She woke me coughing. I thought maybe she'd gotten a hair caught in her throat or was having a reverse sneezing episode but she very quickly went to retching. At first it was just dry heaves but then she began bringing up the foam and this continued for about 15 minutes to a total of 30 or more all told. She'd heave, suck it back down (ew) and quiet for a moment or two and then go again. I gave her some Nutrical because I remember she hadn't eaten much yesterday until late in the day and then she spent much of the evening and past bedtime pounding down dry food. She also drank quite a bit of water before bed.
Still she kept vomiting after the Nutrical so I opened a can of her moist and put little bits on my fingers to get her to eat. She had about a tablespoon and wouldn't take more. I cradled her and walked her and spoke softly to calm her (she has bad anxiety) and she finally seemed better. This started about 11 this morning and now it was almost noon. Her gums were a little lighter pink than usual before the Nutrical. So I'm wondering if her tummy was just empty too long or did she have some kind of low blood sugar episode?
We've had a new puppy in the house for the last two months and I have to take the 'day shift' walking, feeding and taking care of her...this has thrown my schedule with Jenna into chaos. (The new pup, which is supposed to be my daughter's but I reckon the hubby picked her up more for himself, is a husky/dachsund/pomeranian cross with too much energy for Jenna's tastes and makes her very nervous, but she's been coping pretty well with it considering everything.) We're still battling this atopy/skin/fur loss problem...no scratching unless she eats something that irritates her or doesn't get her baths on time, but her fur is all but gone on her belly and neck. I fear she'll be bald in a few more months, poor thing.
But it doesn't seem to be bothering her. Her remaining coat is going from borderline silky to cottony...no idea why.
Anyway I think we averted a big problem this morning, but I am wondering how to keep her tummy full without her becoming an all day grazer or overweight. How likely is this a blood sugar problem like hypoglycemia or diabetes? Could it just be stomach acid causing this? Perhaps she should drink more? It is very dry and deeply cold (forty below zero for the last few weeks now) so could she just be dehydrated or burning more calories with the dry cold and the stress of the puppy being here? Seems like all she does is sleep, which she's pretty much always done unless it's potty or eating time.
She usually just has two meals a day, sometimes she gets up for water or dry food overnight a few times. So far I thought she always had something in her stomach so I'm worried about this sudden onset vomiting. She did not get into anything foreign that I know of, I have too many pets to not be vigilant about what's in reach of their mouths. She did have some home cooked steak in the last day or so which we're beginning to think she may have developed an allergy to, so that will probably have to be refused her from now on, poor thing. She loves beef but I am not sure it loves her.
Many thanks in advance for all replies.