I, too, have wondered if Spencer isn't having a negative association with his tongue lapping food, since it was clearly so painful before. That or the antibiotics possibly suppressing his appetite. He ate more today– beef stew, which he hasn't had in ages. Still, he bit at it with his teeth, though he did lick the bowl clean at the end. It took him a while to decide to do it, though. He would circle back and ponder, circle back and ponder, then finally he took a tentative lick, then finished it off. So maybe he'll go for it tomorrow!
Terry, Spencer is not in renal failure-- his BUN and CREA are quite good-- and Dr. Gonto recommended switching him to the hybrid protocol four years ago after he had a seizure. He gets a little higher protein (good proteins) than the typical hybrid protocol, so he's actually a hybrid hybrid! I keep hearing about venison, so I'm really going to have to check that out. Right now, we stick to chicken breast, lean beef, fish and eggs (mostly egg whites), mixed with veggies, rice, the occasional cheese and senior kibble. I try to mix it up, but seemingly not enough.
The vet gave Spencer a steroid for an appetite stimulant, but it didn't do any good, so we stopped that. When he's off the antibiotics next week, I'll know if that's dulling his appetite or if he's just a picky, picky boy.