Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers needed

Hi all,

Babee in on Prozinc and ate her normal amount this morning. She has had the diarrhea 4 times which has gotten progressively more watery. She tried to vomit but only a dime size white foam came up. I tried to give her some freeze dried chicken breast, her favorite treat and she only ate a few pieces. She I take her to the emerency vet or wait till morning? I tried testing but didn't get enough blood.

Thanks

 

Re: Diabetic cat with diarrhea and vomited....please help

Is she keeping anything down? How long has this been going on? Hours, days?
The problem with diarrhea and vomiting is dehydration and not keeping food down, which can take an upsetting situation and turn it into an emergency.

It's hard to advise without knowing history, so instead, go with your gut. If you think you ought to take her in, then do it.

 

Re: Diabetic cat with diarrhea and vomited....please help

Thanks for your reply. She has not vomited anymore, but know she is not eating anything. She will drink a bit of water and thats it. I just found a spot of blood in her diarrhea. I think I am going to take her in. What do you think?

 

Re: Diabetic cat with diarrhea and vomited....please help

The blood could be nothing serious. It happens with Maui, when she has her loose stool episodes. She has a history of really bad diarrhea, that is now an occasional loose stool day.

Do you have any pepcid AC? you could try giving 1/2 a pill to see if that settles the tummy.

I know it's a difficult situation to be in, wait or take in and not sure what to do. If you take her in, they could give her fluids if she is dehydrated, appetite stimulant and anti nausea drugs.

Of course, this too could pass, it could be something bad in the food, she ate something she shouldn't have, etc.

It is so hard to know what to do. You are being pro active if you take her in, before it could develop into something more serious.

If it will give you peace of mind, take her in.

 

Re: Diabetic cat with diarrhea and vomited....please help

Any update? How is she this morning?

 

Re: Diabetic cat with diarrhea and vomited....please help

how is Bebee today? Is she eating yet? I had to dropper feed my civvie for weeks before she started eating, going to the vet for b12 and fluids. We never did figure out what went wrong. Now today, she will not eat out of the bowl. I did another bout of dropper feeding! eeeeeek
Hoping Bebee is doing better!

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating.... prayers please

Thanks to all for asking.

I took her the the ER last night and they ran blood test and gave her fluids, anti diarrhea and nausea meds. I didn't like the vet at all. She said it could be DKA, but the bloodwork all came out normal for a 10 year old. She is so weak and not eating or drinking. I took her to the vet this morning and he gave her more fluids and B1 shot and some other vitamins. He also sent me home with a can of A/D science diet to shove in her mouth. She took a couple of licks and thats it. She doesn't let me force the food in her mouth either. She really looks miserable. I put another call into the vet and am waiting to hear back. They don't know what is wrong with her.

I have been crying all night and day with no sleep. She hasn't had her insulin since yesterday morning.

Please send all your healing prayers her way.

 

Re: Diabetic cat with diarrhea and vomited....please help

When the ER vet ran bloodwork, did they do a spec-fPL test? It's the specific feline pancreatic lipase test for pancreatitis. If she is not in DKA, then pancreatitis could explain some of her symptoms as it is very painful. If she has pancreatitis, treatment includes SubQ fluids, pain medication (buprenex), anti-nausea medication [pepcid, ondansetron or Anzemet (dolasetron)] and maybe anti-vomiting medicine (Cerenia). Appetite stimulants can also be prescribed but do not let the vets give you any without also insisting on something for nausea as force-feeding a cat without addressing nausea can create food aversions.

Good luck!

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

As well as the pancreatitic test mentioned above, due to the fluid loss she experienced she may have low potassium right now. Electrolytes are lost in humans and cats when we're sick like that. She may need some fluids with potassium added to them. Could you check with the vet on that? Low potassium will cause her to be very tired right now.

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

I'm so sorry, and I hope she get's better.

