Worried about my cat

I'll try to keep this short, we have a male cat who is 14 years old and was just diagnosed with diabetes on Thursday his last week. I know he didn't eat at all Wednesday last week not sure about the days prior. He has had an extreme weight loss, they have him on vetsulin, my husband went for the cheapest because he has recently lost his job. We are supposed to get him to eat anything he will eat in the next few days or we will have to put him down. We were away this weekend for my sister's wedding and although he got his shot which is 1 unit of insulin, our vet wanted to start with a very low dose. We are supposed to call and update them tomorrow on how he is doing but I'm wondering if we need to call and try to get a hold of someone tonight, just don't know what else to do other then force feeding him. I'm willing to keep fighting for him but we just don't have a lot of money right now either. I have been extremely emotional and trying to remain positive, he is drinking some, but not sure that's enough either. They did give him a fairly large shot of fluids at the vet on thursday, wondering too if that wasn't enough, again my husband trying to save as much money as possible

 

Has he eaten at all today? If not, when was the last time he ate?

 

Today, not at all that I know of, my husband forced a couple bites into his mouth but I think that's it for today, I will have my husband ask his friend, other then that I really don't remember the last time he ate, he was voluntarily nibbling on food before we left for our trip Thursday night, but it wasn't much just a couple of bites.

 

Do you have a meter to check his glucose? Did the vet check him for ketones? It's very important to get food into him. You can try some tuna, or some canned food or baby food(meat only, no onions or garlic) mixed with a little water and syringes into the side of his mouth.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/syringe-assisted-feeding-video-and-tips.144367/

 

Nope, I could use my meter with a fresh lancet, I am gonna get one just for him as soon as I can, I don't know if they tested for ketones, I'm heading to the store right now for a couple jars of baby food, he sort of acts like he's hungry he just doesn't want the solid stuff or canned stuff right now.

 

It is very important that he eat. I have been to the grocery store many times, and at the check out counter with multiple choices of cat food and human food to entice my cat. I would try whatever you think he might be interested in, for right now. You can change his diet to a more appropriate diabetic diet as the days go on. I would buy some ketone test strips while you are at the store and let us know that you have tested him for ketones.

 

Baby food - without spices or onions - can sometimes work.

 

Your meter will do just fine. Lots of members here use human metees. The people here will help you interpret the results. Can you look in his mouth to see if it has any sign of injury? I sure hope he does well. Many people here use Vetsulin and their cats do well. It's what my vet reccomends.

 

Your meter will do fine. Most of us use human meters. Just make sure to switch out lancets, don't want to pass the cooties back and forth.

 

Agreed. Eat and drink first. Eat, Drink, Pee, Poop, once all of that is happening, we can figure out something better.

 

Ok, well I tried the baby food with no luck, I haven't seen him use the litter box at all since we got home, and he's barely drinking water now too, we are trying a kitten bottle to try and get him some water at least. He isn't eating anything no canned cat food, not even his favorite being tuna, I know not very ideal I just thought it would be better then nothing. I'm just so emotionally drained right now.

 

Have you tried checking his glucose?

 

No, not yet, just been trying to get him to eat something, I will look up some info on that and do so soon.

 

Have you done the "tent" test for dehydration? Pick up the scruff of the neck, like you do for an insulin shot. The skin should fall back again quite quickly. Also, check his gums. They should feel normal moist, not tacky, to your finger.

I see that he had fluids at the vet. If fluids turn out to be a regular thing, they can be done at home. The vet can show you how.

 

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Did you try warming the food some and stirring it up?

 

No I didn't do the tent test, but him gums were a bit sticky when I tried to give him water.

 

If he hasn't eaten much since Thursday and you can't force feed him, then he needs to see a vet.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/financial-help-links.131190/

 

I think we are gonna try giving him water tonight and calling the vet first thing in the morning unless he gets worse.

 

I hope he starts eating and drinking. Please let us know what the vet says.

 

Do not shoot water straight down the back of his throat. He could choke and asphyxiate. Just squirt a little each time into the side of his mouth between his cheek and his teeth, following the jaw line.
Great information and how-to here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/syringe-feeding.129818/

 

Oh, yeah nope, definitely not putting it directly into his throat, he keeps going to his water dish, then just lays there, still not drinking much, he's currently laying right next to it.

 

I am so sorry that you and your sweet kitty are going through so much. I know you are just exhausted. I wish I could be there to hold you and BJ and help you get through this. I am new here and can't offer much in the way of what to do. I am keeping you and BJ in my prayers, hoping that your sweet boy will be better in the morning.

 

Just reporting some good news even it is baby steps, we finally got him to drink some water. He's been going to their water dish all day and night acting like he wanted some but just wasn't really drinking any, and resting his head on the edge, well I worried about drowning so I told my husband maybe let's change it to a smaller bowl, and he finally drank some water. it wasn't a lot but it was the most exciting thing I've seen all day.

 

How is he this AM?

 

He's like a yo-yo, one day I have hope the next I worry, I got up and checked on him he sort of meowed at me, I grabbed a can of cat food, thought well I'll try, he came out from under our kitchen table meowing at me like he's starving and I need to feed him immediately something he usually does when he feels good. In the past he's literally yelled at me to feed him, anyway gave a small amount and let him eat without interference from our other cat and he ate several good bites of food. Then he was able to have a good drink of water afterwards, he is currently napping peacefully. I will keep feeding him small amounts throughout the day, we will be calling to update the vet, I will let everyone know what we learn.

 

Great news! Have you been able to get a glucose level? It's important to know whether he is running low or high. We suggest new diabetics not get a shot under 200. And we consider 50 to be the range for a possible hypo.

 

Great that he's eating some. Do try to get a glucose reading. That will tell you a lot about how he's doing.

 

It's' wonderful to hear that he is eating and drinking again. I hope he continues to improve .

 

Haven't yet done a glucose reading but I am gonna try after we have dinner before his next dose. We called the vet and they want us to do 2 units of insulin in the morning and just one at night. I have a friend who thinks it could be pancreatitis or dka, I have wondered about it myself but I'm not sure. He has been drinking water a lot better, still not eating great just bites here and there.

 

Please get a reading and make sure he's eating and drinking. Pick up some ketone test strips and test him as soon as possible, DKA is potentially life threatening.

 

Tried again to get him to eat, he kind of licked to food, but still didn't eat much. Took me three tries but I just got a reading on my meter he is at a 324 tonight, Thursday when he was diagnosed his number was 365. I went ahead with his scheduled shot.

 

Glad you got a reading. I know money is tight, but do you think you could get a bag of fluids from your vet so you could give him subQ fluids? Also a syringe to feed him. And please get some ketone test strips. If he doesn't eat enough, not only could he have a problem with DKA but also fatty liver disease- both potentially fatal.

 

Yeah, we will have to check on that tomorrow, he needs to pee more then once a day before I could check ketones, so far I've only seen him go once today, unless he had an accident somewhere I don't yet know about.

 

Check my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some useful tools to evaluate your cat, including tips on urine testing for ketones.

 

she posted in the grief forum.......
They lost the battle.