From:
A M
Date: 2007-06-13 17:21:47 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] getting Bear to eat and drink...
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi all-
Bear (8 years old +-, getting treatment for heart failure and kidney issues) seems to have lost his appetite and desire to drink. We've been force-feeding him various mixtures, but my main question is... can Lasix cause this decrease in appetite and thirst? He's also on Enalapril and Digoxin, under the advisement of our usual vet in Abingdon, MD and the veterinary cardiologist in Towson, MD. The only liquid we can get Bear to drink at ALL is almond milk. Now, don't shoot me or scream; there is no sugar or lactose in almond milk. (I can't eat sugar or lactose myself, which is why I had it on hand.) Bear has had no diarrhea from the almond milk at all. We just can't get him to stop grinding his teeth, and he's had Clavamox and Amoxy and gets Maalox 20 minutes before he eats. Nothing is working. Is it possibly his heart meds doing this? Or could his kidneys finally be giving up? :-/ He's still urinating just fine, by the way.
He now seems to prefer canned cat food over his former Bob Church chicken gravy. He also likes his almond milk with some Ferretone and Duk Soup powder. Etc etc. Or I should say... he fights us less when we give him these things. I can't get him to eat chicken anymore, and he used to eat that as his primary diet. Sigh.
Is there any medication I should try to help him with his appetite? The cardio vet said the Lasix might affect appetite... but this just doesn't seem to make Bear happy. He's been weak, so eating is one of the few joys he has left. Poor baby.
I'm glad he's lived this long, especially with his almost-fatal kidney crash last year... I just wish I could keep him energetic and happy until the end.
-andrea in maryland
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