2 days w/o food

Please help... Beans has not eaten since Monday! I had a post on here on Monday about how she wasn't eating the Purina DM anymore and what could I give her. Alot of you posted back about canned wet food and I said I was going to go and purchase some to see what she likes. I completly cut out the Dm,thinking it was ok seeing as how we are not doing insulin yet.

I have gone through 6 cans of food Merrick,Friskies,Fancy Feast and Wellness. She won't eat anything! I even put out her favorite Friskies Turkey and Cheese just trying to get her to eat something :sad: she won't go for treats,and she's never turned down treats,she's not drinking alot.I put out some DM and that's not working either.

Beans is 3yrs old 4 in September and she is my meower/screamer, she won't even make a mew noise or look at me. When she does I've noticed that filmy part in the corner of their eyes is covering about half now. I am so scared thinking she is going to die any minute.

I can't afford a vet visit right now so is there anything that I can do at home? I am not home testing either as I can't afford the supplies needed,even if I click above for supplies they are asking for 7.00 that I just don't have. I am feeling like a horrible mother with all these excuses,but it's the truth. I am ready ( I think ) to accept the fact that she will not last because of my finances and I don't want her to suffer. Please help

Stephanie

 

If she hasn't eaten for 2 days, this could lead into some very serious problems that require vet intervention.

Have you tried feeding her baby food? Beech nut, stage 1 meat flavor is a good option. whichever you use, make sure it doesn't have onion or garlic in it.

Do you have syringes that you can syringe feed her with? You may have to add water to either the canned food you purchased or the baby food to get in the the syringe and then squirt it into her mouth.

If you don't have a syringe, you could use a small spoon or your finger and feed her that way. With a small spoon, I scrape the food/spoon from back to front on the roof of Maui's mouth to get her to eat.

But seriously, if she hasn't eaten or drunk anything you really need to think about a vet visit.

Have you contacted DCIN, that may be able to help you with finances? viewtopic.php?f=28&t=29083

And if none of this works, will she eat dry food? While, it's not ideal, the goal now is to get food into her and fast.

 

And here is another post with someone with a similar problem, there are several suggestions listed here that may also help:

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=73465

 

I tried the baby food,no luck. Friskies dry,no luck. Although I was able to get her to drink water from a spoon. I called the vet, she will be seen this morning,the vet is going to allow me to make monthly payments :YMSIGH: I will post later what I am able to find out.

Thank you

 

I would second the syringe feeding while you figure out what is going on. I'm not going to lie, it can be difficult, but at least it won't cost you more than the cost of the food and the syringe. Cats need to eat and drink (2 days is about the longest you would want to let her go without eating anything), and you never know, getting a few meals worth of food into her may help her feel better so she will start eating and drinking again on her own. I would do a little research on syringe feeding too... you want to make sure you are not feeding her too much at a time.

I agree also about finding some financial assistance to help you with a vet visit. The symptoms you describe sound pretty worrisome.

Good luck... I hope you can get this figured out. :YMHUG:

 

Good luck at the vet.

She may need an appetite stimulant, possibly anti-nausea meds. Hopefully, it's nothing serious and she will get her appetite back quickly.

While at the vet - ask for some feeding syringes - they should hopefully just give it to you. This way you have them on hand for now and future use.

 

Sending prayers for Beans.
jeanne

 

:sad: prayers from us too ...

 

Thank you for the prayers,they are greatly appreciated!!! Took Beans to the vet this morning,she was extremely sick. Usually she hisses and bites the vet and techs,today she just layed there :YMSIGH: they did some labs and she was registering 485 and dehydrated. They injected her with a fluid filled syringe to help with the dehydration,she didn't even flinch.
They told me since diet isn't working I would need to do insulin.
After calling my parents hysterically crying because the pharmacy was charging me 185.00 for the needles and prescription (lusterna?),they offered to help me get the insulin started. I took the insulin back to the vet and they told me they are going to keep her to make sure she accepts it and to give her more fluids.
She is currently hooked to a little iv on her leg. I feel horrible and I am an absolute mess.They said they would call me if anything happens and to call them a little later to see if I can pick her up or if they feel they need to keep her overnight.

Steph

 

Hang in there!

Insulin names:
Lantus (glargine)
Levemir (detemir)

If eating canned or raw low carb foods, starting dose is generally around 0.5 to 1.0 units.

 

I know finances are tight, but I hope while she is there maybe they can check her for other problems, or at least be on the lookout for signs and symptoms that might provide a clue? I hope the fluids perk her up though. Maybe it's just dehydration.

Also if she is on insulin, she will definitely need to eat, so I would question the vet about what she ate and how they got her to eat it. Hopefully this information will help you when you get her home. I really hope this all just takes care of itself and she feels better from the fluids/insulin, and starts eating on her own again.

If you want to post her lab #'s with the little question mark icon, or with a question in the subject line saying you need help (that is, if there are other #'s besides the glucose and you want to know what they might mean), I know there are folks here who are good at interpreting labs.

I am so sorry... I know this is incredibly stressful. :sad: Hang in there and keep asking questions.

 

When you speak with the vet ask:

1) amount of insulin they are going to dose?
2) frequency of dosing
3) monitoring of BG's - how often?
4) will someone be there overnight to monitor? or will she be alone?
5) how long do they plan on keeping her? and why?

Answers you want to hear:

1) amount of insulin they are going to dose?

0.5 - 1.0 unit of insulin

2) frequency of dosing

every 12 hours

3) monitoring of BG's - how often?

prior to each shot and at least 2-3 times between shots

4) will someone be there overnight to monitor? or will she be alone?

for obvious reasons, hopefully someone will be there to monitor and ensure that her bg's don't drop too low overnight.

5) how long do they plan on keeping her? and why?

hopefully until they get her eating, like one day. If the vet says to get her regulated, then you want to say no, you will do that at home, as you learn to home test and monitor from home, as you can't get regulated on insulin in a day, week, or month.

Now that you have some time, please go over to the lantus forum and read up on the handling, storage and dosing protocols.