Cachexia, wasting, weight loss in dogs and cats. What should you feed your dog to help it gain a healthy weight? The difference between wasting and cachexia in dogs.

All owners worry about their pets and often think that their pet is either too thin or too fat. But these conclusions and experiences are not always correct.

The dog may feel great, and the owner is simply worrying in vain. But, unfortunately, there are also cases when an animal simply needs qualified help from a specialist. The animal may suffer from malnutrition or obesity. Let's take a closer look at both cases.

Signs of exhaustion in pet
An animal may look thin, but at the same time eat well, that is, eat the prescribed number of times and behave actively, friendly, play with children and happily go for walks. And if, despite all this, the dog has a thin physique, then you shouldn’t even think about exhaustion. But in the case when a pet refuses food or eats without appetite, then there is reason to worry and show the pet to professionals veterinary clinic. The animal may have some kind of disease or allergy, either seasonal or to certain types of foods. Or maybe this is a signal of some serious illness.

A pet may lose its appetite if it separates from its beloved owner or family member. If the owners went on vacation and left the dog with the parents, then the dog becomes sad and doesn’t want to eat anything.

It may also be that the pet is too spoiled and just wants to attract the attention of its owners. He refuses food so that they can communicate with him more often and caress him, offering him food.

Exhaustion may occur due to the fact that the dog does not receive enough food from food. nutrients and vitamins. Then, after showing the animal to the veterinarian and receiving a list of necessary medications and vitamins, you need to undergo a course of treatment.

Signs of exhaustion:
- the animal is very thin, the skull of the head and ribs protrude so much that they can be counted visually;
- the dog looks lethargic;
- the wool has lost its shine and softness;
- the animal weighs less than it should.

In this case, the dog is so exhausted that conventional methods cannot cure it. You need to contact a veterinarian, he will prescribe IVs, injections and write a detailed list of products that can be fed to the sick animal.

Food for an emaciated animal:
- liquid soup made with lean or dietary meat. Suitable meat from cows, chickens and rabbits;
- liquid oatmeal, rice;
- non-calorie dairy products;
- boiled vegetables.

In addition to the recommended products, you need to get a feeding schedule from your veterinarian exact quantity food for one meal. Since an animal taken from the street and starved for a long time, having received the usual portion of food and absorbed it, may die on the spot due to the fact that the food may be too fatty and nutritious, and as a result - gastric arrest and, naturally, death. Even when feeding stray dogs, you should try to give them only low-calorie liquid food in small quantities.

Signs of obesity in dogs
If a dog looks beautiful, well-groomed, well-fed, then this makes the owners happy. But this bad sign what the animal takes too much large number food.

Many dogs simply get used to constantly eating, and you have to give them food endlessly throughout the day, as the pet becomes uncontrollable and constantly asks for food. As a result, the owner, in order for the dog to leave him alone, simply gives it what it asks for. And the pet eats excess food and gets a disease such as obesity.

Soon it becomes difficult for the dog to move, overweight, shortness of breath. Older dogs and those whose owners lead an inactive lifestyle can also be overweight.

Signs of obesity in animals:
- weight is more than expected;
- increased appetite;
- shortness of breath, constant sweating;
- inactivity, fatigue;
- the animal does not feel well in hot weather.

When weighed, the dog is determined to be overweight. With all this, even if the animal feels well, it is necessary to urgently take action, review the diet and apply a diet.

It is necessary to exclude all junk food (cakes, sweets, buns) from the animal’s diet. Feed only natural and low-fat foods, and exclude fried foods from the diet altogether.

The dog needs to be taken for walks more often, and soon the weight will return to normal. But in case of any disease or metabolic disorder, you need the help of a specialist in this field; you can’t handle it yourself. The fat mass gained over the years will not leave the body for several months; it will take a long time.

Obesity in dogs often appears after surgery performed at a veterinary clinic to prevent the animal from reproducing. It is called castration (sterilization). This interference with the normal functioning of the body leads to the appearance of excess weight in the animal.

– a nonspecific pathological condition of the body, consisting of an extreme degree of exhaustion, dehydration, loss of body weight, accompanied by a weakening of all physiological functions and processes in the body, is often the terminal stage of the development of serious diseases, is accompanied by many complications, and can lead to the death of the patient.

Etiology.
Cachexia develops in various animal diseases. It can be ">exogenous and ">endogenous.

