From The Diet Thread To H&m - Kebo's Poor Appetite

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Kebo hasn't been eating well for a while.

We got him a new kibble that he loved for like 3 days then he was back to sniff, lick, walk away.

DH and I had separate business trips at the end of January and our long-time pet sitter had a personal breakdown so we had our backup pet sitters and some work friends take care of the kids while we were away.

This led to a bout of stress colitis in BOTH Kebo and Tiel.

Tiel actually had some blood in her stool so when I called the vet on a Friday afternoon they said they would see her right away. I asked if I should bring Kebo also and after a long pause they said I could just bring some stool (they know he hates the car).

 

We saw my last-choice vet whom we have never seen before and was not overly friendly but did an appropriate workup and agreed it was stress colitis based on the lack of parasites in both stool samples and on the elevated clostridium perferingens (sp?) count in Tiel's sample. He gave me a prescription for flagyl for Tiel but not for Kebo because he hadn't been able to examine him (um...I did ask and we were literally just there 2 weeks ago for a routine well visit). I understand and would probably do the same for a human patient so I left with my 5-days of flagyl and fortiflora. Somehow I did manage to get flagyl for Kebo (please don't judge) so they both completed a 5 day course and both stools firmed up. My work schedule got a little more regular and he was eating a little better.

 

For the past two weeks it has been a challenge to even get a cup of food into him (he eats 4 cups a day). I took him to get weighed last week and he was up 3 pounds. We were using low-sodium chicken broth to entice him to eat so I stopped that in case the little bit of salt in it was causing water retention. The acupuncture vet has been twice and both times has treated appetite points. She did a thorough exam of his abdomen and couldn't appreciate any fluid. I made an appointment for him to see our vet Saturday am and emailed her to make sure I wasn't being an overreactive owner. She agreed we should come.

 

This week I started adding some canned food to his kibble and man did he like that. I was reluctant because when he needed a soft diet after his maxillectomy and we gave him canned it gave him the runs. He had some soft stools yesterday but today I came home to multiple piles of vomit. He is drinking water and his mucous membranes are moist. I told the vet that I still had some "contraband" flagyl and she said to go ahead and start it up again.

 

I'm really worried. His CBC and BMP have been okay but we haven't checked liver or pancreas. He has had several cancers and I wonder if something has spread to his abdomen. If you can spare a good thought for our sweet boy we would appreciate it. He turned 12 2 weeks ago and it seems that every birthday brings some new medical adventure.

 

Thanks again for listening to me ramble.

[LuvEarsies]

Sending good thoughts for Kebo (and you).

[Guest LazyBlaze]

Good wishes headed in your direction. I hope it turns out to be something minor. Hugs to your gent Kebo.

[sweetdogs]

Very best wishes for handsome Kebo.

[tbhounds]

Ugh--I think its time for Kebo to have a series of radiographs +/- an abdominal ultrasound.

[Guest sireltonsmom]

Caring thoughts for Kebo. He's had more than his share of problems, sweet boy. I sent a copy of your posting to Nancy Faris as I was sure she'd want to send you good thoughts too. It sure sounds like you're doing all you can to keep him well and comfy. When Sir Elton wasn't eating much his vet added Tramadol and we fed him mac and cheese with hamburg cooked in it. He ate that well for quite some time. I didn't add salt cooking the noodles. There's enough in packaged foods anyway. Mac n cheese can be homemade to control that as well. Good luck and please keep us in the loop of his journey.

 

Ginny who is owned by Mindy (RDRP) and Beau (prison trained grey).

[Batmom]

Sending best thoughts for your boy.

[greytpups]

Poor Kebo...I hope it's nothing serious this time...he really deserves a break from his medical issues

[Remolacha]

I know how stressful this is (for you!) I hope the vet is able to get some answers. I think I would ask for x-rays and maybe an ultrasound as well.

[Charlies_Dad]

Good thoughts for Kebo. I hope it's nothing serious

[duncan41]

Poor guy! I sure hope someone can find an answer to his tummy ache.

[FiveRoooooers]

Given Kebo's inappetance yet willingness to try soft foods, I wonder if there isn't something new going on in his mouth.

 

Our fallback here for loose poo / diarrhea is Tylan, have you discussed that treatment with your vet?

