Elvis not eating as much as he should, so I'm worried about fatty liver disease

Discussion in 'Lantus / Levemir / Biosimilars' started by Paula Nowak, May 12, 2019.

  1. Paula Nowak

    Paula Nowak Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2018
    Hi this is Paula with Elvis. In about the last week, Elvis has not been eating as much as he should. For example, take today; it is already 6 Central Time where I'm at in Rockford Illinois and Elvis has only eaten a little more than a small can of Fancy Feast and maybe another quarter of a can. I'm hoping that by 5 the next morning which will be in about 11 hours oh, that he will have finished his other half and then eats another can which means he will have had two and a half cans and he rarely ever goes beyond two and a half cans and has been doing this since November of last year when he first got diabetes. I know Doctor Lisa Pearson had said that she had never seen a cat that had gotten hepatic lipidosis otherwise known as fatty liver disease if they've had at least 15 calories per pound for ideal weight. I'm not sure what Elvis's ideal weight is but I do know that he is around 20 lb now but I am sure he lost a little in the last few months probably not more than a pound though. I calculated his ideal weight at around 12 pounds but that would mean that he would have to eat 2 1/2 cans of Fancy Feast because the Fancy Feast turkey and giblets which is the only food he will eat is 96 calories a can, and I don't think that's a lot of calories. I'm really worried here and I'm wondering if there is any kind of an appetite enhancer that I can give him. At one time when I thought he wasn't getting enough food, I tried to feed him with a food syringe and that was a total disaster and it went all over and he started gagging and it was just a big mess all around , so that is not going to work. I myself am disabled so I can be home all the time and I don't mind at all being with Elvis because he is my baby and I love being with him and I will do whatever I have to do to keep him regulated in all ways. My roommate and I are now concentrating on getting him to eat enough food, which has been difficult in the past week. This has happened before, but then he sort of snapped out of it and started wolfing his food down. Someone said on here that oh it's probably because of his blood sugar but his blood sugar is basically been in the two' s in the evening and the threes in the evening. I have seen him in the blues in the greens though here and there. I guess this is because he's a diabetic, so maybe the best thing to do is probably just to keep watching him and putting the food in front of him like we've been doing and saying to him , chicken dinner Elvis, good boy chicken dinner. I know I said I give him turkey and giblets but he knows the word chicken because he used to get chicken a while back but now he won't eat it any more and then we say good boy good boy and then he eats. I think he associates the good boy with eating and that we are praising him for eating so that's why he eats. If anyone has any ideas or knows if there's any kind of a powdered mix that I can mix in his food that won't change the taste of his food because that's all I can do at this point. He doesn't like anything that tastes funny so it has to be masked by food. I remember someone on here telling me to give him salmon oil and he totally hated that. I can't give him anything that goes in the mouth cause he's not going to like it , he starts foaming at the mouth and starts gagging and I'm not doing that to him. So if anybody has any ideas I'd appreciate it, thank you.
     
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  2. Sean & Rufus

    Sean & Rufus Well-Known Member

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    Jan 10, 2018
    Is Elvis losing weight? If he's eating 2 cans a day of food, I'm confident that he won't get fatty liver. They would have to eat almost nothing for days/weeks. Rufus is a big guy, 23ish pounds. He doesn't eat how much he is "supposed" to eat. Is Elvis very active? If not, that could be why he doesn't eat what you think he shoudl be eating.
     
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  3. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

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    Nov 15, 2013
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  4. JeffJ

    JeffJ Well-Known Member

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    Jul 7, 2016
    I just bought the Beurer baby scale (link here).
    It seems to be quite accurate.

    Leo has appetite issues too. To help him, we give mirtazipine. That works quite well.
     
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  5. Sienne and Gabby (GA)

    Sienne and Gabby (GA) Senior Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    As a cat gets better regulated, appetite is reduced. When numbers are high, no glucose is getting into the cells so your cat will be literally starving all the time. As the insulin is working better, more glucose is in the cells (vs in the blood) and appetite is reduced. If his loss of appetite persists, it may be a reason to have Elvis see his vet. This could be pancreatitis or some other medical problem.

    It would be to both your and Elvis' benefit if you could do a couple of things. Read about the two dosing strategies we use here -- Tight Regulation and Start Low Go Slow -- and pick one to follow, This will give you a strategy for dosing. Right now, how you're dosing is going to cause wonky numbers. Lantus does best if you're giving the same amount of insulin at each shot time.

    You are basing your dose on pre-shot numbers. Lantus dosing is based on the nadir -- the lowest number in the cycle.

    Because Lantus dosing is based on the nadir, you really need to get some spot checks during both the AM and PM cycles. You have no idea how low Elvis' numbers are going and whether he's legitimately earned a dose reduction. I'm particularly concerned about his numbers during the PM cycle.
     
