Quick backstory: my tap water has a pH of around 5.8. I've always filtered it with a PUR filter for Katy, but only recently discovered the acidic pH. I began adjusting it with baking soda, and soon after I found that Katy was having a hard time standing up. After posting on here, it was quickly brought to my attention that I was adding a TON of sodium to her water! On Tuesday I switched her back to filtered tap water, and she quickly went back to normal. On Wednesday I began giving her distilled bottled water with a pH of 7.0 and no additives in the list of ingredients.
But for a little while, she's been snubbing her breakfast. She's always eaten it with gusto, but lately she sniffs it and just walks away. I've been able to get her to eat it by sprinkling treat crumbs on top, or sometimes spoon feeding her a little until she sparks interest, or sometimes just waiting and she'll eat eventually. She's been eating her dinner normally, though, and still wants ALL of her treats (both hard and soft)! I honestly don't know if this problem began before or after I started doctoring her water.
So.
Friday, everything seemed good but I THINK that I forgot to give her the Galliprant at dinner. I wasn't sure if it had any value anyway, but she definitely seemed to be in more pain that evening!
We always play a little at 10pm, mostly be swinging her toy around while she barks and then, eventually, I toss it across the room for her to bring back. We always do 3 rounds of this, then she gets treats and brushed.
All seemed good, but in the middle of the third round she was barking and then just... stopped. She was panting a little (not unusual since we'd been playing, but could have been in pain) and paced around me 3 times, almost giving me a heart attack thinking she'd had a stroke!! But I stopped her and brought her in close, and she seemed just fine.
After that, though, she rarely barks at all, and hasn't wanted to play at 10pm like usual. She'll bark sometimes, but only a few times before she stops.
I've inspected her closely, pushing firmly on her ribs, stomach, and trachea. She hasn't had any reactions to any of that, so I don't think that I'm dealing with a broken bone or anything.
Everything I'm finding online sounds major, like cancer (of course), but that seems unlikely since she was mid-bark when she stopped.
My next thought would be stomach discomfort or an ulcer in her mouth or throat (either potentially caused by the baking soda), but there's no bloody saliva or bloody stool. And no diarrhea. Everything on the back end (haha) seems normal. But stomach upset or an ulcer would explain her lack of interest in eating her breakfast.
My vet doesn't do emergency visits, so I can call tomorrow and PROBABLY get her in on Friday. That's a long time to worry, though! Especially if there's a simple solution that I'm overlooking.
What do you think? Any suggestions beyond stomach upset, ulcer, or (gulp) cancer?
But for a little while, she's been snubbing her breakfast. She's always eaten it with gusto, but lately she sniffs it and just walks away. I've been able to get her to eat it by sprinkling treat crumbs on top, or sometimes spoon feeding her a little until she sparks interest, or sometimes just waiting and she'll eat eventually. She's been eating her dinner normally, though, and still wants ALL of her treats (both hard and soft)! I honestly don't know if this problem began before or after I started doctoring her water.
So.
Friday, everything seemed good but I THINK that I forgot to give her the Galliprant at dinner. I wasn't sure if it had any value anyway, but she definitely seemed to be in more pain that evening!
We always play a little at 10pm, mostly be swinging her toy around while she barks and then, eventually, I toss it across the room for her to bring back. We always do 3 rounds of this, then she gets treats and brushed.
All seemed good, but in the middle of the third round she was barking and then just... stopped. She was panting a little (not unusual since we'd been playing, but could have been in pain) and paced around me 3 times, almost giving me a heart attack thinking she'd had a stroke!! But I stopped her and brought her in close, and she seemed just fine.
After that, though, she rarely barks at all, and hasn't wanted to play at 10pm like usual. She'll bark sometimes, but only a few times before she stops.
I've inspected her closely, pushing firmly on her ribs, stomach, and trachea. She hasn't had any reactions to any of that, so I don't think that I'm dealing with a broken bone or anything.
Everything I'm finding online sounds major, like cancer (of course), but that seems unlikely since she was mid-bark when she stopped.
My next thought would be stomach discomfort or an ulcer in her mouth or throat (either potentially caused by the baking soda), but there's no bloody saliva or bloody stool. And no diarrhea. Everything on the back end (haha) seems normal. But stomach upset or an ulcer would explain her lack of interest in eating her breakfast.
My vet doesn't do emergency visits, so I can call tomorrow and PROBABLY get her in on Friday. That's a long time to worry, though! Especially if there's a simple solution that I'm overlooking.
What do you think? Any suggestions beyond stomach upset, ulcer, or (gulp) cancer?
) yourself, its hard to imagine how much it affects your life. 
