2-8-21New Member- MHS & Yellow Kitty

Hi and thank you for being here. I have a 7 yr. old neutered cat diagnosed about 2 months ago. I have been having a terrible time just being able to give him the shots. But I have gotten most of them in him. He refuses to eat the prescription food. Friday night he ate an entire can for the first time. Then he totally stopped eating. tried heating his favorite food (not the prescription stuff) and shoving little peaces in his mouth but nothing worked. By this morning, Monday, he was limp and unresponsive. I had him in the vets office by 9AM. He has a sinus infection and they think that's why he wouldn't eat. This after noon I broght him home with a bag of food and other supplies. At shot time I realized I hadn't remembered to put the insulin in the fridge. I had gotten home just before the school bus and was busy with our twin special needs kids and forgot. Tonight when I went to get the insulin I discovered it wasn't in the bag. It's still at the vets office. Do I feed him? What do I do? It's too late to go to a pharmacy and I don't know anyone with insulin and even if I did I don't know what kind the cat has.

 

Let your cat eat wherever he will eat at the moment. It is really important that he eats.

Do you know if they tested him for ketones at the vet?

Your cat does not need to eat prescription food. Any low carb food is suitable for him.

How is he now? Is he alert and walking around or still lethargic?

Not sure what you mean when you say you don’t know what insulin he is on? Has he been having insulin at home?

Did the vet give him anything for nausea?

I will wait for your answers

 

They didn't do any blood work or a urinalysis or say anything about ketones. He was dehydrated so they put some hydration pads under his skin. I'm not real sure what those are as I'd never heard of it before. She said he had all his meds for today and tomorrow I should start with those. She gave him maropitant citrate- cerenia 16 mg. and doxycycline 100 mg/ml syrup and 2 cans of prescription food and a large syrnge so I can mix the food with water and slowly put it in his mouth. He was laying on a step about 1/2 way up the stairs but now is laying in his cat box. I never saw him do that before. I have been giving him insulin at home but from reading here it seems people are using different types/brands. I don't know. I know nothing about diabetes except it can make you blind and it requires shots. I'm sorry I haven't had a lot of time to dedicate to learning. I have multiple pets who were always healthy and are now 14+ yrs old. Yellow Kitty is a stray who came here about 6 years ago and is by far the youngest. 3 of my dogs have developed serious health problems over the last year, 3 cats aged 18-16 and 13 died over the last few months and one cat is having kidney problems. My rat terrier who is about 16 is going to need to be put down now. I have adopted 8 year old twin special needs boys who are on meds and one of them has recently been showing signs of some type of psychosis. And finally I have a detached something in my left eye that the eye doctor said is going to require surgery. That makes seeing small things like the ends of needles very very difficult. I've been really stressed and it's hard to remember everything. I had just bought a rubber maid 'casket' for my dog before I went to pick up the cat. I tried to pay attention but I'm sure I missed things.

 

I am sorry you have so much on your plate.
Have you given Yellow Kitty some cerenia or did the vet do that today?
Did the vet give h8. SubQ fluids under the skin. Is that what you mean?

Do you think he is still lethargic?
Has he eaten any food for you since you got home?
At this point I would feed him whatever he will eat. It doesn’t matter if it isn’t suitable for a diabetic cat. The most important thing is he eats.
let me know if he has eaten anything.

Would there be a pharmacy open at the moment where you could go and buy some Ketostix to test the urine for ketones?
I am surprised the vet did it test for them.
I will wait for your answer.

 

They told me I didn't need to give him any meds until tomorrow.
That could be what they put under his skin. Some kind of fluds because he was dehydrated. There is so much I had never heard of before. I would take everyone in for annual check ups/vacinations and they were always healthy until this year. 2020 the year of sickness
He has been lethargic for weeks. I don't know why he is in the cat box when he usually sleeps in a chair or on the couch.
He has not eaten since getting home. I usually feed him around 8PM and it's 11:46 here now.
No way I can go to town right now. I live 17 miles out of the nearest small town in Alaska. We are having a wind storm and my husband is gone working on the slope. He won't be home for weeks. Everything is closed by now anyway.

 

Ok I can see you can’t get out tonight.
Here is what I would do. Try and get him to eat anything,
Does he have a favourite food?
Try and offer him something, sprinkle some cheese on the top to tempt him
If this doesn’t work, you will need to syringe feed him....here is a link to how to do it
Click on this linkhttps://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/syringe-assisted-feeding-videos-and-tips.144367/

Here is a link how to tempt them with food
Click on this linkhttps://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/suggestions-on-how-to-stimulate-kittys-appetite.130770/

if you can get him to drink more fluids as well that would be good.

Tomorrow I would go early to a pharmacy and buy some Ketostix and test his urine for ketones. Tell the vet if he has any. Ketones can develop quickly and are dangerous to cats.
You need to also go early to the vet and get the insulin and give him his dose.
Has the vet done any curves to see he is on the right dose.?

if he gets worse overnight I would take him back to the vet as soon as you can tomorrow.

 

@Gill & George do you have any other ideas?

 

They haven't done any tests to see if he is on the right dose yet. I will go try to get him to eat right now. I'll get his insulin tomorrow. Thanks for everything and for listening. I have been totally stressed out about this cat and spending a good 2 hours 2x a day trying to get him to eat and then give him his shot. And then I worry about it all day in between. It is really good to find somewhere to go to ask questions. Thank you again.

 

There are many ways we can help you get organised and less stressed. I won’t go into them now as you need to concentrate on getting him to eat.
Please stay in touch and let us know how he goes. And keep posting and asking questions.
Try and feed him several times a day not just before the insulin shots
Let us know if he eats for you please

 

He ate almost an entire can of Friskies Pate- his fav! But he didn't drink any water. I left him shut in the living room with food and water and his box. He is laying upright on the rug. Better than this morning when he was laying on his side and would barely lift his head. Thank you again. I really do appreciate the help more than I can say.

 

That is good news. Thank you for letting me know.
Well done.
he may need the next cerenia dose 24 hours after the last dose.
I’m glad he is getting an antibiotic as well.
Be sure to follow up with the insulin and the Ketostix in the morning.

 

That's good news, you can always add a little water couple of teaspoons to his fav food, that way he gets a bit more hydration.

I don't know if this is helpful or not seeing as you are quite remote, but on the off chance that you have the ingredients, or might be able to get them, I am going to give you the recipe for the liver shake, a lot of sick cats find it very palatable, and if they are not interested it's easy to syringe, very nutrient dense so you don't need him to have much. (only good for a short term solution)

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/the-liver-shake-for-sick-cats.30432/