Naga is 5 years and 8 months old. It’s so scary, because she is on an anti-flea and tick but still got it (I am admittedly a little lax with it though since she only goes in our yard/on neighborhood sidewalks and gets frequent brushes - but never again will I be lax!).
As one would expect, we’re looking at a month of Doxycycline. Vet also gave her a few days worth of Gabapentin. We’re 5 days into both, and thankfully she’s in high spirits. I brought her in because she was acting arthritic and her appetite was diminishing - though not gone. Unfortunately both medicines seem to have obliterated her appetite, and after the initial vet visit/IVs I was having trouble getting her to eat or drink. The pills also seemed way too big for her but here’s what I’ve learned/done so far.
Day One: The pills were too big for a pill pocket and I thought too big for her to swallow; so I crushed and mixed them in some PB. Worked, but now she’s suspicious of PB. The medicine and stress of the vet visit gave her diarrhea. She was still nibbling at her kibble at best. I tried pouring some warm water and chicken broth in there to soften it but she turned her nose up at it. I also wanted to soothe her stomach anyway so I switched to rice with a little chicken and pumpkin. Naga inhaled this and I got excited as the vet said her eating and drinking as much as possible was imperative so I let her have as much as she wanted - unfortunately this indulgence made her vomit at 3 AM that night but not too much so I still think it was a net gain.
Day Two: Now she was wary of the above mixture and was less keen on water, so she got all wet food that day which she loved…that day. She vomited a little the next early morning, so I only gave her one gabapentin each day after - prepared to give more if she seems to need it or her gastrointestinal symptoms improve . She still drank plenty and was in a great mood, no more limping. Still interested in treats and other ‘fun’ food but no longer touching her kibble unless I hid wet food under it. No more diarrhea but definitely pooping less which had me anxious.
Day Three: Hid medicine in pumpkin this time. Now she doesn’t trust pumpkin. Her gums looked kind of pale so with my vet’s go ahead I started very gently syringe (10mL) feeding her water. I would put the spout in her cheek and squirt a little at a time. She didn’t fall for some diluted chicken broth and doesn’t care for ice so I got creative and started filling the syringe and squirting it into her bowl, encouraging her to ‘bite’ the water like she does with the hose. I had to do this throughout the night but got her gums looking normal again. Managed to get her to eat a tiny bit of kibble by hiding cheese (always at least 3 hours apart from doxy) under it. Eventually got her to drink a little on her own by putting different bowls in other rooms. No vomiting this day. Didn’t catch her pooping but my husband let her out half the time and didn’t check.
Day 4: Hunger strike? No longer interested in wet food - at most she’d lick the broth but didn’t want to chew the chicken, rice, or veggies. I tried heating it but she didn’t care. This day was really rough, her mood was still good and pain wasn’t evident but she would not eat or drink for anything. I was worried crushing the doxycycline was irritating her GI tract (no real reason just the huge unwillingness to eat, and would drink very sporadically at best - I had to do the above trick which was getting less effective, and the rest of the time had to fill her cheeks with water). I was a tiny bit suspicious because she actually seems to like the attention and was very cooperative with the syringe but it was just too slow. With vet’s okay, started gently force feeding her with a 30mL syringe. Her wet food was too chunky to fit though so I made my own; a few cups of her food soaked in 3 parts boiling water to one part chicken broth (enough to cover + an inch). In a separate bowl, melted a couple tbsp of peanut butter. Mixed this with fish oil, a scrambled egg, and a few tbps pumpkin purée (no shells to minimize calcium + doxycycline contact). I put it all through a food processor for a long time. She happily ate a little of this but then got bored. I actually didn’t really have to use the syringe much; it was the consistency of peanut butter but grainy so I scraped a little on the roof of her mouth several times and she ate it just fine - but I added more water to it after this since I worried the paste like texture would dehydrate her as I couldn’t get her to drink for anything. I stayed up all night worrying about her dehydration level but let her sleep. No vomiting. Husband didn’t see if she pooped.
