Please Help Katie Gain Weight
 

As some of you know, Katie was recently diagnosed as having a heart murmur. :( Tomorrow morning at 11 a.m., she's going back to the vet for a full blood test and a second stool sample. So hopefully that will shed some light on her condition.

But she has also lost weight. She went from 2.6 lbs (a healthy weight for her petite size) down to 1.14 lbs. For a dog as tiny as she is, this is a tremendous amount of weight to lose. When I pick her up, I can feel her ribs and hip bones. It's so terrible and it just breaks my heart. So I'd like to get your advice on what to feed her to help fatten her up a bit. I can't sit back and wait for the test results. I have to start helping her now. ANY suggestions are greatly appreciated!

does she have an appettiete? (SP)
add some fresh chicken and rice?? thats seems to bulk them up a bit...
good luck tomorrow.. i hope all turns out ok...
have you changed your mind and are going tomorrow with ur hubby and Katie??

She has a tremendous appetite! That's why I don't understand this weight loss. When I'm home, I literally see her eat like a little piggy. Plus, I give her (and Codie) Nutrical 3 times a day. So I honestly don't know what else to do to help her gain some weight. But I'm definitely going to try some fresh boiled chicken and rice ... white rice??

No I'm not going tomorrow. I just can't stand to see the vet take blood from her tiny little body. :(

Oh little Katie has to eat.
I'd try Chicken & Rice.
She won't eat too much,
but she needs to keep her weight up.
She's in our prayers, I hope things
go well tomorrow. Please keep us
posted.
(((((((Katie)))))))

yes white rice...
:( i know what you mean...
.. i took Chicle to the vet yest and finally i got blood work done on him for the first time in his life...(did you guys know that they draw blood from their necks b/c thats the easiest place to find a vein??!!??) .. im waiting for the results ..i have to call at 1p.m.
i was crying like a baby at the vets office .. i just hope all turns out ok ..

Yeah, I'd recommend the boiled chicken and white rice, but you might also put a little of the chicken broth on there, too. I think that would be ok. I did that with Muffin and I did it with Kacee when she was having such a terrible time teething that she was sick.

OMG NO!! They take blood from their neck? OMG now I'm really going to be sick. I can't imagine anyone taking blood from her tiny neck. My poor baby. :( If it weren't so important to have this done, I wouldn't! But we have to find out what's wrong with her. I'm going to have to buy TONS of treats and toys tomorrow to surprise her with when I come home from work.

I never thought of human baby food ... good idea! I recently switched my pooches over to adult food but after our vet appointment Monday when I learned she lost so much weight, I went out and bought her the old puppy kibble I use to feed her. So now she's back to eating that and loves it! My pooches love cheese too. So I'll give her some more of that.

What about scrambled eggs?

Jen you should mix some soft puppy canned meat to her kibble. That soft food for puppies has so much fat and calories in it, it will hopefully plump her up. Rice is all starchy so rice would plump her up to. Kisses to my little furniece.

Yep! I forgot, but scrambled eggs was another thing I fixed for Kacee a few times when she was so sick teething. She loved them, except the last time I fixed one. :confused:

I would suggest some babyfood meat. Althought it seems pretty gross to us...dogs usually love it and it has tons of nutrients in it.

I hope everything goes ok. :)

i hope she gets better soon make sure the baby food you give her has no onion powder in it like most of them cause it can make her sick

Jennifer - you have great replys already...I just want to say again that little Katie is in my prayers...I'm really pulling for her & checking everyday to hear any updates....Keep thinking positive thoughts and you have lots of support here....Hang in there girl !!

Good point about the onion pwoder. Thanks!!

I'm going grocery shopping tonight to buy meat baby good for Katie. Thanks for the suggestion!

Wolftrap posted this recipe for Satin Balls in a thread a few weeks back that is supposed to put weight on them. I am going to try it for my teeny girl, although I don't know if it would be ok in regard to Katie's medical condition. You might ask the vet for his approval first!


