? Vegetable 08/21 sick & not eating - dosing advice

Veg is not feeling good today. I'm not sure what's up but she kind of lethargic , won't eat & has vomitted twice today.

It's almost pm shot time it I don't know what to do about her shot since she won't eat. Any advice?

I tried syringe feeding her this afternoon & it seemed to help a tiny bit but an hour later she threw everything up I gave her a quarter of a tablet of Zantac hoping that would help, that was at about her +7, it seemed to help a tiny bit but not enough.

We're on our way home & im going to try to get her into the vet tomorrow but for tonight I want to make sure I can do everything possible to make her comfortable.

 

Hi Jennifer.

I'm sorry Veg is not feeling well. Have you been traveling with her? Is it possible the water or food she had on the trip is not agreeing with her? How long has her appy been off? Do you have any Ondansetron or Cerenia, or just Zantac?

I see your SS is not up to date. What have her numbers been like lately?

 

sometimes the food they throw up isn't attractive anymore..... just like when we have those issues....we don't want to eat that again for a while....

maybe you could try some baby food .... meat only.... usually stage one or two... just check that it's meat only....
meat and gravy is okay too....

and some kitties perk up with fried chicken... ( peel off the fried skin and just give them the meat)

 

Zantac? I haven't heard of that being given to cats - most people give Pepcid AC (not complete). Just googling I see that Zantac is a stomach acid reducer, which is what Pepcid is too, but I don't know about giving it to cats.

Here is a link for Stimulating a kitty's appetite. Hope you can get her to eat something. Rotisserie chicken or lunchmeat were the things that Punkin would eat.

Whenever a diabetic kitty goes off of eating, my first thought is pancreatitis. The primer on pancreatitis is at the end of the "Basics, New to the Group?" sticky.

We need the spreadsheet a little up to date in order to help with dosing. You're not too far behind so maybe when you get home you can fill in the missing numbers.

Hoping she perks up.

 

Thanks for all the info. My spreadsheet is not up to date since wifi had been hard to get for long while we've been travelling, later tonight when i get home I'll update it.

Vegetables appetite has been off all day today. I tried different foods but she won't eat. I'm st Walmart getting baby food now.

I just checked her blood sugar & she's at 12.5 so not extremely high like it was with ketones but still not that great I know.

I'll update when we get home.

 

Julie can you post a link to the pancreatitis info for me please? I can't seem to find it, probably cause I'm really tired from being on the road lots today.

 

Here it is, Jennifer: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/a-primer-on-pancreatitis.79693/

 

Thank you! That describes veg perfectly today! Now the problem is coming up with the money to pay for a vet visit

 

If you do take Veg to the vet, make sure you get Ondansetron or Cerenia for nausea (or maybe both). If an appetite stimulant is discussed, Cyproheptadine is better than Mirtazapine - fewer side effects and you can give it more often.

Sending healing vines.

 

How often & how much baby food should I be feeding veg until I can get her to the vet? I'm syringe feeding her right now with about 4 teaspoons full at a time every couple of hours, I did this all night.

The vomitting has stopped which is good but she's still not herself.

I grabbed a bottle of keto diastics yesterday, as soon as i can catch her going pee I'll test for ketones just to be safe.

Poor veg won't even purr for me which is very unusual & heartbreaking!

 

Hi Julie
Though I haven't used it personally in Tanyas CKD site it's listed as an acid blocker that can be used in cats in a similar way to Pepcid here's a link, it lists drug interactions, side effects, dosage etc
Zantac/Ranitidine

 

I'm sorry Veg isn't feeling good and I don't have any experience with syringe feeding. Hope you are able to get her into the vet soon. Sending lots of vines and prayers.

 

Vines and positive thoughts and prayers

 

Have you given Veg insulin today?
I have no experience with syringe feeding to offer any sensible advice.

 

So sorry Veg isn't feeling well. Which meat baby food did you get? In Canada it's very hard to find meat baby food that doesn't have onions or garlic in it (not good for cats) or some carby vegetables in it. I think you want a couple jars of food in her if you can.

I too have used Zantac, with civie Theo. It has the added benefit of being a motility aid. Neko also got a ranitidine shot from the vet which helped her one time she was off. Your vet will probably suggest fluids. If you give a shot, try to give is somewhere other than the scruff, as that is where they give fluids, and for some cats, giving fluids near the insulin shot can make the numbers tank.

When Neko was off her food, I purreed some cat food with water to make a consistency I could syringe feed. I found it easier to get the quantity of food in that I needed that way. Vet foods such as Iams Maxcal or Royal Canin Recovery are both LC and very easy texture to syringe feed. MaxCal has the benefit of being high calories so you don't need to feed as much. Near the bottom of the Where Can I Find post is a video on assist feeding.

As long as Neko was getting her calories, I am able to give her a regular dose of insulin. I did do a bit of a BCS once when she was green and looked like she was going to stay that way overnight. You should be able to do a 1/2 dose most time when kitty isn't eating - that's what most vets suggest when kitty can't eat if they are going to get anesthesia.

 

Wendy I just gave veg her insulin. Her amps was 10.1 so I went ahead & gave her .25 units.

I grabbed a couple jars of gerber chicken & gravy & turkey & gravy on our way home last night while we were in the states. I got one full jar into veg over about a 12 hour period of time.

I gave veg a very tiny piece of metoclopramide last night. DH has some 10mg tablets he uses for migraines so I cut a super small little corner & gave it to her.

Anything else I can do from here until I get her to the vet? Do you know of a place I can get lactaded ringers from locally? I was reading that might help.

I called the vet & they said about $210 just for the blood work plus of course the exam fee, pain meds & fluids & of course tax.

 

The chicken and gravy probably has cornstarch so higher carb, but as long as it doesn't have onions you are OK.

As per the primer on pancreatitis, you'll want pain relief (buprenorphine), fluids, and anti-nausea from the vet. Ondansetron is really expensive here, between $3.50 and $4.00 a pill at the pharmacy.

I got my lactated ringers from the vet. Their price wasn't too horrible for a bag. I know a local medical supply place you can buy a box, lines, and needles for much cheaper, but you may not need a box worth. I was considering it when we started Neko on daily fluids for her CKD, but we've since stopped it. PM me if you want the details on the medical supply place. They are in Surrey, but will deliver for a small fee.

 

Update:

Veg is still not eating any food. She's sitting with her legs under her staring into space. I called the vet & they are quoting me almost $300 for the exam, full blood panel & snap test for pancreatitis. Ontop of that is the fees for the pain meds, IV fluids, hospital stay if required & antibiotics. They did say they would probably work with me to help keep the costs down & let me treat veg at home but she has to come in for an exam first & I would have to talk to the dr about her condition.

I'm trying to come up with the money to take her in.