Day 5: Learned she CAN take the capsule just fine. I was hesitant to mix doxy with dairy but was given the go ahead by a vet tech and kneaded some cheese around each pill. For some reason she’d eat the purée I made the night before but NOT out of a bowl. From my hand or from the floor after dropping bits ONLY. And even then they couldn’t be too big or small. Tried to recreate the floor by dropping bits on a plate but this reportedly didn’t work once I left. I had to work today but got her to eat this way and drink a bit with the above ‘hose’ trick. My husband worked from home but thinks she’s acting this way because I’m being weird (true) and/or spoiling her (maybe). I got a bit annoyed with him because he wouldn’t follow any of my instructions - to be fair he was trying his own ideas, but they were similar to things I had already done that stopped working - so she didn’t eat or drink much which drove me crazier than I already was at work. When I got home, her gums were pale again and I was not playing around any more! I spent an hour giving her about 45 mL of water drop by drop. Then I learned she’d drink out of my palm! Got her to drink several tablespoons of water this way - which seemed to kick start her appetite! Hurray! She ate some of the food my husband had made that she hadn’t touched all day - but for some reason still insisted on taking it out of the bowl and eating it on the floor.
I made her a ‘soup’ in yet another different kind of bowl from water + broth + a few tablespoons of my above mixture. I had to pique her interest by stirring it up in front of her like I was thinking of eating it. She slurped down nearly a whole bowl. I rewarded her with some light playtime and her gums are nice and pink again.
I’m giving her an hour or two to let her tummy rest but I’m feeling a little less spastic now. She’s going for a check in on her kidney levels to the vet tomorrow. If they’re not good she’s going to need overnight care for a few days which I’m hoping to avoid (but it would be reassuring knowing she’s getting consistent care). If not I’ll ask for an anti nausea or appetite stimulant. I’m also going to ask about a probiotic.
I’ll keep everyone posted. If you have any other weird tricks in case the above stop working, please let me know. She wants a whole new song and dance each day!
As one would expect, we’re looking at a month of Doxycycline. Vet also gave her a few days worth of Gabapentin. We’re 5 days into both, and thankfully she’s in high spirits. I brought her in because she was acting arthritic and her appetite was diminishing - though not gone. Unfortunately both medicines seem to have obliterated her appetite, and after the initial vet visit/IVs I was having trouble getting her to eat or drink. The pills also seemed way too big for her but here’s what I’ve learned/done so far.
Day One: The pills were too big for a pill pocket and I thought too big for her to swallow; so I crushed and mixed them in some PB. Worked, but now she’s suspicious of PB. The medicine and stress of the vet visit gave her diarrhea. She was still nibbling at her kibble at best. I tried pouring some warm water and chicken broth in there to soften it but she turned her nose up at it. I also wanted to soothe her stomach anyway so I switched to rice with a little chicken and pumpkin. Naga inhaled this and I got excited as the vet said her eating and drinking as much as possible was imperative so I let her have as much as she wanted - unfortunately this indulgence made her vomit at 3 AM that night but not too much so I still think it was a net gain.
Day Two: Now she was wary of the above mixture and was less keen on water, so she got all wet food that day which she loved…that day. She vomited a little the next early morning, so I only gave her one gabapentin each day after - prepared to give more if she seems to need it or her gastrointestinal symptoms improve . She still drank plenty and was in a great mood, no more limping. Still interested in treats and other ‘fun’ food but no longer touching her kibble unless I hid wet food under it. No more diarrhea but definitely pooping less which had me anxious.
Day Three: Hid medicine in pumpkin this time. Now she doesn’t trust pumpkin. Her gums looked kind of pale so with my vet’s go ahead I started very gently syringe (10mL) feeding her water. I would put the spout in her cheek and squirt a little at a time. She didn’t fall for some diluted chicken broth and doesn’t care for ice so I got creative and started filling the syringe and squirting it into her bowl, encouraging her to ‘bite’ the water like she does with the hose. I had to do this throughout the night but got her gums looking normal again. Managed to get her to eat a tiny bit of kibble by hiding cheese (always at least 3 hours apart from doxy) under it. Eventually got her to drink a little on her own by putting different bowls in other rooms. No vomiting this day. Didn’t catch her pooping but my husband let her out half the time and didn’t check.