There are a few alternatives to A/D that are lower in carbs if she won't eat the A/D. Wellness kitten formula is high in calories and lower in carbs. PetGuard Chicken & Beef is nearly identical to the the A/D in terms of nutritional value, but it does contain grain so it's a little higher in carbs (13%). Wellness Chicken and Turkey are also good, and so is the regular EVO cat & kitten formula. Getting her to eat anything at this point is important, so I would buy a bunch of small cans of all of these and see what she takes to. If none of those work, I would just keep trying different things until she eats. She may need to be syringe fed and/or go back to the vet if she doesn't start eating on her own soon. I know there is a forum for assisted feeding.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-Assisted-Feeding/

http://www.assistfeed.com/

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Bebee mom,
You might have to burrito her and dropper feed. The a/d will work in a dropper and so will babyfood - chicken and broth.... do you happen to have magic bullet? they will puree the food great! where do you live? or did I miss that info.? perhaps someone could come help you with her as they did for my civvie Slappy. That is what saved her and got her to eating again as I could not afford overnite stays or a tummy tube.
I found the dropper worked better for her as she is very small ....much better than a syringe type feeding as it was way too big for her small mouth.
Please keep us updated! nailbite_smile

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Thanks for all the replies.

She normally only eats wellness or merrick canned. She won't eat anything. I have tried baby food, chicken breast and the new wellness canned flavors. They did a LIPA test on her last night and a bunch of other, but I don't see any with the "spec fpl" listed.

The vet this morning gave sub-Q fluids, B1 and B12 injections.

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

I live in clark new jersey. I do have a magic bullet. I will try and use a dropper to give her some food. She gets really stressed when I force her, so I am wondering if it doing more harm than good.

Thanks
Kelly

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

I'm sorry she is still not feeling well and you are stressed and upset with the vet visit.

At a minimum, getting fluids in her, helps prevent further problems and complications. Keeping you in my thoughts. Oh - you're not far from me, I'm in Iselin.

Which vet did you go to?

My civvie Buster had mild pancreatitis, I took her directly to Red Bank Vet Hospital (off the GSP), because I just didn't want to get aggravated and caught up in the regular vet nonsense. We saw a great internist there - Dr. Tamelvechio (something like that - I called her Dr. T in internal med).

While it's a bit pricey, I like that they will perform all needed tests immediately and I liked that this vet listened to my concerns and we discussed treatment and best options.

Let me know if I can help you in any way, as we are almost neighbors.

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Thanks Hillary. I went to Dr Orange in clark. I tried to get her in with Just Cats in woodbridge, but they wouldn't take her until 11:30. She was at the ER vet in Iselin last night and I didn't like them at all.

Do you think I should take her to Red Bank and forget about the phone tag with the vet? She looks so miserable and she fights the force feeding.

Thanks

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Do you try to do burrito style? Slappy did not like it at all the first times I tried, but mommy was doing it alll WRONG!!! I had wonderful Patricia come over and show me how and she did much better. They came every day for about 4-5 days and then I was able to do this alone.
They layed her quickly on her back and wrapped her from left to right with just her head out...... her hands and arms were inside the towl.... she did not thank me for it but it did work and it took Patricia and her hubby to do this for the first times. Then I was able to do it afterwards alone, using 2 pillows and then putting the towel down and laying her in the middle of the pillows. I just held her like a baby using the arm of the chair for some support.... WISH I was closer, I would be right there!!!!
She must eat! I really did not think Slappy was going to pull thru this and after visiting the vet several weeks later, I found out he did not either!
HUGS TO YOU AND HER BOTH :YMHUG:

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Oh dear, had I known you went to Iselin I would have advised you not to go. They used to be my vet and I had lots of issues with them. Who did you see Dr. O?

I also used to go to Just Cats, and stopped because you could never get an appointment when needed and Dr. Jan won't hire anyone to help.

For regular vet I use Raritan Animal Hospital. But lately, I've been using Red Bank for my bigger, non-routine issues.

Yes, I think it would be a good idea to go to Red Bank. Ask for Dr. Amy T in internal med. She is good and I liked her better than Dr. Benitah.

Take your reports from Dr. Orange and drive down. I know where Dr. Orange is, across from Barnes & Noble right?

Wow you are close by.