 

Good luck and good thoughts for Kebo to feel better.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Ugh--I think its time for Kebo to have a series of radiographs +/- an abdominal ultrasound.

 

This is what I am thinking too. Our vet is so sweet. She sent the most reassuring email saying "we'll palpate, listen, and probe everything and then go from there."

 

I sent a copy of your posting to Nancy Faris

 

Thanks Ginny - she is so special to us.

 

 

Given Kebo's inappetance yet willingness to try soft foods, I wonder if there isn't something new going on in his mouth.

 

Our fallback here for loose poo / diarrhea is Tylan, have you discussed that treatment with your vet?

 

Good luck and good thoughts for Kebo to feel better.

 

His mouth seems the most obvious culprit to me as well but the kibble we have been feeding is the size of lentil beans and is soaked until it is very soft. We will definitely have her look that over though. Haven't talked about Tylan - the poo firmed up a few weeks ago with flagyl and we are adding fortiflora.

 

The good news is that he ate all of his dinner last night and all of his dinner this morning - brown rice, chicken, and cooked sweet potato. How I hope it is just that he has become a grumpy old man...

[Charlies_Dad]

Glad he ate his dinner and breakfast. I hope he did the same last night and this morning. More good thoughts for sweet Kebo.

[LuvEarsies]

Awwwww, Kebo keep up the eating, it's good for you <3

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Sat 3/1 update:

 

He has eaten all of his breakfast and lunch for 2 days now. rice, chicken, and sweet potato. He is on day 3 of flagyl.

We saw the vet this morning. He is down 2.5 pounds from January. She agrees that something is "off" but nothing apparent on physical exam.

Plan is to start homemade diet (she gave me some recipes and resources - I'll pop over to dietary thread for more advice I'm sure.

Will complete 7 days of flagyl.

If he isn't doing better the plan is an empiric course of panacur and/or abdominal ultrasound.

We can also restart the "supple spine" supplement for his back that the acupuncture vet gave us - just taper up slowly.

He was great getting into the car today which was quite unusual. Think he knew that he needed checking out.

 

He is happily asleep on his chair as we speak. Fingers crossed...

[greytpups]

wtg Kebo...please keep us posted on his progress. sending good thoughts for Kebo

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Kebo has been eating pretty well over the last couple of days. He cleaned his bowl at dinner last night. This morning I was able to start with a stew one of my GH friends recommended (it took 12 hours to soak the grain and 12 hours to cook). He got 1 cup of softened kibble mixed with 1 cup of the stew. He finished 3/4 of it. Will offer the rest later after morning turnout. He is definitely interested in eating at mealtime and waits in the kitchen for me to finish mixing up his food. Much better than the temperamental old man he appeared to be a few weeks ago.

[tbhounds]

Good boy Kebo :-)

[Remolacha]

that is great news! hopefully, whatever was causing him to not eat wasn't serious and has been "cured" by his new diet

[gracegirl]

I saw you mentioned fortiflora earlier. I wanted to note that for some unknown reason, this actually makes Fenway's issues worse. I've "tested" it twice to be sure fortiflora is the culprit. It is.

 

I hope Kebo continues to eat well.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

I saw you mentioned fortiflora earlier. I wanted to note that for some unknown reason, this actually makes Fenway's issues worse. I've "tested" it twice to be sure fortiflora is the culprit. It is.

 

I hope Kebo continues to eat well.

 

Good point. According to the log I have been keeping he has really had appetite problems since August. The fortiflora was a recent addition over the last few weeks. I will definitely keep an eye on it. I plan to stop it after a few weeks and just use the Nupro supplement which has its own probiotics.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Kebo is slowly becoming a member of the clean bowl club again I noticed that he ate for me and not for DH but then realized that DH wasn't using the Kebo-approved ratio of stew to kibble. He had another acupuncture treatment today and the vet thought his low back felt a little looser to her. I will try to get him to the vet for a weight check next week and see where we are. He came upstairs the other day to let me know that I was 10 minutes late for dinner. I am very happy to see him both excited about food and eating again.

[LuvEarsies]

Great update! Kisses to Kebo, he's my GT crush. How about some pictures of your sweet boy?

[Charlies_Dad]

That is excellent news!!! I second pics of your beautiful boy.