My dog has cancer and won't eat. Is Meclizine an appetite stimulant?

Meclazine is commonly used as an antinausea drug but essentially it is an antihistamine. The exact mechanisms of action for its antiemetic and anti-motion-sickness effects are not completely understood. Cerenia is a very effective aniemitic that works in multiple ways.

Poor guy. Yes it generally takes about 24 hrs or less for an appetite stimulant to be effective. Which means that we have to look a bit deeper to find out what the underlying problem is so that it is addressed specifically, as well as treat for nausea. Nausea and inappetance can unfortunately be caused by so many different things, such as an underlying infection, liver disease or even a foreign body (if vomiting also seen). I would highly recommend getting Willow re-evaluated by your vet for further testing (i..e bloodwork, +/- radiographs) to reach a diagnosis here so that we know specifically what Willow needs to hopefully stabilize her condition. I hope that your pet Willow feels better soon! Best wishes and take care

Poor Millie! Chemo does make a dog quite nauseous, and that would cause her to not want to eat and excessively drool. I would speak to your vet to see if they can prescribe her an appetite stimulant. You can also try offering her some tasty food, such as boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice, or try soaking her dry food on gently warmed low sodium beef or chicken broth.

Poor Scruffy. There are some good anti-nausea drugs. I would talk to your vet about giving her a shot of cerenia or something similar for nausea. Sometimes they need the shot first to get it in their system then you can follow up with the oral version of it every day. I hope this helps!

Minnie Me may be very picky, or there could be something like a bad tooth, oral pain, or internal disease that is causing her to not want to eat. I would recommend that she be evaluated by a vet to see if there is an identifiable cause. If needed, they can prescribe appetite stimulants, but there are no OTC medications that will be effective for this purpose.

The real question is why isn't Max eating? Does he have parasites? An infection? Pain? Giving this medication will not fix those problems. How long is he not eating for? If it has been several days since he has eaten ANYTHING, then this medication will likely not work. In sum, if it has been more than 48 hours since he has eaten, I recommend Max see the vet to figure out what is wrong with him and try to fix that underlying problem. If you cannot take Max to the vet, you can try this medication but with caution. It can cause dry gums and sedation. Also be careful with the dosing. I think this is the one with 2mg of cyproheptadine per 5 mL? I don't know your dog's weight but if that concentration is correct, it is about 2.5 mL per 10lbs. I would start with just once and if no eating in 12 hours, you can try one more dose. If still no effect, it is unlikely to work and I would not repeat it. Best of luck to you and Max!

It can take a bit for these guys to get their appetite back. Sometimes hand feeding can make things easier, and this is often easier to do by making meatballs of canned food and hand feeding them to your pup. You could also ask your vet if a secondary anti-nausea medication could be added to help. There is one called Cerenia that comes as an injectable the vet can give but also as an oral pill you can give at home.