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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2014 8:01:09 GMT -5
More good news! He's moving right along. If you haven't already, you might want to try sticking in chunks into the soup to see if he'll eat them.
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Post by racheld on May 29, 2014 8:08:24 GMT -5
I worry that he's not eating enough. IF he's clearing 2oz/day it isn't by much...
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2014 8:11:22 GMT -5
Ezra has also not been clearing more than 2oz / day since switching to raw. He didn't eat much before, either. If Remus has poops that look healthy, he's playing well, and he's not losing weight, he should be fine.
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Post by racheld on May 29, 2014 15:12:50 GMT -5
His poops look healthy but he HAS lost weight--about 100-150 grams in a week and a half.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2014 16:46:39 GMT -5
150 grams is nothing to worry about if his activity and poops look healthy. It's getting to be summer time, and according to my mentor, a bit of weight loss and lower appetite is normal. I'm sure the change in diet is also affecting him. Just keep an eye on his activity levels. Btw have you applied for a mentor yet, or do you plan to? I'd love to follow Remus' transition all the way through.
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Post by racheld on May 29, 2014 18:06:13 GMT -5
Yep! I put my app in a few days ago.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2014 18:15:25 GMT -5
Good! I'm glad I can help in the meantime, even if it's just with minor things. I look forward to seeing who you get as your mentor.
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Post by racheld on May 30, 2014 9:03:08 GMT -5
He's still being really stubborn about eating in the cage. He went without food for 8 or so hours last night because he didn't want to eat the soup in his bowl. I wonder if he doesn't like eating soup because I spoonfeed him right before meds? So he associates the raw soup with the nasty medicine taste? But if that's the case I'm not sure how to fix it because I read that giving pred on an empty stomach can lead to ulcers.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2014 9:15:27 GMT -5
Hmm, I doubt he's associating the food with the medicine too deeply. If it's the kind of thing where the food takes 30 minutes to spoon feed, and the medicine only takes 1 minute, I don't think that'd cause an issue with his will to eat.
We didn't try feeding Ezra in his cage until he was already eating chunks, and when he did eat on his own, it was not in front of me. We started taking kibble away and only leaving soup. If there's any concern about insuloma this is not a good idea, because he needs to eat regularly, but because Ezra is still a baby, we were able to simply leave the food in the cage.
Try making sure you don't give kibble at regular intervals, if possible. He will know kibble is coming, and won't eat the soup. Also try weighing the soup, leaving it in the cage for several hours, and weighing it again. He may not want to eat while you're there, because he'd rather play with you. You said he went without for 8 hours... I'd say that so long as he knew kibble was coming, he probably didn't mind. Make it a bit less predictable. If that doesn't help, try getting him to eat bigger chunks before putting the bowl in the cage for a long period again, and see if he feels differently about it.
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Post by racheld on May 30, 2014 9:38:57 GMT -5
He hasn't had any kibble in almost two weeks. I've been spoon feeding him twice a day and leaving soup in the cage in between. He does really well when I spoon feed him, and sometimes I can guide him to the plate/bowl and get him to eat a bit on his own. He's just being really stubborn about eating in the cage and about eating from the bowl without me helping out.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2014 9:48:55 GMT -5
Gotcha. Firstly, kudos on no kibble for 2 weeks. That's a feat. Are you taking steps toward him eating on his own other than leaving the stuff in his cage? I.e., lowering the spoon while he eats, then eventually removing it so he's eating from the bowl? You mentioned that you can guide him to the plate/bowl sometimes, but this should be your goal *every* time. You'll have to take baby steps with him if he's not "getting it", so if he doesn't eat by being guided to the bowl, try placing your hand on his back in a firm but gentle manner so that he knows you want him to try. If he won't, then try with the spoon - but keep it pretty much inside the bowl. If he won't do that, then try raising it up as much as he requires to feel comfortable - but each time, your goal is to pull him back towards the bowl. You've probably read about this on here already. If it's just not happening, then it means you need to be persistent with lowering the spoon towards, and eventually into, the bowl, and then removing it entirely so he'll eat from the bowl, even for a few bites at a time. It's a long and slow process, but it WILL eventually happen. Holding my hand on Ezra's back (even when he struggled a bit) really helped him to focus and understand that I had put my foot down and he needed to eat like that. If he became distressed or adament about leaving, I let him leave, and then brought him back after 5 to 10 minutes of playing. It took 2 hours or so every night, but only for about a week, and then he got it. Others may prefer a gentler or more drawn-out approach to ease into it. Until he feels comfortable eating out of the bowl on his own, he's not going to do so inside the cage, so have that goal in mind before trying to just leave the bowl for him. Edited to add: I'm not a mentor by any means, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
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Post by racheld on May 30, 2014 10:39:46 GMT -5
I'll keep working on it. I know I need to be firmer with the bowl, I just enjoy spoon feeding too much. I like pretending he's a tiny, very hairy baby. I did just get him to eat on his own from a plate though, by guiding him there with the spoon. Baby steps!
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2014 10:48:05 GMT -5
I know that feeling! It's awesome having him in your lap and just scooping into his mouth. Get him eating on his own and then you can always spoon feed him later, he'll still love it.
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Post by racheld on May 30, 2014 16:51:59 GMT -5
He ate a bit off the plate by himself after I showed him with the spoon. There were a couple of pieces of chicken skin that the food processor hadn't gotten to, and I was able to hand feed him one that was about 2inx.5in. The other one was too big. Haha.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2014 21:17:36 GMT -5
Go Remus! That's a really big chunk. Keep encouraging him with the spoon being brought closer to the bowl. I would give him 2 or 3 more meals to progress toward eating out of the bowl more on his own and then, if all is going well, start giving him chunks about half the size of the skin chunk he ate. Just mix them in with the soup and see how he takes to them when offered. Making the soup chunkier in the meantime will help.
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