Refeeding Syndrome

Jennifer Vanderau
Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter

(10/2024) I learned a new term today. It’s called refeeding syndrome and it can happen to either humans or animals who are malnourished.

Unfortunately, working at an animal shelter, we see animals come through our doors in need of all kinds of help and this time, it’s a little terrier mix we named Jemma.

She’s about 11-months-old and when we got her, she’d been found running around the area. She was severely underweight, and I mean severely. She was so bad off we had to be incredibly careful how much and when we fed her.

Over the years since I’ve been at the shelter we’ve had animals come in from time to time in this bad of shape. It’s bizarre because there’s some part of me that wants to just dump an entire bag of food into their kennel and let them gorge themselves, just have at it honey, and fill that empty tummy.

But medically, that’s a really bad idea.

Ever since the shelter staff taught me about refeeding syndrome, I’ve really looked into the physical aspects of malnutrition and it dawned on me how serious this really is.

For a person or an animal who hasn’t eaten in long enough that it affects their physical, not only appearance, but ability to move and walk correctly, there has been a whole lot that has gone on inside in terms of lack of nutrients.

As I understand it, your body wants you to continue to live, no matter what may be happening and it will fight to do so. When you’re malnourished, your body reacts in a way that changes your overall metabolism and how you convert food into energy.

The body will also naturally reduce the amount of energy you use when at rest – by as much as 20%, according to reports.

This whole body slow down is all in an effort to keep you alive.

The same thing happens in animals.

So when we get a little squirt like Jemma into the shelter, her body has been so used to metabolizing what little she has eaten that to suddenly give her a huge meal could run the risk of actually shutting her body down. Tons of food would have the opposite affect of helping her simply because her body isn’t used to it.

There’s some part of my brain that says that seems counterintuitive, but once I learned what really happens when people and pets are malnourished, it makes more sense.

Because there are so few nutrients in the body, digestion becomes slower, so adding a ton of food actually makes the body work harder, particularly since the normal electrolytes aren’t there.

It really is about biology.

Refeeding syndrome can cause symptoms in both human and animal that include kidney problems, low blood pressure, trouble breathing and even confusion and disorientation. Introducing food again can have serious effects on the heart, lungs, brain and muscles.

So it’s best to start with incredibly small amounts of food over a specific time.

That’s exactly what we did for Jemma. We were incredibly careful what kind of food she ate and how much of it we gave her.

Eventually, she began regaining her strength and energy. She’s still quite skinny, but she’s so much better than when she first arrived and she’s ready for find her forever home.

If you want to see an adorable little girl who is most definitely in need of a second chance, check out Jemma at cvas-pets.org.

She’s been through a lot in her short time on this planet, but she’s a fighter and we know there’s someone out there who will show Jemma that this life can be good and loving and have quality food on a consistent basis and that she’ll never have to starve again.

This sweet, tough little girl deserves that so very, very much.

Could you show it to her?

Jennifer Vanderau is the Publications and Promotions Consultant for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and can be reached at cvascomm@cvas-pets.org. The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, call the shelter at 263-5791 or visit the website www.cvas-pets.org. CVAS also operates a thrift store in Chambersburg. Help support the animals at the shelter by donating to or shopping at the store.