Sophia does not want to eat anymore

I am cpnfused I don't know if I am in the right forum. Sophia had to be taken to the vet Monday for severe vomiting. Sophia is diet controlled and has hyper-T controlled... or so we thought with gel on her ear. her bg was 200 which is very upsetting because at home with my human meter she is always under 100.

The vet said the numbers on her hyper-t are also too high and give more med for that. She also gave me special food for her and a med to make her eat. I give it one hr before she eats. She could not found anything wrong and Sophia is not in pain. She still jumps up on the couch and wants to come eat and then looks at it and walks away.

What can I do..... the end of her life is coming she is 15 but dh.. whose cat she is said he will never put her to sleep. I wanted her to have the nuclear treatment when she first had hyper-t but he refused. I know it is expensive but now he feels bad.

Anyway the vet said that we can do scoping ect but then we could not give her steroids or her diabets will really come back again.

Yesterday she ate a tiny can of fish. She poops I knwo because she did it on the carpet rather then going in hte litterbox that she shares with her brother.

Any idea what a finicky cat really likes... and I have to be careful so that the bg does not get too high. DH does not want to take her back to the vet.... just wants to let her die peacefully.... I want her to live.... I love that feisty little girl...

 

I think right now eating trumps the diabetes. Many people here have luck with tuna, or certain baby foods. If you try baby food - make sure it is only meat (chicken, or turkey, or whatnot) and there are no added onions or garlic. You can also try syringe feeding her by watering down her regular wet food and putting it into a needle-less medicine syringe.

 

Sometimes my hypert kitties stopped eating for no reason at all. In November they all went to the vet and we found nothing.

Finally some deli sliced ham and turkey got them eating again. One thing Tucker really likes, that is cat food is sold at Petco, called Soulistic, he likes the tuna variety.

I'm not a big fan of the ear gel, it didn't work for my kitties although I know some folks have done well with it. The radiation treatment is great, but some kitties are not able to get it due to kidney issues and some for money reasons.

Did your vet offer any appetite stimulants, is that the special med? Is the special food called A/D?

Sometimes hypert kitties can get urinary tract infections, although it was poop on the rug, I wonder if she had a painful urination and now associates the litterbox with the pain.

Ask your vet about trying some pepcid also, could be she has a belly ache, hypert kitties do tend to vomit more, maybe if she has a belly ache, the pepcid would help and then she wouldn't be afraid to eat.

If you want to try the pill form of the medicine, Tapazole or the generic, it's pretty easy to give, if your cat is eating. I used to crush it and mix it with the Fancy Feast.

 

Stress can make the BG go higher, so tests at the vets office will likely be higher than at home. That is one of the reasons for home testing, is to do it when they are relaxed.

Also, check her teeth to make sure none of them are sore to the touch.

 

Is she a candidate for the I131 treatment? 15 is not old - seriously, it's not.

Maui had the treatment and it cost me in 2006 in NJ about $1500. I got a care credit card and was able to float the bill for 6 months interest free. Maybe this could be a possibility?

I don't think gel was an option when Maui was diagnosed. She was given the tapazole pills, however the vet had us start out on too high a dose and it wiped out her white blood cells. I had to syringe feed her baby food, and nurse her back to a state where she then could be a candidate for the I131.

Given what we went through, I would highly recommend it as a solution, if you can.

But what's important is getting her to eat as you don't want her to get worse. Whatever you can to entice, coax or even force her to eat is what you need to do.

 

please get some antinausea meds for her. the hyper T can cause vomiting/nausea but if increasing the dose isn't working to get her eating, it's time for bigger guns. first thing i'd try is antinausea medication. second, an appetite stimulant if the antinausea meds don't get her eating again.

cypro and mirtazapine can both help with appetite and and a little bit with nausea so you could ask about that.

but the antinausea meds i use are cerenia (1/4 tablet once a day--smallest tablet size), anzemet (injectible), or ondansetron (injectible). pepcid is good with any one of these if she has intestinal gas and could use pepcid.

mirtazapine is great as an appetite stimulant but it does make some cats anxious/hyper. it's actually an antidepressant and that's its strongest quality i see in cleo but she gets very hyper meowy and hungry. if she's still nauseated, tho, she will go to food and want to eat but walk away, so i have to take care of the nausea first.

hope your baby is feeling better asap.