Exogenous cachexia is associated with fasting, including forced fasting, due to the impossibility of mechanically eating, a violation of the act of swallowing food (megaesophagus or “esophageal diverticulum”), and, as a result, insufficient intake of nutrients and vitamins into the animal’s body.

Endogenous cachexia develops against the background various diseases. Most often she accompanies oncological diseases, heart disease, endocrinopathies (">thyrotoxicosis), pituitary disorders, diabetes mellitus, pancreatitis, chronic renal or liver failure and associated metabolic disorders. The leading role in the development of cachexia is assigned to disorders of digestion and absorption of nutrients from the intestines, including against the background of infectious viral diseases, invasion by protozoa and helminths, fermentopathy (and, as a consequence, also insufficient digestion of food). Chronic slow infections, such as immunodeficiency, leukemia, infectious peritonitis of cats, can be accompanied by the development of a cachectic state in these animals.
Cachexia can develop either against the background of a complete refusal to feed the animal for any reason, or, conversely, against the background of increased or normal appetite.

Symptoms And Pathogenesis.
Cachexia can increase gradually, or it can develop extremely abruptly. At first, an animal whose health is deteriorating may refuse its usual diet, show a capricious appetite, then refuse treats, and then completely stop eating. Often, appetite may suddenly disappear or, on the contrary, become increased. And this is a sign of illness in your pet! You should not try to force feed the animal, wait several days, or even weeks, to see a doctor for help. Sometimes two days are enough for dehydration and cachexia to develop, it all depends on the disease itself and the speed of its progression. The animal can drink water on its own! The pet may even have increased thirst, but dehydration and cachexia will increase as the water-electrolyte balance internal systems the body is already damaged.

With cachexia, atrophy of muscle tissue often occurs; the animal can rapidly lose weight, weaken, and with progressive cachexia, refuse not only the usual movements, but also exercise and physiological functions, such as defecation and urination. The situation may be worsened by symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting, which contribute to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Such conditions without medical intervention and qualified assistance can result in a state of hypovolemic shock and coma, even the death of the animal!

Diagnostics.
Cachexia is not a specific symptom complex and can accompany many animal diseases, so a thorough and complete diagnosis is necessary. To find out the reason for the animal’s weight loss, it is necessary to conduct a full examination of it, starting with a physical examination by a veterinarian, ending with all additional necessary diagnostic methods: laboratory analysis of blood, urine, feces, tests for viral infections, visual diagnostics - x-rays and ultrasound. Sometimes it becomes necessary to resort to invasive surgical diagnostic methods, such as endoscopy (minimally invasive intervention technology) and diagnostic laparotomy. A detailed medical history, which is provided by the owner of the animal, plays a very important role in examining the animal.

Treatment.
An animal with cachexia needs proper and comprehensive treatment! An intravenous drip infusion in an adequate volume, correctly calculated for the entire animal, is necessary to restore the water-electrolyte balance of the body’s internal media, as well as therapy aimed at treating the cause of cachexia.
If an animal requires planned surgical intervention in a state of severe cachexia, it must be stabilized before this procedure also with the help of intravenous infusions, complex etiological and symptomatic therapy.

Diet therapy plays a very important role in the treatment of cachexia. The animal needs to individually select food that will be of high quality, easily digestible, and necessary energy value. The dosage regimen is also selected. If for some reason it is impossible for animals to feed themselves, it is possible to administer liquid specialized food through a nasogastric tube or use parenteral nutrition.

Treatment can be lengthy and complex. Signs of cachexia in an animal can be eliminated, but it may not be possible to eliminate the cause that caused it (for example, chronic inflammatory processes, congenital pathologies). Then the animal is prescribed regular monitoring of blood, urine, feces tests, control visual examinations ("> x-ray and "> ultrasound), lifelong maintenance therapy and a specialized diet. The health of such a pet largely depends on the attention and patience of the owner.

In order to notice a pet’s illness in time, it requires attention and care. It is always important to remember that disease is easier to prevent than to treat, so scheduled regular examinations of your animal will greatly improve its quality of life and health.

Cachexia is exhaustion of the body with rapid or gradual weight loss, often accompanied by weakness and lethargy.

A loss of body weight that exceeds 10% of the initial value and is not associated only with fluid loss or artificial food restriction is considered clinically significant. Weight loss or weight loss occurs as a result of either insufficient food intake (forced fasting, anorexia (lack of appetite), dysphagia (impaired food intake, inability to grasp or swallow food), regurgitation (regurgitation), vomiting, impaired digestion and absorption of food, excessive consumption of nutrients (increased basal metabolism), impaired sense of smell, and also due to loss of nutrients through urine (glucosuria, proteinuria).

