Brand newbie -- can't get kitty to eat enough

Priscilla is 17 years and 4 months old. She has had kidney disease for a few years which is under control with k/d. Within the past few weeks, she has lost her vision (detached retina, somewhat responsive to light, according to the opthamologist), but was able to find her way to the kitchen to eat, to her bed in the closet, and to her water bowl and litter box. Her bloodwork at the opthamologist showed her glucose at 309, which she thought might be stress, but more likely diabetes. A visit to an internist confirmed the diagnosis, along with a urinary tract infection, for which he prescribed baytril. (She had a UTI a few years ago and Baytril worked for her then.) She was hospitalized for 36 hours for IV fluids, glucose monitoring, blood and urine -- the works. She was sent home on 2 units of ProZinc twice a day.
She's having a tough time re-orienting herself to getting around the house, and is spending most of her time sleeping - or at least lying down. The injections are easy -- but the hard part is getting her to eat enough so I can give her the insulin to begin with! She usually gets some dry k/d in the morning with fresh water (she has water bowls in the kitchen and in my bedroom, where she spends most of her time) and in the evening, I give her a couple of scoops of k/d canned with chicken. She grazes throughout the day, but does most of her eating late at night. I dump everything out in the morning and start again.
The first 2 nights I had her home, I left food out for her and she chowed down at 12:40 am both nights, so she wasn't hungry in the morning. We cut her down to 1 unit, took away the overnight food, and she still doesn't want to eat. Yesterday, she was cut down to 1/2 unit, and this morning, I couldn't get her to eat anything except the pill pocket with the baytril, a lick of the canned food, a few pieces of dry food -- I tried heating the wet food, putting in some kibble, even a greenie treat - I tried for almost an hour before I decided to take her in again. Now he's cut her to 1/2 unit once a day in the evenings. HOW DO I GET HER TO EAT ENOUGH SO I CAN GIVE HER THE INSULIN?????????? Or do I let her eat on her schedule and get up in the middle of the night to give her the insulin?? I"m exhausted and getting more and more frustrated...please help.

 

Welcome I cant answer your question but there is a wealth of information and many many experienced people here to help. Just hang in there for some answers and while you're at it read the FAQ'S

I just wanted to welcome you to the best site on the planet,

Jeanne

 

Two things come to mind. The first possibility is ketones / diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Ketones are a not-common but still possible side effect of unregulated / under-regulated diabetes. You can read more about them here.

The second possibility I can think of is pancreatitis. You can read Jojo's post on that here.

If your vet is still open today (and depending how long they'll be open for), you may want to bring Priscilla over and get her looked at. Ketones are sometimes treatable at home and sometimes require hospitalisation; pancreatitis is treatable at home, but you'll need a diagnosis and probably supplies from your vet (painkillers, fluids, etc).


If your vet has closed for the day then, if you're not already checking for ketones, please go to the diabetes aisle of the nearest pharmacy and pick up some ketostix (I've always found them in the aisle, though some folks report that their pharmacies keep them behind the counter.) Bring them home and, as soon as possible, check for ketones. You do that by dipping the stick in fresh urine; if ketones are present, it changes color (larger color changes mean more ketones). (You can try wrapping part of the litterbox in Saran Wrap to prevent the urine from soaking in when Priscilla uses the facilities next.)

 

Have you tried different foods? It is more important that the cat eats than if it wad CRF foods. Did the vet measure blood pressure? High blood pressure sometimes occurs in CRF cats and if high enough can cause a detached retina.

 

Thanks for your responses.

I've been checking with ketodiastix since I brought her home. They ALWAYS come up negative for both glucose and ketones, no matter what time I dip. I've done midstream and pee in a cup method, always the same results.

As for the food, she has to be on k/d for the CKD, especially now that she has a raging infection.

Her BP was normal over a course of 3 checks at the opthamologist's office when she first saw her, but it was "off the charts" when she was hospitalized Tuesday night/Wednesday of this week.

She was at the vet this morning, since I couldn't get her to eat enough. BG was 159 (it had been 377 while hospitalized Tuesday night/Wednesday, then 227 when I brought her back in Thursday night) -- no insulin this morning because of not eating enough and 159 might have gone down readily with insulin. I HAVE TO GET HER TO EAT!!!!!! I'm getting scared.

 

how about wet foods? Can you get her to eat that?

On Dr. Lisa's website: http://www.catinfo.org/

She has a link: http://www.catinfo.org/#Transitioning_D ... nned_Food_

The ideas on this link may be just what you need to entice her to eat.

Of course, we on this board will encourage to not feed dry at all and to not feed the prescription either. But let's not get into that just now, as what is important that she eat and if she will only eat dry, then I'd rather see her eat that than nothing at all.

When you do have some more time, you may want to check out:

Janet & Binky's Food Chart

To help you come up with alternative food options. A cat with multiple issues, is more of a challenge when it comes to food. There are solutions that will work, it's a matter of finding what she likes and will be best for her.

 

I don't know anything about CKD, so keep that in mind. Is it possible that her stomach is upset by the Baytril? I know sometimes antibiotics can cause stomach issues, including nausea. From reading other threads, I have seen people say that nausea can cause a cat to stop eating. There may be some medication (Pepcid? Hopefully someone else will chime in here!) you can add to help with the nausea, or change the antibiotic? Maybe call the vet and ask about that.

As far as tempting her to eat, maybe try some boiled chicken breast, jarred baby food (chicken, turkey), fortiflora or parmesan cheese on top of her wet food, tuna or tuna water on top of the food to tempt her? You can also try feeding her by hand, some cats will not eat from the bowl when they don"t feel well, but will eat from your hand. I have no experience with this, just some ideas that I have seen others suggest!

There are also appetite stimulant medications, I don't remember the names of them, but might be worth a try if the other suggestions don't work. You can also syringe feed if you have to.

Keep testing for ketones. Her BG is not that high, and as long as there are no ketones, the insulin might not be the most important thing right now....eating is!!

Hopefully someone with experience will chime in with some more ideas and information!