Loss of appetite due to cephalexin - Page 1

Need some tasty recipe ideas or pointers towards tantalizing appetite-encouraging supplements (less wacky supplements preferred)! My vet prescribed cephalexin for Jack without mentioning the side effects...such as loss of appetite and nausea....and the drug has to be taken twice a day with food. It's been an interesting two days. Jack literally spit boiled egg in my face.

Ideas? My vet is not being helpful with this and we're definitely looking for another one...
PS: Jack's on a raw diet.

Make up some Satin Balls.

Yeah, cephalexin is tough to hide...it's got a really strong smell.  There's no point in trying to hide it in a meal, and the only thing I've found that can successfully disguise it is something made with liver or with fish.  I know you said he's raw-fed, but if he doesn't have any allergies to wheat, you could try mixing up pureed liver or fish, flour, *vegetable or olive oil* and the oil from a few Vitamin E capsules (the E acts as a preservative, but you'll still want to refrigerate this mixture) to make a 'putty' substance that you can roll into a ball that's big enough to hide the capsule in, but small enough that the dog just gulps it down and doesn't try to chew it.  Let him eat his regular meal first, and then give him the meds hidden in the putty-mix after he's finished, and his appetite should improve.

If he's allergic to wheat or you just don't like using it, you can substitute any kind of flour or starch, such as arrowroot or potato.

cream cheese works wonders to hide a pill or two.

I may try the satin balls, thanks Abhay!

Hexe-
The problem hasn't been getting him to take the pill so much as getting him to eat the meal beforehand. He's really not interested. I just stuff the pill down his throat with some peanut butter and he hasn't had an issue with that, in fact, he gets excited when I grab the pill bottle.

I've been trying to hand feed him because usually he'll take treats even when he's not hungry...this is what resulted in me getting boiled egg spat in my face ;-) I've also tried cooked oatmeal mixed with yogurt, yogurt by itself, yogurt mixed with chicken broth, and I'm about to try cooked brown rice mixed with chicken broth.

I'm not too worried about it since so far he has shown no signs of the more serious effects like vomiting and diarrea. However,
I want to follow the medication directions because vomiting and diarrhea are made more likely when cephalexin is taken without a meal.

you can try some pepcid twice a day.. also the vets sell a product called Forti Flora..  you sprinkle it on one meal a day.. it helps the gut deal with the antibiotic and it also stimulates the appetite. 

Give some canned TRIPE a try. I use the canned tripe from Solid Gold. My dogs love it and even my picky dog will eat it.

Velvetta cheese;  cut a hunk off and put the pill inside and squeeze the cheese around the pill;  it is a very soft/smushy cheese and a little won't hurt him.  Also cream cheese but really messy works sometimes.  Nanci

Update: getting him to play tug with a chicken leg works pretty well...he kind of absentmindedly chews on it after winning. I'll try the tripe later, thanks Jyl! I forgot that I had one can left in my pantry...

BTW, I don't need help getting him to actually take the pills. That part is easy, even though he has wised up to the pill-in-peanut butter and pill-in-cheese trick.

tripe is usually never turned down...whole or ground (if you can get raw tripe rather than canned, that's always a plus).  

if he won't eat that either, you can always drizzle a little honey over his bowl of whatever you're feeding him at the moment.  i only use raw, unprocessed honey (you can usually get it at any farmer's market, or whole foods supermarket...or health market/store if no whole foods in your area).

or add a few raw eggs.

also, not sure if this is too wacky food wise, but i've never had a dog turn down a raw trachea/gullet (if you can get it).

good luck with jack!