Diagnostics

First of all, you should clarify the state of appetite (increased or decreased), as well as initial body weight. If it is unknown, you need to objectively assess the animal’s condition (assess signs of exhaustion, dehydration), which will help confirm the owner’s opinion about the animal’s weight loss. It is important not only to note the weight of the animal at the time of contacting the veterinarian, but also the inexplicable fact of weight loss. If appetite is reduced, then this is the reason for weight loss, and loss of appetite occurs in a variety of pathological conditions (kidney disease, liver disease, chronic pain, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract). If the appetite is normal or has even become increased, then in most cases the cause should be sought in violations of the digestion and absorption of food.

Weight loss with increased appetite and changes in the quality of stool (mushy, diarrhea) most often indicates diseases of the small intestine (enteritis, often caused by clostridia and, which is a state of dysbacteriosis), where not only digestion, but also absorption of digested food occurs.

During inspection, you should pay attention special attention for signs of systemic, gastrointestinal (diarrhea, quality of stool, presence of mucus, blood in them), cardiac (shortness of breath, enlarged abdomen, weakness), neuromuscular diseases and neoplasms.

It is also important to obtain information about the nature of food, level of physical activity, changes in living conditions, pregnancy, signs of gastrointestinal disorders (dysphagia, regurgitation, vomiting, diarrhea) or any other diseases.

Weight loss, as you can see, is very general symptom and in itself does not lead to an accurate diagnosis, but a detailed physical examination of the animal will reveal additional symptoms, the connection of exhaustion with which will clarify the diagnosis.

First of all, you should clarify what your appetite was at the beginning of losing weight, since any long-term illness can subsequently lead to a decrease in appetite.

The age of the animal plays an important role in the diagnostic search. Thus, a common cause of weight loss in puppies is portacaval shunts (congenital vascular anomalies), and in old cats it is thyrotoxicosis. We should not forget about such causes of pseudoanorexia (false loss of appetite) as loss of smell, dysphagia, diseases of the oral cavity, head and neck.

In case of fever, one should first assume an infectious-inflammatory disease, poisoning or a neoplasm in the stage of decay and possibly metastasis. For metabolic disorders in animals with cardiac, renal or hepatic insufficiency, as well as for chronic infectious diseases there is no fever.

Laboratory diagnostics

First of all, a standard set of studies is required, including clinical and biochemical blood tests, a general urine test, and an ultrasound examination of organs. abdominal cavity, as well as radiography of the abdominal and chest cavities. The data from these examinations make it possible to identify or exclude infectious and inflammatory diseases and metabolic disorders, including insufficiency of the liver and pancreas kidneys. The diagnostic value of these studies increases if, when questioning the owner and examining the animal, it is not possible to identify any significant abnormalities, and if additional symptoms are identified, then the connection of the test results with the clinical manifestation also leads to the cause.

When losing weight of unknown etiology in cats, a test for feline leukemia virus or immunodeficiency must be performed, and in animals over 5 years old, it is necessary to examine the level of serum T3, T4 (thyroxine), cortisol, ACTH, especially if weight loss occurred with normal or increased appetite.

If organ failure is suspected (based on history and physical examination), specific functional tests are indicated. If exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is suspected, serum trypsin activity should be examined; for hypocortisolism, an ACTH test should be performed. To assess liver function, the concentration of bile acids in the blood serum is determined.

Chest X-ray in frontal and lateral projections helps in diagnosing organ diseases chest cavity, including tumor metastases (to the lungs, bones).

If a disease of the gastrointestinal tract is suspected, endoscopy with biopsy or, as a last resort, diagnostic laparotomy.

Treatment should be aimed at eliminating the underlying cause of the disease. It is necessary to adjust the regime and quality of food, which should be suitable for the given animal, high quality, easily digestible, and of appropriate energy value. If necessary, feeding through a nasogastric tube or parenteral nutrition is prescribed for temporary maintenance.

Dogs usually have an excellent appetite. Many of them eat as much food as is available to them and gain weight well. Often, domestic dogs weigh even more than is allowed by the breed standard or the characteristics of their constitution. But sometimes pets need extra nutrition, so any dog ​​owner needs to know how to fatten a dog if necessary.

When to fatten a dog

Malnourished dogs need a special diet. Exhaustion can occur from a bitch feeding too large a litter - over 10 puppies, after suffering a serious illness or surgery.

