not eating...again

[Redhdmedic]

Hello all! I want to give you a little background info on our girl...we adopted Stella from our local shelter this past March. She had been found as a stray in an urban area jus toutside DC. While waiting for our adoption to go through we searched local rescues and other county shelters as well as through Northern Virginia and DC to see if anyone was looking for her. After 17 days our adoption finally went through and Stella went for spay procedure and then came home. She was severely underweight at 50 pounds. She initially was quiet and uninterested in any of our animals (15 y/o shepherd/border collie mix, 9 y/o beagle and numerous parrots). She was very reluctant to eat upon coming home, and would only eat when we mixed wet food with her dry food. Eventually she began eating only dry food and has been much healthier and happier, now weighing in at 88 pounds! She has always been mildly clingy towards me but has recently been velcroing to the extreme and ounding on the window beside the door when I get home. Today she completely stopped eating and would not even take treats. Hopefully my boyfriend will get her to the vet during the day tomorrow, if not I will be taking her when I get out of court. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on this behavior? Thank you so much for taking the time to read my novella and for any advice you may have!

Carrie

[Zeeva]

Has she eaten yet? Smokey is a finicky eater. He'll go a day or two sometimes 2 1/2 without food if he doesn't like the kibble he's on or if I don't mix it with a couple of treats. Did you try mixing it with something again? Is she pretty normal other than not eating? i.e. no lethargy, no throwing-up, no diarrhea, no pain, no uncomforted, drinking water normally? If she's fairly normal I'd try coaxing her to eat again by mixing it with something she likes...If it goes on for more than a couple of days or is coupled with other symptoms, I'd take her to the vet ASAP...

P.S. Do you free feed her?

[Zeeva]

I forgot to ask is she spayed? It actually sounds a lot like she might be going into heat with being Velcro and not eating...

[BowWowMeow]

I agree that a vet visit is in order.

Has she pooped? Was it normal? Is she vomiting? How does her stomach feel? What is her energy level like? Any other health or behavioral changes you've noticed?

Is it possible that she ate something and has a blockage?

[Jag]

If she was eating and now she's not, then she needs to go to the vet. Not taking treats also sounds like she's ill.

[Redhdmedic]

sorry it has been so long since I updated, between work and not taking the laptop with us on our recent trip down south things have been hectic. We did indeed get to the vet the next day and found that she did indeed have food allergies, which we were already dealing with, but that she had developed a yeast rash on her belly. She got a fabulous haircut (yes, that is dripping sarcasm) and has been doing fabulously with her antibiotics and steroids. She is now smashing through bowl after bowl of food and stalking everyone who goes anywhere near the treat bin (cat included, but I personally think she just likes stalking him). She had an amazing time on vacation down in Savannah! To answer every question, yes she is spayed as that was a requirement when we rescued her from the local shelter. And yes, she poops enough that neighbor's think we have a pet bear...lol! I hope you all have a fabulous week! Take care and stay safe!

[Kyleigh]

Glad to hear that she's doing better ... watch those birdies!!!! Now that she's much healthier she might actually "see them" more!!!

(I'm speaking from experience ... I have two parrots, and Kyleigh "discovered" my grey when the grey was taking a bath in her cage. Thankfully, the cage was closed and I was closer to the cage. I caught Kyleigh mid air en route to the cage. All Echo did was laugh !!! Crazy bird)