At 4:00 AM -0400 7/25/01, Automatic digest processor wrote:
>"Taint", my female albino, has lost a good deal of weight in the last week,
>and I'm curious as to what might be causing it.  She has coughed/hacked
>just a little more than normal, and I did see her hack up a small amount
>of thin, clear liquid once, but only once.  The best that I can figure is
>that she's got a GI tract infection, but I'm open to other suggestions.
>She's still frisky, playful, and curious, so I'm not getting overly
>worried just yet. ; )
>
>Gerald
 
Get to the vet right away.  One of the most likely possibilities is a
partial or moving blockage (only 15% of which show up in x-rays) but it
also would pay to check her heart and other things.  A partial may need
surgery but can at times be safely dislodged without it as happens
sometimes when the vet tries a barium enema to x-ray.
 
Unexplained weight loss, and unusual levels of coughing are two things
(can be separate) which are among those that require vet response.  Black
tarry stools, serious wounds, mobility impairment, seizures, dizziness,
sudden change in activity level, and others continue the list.
[Posted in FML issue 3490]