Exhaustion occurs in dogs that work a lot and do not receive the necessary caloric nutrition. This is especially true for sled dogs that travel long distances and carry loads. Sometimes it is necessary for a dog to gain weight before a show. Some individual characteristics of dogs within the breed come into fashion: color, height, weight, external fatness. Therefore, dogs are forced to lose and gain weight due to body fat and muscle mass.

Old animals are often capricious and refuse to eat due to poor health. They quickly develop exhaustion due to disruption of metabolic processes in the body. Before changing their diet, they should be taken to a veterinarian to determine the cause of this condition.

How to formulate a diet for fattening?

The easiest way to fatten a dog on natural food. It has a distinct smell and taste that dogs like so much. Dog food for weight gain is not as attractive and does not come in a variety of flavors. Some animals get bored and bored with them. If the animal receives industrial food, then it can be made more interesting for the dog. For example, mix dry granules with finely grated cheese, boiled and chopped meat, fish, eggs; many animals willingly eat industrial food, to which a little cottage cheese, kefir, and low-fat sour cream are added.

It is very important for puppies and pregnant/lactating bitches to receive dairy and fermented milk products: kefir, fermented baked milk, cottage cheese, cheese, natural yogurt. This improves the digestive system, improves stool, populates the intestines with beneficial microorganisms, and also supplies the body with calcium in an easily digestible form. Feeding dairy and meat products should be spaced out over time, since their combination has a bad effect on the dog’s well-being. Once or twice a week you should include boiled fish with the bones removed in your diet. Porridges are made well with fish broth diluted with water. Only low-fat fish should be given.

Bird eggs are an excellent source of healthy cholesterol and vitamins. They are given boiled. If some of the dogs are drinkers raw eggs. The dog should not be allowed to do this while it is sick, has not gained the required weight, or the bird that laid the egg is showing signs of ill health.

Plant foods - cereals, vegetables, fruits - are a source of essential carbohydrates and a stimulator of the gastrointestinal tract.

An emaciated animal needs to be fed more often than usual: three to eight times a day. If it completely refuses food, you need to drink it warm water from a syringe and inject glucose preparations. Which products should be included in the diet for fattening depends on the individual situation and health status of the animal.

Nutrition for malnourished dogs

Here's how to fatten up your dog after it's exhausted. First of all, she needs to be given meat. Meat for dogs is a source of essential amino acids that these animals cannot get from plant foods and even fish. If an animal has been starving for a long time, then it should be given only heat-treated meat, as it is better digestible, and low-fat, since excess fat upsets digestion, which leads to even greater problems. The daily portion should contain 75-80 percent meat.

The remaining volume should be occupied by products of plant origin. For example, meat goes well with cereals. Buckwheat, rice and oatmeal are good for dogs. Allergy sometimes occurs to corn grits. Wheat cereals are not recommended for feeding predators. Cereals are cooked in water without adding salt. In the resulting porridge add chopped meat and grated raw or stewed vegetables and fruits in their own juice: carrots, beets, apples, spinach.

Fattening puppies after an illness, for example, enteritis, involves the inclusion of semi-liquid puree products in the diet: boiled meat, fermented milk products, thin oatmeal, thick vegetable soup. Fattening the bitch after weaning the puppies involves increased nutrition according to the scheme prescribed for her feeding during whelping and lactation.

Feeding for fattening for other reasons

To fatten a dog quickly before a show, it is enough to reduce its physical activity and increase the daily portion of food. There is no need to change your diet. Firstly, if a dog participates in a show, then it is in good shape and gets everything it needs from its menu. Secondly, changing or introducing new products may cause adverse consequences in the form of an allergic rash, dulling and matting of hair or its loss, delamination of claws, runny nose, redness of the eyes and ears. All this will significantly reduce the dog’s chances at the show.

What not to do

Old dog breeding textbooks advise feeding puppies and adolescents semolina porridge, cooked in milk or meat broth. You shouldn't do this. Dogs do not digest wheat well, and many dog ​​breeds are allergic to this grain.

You should also not include lamb and pork in your animal diet due to their high fat content. This has a harmful effect on the liver and pancreas, creating a significant additional burden on gallbladder. In addition, pork is a highly allergenic product. Ideal option– rabbit, turkey, veal, horse meat. They are boiled, and for animals in good health they are scalded, chopped and fed with herbal supplements.

You should not replace meat with offal during the fattening period. By-products are less nutritious and are also less digestible. The exception is the liver. It can replace a third of all meat in the daily diet a couple of times a week. You can only feed boiled liver.

