint supplement.

 

Does anyone have any ideas of what I can do with his limited diet to help put on weight but not break the bank. The amount of food he's eating is already costing me an arm and leg even at wholesale.

 

Does this sound like anything anyone has experienced? What in the world could be causing him to eat like a pig and continue to lose???

[Guest BlackandBrindle]

He's losing weight, but how is the texture of his fur and general things like that?

 

I'm wondering if he's not absorbing nutrients from the food. I know that was something the doctors were worried about with me, and it's consistent with diseases like IBD.

 

What are the things he can't have?

[Bevd]

Some of those symptoms sound similar to Cushings.

[Guest LindsaySF]

I would have him tested for metabolic disorders, but also test a stool sample for parasites and bacteria.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

I am not sure if this will help much, but my male feline of 16yrs has IBD. We are treating him with Prednisilone (not to be confused with prednisone). He was puking and had BAD diarreah (SP) for a while before we put him on the pred, he lost over 1/2 his body weight in under 6 months. My wife and I were ready to make the tough decision when we got fed up with our regular vet and went to a different one. She put our little kitty on the pred, and he has almost put all the weight back on, has a RAVENOUS appatite as well. I am not sure of how greys react to the stereoid, or if you dont want to put your guy on it, but it did solve the puking, and helped to put weight on my kitty. I wish you the best, its a terrible feeling to watch your loved one wither away.

[Guest BigPercyInMa]

My son ate like there was no tomorrow and still lost weight. He was also very tired and vomited sometimes. Come to find out he had type 1 Diabetes. Just wanted to throw that out there for you ....

 

I hope you can find out what's wrong with your boy

[Batmom]

Check for pancreatic insufficiency. Usually you'd see other symptoms, but not always.

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

IBD can prevent the nutrients and calories from being absorbed.

 

Morgan recently had the pancreatic insufficiency test that Batmom suggested. It's a simple fasting blood test.

[Guest mandm]

Venison & rabbit are a lot leaner than beef & pork. I'd think you have to feed more to account for the missing fat. Maybe it was the fat in the previous diet, not the protein sources, that was upsetting his stomach.

 

My 85# male greyhound is rawfed. He also has GI problems that require a lean diet. It's expensive. That's why I only keep one dog. He eats 2.5#-3# per day in summer and 3.5#-3.75# per day in winter. Unfortunately, where we live, winter is a whole lot longer than summer.

 

I feed mine a lot of rabbit because he does so well on it. I buy whole, dressed rabbits wholesale. Depending on where you live, you could see if there are any breeders that could supply you. You could probably buy the culls (the smaller and older, larger rabbits that humans do not want to eat) for a discount. And to get venison cheaply, well, hunting season is just around the corner.

[Remolacha]

I agree with the others about doing some testing. If he's been doing well, and things have suddenly changed, there's a reason. I hope it turns out to be something easy to treat!

[Guest MeAndMyDog]

This may sound basic, but when was the last time his thyroid was checked? Hyperthyroid can cause those symptoms.

[Greytlady94]

Has his blood been checked for vitamin deficiency? My Renie has IBD and she has to take B12 shots. She had one a week for six weeks and we are now on every other week for 6 weeks then will go to 1 a month. Of course her blood is retested at the end of each 6 week period.