2/2 Rebel AMBG 317 Not eating

Well here we go with another day of no eating. Have fed her 2 different kinds of food. All she does is lick the juices off. Add a teasp. of water and she turns her nose up at it. Have given her Pepcid over an hour ago and fresh food. Still the same results. But comes running when the refrigerator is opened and doesn't turn down a tad of cheese or people food?? Mabe it is time to make a difficult decision. She is losing weight and doesn't have an awful lot to loose. Since 1/5 when she had her UTI she has lost around 13oz. She will be 13 years old in April.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...2-3-59-4-59-5-91-6-165-7-220-pmps-310.151967/

 

I hope you don't need to make any decision. Let Rebel eat what ever she will eat even if it's people food and hopefully she'll come around. Doodles is the pickiest eater. I've been known to go through 3 cans of food to get him to eat 1 lousy oz at times. Sending lots of appy vines.

 

If she likes cheese then try breaking up little bits of cheese into her food. Might have to be more cheese/less food at first!

 

Agreed, if there is an appetite it's not time for any decisions yet! -except to feed her whatever she wants!

Hang in there Jeannie!

 

Just to add...I'm not sure it's a good idea to be completely skipping doses right now. Not eating + low insulin + systemic stresses can cause the perfect storm for DKA.
I would let her eat whatever she wants and (if necessary) adjust the dose to (try to) keep her under 200.

 

What would I give as a dose? The only thing she has eaten this a.m. is maybe a teaspoon of juice off of her food, a tiny piece of cheese and a 1/2 teaspoon of diced roasted chicken.

 

I wouldn't increase it right now, she's getting low numbers with her current food intake. It also looks like she's bouncing from the low numbers yesterday. I think you'll have to find out what she eats, first. Then after a couple days, you can adjust her dose to fit whatever she is eating.

 

All Ps in place?

Have you tried warming up her food slightly? It may make it more appealing. Rotisserie chicken without skin is often a big hit.

 

The info in these links might help:

Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite

Syringe/Assisted Feeding (Video and Tips)

I agree with Karen. Let Rebel eat what she wants! Something is better than nothing... even if it isn't low carb food.

How do you feel about shooting a half dose (0.5 unit)... just to get some insulin into her?

 

She has eaten some canned tuna fish. Still licking at her FF. I have talked with the vet and he advises to watch the insulin, the way she dives one of these times I am not going to catch it and with her not eating I am inclined to agree. I will wait till this evening and decide on the insulin.

 

Please check for ketones, if you're not already

http://www.felinediabetes.com/ketones.htm

 

Ok, sounds like a plan.
We're just concerned about her developing ketones. If you're not already, it would be a good idea to test her urine for ketones daily. You can pick up some ketostix at any pharmacy/drug store for around $10-$15.

 

The p's are good. No poo today, but ya have to eat to poo! The chicken I offered this a.m. was rotisserie chicken. Which she only ate a wee bit. I do warm in the micro. I have tried Parm cheese, tuna flake treats, cheese in her food. I tried several flavors of both Friskies and FF cat food. She did eat about a tablespoon of tuna fish a while ago. Still licking the cat food. But thanks for all the suggestions!

 

Ketones are negative.

 

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

 

Have you tried baby food? the chicken flavor was always a big hit when my kitties wouldn't eat. They also like chicken broth. Also, my Minka was eating shredded cheddar cheese like crazy for a while. As long as your Rebel has tolerated dairy in the past, give her all the cheese she'll eat. We're looking for calories!

 

Oh it sounds like my situation. After everything else fails I add little pinch of catnip to his food and it works most of the time if not we syringe feed.

Sending big appetite vines Rebel and hugs for you.

 

I have catnip!

 

Gus also really likes baby food beef beechnut and i have to feed it to him with the spoon.

Good luck

 

I syringe fed Minka successfully for several months. Often, once she had been given some food from the syringe, she'd eat on her own - it's like she realized she wouldn't get sick if she ate.

Have you discussed anti-nausea meds like Ondansetron and Cerenia with your vet?

 

I agree with the others that Rebel may need some anti-nausea meds or pepcid...sometimes a kitty just needs a little help over a hurdle like this. Like Tricia, I had to assist feed my Trixie for several months after a particularly nasty bout with pancreatitis - the assis-feeding almost acted like an appetite stimulant. Once she realized eating wouldn't make her sick, she started eating on her own again....it's been almost 2 years since we went through all that.

 

If all she wants is broth, you could try just feeding her broth to get food into her. Fancy Feast makes broth packets... not sure how good they are for diabetes, but for now you just want to get food into her.

 

I did pepcid this a.m. I have an issue with force feeding. I force fed a dog a few years ago and ended up loosing her.

