My sick senior dog with cancer is vomiting. How can I help him eat?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Marko. I am sorry to hear about his diagnosis. If he is still eating, drinking and acting like himself, then that seems like a good quality of life. This will likely change as his disease progresses though. In the meantime, you can see about trying a different anti-vomiting medication on him. Cerenia would be a good choice. This may control the vomiting better and help him feel a bit better. I hope this information helps!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear about Booda, she sounds very sick. Since she is vomiting, acting lethargic, not eating and having neurological signs, I would have her seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible. Especially in an older Golden, cancer is a top differential for the cause of her clinical signs. Your veterinarian will want to do a complete physical exam, along with bloodwork and/or x-rays to look for evidence of disease. Because she is coughing, I'm afraid she may have cancer in her lungs, or less likely something like pneumonia. Unfortunately, you may have to consider thinking about her quality of life. Vomiting, coughing, not eating and being unresponsive to stimuli are not indicative of a good quality of life. I hope this is helpful, and I'm very sorry to hear about Booda.

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!

I'm so sorry to hear the Cooper has cancer. I understand your concern. There is no blanket answer to your question though. He may be nauseated so taking a medication like Zofran (ondansetron) daily may be helpful. Ask your vet about using that. You know him best so just give him anything he wants to eat. You can try human baby food (meat flavors) often that works. Dogs also like Hill's a/d that you can get from your vet and it is very high in calories so they don't have to each much to take in more calories. I do think it is best to consult with your vet on this issue since they have all of his medical history. It is hard for me to comment without all the facts. I hope you understand.

I am so sorry for this sad news. I would call your vet and see if they can give her any fluids to help hydrate her and get her started on an appetite stimulate. They could also possibly give her an infection of cerenia or Zofran which are great to help with nausea and vomiting. Unfortunately, she may need something to help with the nausea so she feels better and more willing to eat and drink. If you can figure out a way to make her eat and get the pred in her, it will make her feel better. The vet may even have an injectable form of prednisone or some other type of steroid that could be beneficial if you can't get the oral type in her. If these things don't work and you don't want to take her to an oncologist, then I would conisder her quality of life and euthanasia may be the best option for her. I hope this helps and I am so sorry you are having to deal with this. Hang in there!

Hi there! Thanks for letting us take care of you today! Sorry to hear about Ruger. I definitely know where you are coming from as I mostly see cancer patients. What I usually tell my clients is that the time to consider humane euthanasia is when they stop being themselves. For example, when they stop doing 3 out of their 5 favorite things (eating, playing, or whatever these are), it is time to let them go without suffering. Of course this is if not considering treating the cancer. There are always palliative medications you could consider like prednisone and anti-nausea medications (as cancer can cause nausea depending on the type) just from a palliative standpoint to try to make Ruger feel better in the meantime. Sorry you are going through a rough time.

Vomiting that often in an older dog that still has an appetite and is drinking water can be a sign of something stuck in the stomach or a mass. If Kruzer ate a ball, toy bone or something in the yard it may not be able to pass and may sit in the stomach causing irritation and vomiting. As this has been going on for a few weeks I recommend taking him in for abdominal X-rays. They should be able to see if the stomach is normal and if there is anything stuck in it. If he's losing weight and not feeling well then I would run a blood panel also to check his organ function. Once they have a diagnosis of the cause of the vomiting they can then proceed with treatment. If he has something stuck in the stomach sometimes surgery is needed to remove it. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Kruzer.