How Can You Get Your Anorexic Dog and Cat To Eat Again?
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that most of us associate with people. You might be surprised to learn that animals, particularly cats and dogs, can also have eating disorders, though.
Does your pet have an eating disorder? And if so, what do you do about it?
Animal Anorexia
Animals can get anorexia, but not in the same way that people get it. With people, anorexia is a psychological disorder based on an irrational fear of gaining weight.
For pets, anorexia is an unwillingness or inability to eat, which usually shows there is an underlying problem. Unlike people, animals don't care about weight gain, so you have to look elsewhere for the root causes when your pet stops eating.
Types of Pet Anorexia
There are basically two categories into which pet anorexia falls.
"True anorexia" is when your pet refuses to eat because he has lost interest in food. True anorexia may be caused by illness, such as a bowel obstruction or a cold, impacting his ability to smell. It might be due to depression, such as when a member of the family moves out or passes away and your pet feels abandoned. He may be a picky eater and not like the food he's been given.
"Pseudo-anorexia" is when your pet does want to eat but shows signs that he can't. This may be caused by a painful tooth abscess, gum disease, a throat infection, painful joints when he bends his head down to eat, or a problem with his nervous system that makes it hard to chew or swallow.
Supportive Therapy
If you don't know the underlying cause of your pet's anorexia, try different ways to accommodate him. Try introducing different foods or change up his feeding schedule. Do something to make his environment more comfortable, moving away from anything that causes him stress or distracts him. Give him attention and love if you think the cause might be psychological.
Of course, you should take him to the vet soon to see if his health care provider can determine the cause of his anorexia.
Specific Therapy
Once you or your vet discovers the underlying cause of anorexia, you can take more specific measures to treat it. This may include treating any ailment or injury your dog has, if possible. Your vet may be able to prescribe an appetite stimulant if he thinks your pet needs it.
Once those causes have been treated, your pet will probably return to normal eating habits.
Source: Good Pet Parent
Photo: Pexels
More Articles
There is currently no approved drug for anorexia nervosa, a common and occasionally fatal eating disorder. Research showed that low doses of a...
In the past, eating disorders were primarily considered to be behavior. This overly-simplistic misunderstanding of the issue only created more...
Sudden light-headedness can be a frightening experience for anyone, particularly if you are unsure of the cause. For many, experiencing occasional...
Maintaining a balanced diet not only keeps our body functioning at its best, it also keeps our skin, hair, and nails looking bright and healthy....
Researchers are closer to finding the genetic cause for binge eating and might be getting closer to an effective treatment. “Based upon our...
More Articles
More Articles
There is currently no approved drug for anorexia nervosa, a common and occasionally fatal eating disorder. Research showed that low doses of a...
In the past, eating disorders were primarily considered to be behavior. This overly-simplistic misunderstanding of the issue only created more...
Sudden light-headedness can be a frightening experience for anyone, particularly if you are unsure of the cause. For many, experiencing occasional...
Maintaining a balanced diet not only keeps our body functioning at its best, it also keeps our skin, hair, and nails looking bright and healthy....
Researchers are closer to finding the genetic cause for binge eating and might be getting closer to an effective treatment. “Based upon our...
When a person begins recovery treatment for anorexia nervosa, they may need to initiate a process known as refeeding. The refeeding process is a...
When a baby is in utero, they develop fine white hairs all over their body. These are known as lanugo hairs and they protect the baby’s skin from...
A new study published in the journal Pediatrics found more than 90 percent of patients with eating disorders not specifically defined (EDNOS) in...
Eating disorders might be hard to talk about, or even to admit to yourself. If you know, or if you even suspect, you have an eating disorder,...
If you suspect your child has an eating disorder, you may feel overwhelmed. There are a few things you should know upfront.
First and...
Eating disorders don't discriminate. They don't care if you're rich or poor, they don't care about your color or gender, and they don't care if...
In the U.S., an estimated one in 200 people develop an eating disorder. That is a startling number, but another number is even more alarming: one...
A lot of what people know about eating disorders comes from "common knowledge." Unfortunately, common knowledge isn't always correct, or it may...
Anorexia is a serious eating disorder that is characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight. In many cases, people suffering from this...
Most people find holidays stressful, but the thought of facing holidays can be overwhelming for a person with an eating disorder. If a special day...