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  6. Paula Nowak

    Paula Nowak Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2018
    It doesn't appear that he's losing very much weight at all. He is not very active at all. He's 13 and weighs 20 lbs. He does sleep alot but he's always been that way, even when he was really young. I was thinking I'm getting a scale and I'm going to be doing that because I'd really like to know where his weight is going from time to time. Thank you for your input because I really was worried about the fatty liver disease and now I can be rest assured when you said that the two cans would be okay and I do remember that my one fact that I had seen, said that no less than two cans but that if he eats the two they thought that that would be okay. I just had my doubts about my other than that saying that because there were things that they said that I didn't agree with and that's why I have a new vet recently Justin last few months but I am going to be taking Elvis back to the vet in June. I do have a little bit of a financial situation and my sister is paying for Elvis's insulin. I think I could swing a vet visit again soon I just don't know if I'd be able to pay for something that they would recommend unless it's something that doesn't agree with me or seems pretty outlandish like when she said that I was supposed to not test Elvis for 2 weeks and just give them two units all of the time and don't worry about testing because she didn't want me to worry about so is he going to be a high or is he going to be low and that just sounded crazy because you have to testso this is where I take a dim view on what a veterinarian says because veterinarians have a broad spectrum of knowledge and the most of them do not have a specialty in diabetes. Oh and Elvis takes a multi vitamin every day. It's a tablet that I crush up and put in his food and is turkey flavored. He seems to like the food better that has the crushed vitamin in it. I know that may seem odd but it's probably a good flavor for him I would think and at first he seems like he readily eats the food more so then when I give him his next feeding that doesn't have the pill in it. Maybe I should put a little bit a of the multi-vitamin in each feeding that I give him !
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2019
  7. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2013
    If his ideal weight is really 12 pounds and he now weighs 20, he needs to lose weight. Lisa Pierson explains how to do that safely on her site. It must be done slowly. He likely won’t need more than 2 cans of fancy feast to do so.
     
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  8. JoyBee&Ravan

    JoyBee&Ravan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2018
    Maybe you could play with him a few times a day to get him moving? I agree with "tiffmaxee, He needs to lose weight.
    Health Risks to Be Aware Of
    • Overweight cats may not live as long as normal-weight cats.
    • Increased weight can place an excessive burden on joints, tendons and ligaments, in some cases causing arthritic changes. Jumping down from high places can be especially hard on joints.
    • Overweight cats may develop high blood pressure, placing an added burden on the heart. In addition, the heart must work harder to pump blood to all the additional body tissue.
    • Obesity often brings on diabetes mellitus, as the body's requirements for insulin exceed the body's ability to produce or use it.
    http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/9-ways-being-overweight-can-hurt-your-cat

    The people here know more than most vets about Diabetes. If you follow their advice they can help you to help your kitty. There's a lot of things to read to help you understand how insulin works.

    The more you know the better! Best of Luck with Elvis.
     
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  9. Paula Nowak

    Paula Nowak Member

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    Sep 9, 2018
    Hi, Elvis is on a weight reduction plan. My previous vet said no more than three cans, but no less than two cans,so I am trying to stick with something in between that but sometimes he doesn't want to eat as much as that, but like I said he is on a plan to lose weight. My roommate & I said that he looks like he's losing weight because we noticed he has more of a cat shape, the way he's supposed to be shaped , instead of just round and bulky looking.
     
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  10. JoyBee&Ravan

    JoyBee&Ravan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2018
    That's great! It's important to get him moving every day also. I pull a string around & that always gets my 3 cats chasing it. Even though they are going to be 17 in a few weeks they are still active (with a little encouragement from me :p )
    I also got an empty box & cut windows into it & put a towel in there & a little catnip. It's fun to watch them batt at the string thru the windows. Just get creative . Even if it's only for 10 mins a day I enjoy seeing my cats play.

    upload_2019-5-13_14-27-17.png upload_2019-5-13_14-30-25.png
     
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  11. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

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    Nov 15, 2013
    Thanks good news. You want slow weight loss.
     
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  12. Paula Nowak

    Paula Nowak Member

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    Sep 9, 2018
    It's funny, but he does get these sudden burst of energy where he quickly runs in the living room and then just plops down in front of the window. I had gotten these plastic colored rings for him and at times he likes to chase them around, but I found out that he likes the milk jug rings better, but with the milk jug rings, I feel they are not big enough , &I'm afraid that he might choke on one of them, but he never has actually put one of them all the way in his mouth. VHe just sort of bats it around , bites it & has fun with it !
     
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  13. JoyBee&Ravan

    JoyBee&Ravan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2018
    Just play with him & enjoy his company. Our animals are much smarter than we know. When we feel stressed out it affects them ,so when we're Happy & play with them it makes them Happy.
    Stress & boredom are the worst things for" us " & our animals. It causes all kinds of illness.

    Elvis is only 13 yrs old! He's still a youngster! Get him moving to lose weight & he has a long life ahead of him. My last kitty Daisy lived to be 23 yrs old. :joyful:

    Think of "Young" Elvis Presley," when he was slender & very sexy! ( I'm 73 yrs old & really loved Elvis Presley, I was so sad when he gained all that weight & died)

    Take good care of your Elvis & he may live to be 23 ! :):bighug:
     
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  14. Paula Nowak

    Paula Nowak Member

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    Sep 9, 2018
    Yes. I'm planning, hopeing and praying that he lives many many years right along with me. It's wonderful that you have such a positive attitude, unlike some people that I have talked to. I try and look at the glass half-full instead of half-empty. Elvis and I are plugging along and we're going to do the best we can possibly do and make as many right choices as possible. I can tell that Elvis is losing weight though but it's not too quick. He seems more playful which is very good and like I said in an earlier post oh, he is getting a multivitamin and I also am giving him shroom immune buy all natural pets.
     
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  15. JoyBee&Ravan

    JoyBee&Ravan Well-Known Member

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    Feb 17, 2018
    Don't you Post every day?
     
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  16. Paula Nowak

    Paula Nowak Member

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    Sep 9, 2018
    No, I don't post everyday.
     
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  17. Paula Nowak

    Paula Nowak Member

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    Sep 9, 2018
    Hi this is Paula with Elvis. Elvis is eating better and is a little more active. He has been displaying more curiousity like he did when he was younger !
     
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