To fatten a dog so that it gains weight, you need to increase the calorie intake. Carbohydrate foods provide clean calories, so your dog needs to cook porridge and soups with vegetables and cereals in broth diluted with water.

Fattening supplements

The diet will be significantly enriched with meat and bone meal, fish oil, seaweed, St. John's wort, eleutherococcus leaves, nettle, plantain, and dandelion.

About the author: Ekaterina Alekseevna Soforova

Wasting in dogs (clinically significant loss weight, cachexia) can be caused by two reasons.

Causes of wasting in dogs

The number one cause of wasting in dogs is This is the presence of any disease that prevents the normal eating of food and the absorption of nutrients from it.

Most often, dogs rapidly lose weight due to various digestive disorders, as well as diseases associated with metabolism in the body (kidney disease, insufficient secretory activity of the pancreas, diabetes, proteinuria). Problems with weight loss are also guaranteed if there are anatomical or physiological problems with grasping and swallowing food.

In such cases, veterinary care cannot be avoided. Only by establishing a diagnosis can you count on the dog being cured and restored.

Second reason for exhaustion

much more common, associated with improper care for the dog and its improper feeding.

Sometimes this happens due to the ignorance and inexperience of dog owners, but, unfortunately, much more often dogs become victims of cruelty. The so-called owners starve the dogs, leave them alone without any food, throw them out into the street, where to the family dog It is very difficult to find food for yourself.
Many emaciated dogs are kept in various places where it is difficult to see a large number animals.

If the dog’s condition is very serious, it will have to be given special supportive and nutritional medications in a veterinary clinic.

If a dog that you decide to adopt from a shelter or that has signs of exhaustion (not associated with any disease) but can eat on its own, you can feed it yourself, you just need to take into account some recommendations for feeding it.

How to feed a dog when exhausted

It is better to feed with natural food

It is better to feed a dog when it is exhausted - dry food may be too heavy for such a dog.

The best thing that can be offered to such a dog is a liquid porridge soup consisting of 50% lean boiled meat (beef, veal, chicken), 25% cereal (preferably rice, you can add just a little oatmeal) and 25% from steamed or stewed vegetables (carrots, beets). This porridge needs to be slightly salted and a little vegetable oil added to it.

Not all dogs tolerate fermented milk products well, so they should be offered carefully, preferably separately from other food, so that in case of a problem, the product that provokes digestive upset or allergic reactions can be accurately excluded.

Cottage cheese and kefir should be low-fat (kefir - 1-1.5%, cottage cheese up to a maximum of 9% fat content). High fat content is too much stress for an emaciated dog.

When the dog will go to get better, you can try to switch your dog to ready-made food (or canned food), but only one that is intended for dogs with similar problems - a special dietary one or one designed for dogs with sensitive digestion. For example, such as Hills Prescription Diet Canine d/d (duck and rice) Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal Dog, Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal Low Fat Dog, Royal Canin Hypoalergenic Dog, Eukanuba Intestinal Formula for Dogs.

But keep in mind that such food belongs to the category, and therefore cannot be fed on an ongoing basis. Before switching to medicated food, be sure to consult your veterinarian.

The dog should have clean and fresh water at all times.

Feed often, but in small portions

An emaciated dog will need to be fed frequently, much more often than a healthy dog ​​of the same age. For example, while a 2-year-old dog can be fed twice a day, an emaciated 2-year-old dog needs to be fed four times a day.

To do this, distribute the daily portion into 4-5 parts.

Never overfeed your dog, especially if it is severely malnourished.
If you are in doubt about the amount of food offered, take your dog to the veterinarian so that he can tell you the approximate amount of food offered.

Nothing greasy

An exhausted dog should absolutely not be overloaded with heavy, fatty food.
If for a dog in normal condition a donut with cream is simply junk food, then for an emaciated dog it is poison in its purest form.

Read the list and strictly adhere to it. Add any high-fat foods to this list.

When you notice the first signs of improvement (the dog’s ribs will begin to “overgrow”, the coat will become shiny, the dog will become more active), you will need to carry out a deworming. But this must be done very carefully, using the most gentle medications possible, and carefully monitoring the dog’s condition.

If you do everything correctly, by the end of the first month (maybe earlier, it all depends on the dog’s condition) you will notice a significant improvement.

It’s too early to relax - the dog’s body needs more time to fully recover, so you will have to continue to adhere to the diet for your pet.