 

Thank you so much for all your advice. The vet gave her Sucralate pills and we give it to her one hour before she eats. I wanted to get the nuclear treatment for Sophia but DH decided that he did not want to spend the money..... she is his cat and we decided that we would try the gel but now she seem to be going downhill fast and now he is sorry.His mother hates cats and I think she would be proud of him..... I argued until I was blue in my face...... we had the money to do it too....

The main thing is making her eat.... as you all say..... and maybe we could change from the gel to the pill.

 

As I wrote before, Maui almost died from being prescribed an incorrect dose of the pills. That while she may be "going downhill", you may be able to bring her back and get her into a better state. And while I don't like the pills, I do know that when used correctly, they do work and are a good alternative to the nuclear treatment.

So, please have faith and with the anti-nausea meds and changing to the pills, hopefully she will bounce back.

 

Sucralate (Carafate) is usually dosed every 8 hours, often for stomach ulcers, it's given the one hour before she eats because it works best on an empty stomach, I think it reacts with the acids and works that way.

How many times a day did your vet say to give it?

What Chris said about the anti nausea meds makes sense to me, and that may be the best way to get her eating again. Once she's eating, things will be looking better. So first is to help settle her belly and get that food into her, and hopefully the Sucralate can do that.

Regarding your husband, you have to choose your battles, and honestly, we don't know if Sophia would have been a candidate for the treatment. Xrays are needed and bloodwork and then it's up to the clinic to decide based on kidney values and whatever else may be going on. So, if you could had gotten the I131 that would have been great, but for now, let's figure out what you can do to help Sophia going forward.

 

Thank you. I give the Sucralate every 8 hrs one hr before she eats. The vet thinks we will have to do more stomach tests if she does not improve. She has been calling twice already to see how Sophia is doing...

 

You have a nice vet, that's great.

I do think that once her belly settles, you should try the pill form. Usual start dose is 1.25MG BID, some cats take more, my own were at 2.5MG BID, my worst was at 10MG BID, yes, 10MG BID. Like FD, every cat is different.

Is Sophia still eating the fish? If so, give her as much as she will eat. We try not to give too much fish, but in this situation, food trumps all, so feed her what she will eat.

 

I dont know Liz but I sure am praying for your little Sophia.

Jeanne

 

sucralfate

you're talking about sucralfate, right, not sucralate?
cleo was on sucralfate for anemia, which the vet suspected may have come from gastrointestinal bleeding/ulcers because of her cancer meds/steroid.

but that's separate from an antinausea/antivomiting drug such as cerenia, ondansetron, or anzemet. those made such a difference for cleo. the last 2 sting when injected, so i sometimes give one of those in her fluids when i give fluids. the 1/4 tablet of cerenia she gets once a day in part of a pill pocket when she's on cerenia.

cleo's lymphoma related vomiting is pretty chronic, and she seems to respond better when i alternate antinausea meds every few weeks so i've gotten pretty comfortable using them. (that's just her. many cats respond well to any of these meds and don't need to switch them occasionally.)

in many cats/dogs these antinausea/antivomiting meds stop the actual vomiting reflex, which is a good way to get them feeling ok about eating rather than avoiding food coz it makes them throw up.

 

I tried to post yesterday but there was a problem and I had to sign in today.
I give her Sucralate.just read it from the pill container. 1/4 tablet twice daily dissolved in water.

Yesterday I gave her Salmom and I was glad to see her eat as much as I gave her... she was so eager to eat she begged standing on her hindlegs... it was great to see.

Thank you so much for your help. I will ask about the pill.

My bext visit to the vet is with Greylie. he has renal failure and we need a blood testt.. there is always something.

I am so glad to have you all to help me... I greatly appreciate it.

 

Am keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers, and wishing for a speedy recovery for everone.

 

Prayers for both of your kitties.

BTW. I've read that blood sugars at the vet's can be as much as 100 points higher than home tests. The reason is stress (or white coat syndrome as they call it in humans).

Claudia