What To Do When Your Pet Doesn't Want to Eat

Your pet is not eating and you don't know why?  Some pets have food preferences just like we do and some pets can be especially finicky.  However, it is important to determine if the issue is a behavior problem (being finicky) or a medical issue. Inappetence can be a serious sign.  If your pet is not eating, it often is because your pet isn’t feeling well.  Watching your pet closely can tell you a lot about the underlying cause of why your pet does not want to eat.  

Some important points to observe:

• Is it a certain time of day?  Perhaps mornings?
• Is it certain foods?
• Is it environmental?
• Other pets/people around?  
• Location of feeding bowls? (some cats prefer high spots)

Be sure to take your pet to your veterinarian if you notice any signs of inappetance. Causes of inappetance can range from kidney or liver disease to gastrointestinal conditions such as pancreatitis.   The longer you wait to take them to the vet, the longer your pet may feel uncomfortable. 

After your vet determines the cause of your pet's inappetance, a change in diet (depending upon the reason) along with a few supplements can make a world of difference.   The following supplements are helpful for inappetance:

Gastro ULC  Gastro ULC For Pets is a natural remedy for cats and dogs with acid stomach, reflux and vomiting

Soothing Digestive Relief -- Enzyme formula that soothes the stomach, relieves gas, indigestion and tummy rumbling.

Power Probiotic -  The Best probiotic for dogs and cats.  Power Probiotic is pure, natural and contains no fillers. 

Canine Kidney Disease and Inappetance

Inappetance, particularly in the morning for an older dog may be an early sign that something is wrong. While there can be many causes of a dog not eating, this symptom, along with excess water drinking and frequent urination, is often a sign of canine kidney disease. First and foremost, take your pet to the veterinarian for a blood test--don't try to diagnose your dog yourself! Once you find out about your dog's condition and if canine kidney disease is diagnosed, it is important to make some dietary changes quickly. One pattern that we see frequently is where dogs may not feel like eating all day and then at night, eat too much. This perpetuates the cycle where excess phosphorous builds up in the blood during the night and then the pet will not want to eat in the morning. Purozyme, a proteolytic enzyme formula, given to your dog at bedtime can greatly help. In addition, it is important that the dog be put on a a low phosphorous, reduced protein diet. The dog needs some variety along with a reduced protein/phosphorous diet so that over time, the dog will be more inclined to eat in the morning too. You may need to find certain "comfort foods" such as dog biscuits that the dog really likes and offer them in the morning to get the dog started eating in the morning. Dogs can build up a lot of stomach acid too which can make them feel nauseated. This will affect their appetite too. Unfortunately, when pets have canine kidney disease, they can become very picky eaters. What they might have loved yesterday, they refuse to eat today and most of the time, they only want to eat what is not good for them---protein. Frantic pet owners have a tendency to give their dogs what they want and start giving them more and more protein---just exacerbating the symptoms as the phosphorous builds up in their blood stream. Ask Ariel can help you formulate a homemade diet and give you a number of tips to help with this inappetance issue. Canine kidney disease is tough and if detected early, can be managed but you need an expert veterinary nutritionist or holistic veterinarian to help you ensure you are feeding the appropriate diet.