1/1 Oberon AMPS 106, +4 141, +8 172, PMPS 201 (ketones 0.1), +4 252; appetite weird

Lisa & Oberon

Member Since 2020
last post: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/12-28-oberon-amps-71-2-83-5-5-71-8-65-pmps-85.285043/

Dodged an increase by finally hitting some green again overnight (61 at +10), so we're sticking with the current dose for a while longer.

Appetite has been funny the past few days; he's acting hungrier than usual and eating when we feed him, but isn't eating as much at a time (so food dries out and then he turns his nose up at it). Weight is down a bit from the last time I checked (11.62 lbs two days ago; 11.96 back in August, and his max was about 13 through most of 2022 and early 2023). He's also puking food back up occasionally, but I don't know if it's any more than usual. I tried giving him some FF with water added so it was more soupy and he definitely went for it, so I'm wondering if his teeth hurt. He's a bit overdue for a checkup so I'll call the vet tomorrow morning to get him in asap. Meanwhile, of course, I'm running through all the possible options I should be considering, in case there's more I could do to support him until then. Any thoughts?
 
Done a ketones test lately? Any chance you can look in his mouth and see if there is red around any of his gums? Blood work sounds like a good start. Perhaps including thyroid? His last check his T4 jumped up a bit, though still in range.

How often us "puking food up occasionally"? Maybe start a vomit log? Three GI kitties in a row and it's standard practice here. :rolleyes: Vet wanted to see it too. Anyway, I write down date/time, especially how long after food, description, and if I remember, food last eaten. That allows me to see patterns and trends.

Being interested in food, but not really finishing it almost sounds like a bit of nausea. Any chance you have some ondansetron in the kitty meds drawer that you could try?

And then there's the possibility it's time for a food change. Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite
 
No ketone check lately; his numbers have been low enough I haven't bothered. I'll do it tonight at PMPS, though. Tried to look at his mouth and some of his teeth definitely have a lot of buildup. (His last cleaning was nearly 3 years ago.) Didn't see anything else obviously wrong but I didn't look at his whole mouth yet. I definitely want to check thyroid and kidney function. (An ultrasound years ago could only find one kidney... numbers are ok so far, though) The puking is maybe every few days. Usually a scarf-and-barf, often with hairball. Ariel and Puck are also pretty pukey so I don't always know who did it. I'm not seeing any lip licking or other behavior that might indicate nausea, other than acting hungry but then not eating much. I'll check for ondansetron; I know we have a few meds in the bin and that might be one of them.
 
Meds inventory: I have Cerenia tablets and expired transdermal Mirataz. No ondansetron. (Also some expired antibiotics and Ariel's unused thyroid meds.) I don't think the Mirataz is any help here- his appetite seems ok. Maybe the Cerenia if I see clearer signs of nausea?

Also, I'm going to add some hardboiled egg yolk to his food; he loves it and it helps with hairballs.
 
Egg yolk powder (purchased or made) is a good idea to help with hairballs. I'd start with that and see how it goes. Cerenia also helps with puking. Puking every few days seems like a lot. I get a little antsy if my IBD+SCL girl pukes more than once every couple months. I wonder if he's developing a protein allergy. What flavours is he currently getting?
 
Drying down some egg yolk now; I have some still in the fridge but it's really really old. Ketones were 0.1, so that's fine.

He's getting the FF chicken, turkey, and beef pate (we get the combo case that has 8 of each). The puking isn't really new; it's usually hairballs. Paws crossed the egg yolk helps.

The other thing that just occurred to me is that it's possible that he's just a bit hungrier than usual and I'm reading too much into it, but maybe someone else isn't eating enough. (With four of them, it's hard to keep track.) Doesn't totally fit with what I'm seeing but I can't rule it out. Food bowls are definitely not getting cleaned out as usual but I don't absolutely know who's not eating. I don't want to assume it's the obvious dude if it's really someone else having issues.
 
Yep; just did Ariel and Freya to get a baseline. Ariel's weight is up since August (11.4 then to 12.1 now) , probably from the successful thyroid treatment. Freya's also up a bit (11.2 in May, 11.6 now). I'll get Puck when he turns up...
 
Yep. Puck's renal numbers have been slowly creeping up (but still normal) and the RenalTech prediction was positive (which I'm skeptical about, but still). Need to keep an eye on that. He's also due for a checkup, so I'm going to see if I can get him in soon as well. (And Ariel's also about due for her 6 month post-radioiodine treatment check, but that's lower priority.) Zero concerns about Freya; she's still a baby (ok, 4) and doing great.
 
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