Newly diagnosed, Kitty doesn't want to eat

Hello! My cat, Kitty, was recently diagnosed with diabetes after several weeks of not eating much and quick weight loss. Before this happened, she had to be rationed on food because she would not self-regulate, and she would eat all that was put out for her to eat. Besides her food, she will usually eat tuna water (but not tuna), chicken broth from boiling chicken, and dry food (absolutely hates wet food). The vet gave her some a/d to try and tempt her to eat (sometimes she will eat some), and started her on insulin--she has been on ProZinc now for going on 3 weeks, and also clavamox for a stubborn urinary tract infection. She started to eat a little more, and my hopes were raised even though her blood sugar kept going up, but for the past several days we are again tearing our hair out trying to get her to eat so we can give her some insulin. Her glucose numbers have continued to rise, and this last Friday they were at 400 and the vet raised her insulin to 4 units. We always try to make sure she eats something, but it is getting much harder -- Friday night was the first time we gave her that much, and she started to shiver so I gave her a bit of honey, which seemed to help, and coaxed her to eat a few more bites of food. this is scaring me a lot--so we decreased her insulin down to 3 units in an attempt to not put her into shock and hope to get her to eat, so we can increase it to where the vet says! I know if she doesn't get enough insulin, she won't eat, and too much and she won't eat, and if she doesn't eat enough she will go into hypoglycemic shock--I am feeling between a rock and a hard place, and very panicked! What should we do? force feed her, then give her the 4 units? No--we are not set up to test her, and the vet wants to get her regulated so we take her in once a week. My daughter gives her a shot while we are at work in the morning, and we give her the shot at night so that it is about every 12 hrs (give or take a bit because of coaxing her to eat).

 

Welcome!

Here are some ideas to get a cat to eat: http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm

But the hard truth is that your cat cannot be regulated with testing done at the vet. If she was your child, you wouldn't get a dosage of insulin and then just go home and give it to her for a week until you could take her back to the doctor. You would test daily before each shot to make sure it is safe to give insulin. Cats at the vet often are stressed - strange noises, strange smells, strange people. Stress raises bg levels so the dosage determined there may be too high once the cat gets home.

Here is some beginning info on hometesting: http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/harry/bgtest.htm and a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8 You can buy a meter at any drugstore; you want one that sips and takes a small sample. Walmart has a good cheap meter called ReliOn.

Hometesting saved my cat's life. My vet started us on 4 units twice a day. We changed to wet lo carb food and overnight, his blood glucose levels went down 100 points. If we hadn't been testing, we would have overdosed him on insulin.

 

highly doubtful at this point but has your cat been checked for ketones?

usually a newly diabetic cat is ravenous and will nearly eat you out of house and home until their diabetes is controlled and it doesn't sound like you went thru this with your cat which kinda throws me off.

clavamox i believe can upset the tummy and make them a little inappetant. is kitty still on that?

i'd encourage you to start testing at home sooner than later as the problem may even be too much insulin, making her feel like crud. the occasional testing at the vet's is not ever going to result in regulation and is actually extremely inaccurate because it's only one number and at the vet's office, which most cats don't like. with testing at home you get more accurate numbers and you can get more of them so that you can actually see what is going on.

 

It's going to take a leap of faith to listen to people on the internet and do for your kitty what your Vet is NOT doing. PLEASE listen to the advice you receive here. These people KNOW wehat they are talking about and have saved MANY a kitty.

I'm not saying you have a bad Vet. It's just that some Vet's are a little behind with this disease.
Both Cindy and Sue have given you the best advice. Better than I could ever relate. Please listen to what they have to say.

Pardon my manners...WELCOME to the BEST site on this planet.

Jeanne

 

Thank you for your suggestions--I will see what I can do about getting a meter, maybe tomorrow night after work. I brought that up when she was first diagnosed and I read the intro information on this site to see what could be done. I am fighting somewhat of an uphill battle with family and the vet about doing home checks. I believe what you say about it, it makes sense--Kitty is very stressed out (small grandchildren live with us), and the vet visits are even worse because there are always several dogs in the waiting room to top things off. I've got to try something. I know the going straight from normal eating to nothing was really strange, at least I thought so, but that is what happened. Yes, Kitty was checked for ketones (twice), and none are showing up, and she is still on the Clavimox. It makes her barf now, so I think I will discontinue it. As far as trying to get her to eat, I have already done just about everything on that list with her, and that was before seeing the list. I am going now to open another jar of chicken to give her the broth--hopefully she will eat that tonight. The vet has not switched her to a low carb diet yet because we are just trying to get her to eat anything at all right now, but that is planned. i will keep you posted--hopefully I can get this straightened out before it is too late.

 

re the eating, cleo at first was ravenous but i think when she realized the food wasn't working for her coz of her diabetes she got depressed and stopped eating. within a couple of days of getting insulin she started eating again, tho. i know it made her feel better.

ketones can show up all of a sudden when they're sick. don't quite remember how many hours passed between tests but cleo went from showing no ketones to glaringly showing them later that day. we used PZI Vet and i learned that even if the cat isn't eating the insulin should still be given. perhaps the dose can be reduced but an inappetent diabetic without sufficient insulin can end up with ketones, which are expensive and scary to treat.

can you syringe some canned low carb food thinned a little with water into your cat? or tempt with some chicken boiled in plain water or rotisserie chicken or chicken baby food? no onion or garlic in it, please, as that can cause anemia.

hoping that a combo of food and insulin will get your cat eating again. insulin is the key to letting diabetics get energy from eating food.

but personally i'd be at the vet first thing in the morning to get your cat checked again. it may be pancreatitis, and kitty may need fluids, pepcid, and pain meds. (actually wouldn't hurt to give 1/4 tablet of pepcid AC if you have any). it could be something more serious, tho. cats who don't eat for a few days can go downhill fast.

sending prayers for kitty's full recovery.

 

Update for 8/31: She ate some broth (a little chicken with it) both last night and during the day. Tonight, so far, she has eaten about 1/8 cup of kibble (remember, this cat absolutely hates wet/canned cat food--we have tried all her life). she isn't gagging or barfing, so that's a plus. I just bought a reli-on monitor, but it's really really late and work is really really early, so it is still in the box. Her appetite seems better (well, a little is better than zero) with 2 units of insulin last night, this morning, and tonight. I know the vet is going to be upset because I have cut it back to the level where she was at least eating something (vs nothing) but she has to eat or none of this will work at all! I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, but I will have to try that tomorrow night after work. (yes, my schedule is long, but at least I have work). Yes, even though she is barely eating, she is still very alert, bright eyed, doing her pretty normal cat things, but still very very nervous and jumpy.

confused_cat Just so I can plan a bit--In general, when are you supposed to check bg? how long after eating/before giving insulin do you plan for?

 

Good that she is eating and that you are ready to try hometesting. Be sure to try the meter on yourself first so you know how it works. Hope you have your rice sack and treats ready!

You want to test before each shot (to be sure it is safe to give insulin) and then to find her lowest point in the cycle (depending on the insulin between 3-6 hours after the shot) so that you can get a clear picture of how the insulin is working. Record all these numbers - you are collecting data. As you get more confident about testing, you can add some other times during the cycle so you get a clearer picture (+2, +5, +10 etc.)