My Diabetic cat will not eat after 4 days

I have a 10 yr old male cat who has been just diganoised this last month with diabetis. We started him on nph and it did not work after 3 weeks. So we started him on Lantus 10 days agao. Last sunday nite he started to throw up and I took him to the vets. He spent 3 days there on IV and regular insulin to get him regulated. he also had a fever so was on an antibotic. The dr said he thought he had pancartis and gave him steroids. I just brought him home a few hrs ago and of course he is very weak. The problem I am having is he has not eatedn in 4 days! I have to get him to eat! I have tried everything he likes and warmed it up and etc etc. but he wants none of it. I have been giving him chicken meat baby food a couple of cc every hr to hope to kick start him. I am in tears here because I really think I am gonna lose him!!! i am willing to do anything!! The bill at the vets today was 645.00 Please help me!! i don't want to see him in pain, nor have to put him down!!! Someone please! Susie

 

Do you have a glucose meter to test his blood sugar with?

Also did the vet discuss ketones with you?

 

Yes he had ketones in his urine when I took him in on sunday, but they clealed that up and his bg was 345 this am before his shot. he gets lantus 1 1/2 unit twice a day. I know this is high but the problem he is having he would not eat at the vets and now will not eat here. I feel he has given up. He is weak, I know cats are hard to get eating after 2 days but this is 4 now. Do u think he will eat when he gets a little stronger? he was always eating with the bgs being up until he statred kicking ketones and got sick.

 

Do you home test or is that bg number from the vet's office?

I'm not an expert on anything, but I can keep you company while other people who know a whole lot more can come help you.

I do know that it's good you're giving him the chicken baby food, something is better than nothing right now I think. Is he drinking?

 

Yes he came home and immediatly went to the caT box. He looked as if he was pg with 10 kittes he was so swolled from all the fluids they gave him. And he has been drinking a lot of water, but has slowed down in the last hr. So i am sure his bg's are lower now. i just think he has been tramatized from 3 days at the vets and in a cage. And befinning sick and not eating has turned into not eating for 4 days. Do u think giving him the baby food in the syringe will get him to want to eat again or has he just given up? Thats where I am lost. The vet has done everything he can for him and I am sure we will get his lantus to the right dosage soon. But he not gonna make it if he doesn't want to eat on his own!

 

I'm gathering then that you are not testing his blood at home at all?

I'm asking because it's possible he's gone way low or something but we have no way to know if you can't test him.

Feeding him the baby food will hopefully keep him going while we work out what's really going on here. I've put out a call for help on another part of the board, hoping to get more experienced eyes here for you.

 

Yes I test his blood at home. And he is not low. The peoblem is being at the vets for the first time for 3 days and NOT eating!

 

I understand the not eating is upsetting you and I'm hoping to get some more eyes here to help you, but the more information those people have the more time they will have to answer your questions and help you. They're going to ask you this stuff anyway, someone is likely typing up a long post right now to ask you about if you home test, how often, what are his recent numbers, and a bunch of other stuff probably. There are folks here who can help but they'll need to know a lot more before they can so I'm just trying to help.

 

Here are some tips from Cheryl and Winnie from a previous post: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12971&p=130109&hilit=onions#p130109


sometimes in order to get a cat to eat you even have to resort to dry it is more important that they eat. there are a couple low carb / grain free brands -- EVO and wellness core.

making a buffet to give him choices

sprinkle food with :
- forta flora -- a probiotic you can get at vets or online. is very smelly and cats love the taste of it.
- parm. cheese
- smashed crumbles of dry food
- bonito tuna flakes
- halo chicken treats -- crumble into dust over food -- my Wolfie loves this stuff.
- poor a little water from tuna in water over food ( I use low sodium/no sodium added as other kinds in water has veg. broth in it and I assume that means onions, which are toxic to cats-- check labels)
- I do not have a trader joes -- but others swear by trader joe tuna for cats
- powdered oregano. yep sounds weird . but some cats like it and it will entice them to eat.

 

You may just need to keep up with the baby food for a while and let him de-stress from the vet visit? On the other hand, this could be an emergency but I don't know the right questions to ask you.

I have to leave the house for a short time, I'll be back soon and hopefully by then someone else will have been able to come by to help out.

 

Hang in there I know this is awful. One of my cats stopped eating when he was at the vet newly diagnosed. Once he was calm and settled he was able to eat for me. What a relief, and that was 9 years ago and he's still dong fine.

