Good-ish update on my Katy!

[Margi]

The denamarin is so big you have to create something guaranteed to be gulped...so far so good with the meatball...
Ann have you tried braunschweiger? It was a big hit with one of the past boys that hated pills. I think the extra strong smell helped.

 

[Jason_C]

A trick that worked for Bane was to take two somewhat thin banana slices, put the pill on top of one, and sorta mash the other one on top. He would eat the banana when he wouldn't eat anything else, and it would slide down fast.

Katy has always loved frozen bananas, but spat them out tonight! That was a first. She's been eating a little better today (and playing more) so she seems to be improving, but spitting out frozen bananas? Inconceivable!!

 

[Piper's mom]

Pills what a nightmare. I 've learned to force their mouth open and place the pill in the back of their throat like the vets do - it worked on most of my dogs but I have a girl now that will not swallow the pill no matter what- she is a stubborn cuss-- I have tried wrapping it in bacon (she quickly separates the bacon for the pill), butter on the pill, peanut butter etc etc etc.. Good luck may the force be with you...

Blueberry won’t take her heartworm pill…the only one who doesn’t scarf it down! With her I’ve popped it down her throat no problem! Finnie I’m lucky he’ll take a pill with food because he’s got with too long a snout or is just good at getting out of it because I can’t give him that way. And Piper with only 1/2 a jaw is impossible to pop a pill down his throat. It has to be liquid or powder I can mix with yogurt.
Every dog presents it’s own issues!

 

[Piper's mom]

The denamarin is so big you have to create something guaranteed to be gulped...so far so good with the meatball...
Ann have you tried braunschweiger? It was a big hit with one of the past boys that hated pills. I think the extra strong smell helped.

I’d made meatballs with almond flour and almond butter…I made them as a pill popper (once refrigerated you take a straw and push it through creating the space for the pill). I made them when Piper had his surgery not understanding the difficulty I’d have giving him a pill that way so they ended up being dog treats but they would’ve worked great for pills had I needed them. The Forever Dog Life has several recipes for pill poppers. If you want the recipes I can send them to you.

 

[Piper's mom]

I have a similar problem with getting pills into Lacey, who's in early stage kidney failure and on lots of meds. When the pill pockets, peanut butter, yogurt, cheese and baby food (last resort that always works) stopped working even on the chewables, I got a large pill crusher. I crush her pills and put the powder in freeze-dried food I rehydrate for her dinner. It's Grandma Lucy's Artisian on Chewy. It's the only way I've been able to get her meds into her. It's not kidney food, but my vet OKed it.

My biggest problem is her Denamarin for the liver. It's supposed to be given on an empty stomach and I've tried both the chewables and the regular pills and there is no way she'll eat it in any form. I've had to resort to crushing it and adding it with the others to her freeze-dried dinner and hope she gets enough benefit from it.

It's a challenge, I sympathize!

Have you tried the syringe type pill thing that helps you get it to the back of their throat? I’d bought one at a pet store and seen them at my vet’s. It didn’t work with Piper (but that is because of his jaw) but might help to get a big pill to the back of their throat without you losing a finger!

 

[woof]

I finally resorted to wrapping the dang pill in a slice of ham and sealed it and she actually managed to extract said pill from the ham and I don't need to tell you what she ate!!!

I know so well-----My little girl is Houdini at unwapping the pill from whatever, even licks off the peanut butter then spits out the pill- she is a very very picky eater overall.. I have to shred her nextguard into powder and then smash it into wet dog food, make a soup out of that mixed with some dry dog food and even then it may take her two meals to finish it.. As an aside on part of this she is also the one the licks the bump growing on our cats head and she is the one that finds all the boo boos on me. Maybe she has a super sense of smell and taste?? If she really gets interested in a spot on my arm I am calling the doctor. She is also the one who tries forever to get my watch and fitbit off my arm because they clearly do not belong there. Wonderful little girl but she has her peculiarities.... The male of the crew is Mr Laid back.

 

[Jason_C]

Update on my girl: the vet sent me her lab results today!

BUN is down from 51 in October to 30 now; the ideal range is 7-27 so a smidge high, but much improved. And her creatinine levels have stayed the same, 0.8 in the last 3 tests where 0.5-1.8 is normal. Which is great news, it means no kidney issue :-D

ALT is still high at 185, but essentially unchanged from her last two visits. For some reason they didn't run an ALP test, though, which REALLY bugs me because I paid for it! Those numbers were super super high before, and I'd really have liked an update >:-( But everything else is normal, so it looks like liver inflammation but not disease

Hematocrit went from 36.7 to 24.7. The ideal is 37.3 - 61.7, so definitely anemic! Her red blood cell count dropped from 5.2 to 3.56, which means that the problem is blood loss and not dietary. Her Reticulocytes (new red blood cells) is high at 132.1, though, which it SHOULD be high when her RBC is low! So that means no bone marrow issues

All combined, she has probably had blood in her stool for months that I couldn't see. Which is probably best case scenario, since the Prednisone likely caused it and now it can heal.

We're still dealing with intestinal inflammation, though. Yesterday and today she had bright orange diarrhea (implying poor bile production), she's had very little appetite, and getting pills in her has been... rough. The only food she's had has been boiled chicken, rice, and pill pockets, she's taking Metronidazole (antibiotic) and FortiFlora (probiotic) twice daily! So I don't think there's anything more I can do but stay the course and hope for the best!

 

[Jason_C]

Kid still isn't wanting to eat, she's stressing me out!!!

After the pure liquid orange diarrhea on Friday morning, I skipped her dinner altogether. By that night she was feeling a little better and took her evening medicine with no complaints.

Saturday she seemed a little better, too. She ate the chicken out of her breakfast and spat out the rice, but seemed more energetic throughout the day and ate all of her dinner (over 2 hours, but still). I got her to eat some baked sweet potato chips, too, trying to get some fiber in her. She did NOT poop, though, and farted a lot... loud! I took her outside at least every other hour and walked around with her for awhile, but nothing.

She woke me up early this morning to go outside, but again, orange diarrhea :-( Not as neon colored or as liquid as before, though, so I hoped that maybe I was on the right track? I REALLY thought she would be feeling better today!

But then at breakfast time? Nope. It's 3pm now and she hasn't even touched her breakfast :-( She just sniff it and walks away. And we had to force the medication again.

She sure knows how to worry her daddy :'-(

 

[Sharon7]

I would ask your vet for some Cerenia. It is a potent anti-nausea med, not cheap but works. It won't help the diarrhea though. I'm out of ideas otherwise. Poor girl if she's got bad gas that might be part of why she's not eating. I know this must be agonizing for you.

 

[Jason_C]

I'll email my vet as soon as I'm finished posting to ask about Cerenia. I also read about Mirtazapine, which is supposed to be anti-nausea and an appetite stimulant? I don't think she would need it for long, anyway, just enough to get her past the hump.

She pretty much slept all day today (Sunday), and finally ended up eating her breakfast at around 7pm! After that she seemed like she was doing pretty good and ate several sweet potato chips over the evening (even begged a little!), but I still had to force the evening pills :-/ And she hasn't pooped since the early morning wake up call. I'm 99% sure that her only problem at this point is nausea (most likely related to the anemia), but we're going on 10 days of chicken and rice! And it's just not helping.