What to do if Izzy is not eating some or most of her food

If Izzy is not eating all her food, it is an early sign of a flare up of her IBD. Don’t worry - she will be okay and feeling better in a few days if you follow these steps.

• The morning after you notice a decrease in appetite, give Izzy her medication by pilling her. You only need to pill her with the small half pill. The two capsules can be sprinkled on her food. Her medication increases her appetite.
• It’s easiest to pill her by carrying her to the butcher block counter in the kitchen and holding her up against you. She is usually easy to pill, but watch to be sure she doesn’t spit it out. If she does, you can take another half pill from the end of the pink box to try again. If it’s not her usual med day, give her a pill from the end of the box and continue as usual the following day.
• Give half her normal food, and open a can of her wet food. Add a spoonful of that to both portions of her normal food. This will make her more interested in the food.
• Add a squeeze about the size of a small coin or dime of nutritional gel to both portions of her normal food. This gets her some extra calories.
• Sprinkle the two capsules over her food and add water as normal.

Continue until she is eating normally and finishing all her food again, then return to her normal feeding routine. This may take 1-3 days. Do not feed anything else - it will trigger a worse flareup. If she stops eating or this routine does not work, please contact me.

What to expect during a flare up

Hopefully you will never have to deal with a flare up, but if you do, this is what to expect from Izzy:

• Temporarily reduced appetite
• Slightly reduced energy, but should still have some interest in food
• Digestive upset - she may have diarrhea and may not make it to the litterbox on time
• Accidents are usually fairly small, near the box, and liquidy in nature
• She may be smelly or gassy, but should continue to clean herself on her own
• These symptoms should improve, if not completely resolve with the above routine, within 3 days

What triggers a flare up

Flare ups typically happen if Izzy eats or licks anything besides her normal food. This could be a plate accidentally left on the counter, her licking RC’s hairballs (gross), or if she misses some medication or gets sick of her food. If it happens, please don’t feel bad! She is very sneaky and has an adventurous sense of taste. Be patient with her - it will resolve.