So things that I have heard of that might be useful. Tuna fish juice--tuna fish regurlarly is not great for cats, but if you have to get them to eat it's fine. Also Dr. Lisa talks about something that she uses to entice cats to transition to wet when they are absolutely refusing. Apparently it is very appealing to cats, so it may be worth a shot. The blurb below is from her diet site:

Try a product called FortiFlora. Most cats LOVE FortiFlora and this has recently become my favorite trick. This is a probiotic made by Purina but you are not going to use it for its probiotic properties. You are just going to use it as a flavor enhancer. The base ingredient in FortiFlora is animal digest - the very substance that makes dry food so very enticing to cats. The directions say to use 1 package/day - and you can use this much if you want to - but this amount is not usually necessary. You may only need ~1/4 of a package - or less - with part mixed into the food and part sprinkled on top of the food just as you would use salt and pepper on your own food.

I don't know where one gets this, but maybe someone else can help.

Keep giving the baby food, we'll get your guy back on track!

 

also, fwiw, your vet hasn't done everything they can. they could prescribe an appetite stimulant. they could do a test for pancreatitis if that's what you meant by "pancartis" and last but not least, they could do a feeding tube to help get him over this hump of ketones.

it sounds like your baby had ketones or had full blown diabetic ketoacidosis. i'd make sure with your vet that the ketones are completely gone. if not, he needs to be under professional care.

 

Posted to you on your other post, but just in case you see this first, among my questions to you, did your vet do xrays to see if anything was blocked?

 

Yes he had panciatis and they treated it and was checked this am and there r no ketones All that has been taken care of. He just wouldn't eat at the vets and now is not wanting to eat here at home. Is it because he is still so weak? I have offered him everything he likes and also smelly stuff. He just looks at it. Has he given up??

 

If you're sure he's not blocked, continue to feed the baby food or use canned food with water and syringe that.

Pancreatitis can cause the belly to ache. It can also be painful. When Tucker has a pancreatitis flare he gets Buprenex for pain, sub q fluids and pepcid for his belly aches.

Has the vet mentioned appetite stimulants?

 

susie i know your terribly upset and your kitty may be picking up on that and it may upset him further....why don't you try (if you have'nt already) doing some nice normal things around the house, take some very deep breaths, even sing him a lullabye...anything to take some of the stress out of the situation.
there is always syringe feeding and as cindy said appetite stimulants. talk to your baby and try to let him as well as yourself know that everything is ok.
be calm if you can.

 

There's only one brand of the baby food that doesn't have carbs in it. You have to read the labels cause I forgot which one it is. King Kullen has it if you have that market near you. He might perk up for some raw tuna steak or breast of turkey shredded.

 

I talked to the vet and said thats its good that I am syring feeding which I knew anyway. He said to keep giving him the presodine and clavinox. He is still drinking a lot of water and is somewhat bloated, the vet told me he did not use the cat box in 3 days!. No wonder the first thing he did was go to his cat box. That is the most he has moved since he can home. The vet said that he could put in a feeding tube and that I could feed him that way. I asked what good does that do? He said it will buy us time, For what? him to get better and still not eat? And he has been through enough already. This is a cat who has only been to the vets twice and this last time was the 3 days. I can't get a straight answer here, I have know cats that go for 4 days not eating and never start up. They give up! esp if they don't feel weel. I just want to know if it sounds like this to you? I will keep feeding him the baby chicken food with the syringe and see what happens I guess. My daughter is coming over at 8 to bg test him before we give him his lantus. tks for all your help.

 

There's a wonderful lady who posts here who's kitty came to the board extremely sick. He needed a feeding tube and all kinds of help. Today, I believe her cat Max is off insulin, so yes, a feeding tube will buy time but can also help heal.

But, I'd start with something for the belly ache. The prednisone is going to make your cat hungry, but the antibiotic could be causing a belly ache. What's the Clavamox for? Maybe instead Flagyl, an antibiotic - anti inflammatory that targets the belly would be more appropriate.

 

Get a second opinion from another vet at a different vet hospital. It sounds like your current vet doesn't want to do any further treatment for your cat and isn't giving you any answers. Be sure to get copies of all your cat's medical records from the current vet for the second to review.

Where do you live? There may be someone here who can recommend a good vet.

