5/10 Skipper AMPS: Hi

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The Hi reading was my fault. When I went to feed him and give him his shot this morning, I saw a filled syringe lying there and realized I must have forgotten to give him the shot last night. So much for my Mother of the Year award.

He did throw up his dinner last night, but kept down his breakfast this morning, so I take that as a good sign.

My question is about metoclopramide (Reglan) and if anyone has had experience with it. We started it Tuesday before dinner. The vet said to give it 30 minutes before a meal, which means I have to set the alarm for 4 am, give him the pill, then try to go back to sleep for a half-hour. Otherwise, he'd have to wait to get the pill until 6:30 a.m. and not eat till 7, and I think that's a long time to wait considering he's eaten at 4:35 am for years. That would also delay his dinner to 7 p.m. Any thoughts?

What are you giving the Reglan for? If it's for vomiting, it may not be the best choice of medication. Reglan helps with motility issues -- getting the food through the stomach. There are other meds that are better for nausea or vomiting -- ondansatron/Zofran or Cerenia/maropitant are probably better options.

Hi guys .. I don't think I've been in skipper's condo before, so welcome from us! No advice on the meds from me, but I'm glad to hear his breakfast stayed down today .. that is a good sign! Have a great day!

The vet gave us the Reglan for both the vomiting, nausea and motility, thinking that maybe he was constipated and that was contributing to the vomiting. We go to see her Monday and will determine the next steps then. Skipper already is taking generic prilosec.
I'm very, very discouraged about the whole situation, because we have made little, if any, progress in the 6 months since his diagnosis. His BG is still high, I haven't found a wet food that a) he will eat and b) will stay down, and recently he has been drinking and peeing more, which had lessened after we started Lantus. Next weekend will be my first time away from him since the diagnosis. I'm leaving him in my husband's care and will try not to worry, but I will.

Hi Beth, we have complete sympathy for the appetite issues with Skipper. We've gone through it with Zener too. We had Zener on reglan but it caused head tremors. He already has cerabellar hypoplasia so that may have been a factor. Now he is on 1/4 tablet of ondansetron twice a day, 1/8 of zantac twice a day (over the counter), and occasional doses of cerenia (1 shot a day for 3 days) when his appetite starts to fail. He seems to need the cerenia about every 3 weeks. We are going to try a pill form and see if that works for him.

We use Greenies pill pockets, duck and pea formula to give the pills. Zener likes them and it's very easy.

We use 1/32t of miralax twice a day to help keep him regular.

We had a terrible time getting him off dry food and on to the wet. I think it was probably IBD/stomach motility issues all along and these meds seem to work for him. Now he eats the wet food pretty well. He will only eat one or two flavors. Anne tried every flavor in town and there are a lot! Another thing that helps is tummy massage, which Zener likes. Most cats don't though. :smile:

Don't worry about the missed shot. It happens. Skipper will get back on track.

Let us know if we can help.
Liz, Zener's other mom

Anne and Zener: Thank you so much for the feedback. It's good to know that we're not the only ones dealing with this issue. I also have tried very variety, brand and flavor of wet food out there, and have had little success long-term. Our vet suspects IBD, also, which I think he's probably had his whole life, as he has always vomited after eating, though I and our previous vet thought it was because he ate too fast.
It's good to know about ondansetron, too, in case the Reglan doesn't work.

I'm giving myself a break on forgetting his shot last night. My routine was off, and that always makes me forget something.

No advice on the meds, just hugs. Sienne, Liz and Anne are the experts in that field. From your signature Skipper is still eating dry? for food issues a unique protein may help if it is a food issue.

Thanks, Ann. Unfortunately, I've tried every protein I can find, including duck, rabbit and lamb. He has thrown them all up at some point. I had a little luck with Wellness Core salmon, herring and whitefish for a few weeks, but he got tired of it. Same with Blue Wilderness salmon. This week I tried Merrick's Grammy's Pot Pie, which he liked, but threw up, which I could have predicted because of the poultry. Then I tried Merrick Ocean Breeze, which he also liked, but again, threw up (it has chicken, too). I think the reason he's hesitant to eat wet food is that he associates it with throwing up, and he doesn't want to do that (who does?!). I went through Janet and Binky's list and the other list on Tanya's CRF page and came up with just a few options that are low carb/low phosphorus. I've tried them all but the Felidae. I have a can, but with his vomiting, I'm afraid to give him any. Whenever I try a new kind, I give just a spoonful to see if he'll even sniff at it. If he eats it and keeps it down, I'll give him some more later on. I was even considering the raw medallions from Nature's Variety but was concerned about the protein content.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll have a vomit-free day today!

Have you tried fortiflora, a nutritional powder that tastes somewhat like dry food? Zener will eat better with a little bit of that sprinkled on the top. You can order it from amazon.com and your vet probably sells it too, but at a higher price. Have you tried other things like Parmesan cheese? Someone also suggested Sisu Multi Enzymes Plus. We sprinkle a tiny bit on Zener's food because he doesn't like the taste and we are trying to get him used to it. Pip of Pip and Rupert said it helped one of her cats with IBD issues.

He eats Fancy Feast Chicken Florentine, 10% carbs, then we switch to Fancy Feast chicken chunky, 5% carbs, if he's staying high in that cycle. Paws crossed he will keep eating them. :lol: :lol: I understand Skipper can't eat poultry but I wanted to point out that the food doesn't have to be low carb to be an improvement over the dry food.

Liz

aw...sending healing energy Skipper's way!

celi & binks

Thank you for the tips, Ann & Zener! I hadn't heard of either of those supplements, and never thought of parmesan cheese. I can get some of that and try it first since it's easy, then look into the other options!

Other people know a lot more tricks than use. There is a feline assisted feeding group on yahoo. They were a lifesaver (literally) when we had to syringe feed Zener. Another trick is freeze dried chicken but that may not work if he doesn't do poultry. Some cats are crazy for that and someone called it "kitty crack". :lol: :lol: I think there is freeze dried salmon. Let us know how he does.
Liz

There are freeze dried shrimp, salmon or whitefish from Pure Bites. Another taste tempter is bonito flakes crumbled on food. You can get small packages in the pet stores. If he like it you can ge larger packages really cheap in Asian groceries.

Thanks for the tips! I bought some of the Pure Bites freeze-dried whitefish treats and he wouldn't touch it. The vet has freeze-dried wild salmon, and he won't touch it, either, even if I bring it home and give it to him then. I saw the freeze-dried shrimp, and being vegan, they kind of grossed me out, but he might like them.
I'll look for the bonito flakes and get some parmesan cheese to try.
Thanks again!