Our old girl has had a stroke, ideas for tempting food would be great.

[WoofWoofBeachLife]

Hi, our old girl, 13 had a stroke on Friday morning. I've had experience of this with my old male 5 years ago. She's no where near as bad as he was. Her eyes stopped darting when she woke up yesterday morning. She's still very unsteady on her feet but determined to get up and drink and wants a pee. She's refusing food in the morning and has vomited yesterday and today with undigested food from the night before in her tummy. She is on Prednisone and Vivitonin. Would any of these make her vomit? Its yellow and a lot and smells vile. She has done a poo Friday and today. She's refused chicken, cooked meat, any kibble. She's had some chappie tin, she doesn't get that frequently but loves it. I scrambled an egg for her and she actually ate that this morning but then vomited 4 hours later. I've been getting her up today to walk a bit more and moving her digestive system and she managed a poo. Is there anything else you all can think of that I can do or should be doing? Any food ideas?
Thank you in advance, we are gutted this has happened as she was doing amazingly well for her age. 😢

Hi , sorry to read about your girl . We were told to try our old guy on white fish and boiled rice , that did go down well .
Hope you find something that stays down 😊

Ask your vet for maropitant (cerenia /vetemex) for the nausea/vomiting. It’s caused by the upset to the balance centres (like motion sickness) as part of the stroke, but addressing that aspect is an important part of recovery.

Is she on any anti nausea medication which might help? Our old lad likes poached chicken if he's off his food , usually he isn't allowed chicken because the vet reckons it causes skin allergies!

I'll ask for anti nausea, I assumed because her eyes were steady she would not be as nauseous. I poached chicken but after the first lot she refused it again Sat and Sunday. I'll try the fish. X

I used to buy bags of frozen white fish and steam it in the microwave for my old boy. I wasn't the most popular when DH microwaved his porridge one morning and couldn't understand why it tasted of cod 🤢

I hope she keeps something down. Little and often is the key

@Facefortheradio that made me laugh. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day again. Thank you everyone 💓

Good luck with her. Our lad has survived a year since his episode. He's doing ok... he reckons cheese and sausages are ideal for poorly dogs. I suspect he's wrong!

I'm so sorry to hear this and hope she's soon recovering.

In the past one of my cats (now passed on) was able to eat those little tins of food the vets sell when, for instance, a pet has had an operation. They're only small, and my cat enjoyed them.

Since your dog is refusing chicken, which was always my wee dog's favourite, maybe they'd like to try the stuff from the vet?

Our vet recommended scrambled egg after our old dog was recovering from an operation. She was quickly better though so don't know if it would be an appropriate food long term. Definitely good as an occasional appetite encourager though.

Hotdogs? Not for all of every meal as its the equivalent of mcdonalds but some cut up into rice maybe? They smell irresistible too most dogs

Oh and mashed potato. That was what my old girl would eat when all else failed.

Morning this is great thank you. She's had a scrambled egg and some ham this morning with her tablets. I'll get all of the above today. I didn't think of mash potato. I think she would like the sausages and cheese too. The other 3 are looking for a variety too haha. Nope it's for the sick room you scavengers.
I'm on my own until tomorrow night so I appreciate you all sharing the load virtually with me xx

My old boy who had an oral tumour used to wolf down meatballs, full fat ones.

Tinned sardines will usually tempt them to eat when nothing else will.
Small pieces of strong, not mild, cheddar & cooked liver. You can cut that into small pieces & give as a treat if kept dry, wrapped in foil, in the fridge.
A little probiotic paste will often settle a queasy stomach. I always keep this in the cupboard

https://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-supplements-cat-supplements-dog-diarrhoea-cat-diarrhoea-c-5_145/vetuk-probiotic-kolin-paste-for-cats-and-dogs-p-20356

Boiled rice with a little bit of tinned tuna mixed in, and water added to make it a bit sloppy always goes down well here.

Little and often as pp said.

Our vet recommends tuna for constipation if dogs are a bit wobbly or have had leg surgery and can't get into position.
Being alone with a dog who needs nursing is exhausting. I hope things are going well.

Make yourself something nice op. Bet ddog will want it whatever it is!

Thank you all, she's improved today again just little things I can see she's doing, not as unsteady. My DH came home last night and that perked her wee face up (old turncoat) her gran popped in today and she was all excited again. She's munching through her meals with gusto 😋
My friends have been amazing and one in particular I will be forever grateful for her support. She came in on her only day off when the old yin had her stroke and took my other dogs out for me. She also popped in yesterday to help with pee breaks and took the old bean out for the loo.
The other dogs have been so good with her too, quietly lying beside her etc.
X