 

My cat, J.D. was in the hospital for over 8 days with DKA and would not eat the entire time he was there. He came home with a feeding tube. Within a couple of days, he was eating on his own, again. Best of luck to you. The people on this forum will help you, if you let them.

 

Don't give on your kitty yet. The not eating may just be a sign that he doesn't feel well and it hurts or makes him feel worse eating. Give it time for the stress to clear from being at the vets for so long and the meds to start working. I'd say a few more trips to the LB might be in order too if he didn't go for 3 days. If your tummy felt terrible, just spent 3 days in a scary place, hadn't pooped for 3 days, and were on a pile of new meds you probably wouldn't be feeling all that excited about food either right? Lets give him time to get feeling better.

Deep breaths, some loving and scatching on the kitty letting him know that everything is OK and he's home and doesn't need to be stressed out.

DKA is very dangerous and very scary, that is why it will be asked about repeatedly in discussions about sick sugarkitties. These guys and gals around here are great. That data gathering is what makes them so good, they delve into the situation and get to know it so they can help.

Hugs to you and your sugarkitty.

 

I am not an expert and I am very new but technically my kitty has not eaten on his own since Saturday night-- so it has been 4 full days of no eating on his own.

My advice--

I have used syringes mixed with water, I have also used my finger as a scooper into his mouth. Just tonight did he start licking at things on his own--- by no means his real appetite, but with patience (and plenty of subqs) we have finally gotten to that point.

Just keep doing the syringes-- try to get as much as you can in him (per my vet to get him as close to his normal food intake as possible). If you haven't gotten it already see if you vet can give you some HIll's A/D-- my cat refused to even look at the other canned stuff (Wellness, Fancy Feast, Tuna, M/D, etc) but the A/D he will taste on his own and it is pretty smooth to go through the syringe.

 

My cat recently had pancreatitis, Diabetic Ketoacidosis and Hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver), the latter two probably caused by his not eating for several days. He was being syringe fed at the vet, but was fighting it. I had a feeding tube put in through the side of his neck (an e-tube) so it would be easier to get food into him without his gagging or spitting it out. He got the feeding tube on Friday, and he started eating on his own on Monday. By Saturday he was eating completely on his own, which was good because he pulled the tube out. Yes, a feeding tube can help them get an adequate amount of food while they heal and start feeling better. Definitely keep syringe feeding if you don't get a feeding tube. And it needs to be about the same amount of food they eat regularly (which can be difficult to do through a syringe.) Chase was on Hills AD and liquid Clinicare pureed in a blender.

Sending prayers your way!

 

hi. don't know which thread you are keeping track of. I just posted a bunch of information for you on the other thread. ( specifically why a cat w/ pancreatitis will not eat and how to help ! don't give up. there's lots to do !)


viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13767

 

The important thing is to not rush the kitty. Cats do things on their own time, not ours.

As long as you are providing supportive care with the syringe feeding, he is getting nutrients. It's better to do small amounts as often as you can, say 1 oz every 2 hours. Most cats eat between 6 to 10 oz a day. Even if he gets half, say 5 oz, you are hopefully preventing hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver).

When my cat Gandalf had pancreatitis I syringe fed him for several days because he would not eat. The food suggestions given so far are excellent. One other alternative is raw food. It is controversial among vets because they've been brainwashed by the pet food industry that raw food is full of bacteria. I resorted to raw food ordered from Felinespride.com and it halted Gandalf's diarrhea which I believe was caused by the Hill's i/d the vet had me giving him and within 2 days he was eating on his own. I continue to supplement his canned food with raw, he has not had a p-titis flare in 3 months, his liver and pancreas results on ultrasound are much better than they were 6 months ago after the first pancreatitis episode.

This is just the trick which worked for Gandalf. We have a saying here that Every Cat is Different - ECID - so keep trying different things.

Please visit Dr. Lisa Pierson's website http://www.catinfo.org for information about raw food and feeding tubes. Feeding tubes have saved the lives of several cats who've been where your cat is now. Please don't disregard it. If the vet won't agree, find a different vet.

 

Well thank you for all your help but Tinky died in my arms this morning at 6:30. at least he is not suffering, bestest buddy a girl could have! i will miss him so

 

oh my, i'm so very very sorry....don't have words. he was loved. oh my.....

 

I am so sorry for your loss and grief, you are right, he is no longer in any pain and free.

 

I came back hoping to see some improvement :cry: I am so sorry you lost your furrbuddy, my heart breaks for you.

 

I'm so sorry for you.