I'm going to PM you my cell number if you want to talk offline.

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Saying prayers and sending get all better vines to your Babee.

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Hi, just stopping and I see that Babee isn't feeling well. I hope you can figure out what's going on w/her and that she feels better soon.

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Babee is at the emergency hospital. They admitted her and are running tests. Her results so far are an abnormal result from the pancreas inflammation test, so it could be pancreatitis, but the don't know the extent yet. She also has asthma.

Thanks for all the healing vibes. It is so hard being home without her. All I have been doing is crying. I can't stop, but I know she is in the best place. I don't know how long she will stay there, but at least until tomorrow if not longer.

Thanks again,
Kelly

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Wow.. so sorry she's not feeling well. :sad: Talk about flashbacks with Cuddles. I'm surprised the fluids didn't help her feel a lot better.. I know that really perked Cuddles up quick! Like, within hours of getting fluids. Then again, Cuddles never had pancreatitis. The trick is just getting them over the attack, then trying to manage when you see an attack possibly coming on, and head it off before it gets too bad. I don't have any experience with it, but there are LOTS here who do! (& that seems to be the advice that stuck with me, but would have to post for more details on how to do it)

Not positive, but I think fatty foods can set it off too though.. is Wellness a fatty food? I can't remember anymore now that I'm not watching every specific # with my civies.

I'm glad that Hillary's close to you too, so at least you have someone close for moral support AND lots of knowledge!

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Hi Kelly and Babee,

You did the right thing to take her in, thank goodness Hillary lives close by and was able to point you in the right direction to get her some help right away. It is lonely when they spend the night away from us, but rest assured she is in the right place to begin her healing. My apologies for the "drive-by" post earlier, I was at work and needed to give the cliff-notes version of what to look for/ask for when dealing with a cat with pancreatitis in case your vet called you back.

In order to get such quick results, the ER most likely ran a Snap-fPL test which is a test which returns instantaneous results and is positive if the cat is either borderline or actually has pancreatitis. The test is negative only if the cat does not have pancreatitis. The Snap test does not give an actual number. I'm guessing that after running the Snap test they are now running the full spec-fPL test and you should get a number tomorrow.

When she does come home she may still need some supportive home care from you so I'm going to give you a quick crash course in pancreatitis.

Here are three articles which will help you understand what pancreatitis is and the current recommended treatments:

Pancreatitis in the Cat
I found this to be the single most useful page in understanding in laymans terms exactly what was going on in feline pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis: Cats Are Not Small Dogs
This is the quickest most concise article on pancreatitis and it's written in vet-speak. The chart on page 2 is awesome and will give you and your vet a snapshot of symptoms, conditions, and possible causes if you should choose to explore them. Sometimes there is no cause, it's just idiopathic.

Treating Feline Pancreatitis: Reccomendations for managing this disease and concurrent conditions
If you are running out of paper or ink and can only print 1 article for your vet - this is it. It also includes a case example - cats do recover from pancreatitis. My Harley was dx'd in March and is still with me today.

As I mentioned in my first post, treatments for pancreatitis include ensuring that Babee is adequtely hydrated, is treated for pain since pancreatitis is very painful, and it is very important to stop any vomiting or nausea so she can continue to eat. Unlike dogs, cats cannot be fasted through pancreatitis so Babee must eat one way or another. If is far more comfortable for both you and her that she eat on her own of her own free will. If this is not possible, you may have to consider syringe feeding/dropper feeding her or getting a feeding tube. Another reason to keep her eating is that since she is diabetic she still needs her insulin. If she does not eat and does not receive her insulin she is at risk for developing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is life threatening. So it's great that she's at the ER right now because she's most likely receiving fluids which will restore lost hydration from her vomiting and diarrhea, perfuse her pancreas which will help begin the healing process, regulate her electrolytes (especially postassium as Jenifer mentioned above) and keep any possible ketone formations at bay.

