Kidney failure heart disease

[Rossmarties]

my shih tzu is being treated with Epakitin. He refuses to eat. I have been spoon feeding him and using a syringe as well. He also has grade 4-5 murmurs on both sides. Due to injuries from a dog attack and dental work he has undergone 3 surgeries in 4 months. My previous vet failed to detect the heart murmur and the kidney failure was missed as well in spite of the blood work done. He is seeing another vet . It has been 3 weeks since his last surgery and he has been on the Epakitin for 8 days . At last weighing he was at 9.6 lbs. he may be less now. He gets 2 scoops with food twice a day. His energy level has picked up. He can walk a few blocks now . A week ago he was falling over
He looks interested in food but turns his head away. Is this aversion to eating to be expected and how long can I expect it to last?
He did not respond to the appetite stimulant . I am feeding him chicken broth, puréed squash,Hills a/d and baby cereal. He drinks water well. Any help at all is appreciated. I have all his lab reports . he is 13. . His surgeries included dental work( 2 teeth removed) stitches to muscle of hind leg and eye removed. The eye was the last surgery.

[ginger899]

P.S. If you can find jars or cans of baby food at the supermarket, you could use those, let down with a little water, for his syringe feeding. Please make sure the baby foods are those WITHOUT onion! And many canned dog foods (or prescription diet canned foods) can be mashed/put into a blender with a little water, for syringe feeding.

[ginger899]

I am sorry I have no experience of Epakitin or its possible side effects.

But poor boy -he has been through so much in such a short time! He is probably somewhat shocked by all the surgeries, plus his dog attack. I am so sorry for him right now.

But you are doing the right thing, it seems, and what you are doing sounds good. He is also not getting dehydrated which is positive.
Does he keep the food down? Or vomit? If he keeps it down, then that's a good sign.

It is possible that the Epakitin may taste strange, or have side effects I don't know anything about, due to my lack of experience with this drug -(did you say this is "two scoops" (powder?) with food?) It may taste odd, and put him off his food....

Are the sites of the tooth extractions fully healed? Check in his mouth, if you can, for any signs of ulceration or things not right where the teeth were extracted. If he has pain in his mouth, he will not want to eat.