[mymarci]

Please can anyone offer me advice please? My marcelle is 17 and 4 months young. She has always been really strong and healthy weighing all her life 5kgs or 11lbs going down 1lb or half kilo every summer and then back up for the winter. She has moved house several times with me, moved countries too and travelled well with me in our camper. She had a bad start in life and came to me when she was just shy of 2 years, very afraid of the world and humans. However she soon trusted me and we have loved each other for over 15 years now. Two months ago we moved house - since then her health seems to have gone really downhill. For 2 years she has had a weaker back left leg but suddenly both back legs seem to have gone very weak and she is having real difficulty walking or even standing for a long time. She is very wobbly and frail but manages a bit on flat ground. If the ground is uneven, uphill or downhill or slippy then she cannot walk at all. When we moved in to the new house she developed diarrhoea, vomiting and loss of appetite and got very tired. Took her to vet who says give her medicine that rebalances flora in tummy. That worked and the diarrhoea stopped but she continued to vomit it a bit. Back to vet and he says she is suffering from tummy acid and I should make up a solution of anti acid which i must give her 15 minutes before she eats, up to a max of 4 times a day. Trouble is she is eating only a little and mostly only once a day. So I offer her a tasty morsel and if she is interested, then i take the food away and give her the anti acid and then feed her a bit later. Seems to have worked as she has stopped vomiting and her stools are firm and healthy. But over the past 2 months she has lost around 25 percent of her body weight and is skeletal. She is refusing rice or boiled chicken and is now being extremely fussy about what she'll agree to eat. I have been tempting her with beef liver, minced steak and yesterday she agreed to eat the beef bougignon that we had cooked for ourselves (no wine in it). So she ended up having the meat (mixed with a few of her biscuits) and we ended up having the vegetables. But we don't care so long as she eats something. She is drinking plenty of water. But I can see she is getting weaker and I want to build her up a bit. Vet says she lost the weight because of the diarrheao but it is not life threatening. When I ask him why she won't eat the rice or boiled chicken but wants the dog treats or the liver or minced beef of stewed steak, he says cos it has a better taste. Does anyone have any idea how or what I can feed her so she builds up again? I have tried force feeding her.....Why has she suddenly gone downhill so quickly? Does anyone have any idea why are her back legs so weak so suddenly and what can I do? Marcelle has been with me over 15 years and I cannot bear the thought of being without her - she is my family - everyone else has passed on and if she goes then I shall be completely alone. I cannot bear to be without her. I am taking her for little walks on flat ground in an attempt to ger her to release energy and therefore raise her appetite but its a bit hit and miss whether she'll agree to eat or not. Also giving her light massage on her back legs and moving them about and pushing against the flat of her back feet so that she pushes back. Sometimes she kicks her back legs in annoyance so they are still able to move so I dont understand why she cannot walk. Please advise me if you can - many thanks for any and all advice.... We have to move house again next week after being in this new house only 2 months. This is due to a very bad, nasty unscroupulous landlady who has left us in a house with no heating. So have found another house to move to. However I am very worried about Marcelle and how she'll cope again with another house move. I forgot to mention that she is basically blind due to cataracts and also she can hear but not a lot. Her sense of smell is fantastic! Please give any advice or experience - I would really appreciate it...