sickness and eye cataracts

Question
I have a poodle I know he is getting old(16 yrs)He has been pretty healthy .
1.here lately he has been vomiting yellow liqiid and white mucus. He will eat people food but now no dog food.He does not roam outside and we always take him for a walk.Total house and lap dog.any ideas??

2. He also has cataracts. Is there anyway to get rid of them w/o an operation. I heard of drops is this possible.?
Thanks for your input.
Pat

Answer
Hi Pat,

The yellow fluid your dog has been vomiting is bile, sometimes it has white or frothy mucus, as you've noted. It means his stomach is empty, and by itself is not a symptom. You didn't say how often your dog is vomiting. Feeding your dog the same volume of food, but dividing it into more frequent feedings might help stop the vomiting - if there isn't a medical reason for the vomiting.

You didn't say how long your dog has been refusing dog food, or if you started feeding him human food in an attempt to get him to eat anything at all, or if this routine has been a life long habit.

Letting your dog eat only people food is not healthy for him. Dogs have specific nutritional requirements, and need to be fed dog food. Once a dog is in the habit of getting the diet it wants, it can become finicky and stubborn about what it eats, and it's truly a battle of wills to make things right.

You should try weaning him off the human food by mixing SMALL amounts of either tuna packed in water, shredded cooked chicken, or scrambled eggs into his dog food.

Given your dog's age, and the fact he's been throwing up, and (I assume) has only recently stopped eating his regular dog food, I would recommend you have your vet examine your dog.

There are no medications which are effective in treating or preventing cataracts. Once a lens has developed a cataract, there is no known method to make the lens clear again. Some cataracts can be treated by surgically removing them, but given your dog's age surgery might not be advised.
The good thing is, cataracts are slow to form, giving the dog time to adapt to it's lessening field of vision. Because a dog's sense of smell and hearing are much better than how we humans hear and sense smell, they are able to adapt very well to their condition, and lead happy lives.

Your dog's eyes should be examined by your vet. Immature and mature cataracts cause a serious reactive inflammation inside the eye (Lens Induced Uveitis, or LIU) that must be medically treated, whether or not surgery is performed. If surgery is not performed, lifetime anti-inflammatory eye drops are required, as well as periodic eye re-examinations.

If your dog's cataracts are still developing, you should ask your vet about using vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol acetate) and vitamin C (ascorbic acid)supplements to slow the development and progression of cataracts. Both these anti-oxidants seem to slow the progression of age-related changes such as cataracts in animals and people, but you shouldn't use them without your vet's supervision.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti