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TEXTBOOK OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, 8e
CLIENT INFORMATION
Loss of Appetite
Your pet is being evaluated for a decreased appetite. Vet-
erinarians use a variety of terminologies to describe pets
who have a decreased appetite. Some use medical terms,
such as “inappetence” or “anorexia.” The term anorexia
does not suggest a mental condition, but rather a lack or
loss of appetite for food. Similar to people, many conditions
or diseases can cause a decreased appetite and some of
these can be serious. A decreased appetite results in lower
energy supplies available for health. If prolonged, failure to
consume an adequate amount of food can result in second-
ary problems including weakness, poor immune response,
dehydration, and in some cases, problems with the liver or
intestines.
The first step in trying to figure out why your pet is not
eating is for your veterinarian to ask you questions about
your pet and your pet’s home life. These questions are very
important since they often provide clues as to why your pet
may not be eating. Knowing when your pet started to not
eat well, how much your pet is currently eating, and what
treatments you have already tried (if any), lets us develop a
treatment plan. It is common for pet owners to remember
additional details after leaving the veterinary clinic. Please
do not hesitate to contact us with any additional informa-
tion. The next step in figuring out why your pet is not eating
is a complete physical examination. In some pets (for
example a limping pet), additional examinations focusing
on the joints, bones, or spinal cord may be performed. Your
pet’s mouth will be closely evaluated, since problems in this
area can cause a decrease in appetite. Your pet’s heart,
lung, lymph nodes, eyes, and abdomen are also examined
for signs of problems.
At this stage, we may have determined the cause of your
pet’s decreased appetite. Examples would include an
infected tooth or a string stuck under your pet’s tongue.
However, in many cases, additional testing is needed to
screen for causes of a decreased appetite which would not
be detectable on physical examination. Such testing may
determine the significance of an abnormality noted on
examination. For example, in pets with small kidneys, it is
important to test their kidney function.
AUTHOR: Marnin A. Forman, Stamford, CT
Copyright ©2017 by Elsevier, Inc.
For most pets, we start with a collection of lab tests
called a minimum database. The minimum database typi-
cally includes a complete blood count, biochemistry panel,
and urinalysis. These three test panels allow us to screen for
many possible causes of decreased appetite. This only
requires obtaining a small amount of blood and urine. The
complete blood count evaluates your pet’s red and white
blood cells and platelets and screens for an anemia (decrease
in red blood cells), signs of an infection or a bleeding
problem. This test can also screen for rare blood cancers.
However, most common cancers cannot be detected with
blood tests. The biochemistry panel is a collection of tests
that provide an overview for problems with the liver, kidneys
or diabetes mellitus. The tests provide direct information on
salt, potassium, and protein levels in the blood. The urinaly-
sis screens for infection, sugar, protein and concentrating
ability or health of the kidney. The urine test complements
the others described and can be the most valuable.
In pets that might have ingested a foreign body, prob-
lems breathing, a heart murmur, an abnormal feeling
abdomen, or in pets that are very ill, other tests may be
recommended. Your veterinarian may recommend an X-ray
(called a radiograph) or ultrasound. These tests allow us to
evaluate the inside of your pet. These tests usually do not
require sedatives, but sometimes a sedative prevents them
from moving too much. These tests are especially important
to screen for conditions which would not be detectable
with labwork (e.g., heart failure, or a blockage of the intes-
tines) or to screen for causes of abnormalities on labwork
(for example to screen for a kidney stone in a pet with
elevated kidney values). The above testing provides us with
a wealth of information about your pet and in many cases
we can determine the cause of your pet’s decreased appe-
tite. Even if the test results are normal, it tells us what your
pet does not have and it is important to screen for other
causes of a decreased appetite with different tests. Please
contact your veterinarian with any questions or concerns or
if your pet is not doing well.
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