You may hear the doctors talk to you about medications in the next few days, so here is a list of the most commonly prescribed medications to treat pancreatitis and/or IBD which you may hear about:

Stomach acid reducers:
Pepcid AC (famotidine) - This is really useful if kitty is vomiting white foam due to too much stomach acid. It's not an anti-nausea drug though so it won't handle the really strong nausea. A typical dose is 1/4 of a 10 mg tablet 2x daily. If you need stronger doses, it does come in injectible form as well.

Zantac (ranitidine) - Not all cats tolerate Pepcid very well. If they don't, try Zantac 75 tablets instead. Zantac also stimulates gastric motility. A typical starting dose is 1/8 - 1/4 of a 75 mg tablet 2x daily.

Options for nausea medications:
These first 2 are both human anti-nausea drugs used for chemotherapy patients. Quite frankly they are off label use for cats but they are used quite often for cats with IBD and/or pancreatitis and they are very effective. I currently use Anzemet for Harley (it saved his life durring his acute pancreatitis attack earlier this year) and ondansetron for my civvie, Princess, who has cancer.

Zofram (ondansetron) - comes in both injectible form or pills. If you decide to go with pills, get the 4 mg pills, not the 8 mg pills. The usual starting dose is 1/4 of a 4 mg pill (1mg) 2x per day. If you need to start somewhere, start with this drug and be sure to ask for a prescription for the generic. It's A LOT cheaper than the brand name Zofram.

Anzemet (dolasetron) - this comes as an injectible. It's mostly dosed once per day (but can be dosed twice per day if necessary) and dose is based on weight. There is no generic available so it's pretty pricey stuff but is stronger than ondansetron.

Cerenia (maropitant) - This is the drug that is used to stop vomiting and it lasts in the system anywhere from 24-36 hours. It is approved to treat nausea and vomiting in dogs but is off label use in cats. It really works well though plus I've been reading that it has some antinflamitory and antioxidant effects which is really helpful for GI disease. It comes in injectible and pill form. 4mg per day in the pills is a reasonable starting dose.

Options for appetite stimulants:
Cyproheptadine - comes in pills. Vets for some reason almost always overshoot the dose on these when prescribing. 1/8 to 1/ 4 of a 10 mg pill 2x daily is all that is typically needed to get a kitty eating again. This is VERY bitter so it's best to give as a pill in a gelcap (not a pill pocket) so that kitty doesn't taste it going down.

Mirtazapine - This is actually a human tricyclic anti-depressant drug (Remeron) which is used to stimulate appetite in cats. It's usually given only once every 3 days because it acts on a cats seratonin levels. I personally have not used this drug in my cats.

When Babee is ready to come home, I suggest that you ask the ER staff to show you how to administer SubQ fluids, request pain medication (buprenex) and anti-nausea medication. Ondansetron would be a good choice to start with.

Hugs to you :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: and healing vines to your Babee. cat_pet_icon cat_pet_icon cat_pet_icon

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

I know it is early, but has anyone heard how Bebee did last nite at the ER??

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Thinking about you Babee and Kelly. Praying hard for you both.

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Thanks so much for all the healing vibes and advice everyone!

Babee is still at the ER and will be until at least tomorrow. I just spoke with the internal medicine vet at the ER and they did an ultrasound. They say she has pancreatitis and her bowel was inflamed as well. They are treating her with antibotics and fluids. If the antibiotics don't work they may have to try steriod.

I don't know anything about pancreatitis. Thanks to Laura and Harley I have some information to read. I really appreaciate all the help.

But is gets worse..... now my other cat is sick with vomiting and diarrea. I freaked out since these were the symptoms that Babee had at the start. I took my civie to the vet this morning and he gave her an antibiotic, but she is still vomiting alot. Is there anything I can give her for the vomiting so she doesn't become dehydrated? She has been crying looking around the house for Babee. It is so sad. Looks like its going to be another sleepless night for me.

Thanks again to all.

Kelly

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Hugs to you, and skritches and feel better vines being sent to Babee and her sister.
Come on everyone fight, and get well. Make sure the vets make sure that Babee eats.