Day 4: Hunger strike? No longer interested in wet food - at most she’d lick the broth but didn’t want to chew the chicken, rice, or veggies. I tried heating it but she didn’t care. This day was really rough, her mood was still good and pain wasn’t evident but she would not eat or drink for anything. I was worried crushing the doxycycline was irritating her GI tract (no real reason just the huge unwillingness to eat, and would drink very sporadically at best - I had to do the above trick which was getting less effective, and the rest of the time had to fill her cheeks with water). I was a tiny bit suspicious because she actually seems to like the attention and was very cooperative with the syringe but it was just too slow. With vet’s okay, started gently force feeding her with a 30mL syringe. Her wet food was too chunky to fit though so I made my own; a few cups of her food soaked in 3 parts boiling water to one part chicken broth (enough to cover + an inch). In a separate bowl, melted a couple tbsp of peanut butter. Mixed this with fish oil, a scrambled egg, and a few tbps pumpkin purée (no shells to minimize calcium + doxycycline contact). I put it all through a food processor for a long time. She happily ate a little of this but then got bored. I actually didn’t really have to use the syringe much; it was the consistency of peanut butter but grainy so I scraped a little on the roof of her mouth several times and she ate it just fine - but I added more water to it after this since I worried the paste like texture would dehydrate her as I couldn’t get her to drink for anything. I stayed up all night worrying about her dehydration level but let her sleep. No vomiting. Husband didn’t see if she pooped.
Day 5: Learned she CAN take the capsule just fine. I was hesitant to mix doxy with dairy but was given the go ahead by a vet tech and kneaded some cheese around each pill. For some reason she’d eat the purée I made the night before but NOT out of a bowl. From my hand or from the floor after dropping bits ONLY. And even then they couldn’t be too big or small. Tried to recreate the floor by dropping bits on a plate but this reportedly didn’t work once I left. I had to work today but got her to eat this way and drink a bit with the above ‘hose’ trick. My husband worked from home but thinks she’s acting this way because I’m being weird (true) and/or spoiling her (maybe). I got a bit annoyed with him because he wouldn’t follow any of my instructions - to be fair he was trying his own ideas, but they were similar to things I had already done that stopped working - so she didn’t eat or drink much which drove me crazier than I already was at work. When I got home, her gums were pale again and I was not playing around any more! I spent an hour giving her about 45 mL of water drop by drop. Then I learned she’d drink out of my palm! Got her to drink several tablespoons of water this way - which seemed to kick start her appetite! Hurray! She ate some of the food my husband had made that she hadn’t touched all day - but for some reason still insisted on taking it out of the bowl and eating it on the floor.
I made her a ‘soup’ in yet another different kind of bowl from water + broth + a few tablespoons of my above mixture. I had to pique her interest by stirring it up in front of her like I was thinking of eating it. She slurped down nearly a whole bowl. I rewarded her with some light playtime and her gums are nice and pink again.
I’m giving her an hour or two to let her tummy rest but I’m feeling a little less spastic now. She’s going for a check in on her kidney levels to the vet tomorrow. If they’re not good she’s going to need overnight care for a few days which I’m hoping to avoid (but it would be reassuring knowing she’s getting consistent care). If not I’ll ask for an anti nausea or appetite stimulant. I’m also going to ask about a probiotic.
I’ll keep everyone posted. If you have any other weird tricks in case the above stop working, please let me know. She wants a whole new song and dance each day!
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Hopefully the test results come soon at least. No carsickness, though which is always lucky as she’s prone to it. She drank/ate more of the ‘soup’ when we got home - she seems to love it again so there’s that! She’s a little mopey from the vet but her gums still look good. She has so much fur I can’t really do the pinch trick to check her hydration that way.