Satin Balls Half Recipe -- recommended amount to mix up

5 lbs cheap hamburger (for high fat %)
1/2 large box Total cereal (about 6 cups cereal)
1/2 large box uncooked oatmeal (about 7.5 cups oats)
5 raw eggs
1/2 of 15oz jar wheat germ (about 2 cups)
5 packages Knox unflavored gelatin
5/8 cup vegetable oil (this is pretty close to 2/3 cup)
5/8 cup unsulphered molasses
pinch of salt


Take all dry ingredients and place in a bowl. I crunch up the total while still in the box, and then pour all the other dry ingredients over it In a another large bowl put the hamburger meat and the wet ingredients. Mix each bowl well, then half each so that it is easier to mix. Mix just like you would a meatloaf I then take it raw, and place in freezer bags and put in the freezer, thaw out a bag as needed. feed raw. I use this not only as a quick weight gain, but as a everyday supplement for my dogs this recipe has been tested and analyzed by several universities and was found to be a total canine diet a dog could live on this without added kibble or any other supplements...I have long hair black dogs, and this recipe really keeps their coat black/soft/long since I have...the past 6 months I have had no vet bills...and my dogs coats are wonderful, you need to watch how much you feed it will put weight on a slim dog in a matter of a few days. It will also make an easy keeper fat in just a short period of time. Try it, your dogs will love it!!!


Comments

Per the information received after having the Satin Balls recipe checked by several vets/labs:

Satin Balls is a total canine diet. It can be feed by itself or as a supplement, for however long you wish. My dogs have been on Satin Balls for over a year; the only time that I have fed it alone is when I had a sick dog needing to be built up or an underweight dog that I plan on showing.

The only problem with feeding it by itself is figuring out the amount. It will put weight on a dog in a few days...that's why it is so great to feed just before a show. If you have a dog that is in good weight, but you just want to build coat/endurance, you would have to figure out how much to feed (cal per kg), or you would end up with a fat dog in a very short time. At one point, I let Satin eat as much as she wanted, just to see how much she would consume. I never got to that point! After a pound pack, she was still looking for more, so I stopped. I have been told a dog will stop eating when full on it, and that you can then gauge the amount needed to maintain weight!

I just find that per the pocketbook and ease, my dogs do very well on it as a supplement. I give about a 1/4 pound each night to maintain beautiful coats, energy level, and a full appetite...no picky eaters here.

Just don't try to hide it in the kibble...they will make a mess throwing out the kibble, digging for the Satin Balls! My dogs have never gotten sick on Satin balls...not even when I am at a show and feed only that. I feed less kibble, so I saves money there. There is also less stool to pick up as the dogs are able to digest all of the Satin Balls.

I have been playing with the recipe. I now use the Knox Joint Gelatin instead of the plain Knox unflavored gelatin. Since this is high in vit C and protein, and is good for the joints, it would be good for the dogs. They don't seem to mind the added flavor.

I am also adding Flaxseed oil. They probably don't need the added oil, but so far I have not seen it hurt anything.

Fix some up and let your dogs enjoy. They will love you forever and forever!

When I first got my Jasmine she was 7 months old and only weighed 1 pound 11 ounces... I fattened her up the first few weeks by using a syringe filled with yogurt and also used baby food. She also ate her dry food. By giving her the food by syringe I knew at least she had that food in her belly. Now she is almost a year old and a nice 2 1/2 pounds.

Hope all goes well.

Natural Balance Meat Rolls. They are great for picky eaters or treats. Doesn't take much of this stuff to fatten them up.

OMG!! If you want little Katie to gain weight, feed her these meat rolls. It will do the trick. Also, like everyone else, I say chicken and white rice.

Good luck at the vet tomorrow little Katie and please post as soon as you hear anything. XOXOXOXOX

I talked with my vet. She, of course, would not give me any specific tests to run because she had not seen your dog but made a good suggestion. If tests do not reveal the cause, she suggested trying to find a good vet program at a local university. Like, here it would be Univ of Fl but I think that is an excellent idea. Also, when I have labs run, they tell me within a day, not days. Surely they can find out what is going on sooner. People have given you good suggestions on food but my only caveat would be to not give too many options, find something Katie loves to eat and give her all she wants. Those sausage looking rolls by Natural Balance will put weight on. Mine like Lamb and Rice.

Thanks for speaking to your vet -- that was so nice of you. :p I'll look into a local university. Thanks for the tip.

As for the tests, Katie is going to have a blood test and second stool sample test done tomorrow (Friday) morning at 11 a.m. I will get the results back that afternoon or evening. Hopefully it will be good news.

Satin Balls, Satin Balls, Satin Balls......I think I need to become their spokesperson or something..LOL GUARANTEED to add on weight and also a solution for finicky eaters.

You can get a high calorie food from the vet. Its called Prescription PD. You could also mix cheese in with her kibble.