 

I'm coming late to the party so if you've addressed this previously, please disregard:

• has pancreatitis been ruled out? Either a Snap fPLI or a Spec fPLI should be run to diagnose pancreatitis.
• have you tried something more potent than Pepsid for nausea? Either ondansatron or Cerenia may help. That Rebel is approaching food, licking, and walking away sounds like nausea. (Ondansatron and Cerenia can even be used in combination.)
• are you feeding the same foods as when Rebel was prescribed an antibiotic? If the antibiotic was causing nausea, Rebel may have developed a food aversion and you may need to find something completely different.
• did your vet rule out a dental problem -- does it hurt her to eat?

 

We did discuss the anti-nausea this a.m. I gave her pepcid. The vet is 30 miles away and we have 13 inches of snow on the ground and most of the roads are closed. Did the best we could!

 

When her blood work was done in December I am guessing she was tested for pancreatitis. I wasn't told. The anti nausea meds are from the vet and unfortunatly I am 30 miles from the nearest vet with 13 inches of snow on the ground and bad roads if not closed. She is on different foods. I went from FF to Friskies canned due to higher carbs.
The vet said other than a little tarter, her teeth looked good.

 

A test for pancreatitis is not part of a typical blood panel. A Snap fPLI can be done in the office if the vet has the materials. (It looks like a home pregnancy test.) A Spec fPLI needs to be sent to a lab to be processed. My guess is that it wasn't run.

Ondansatron is a human medication -- it's called "Zofran" and is widely available at most pharmacies. Your vet could call it in.

You can't tell if there is a dental problem that may be causing pain with a general inspection. In all likelihood, dental x-rays would tell you that.

 

I'm so sorry about the dog you lost. An experience like that can definitely leave a lasting impression. I lost a kitty that I had to assist feed, too. We actually went to a feeding tube, but it was too little, too late. I resisted the idea of assist feeding Minka at first, but I didn't want her to waste away like Kisa did, and it kept her going for a couple of months until the cancer won the battle. I'm so grateful for those few extra months, because she was otherwise still doing well and it was quality time we got to spend together. I am not there and don't know your complete situation, but please try to keep all your options open. We are all pulling for Rebel.

 

I wish I had the funds to pursue these options! When you are retired there isn't much in the extra funds department.

 

Watch the video - it's more like assisted feeding instead of force feeding. Just a couple of weeks ago, Neko went off her food. At first she'd eat babyfood chicken and she'd also eat her high fat yogurt (thankfully she's tolerant to dairy). But she wouldn't eat enough so I supplemented with assisted feeding. I only had to do it a couple of days. Just because you once had a bad experience with assisted feeding, doesn't mean it's not a good idea for Rebel at this point. In the past I've assist fed a hepatic lipidosis kitty for over two weeks. In his case, it was life saving.

I also agree with Jill on getting at least a half dose in. When kitties undergo anesthesia and can't eat, vets will typically say to give a half dose. Kitties still need some insulin to operate their systems - it's not all used to offset the food they've eaten. This last time Neko was off her food, I did 2/3 of a dose, but I also assist fed with higher carb food. You don't want to assist feed with their regular food, as they can develop an aversion to it.

 

At the very least, see if your vet would call in a prescription for the injectable form of ondansatron -- it's less expensive than the pill form. It's injected exactly like insulin.

 

Guess who ate 3/4 of a jar of baby food!!

 

My last kitty ate only baby food from 18-20 years old…my sweet Tasha passed from a mass at 20 years.
She did not have FD but she was in CKD-she got fluids daily and about 4 jars of baby food a day -she liked gerber 2 stage meats. There is 1 ff she would eat fish n shrimp (stinks to hi heaven) I continued trying all kinds of food but without the baby food I would have not had that extra 2 years with her...

 

I'm so glad she ate some food! Yay! I remember many times, going up and down the grocery store aisles hoping to find things my cat would eat. He often liked steak cooked with no spices and thinly sliced and just off the grill or out of the oven, or boiled chicken breast. He would also eat thawed cooked frozen shimp with gusto. I also used FortiFlora to entice appetite. I am also one who used assisted feeding for many months. My cat also made it to 20.
You can do this.

 

YAY!!!!!! She can survive on baby food for a few days, but you do need to try to get cat food into her again soon, as there are nutrients in cat food not found in baby food. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. This is a great start!!

 

Woohoo! Good news.

 

@Jeannie Just fyi--many cats (I work with rescues too) seem to like the gerber ham … I think because it is "new" good luck-!!
I know it is not the best in nutrition but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do

 

Gerbers ham is Max's fave. He doesn't like Beechnut except maybe the beef.

 

So glad you got some baby food into her! Hang in there, Jeannie. Often getting some food into a kitty will help their appetite perk up. Rebel's still pretty young at 13. I hope something works!

 

I just want to underline what Sienne said.....you need to discuss with the vet about treating nausea. A cat might act hungry but then not eat....that is a classic sign of nausea.

If you can address that, she might feel like Eating.

Sending many prayers.

 

Sending prayers.