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Hi Kelly, Babee and Civvie,

I'm so sorry you are going through this tough time with both your kitties. First, regarding your little civvie - you can give her 1/4 of a 10 mg Original Strength Pepcid AC tablet. once or twice a day if needed. But this will only work if she has nausea/vomiting due to excess stomach acid. To really knock vomiting out you need Cerenia as mentioned in my post above. We know our kits feel stressed and anxious by a change in routine, loss of a person or just change period so that may explain what she's going through. But with two sick kitties showing strangely similar symptoms - has there been any change in their surroundings? New food? Toxic houseplants? Could they have gotten into household chemicals? You don't have to answer any of these, I'm just trying to throw out random thoughts in case something rings a bell and helps get to the bottom of this.

Since pancreatitis attacks can be brought on by stress, there is the possibility that your civvie also has pancreatitis but that would be too cruel of a coincidence. Or there is a close cousin to pancreatitis that mimics some of the same symptoms and that is cholangialhepatitis, inflamation of the liver and or common bile duct in cats which is like pancreatitis, very painful, nauseating and requires many of the same treatments. How do I know this? Because when my Harley gets his pancreatitis flare-ups, no sooner does he get better and my civvie, Princess, gets her liver flare-ups and sometimes they both flare together.

Regarding Babee, it sounds like they are doing everything they can for her. Is her antibiotic called Flagyl (metronidazole?) If so, that is a very good drug for helping to combat GI infection/inflamation. If they need to give her the steriod, it most likely will be prednisolone and the typical starting dose is 5 mg daily until symptoms resolve and then it can be tapered off gradually. Two things to know about using prednisolone: 1) it causes insulin resistance so as long as she is on it, Babee might need a higher dose of insulin in order to control her BGs, and 2) it must not be stopped suddenly but be tapered gradually otherwise the cat's adrenal glands which have been suppressed may fail to work and the results can be life threatening. Not trying to scare you just educate. Here's hoping that Babee wouldn't need the steriod at all or if so, only for a very short time.

More prayers for healing and strength being offered for you and your furkids tonight.

 

update

Hello All,

Just wanted to thanks everyone for the thoughts and prayers. It really helped.

Babee update:
Babee is home now and eating. She was a bit wobbly when I first brought her home and her appetite is not back to normal yet.......amount wise. She is eating small amounts thoughtout the day and drinking alot of water. She is on metronidazole for 12 days. Her back end is really bothering her...is was all wet when I brought her home. I tried to clean her up as much as possible, but its sore and she doesn't want me to touch in much. It's so great to have her back home!

Civvie update:
Aida still has the diarrhea a bit and is not eating much. I finally got her to eat some treats today and she has been drinking alot of water. She is hissing and growling at Babee and is afraid of her since Babee came home from the hospital stay. I hope this goes away soon. Babee just wanted to lick her sister and be with ....she looks so confused by it all. Has this happened to anyone?

Thanks again to all for your help.

Kelly, Babee & Aida

 

Re: Diabetic cat w/diarrhea not eating/drinking..prayers nee

Hi Kelly,

I'm happy to hear that Babee is home and that Aida is doing better.

She is hissing and growling at Babee and is afraid of her since Babee came home from the hospital stay. I hope this goes away soon. Babee just wanted to lick her sister and be with ....she looks so confused by it all. Has this happened to anyone?

Sadly, yes this is pretty common. The problem isn't the cat, it's that the cat smells of the hospital and all cats know it's a bad place to be. So, she has bad and weird smells on her. Now you can help remove the offensive odors, you can take a baby wipe or something along those lines and wipe her down, you can also take a towel rub it on Aida and then on Babee, this will get Aida's sent on Babee and help her to come around quicker. And of course you can take a shirt that you were just wearing and rub it all over Babee too, the combination of your and Aida's scents will go a long way to bringing Babee back into the fold.

One lesson I learned, don't use baby wipes on her butt. Not after the days of diarrhea. baby wipes will just sting and irritate. What you can do if you have it, is after you clean her butt with a warm cloth, gently put some petroleum jelly on her butt. This will help soothe and heal and if she does lick it, won't be dangerous if ingested.

You've got my number, call if you need to talk.