Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all!!
my furbaby Bentley had his back leg amputated on wed. When I picked him up on Thursday he was so hyper and hungry. As the days continue he's eating less and less. He would only eat treats and then his 'special' wet food I give to him not everyday but sometimes cause it smells. Now he no longer wants his treats or any of his food. I did remove his fentanyl patch today so he could just be in pain. Very unlike him to not eat.
Thanks!
What other meds is Bentley on? Usually tramadol and an anti inflamatory like rimadyl and also gabapentin.
Those meds can also cause a pup not to want to eat. Has he had a bowel movement yet? Sometimes the pain meds clog them up and if he is constipated he may not eat. Is he drinking OK?
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Yep, ditto Karen!!
It could be pain related now that the patch is off and the hospital meds are out of his system. It's not unusual ro not eat much for a few days. Sometimes the vet may have to give you something to coat the tummy if the antibiotics, pain meds, etc are causing any GI upset.
And sometimes there's nothing better than a drive thru cheeseburger to stimulate the appetite!
Keep us posted!
Hugs to all!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
He's on Metacam and Tramadol. He's been on both before and always has eaten but never them both at the same time. He has pooped but mushy (normal from the medication I think) I'm gonna get him some roast beef and see if that gets him a little hungry.
Murphy came home on Tramadol, Rimadyl & Gabapentin. He took those for about 2 weeks, weaning down during the 2nd week.
He also didn't want to eat. I cooked rice, poured chicken broth over it and added some chunks of chicken to it and that seemed to work. That way he had some fluids, too. The Tramadol seems to make them feel funny. This is major surgery - could you imagine how you would feel if you had your leg cut off? They do handle it so much better than we do!
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Meg was on Metacam and Tramadol. The first time I gave her tramadol, I mixed it in with her dinner, which was a mistake because it's really bitter so she wouldn't eat any of it. It sounds as though you're used to giving tramadol though, so that's probably not the problem. With Meg, I gave the tramadol in lumps of paté, which worked a treat as she just gulped them down.
Meg ate normally after her amp, but when she's had appetite problems after ops in the past, I've usually hand fed her roast chicken.
Hope Bentley's feeling better soon. It's upsetting when they don't eat, I know, because we want to nurture them, but this is still very early days. I'm sure he'll be back to hoovering up his dinner in no time.
Keep us posted.
Clare
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
Thanks guys! I didn't mention but he's allergic to chicken :(. And Clare I always forget not to put in food I have to put in back of his throat and hold his snout closed. No matter what treat I try to put it in, including peanut butter he finds it and spits the pill out. He's too smart for his own good. I got some pepperoni last night and he had no trouble asking for more. And he's been begging for my Mellon. So at least he's getting some food in his body. He's just been sleeping a lot which I know is normal but I can't wait until this phase is over. I'm sure I'll regret saying that soon when I have a hyper tripawd running everywhere.
We were having trouble getting meds down Patch too, someone suggested to me to try brunschweiger (spelling) and just make little small balls out of the meat that the med is in. It works wonderfully! Patch gobbles up his little med snacks now 🙂
Oh yeah, he's gonna get you back for this by being a total nut job in a few more days. Our guy went on a hunger strike at the 1 week mark and has some other post op set backs. Now he is a TORNADO and we are at 22 days.
Don't worry-you'll get there !!!!
My Dobe Nitro wouldn't eat for the first week to 10 days....nothing! We resorted to spooning yogurt down his throat to get his pill in him. We tried everything we could think of. Eventually he started eating again, but not like before the surgery. Now he's 22 months post amp and doing great. Good luck, things will get better.
Paula and Nitro
Nitro 11 1/2 yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms. Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
Have you tried a pill gun? If you're confident giving pills this thing is worth a try. It puts pills down their throat so fast they don't even realize it. Here's a few posts about the pill gun and other disguises.
Hide Your Pet’s Pills with Food, Pastes, Pockets, Masks and Treats
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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