My Shih Tzu has cancer & weight loss. Is Hills I/d best via feeding tube?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! As a veterinary oncology veterinarian I can tell you that there is no proven diet for cancer patients. The only supplement that you could potentially add that could have anti-cancer activity but most importantly helps with the skin and joints is fish oil. I would recommend you get the commercial kind online or at your local pet store. Other than that, the best cancer diet is the diet that Jake loves as again there is no diet that has been proven to help with cancer. This is the time to make him happy so I would focus on a diet that he likes regardless of protein, fat or carbohydrate contents. Just make sure it is not too rich as it can upset his belly. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that Petitte has cancer and that it has spread. I typically recommend using the prescription diet Hills and feeding N/D (neoplasia diet) with any diagnosed cancers. This diet is a proprietary blend of antioxidants and nutritional ingredients to help dogs with cancer especially going through chemotherapy. Your vet will need to prescribe this food as it is a prescription diet. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Poor Panpan! Unfortunately, weight loss is part of the cancer process. It's called cachexia, and the dog loses both fat and muscle even if an adequate amount of food is fed to the dog. It becomes worse when the dog won't eat. First thing I would do is feed Panpan twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Then I would feed him a high calorie and high fat dog food, such as Eukanuba premium performance dry food. A high endurance or active dog food would also be good for him. If Panpan continues to keep getting skinnier, it would be a good idea to look at his quality of life. It's an extremely hard decision to make, but there are times when it is kinder to let an animal go peacefully. I work for an home euthanasia business, so I come across these kinds of issues all the time. I'd be happy to consult with further on this issue, if you'd like. Simple click "consult online" under my answer.

High calorie food such as Hill's A/D or puppy food that is high calorie is all you can really do here. Lung infections can take up to 6 months to a year to clear completely, and the weight can be one of the last things that improves. She likely won't gain any weight until the underlying condition is treated, but you can do your best with the high calorie food to at least help her not to lose any more weight. I do hope that her cancer tests come back favorable. Best of luck and take care.

He does indeed look overweight, my preferred range is hills metabolic as this promotes healthy weight loss whilst also preserving muscle mass and strength and is formulated to allow them to eat a reasonable volume of food so they do not feel hungry. Your vet tech can help you work out the correct amount to feed him and monitor closely for the first 6-8weeks, if he does not start to lose weight then blood tests to rule out hormonal conditions such as cushings, diabetes or thyroid disease may also be recommended

You should follow all prescribed advice from your vet and report any concerns you have about Ciukas to them straight away. Without the lab results it is difficult to fully assess the situtation but I would recommend feeding wet food until the wounds are healed and the pain reduces; hills have formulated a "n/d" diet specifically for cancer patients which has some very promising results and may be worth considering until you get the results to delay any further growth.

He should be fed mostly wet food, the dryer and chunkier the food is, the more chances it won't pass properly through the stomach which will eventually get completely blocked (at this stage euthanasia is advised).