Need Help With Feeding

[Alicia and Tank]

Hello, my 11.5 year old male 1/2 Maine coon cat had a very high blood sugar; 392 12 days ago at the vet. This is all new to us and has never had health issues until now. The vet wanted me to switch him to 100% wet so I attempted and he refused to eat the wet with only eating limited for 5 days and also started having diarrhea. So she had me switch back to a grain free food that I can find which was low carb 16% but she didn’t like the fact it has a lot of plant base in it. So I ordered some Dr Elsey Clean Protein and started adding in a little bit to wet food twice daily and also left out dry 24 hours because he still isn’t eating enough of the wet. Was eating more with the dry mixed in to the wet but not what he should be eating. That was 4 days ago I started that and 2 days in he had loose stool and that has ended after day 3 but now today, day 4 he has vomited about 2-3 hours after eating and each time he vomited it was after drinking a lot of water. I’m just so at a lose and don’t know what I can do different. The only thing I did different was at night I put the dry food up so he wouldn’t eat during the night to hopefully get him to eat morning in the morning on day 4 of the wet in which he did but has vomited twice today. My question is...do some cats just not adapt to wet food and if so would I just feed the Clean Protein dry daily and continue to try to get him to eat wet but not push it on him? He goes back in 7 days for another glucose test to see if the food changes has helped but he’s been all over the place so I don’t know if it will help at all. He is not on insulin yet and the vet is hoping to get him to 100% wet will balance everything but not sure if that is going to happen at this point. I’m just feeling very discouraged.

 

[Alicia and Tank]

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

Hi Alicia, and welcome.

There are some excellent suggestions here for transitioning from dry to wet. It does have to be very gradually.

• Transitioning your cat from dry to wet food

Here are some ideas to make wet food more appealing.

• Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite

As for as dry food goes, Dr Elsey's clean protein is one of two that is low enough in carbs. Some cats need time to adjust because it is a very rich food. Cats do not eat as much of the clean protein as they would a higher carb cat food.

Is your cat vomiting food or clear, foamy liquid?

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

WELCOME TO FDMB Alicia and Baay! we are so glad you found us. First off let me say your Baay is gorgeous.
It sounds like you have found a good vet also. Thats half the battle.
You may want to start here:
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
Theres a ton of information here at your fingertips with good people to help you decipher it all.
Again WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY.
jeanne

 

[Alicia and Tank]

Hi Alicia, and welcome.

There are some excellent suggestions here for transitioning from dry to wet. It does have to be very gradually.

• Transitioning your cat from dry to wet food

Here are some ideas to make wet food more appealing.

• Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite

As for as dry food goes, Dr Elsey's clean protein is one of two that is low enough in carbs. Some cats need time to adjust because it is a very rich food. Cats do not eat as much of the clean protein as they would a higher carb cat food.

Is your cat vomiting food or clear, foamy liquid?

Hi Alicia, and welcome.

There are some excellent suggestions here for transitioning from dry to wet. It does have to be very gradually.

• Transitioning your cat from dry to wet food

Here are some ideas to make wet food more appealing.

• Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite

As for as dry food goes, Dr Elsey's clean protein is one of two that is low enough in carbs. Some cats need time to adjust because it is a very rich food. Cats do not eat as much of the clean protein as they would a higher carb cat food.

Is your cat vomiting food or clear, foamy liquid?

Its mostly all liquid with just a little bit of food in it. The last two times it’s been like projectile just right after drinking water.

 

[Alicia and Tank]

WELCOME TO FDMB Alicia and Baay! we are so glad you found us. First off let me say your Baay is gorgeous.
It sounds like you have found a good vet also. Thats half the battle.
You may want to start here:
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
Theres a ton of information here at your fingertips with good people to help you decipher it all.
Again WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY.
jeanne

Thank you, his name is Tank and he is like my second child. I’ve had a lot of tears over the past week watching him go thru this food change. I just want him better and healthy again.

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

More than likely, your cat will need insulin. Did your vet do a fructosamine test? This gives an average of blood sugars over the last 2 weeks.

My biggest concern at the moment is the not eating.
In an unregulated diabetic cat, that can lead to ketones and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is life threatening.
You can pick up ketostix at any pharmacy and test for ketones yourself.

• Ketones/Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA): Ketones, Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), and Blood Ketone Meters

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

Tank what a fitting name. We want him to get better too. Please read the link Kel posted about keytones. Its very important.

 

[Alicia and Tank]

More than likely, your cat will need insulin. Did your vet do a fructosamine test? This gives an average of blood sugars over the last 2 weeks.

My biggest concern at the moment is the not eating.
In an unregulated diabetic cat, that can lead to ketones and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is life threatening.
You can pick up ketostix at any pharmacy and test for ketones yourself.

• Ketones/Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA): Ketones, Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), and Blood Ketone Meters

Thank you for the reply. I think she just did a standard glucose test in office like they would for a human. I did a food change in mid July to a different Science Diet and that is when it all went down hill. He is currently eating about 4oz of wet a day that has a total of 2 teaspoons of dry mixed in then he’s nibbles on dry food 2-3 times a day while I’m away from home. She wants him to eat around 9oz of wet per day cause he is a large cat but since he isn’t eating that much wet at this time she said to give him dry to ensure he will eat. He loves the dry and seems to be fine on that but the minute he starts eating more quantity of wet I start seeing the wet stool then today the vomiting which might be to changing the dry food 4 days ago to the Clean Protein. He just ate dinner and drank water and everything has stayed down for 2.5 hours so maybe he just had an upset tummy from over eating this morning because he did eat a lot of the wet; more then usual due to be taking the dry away last night.

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi Alicia. Welcome to you and Tank.

Very sorry to hear about the food woes. They're not good.

Its mostly all liquid with just a little bit of food in it. The last two times it’s been like projectile just right after drinking water.

Had it been several hours since Tank ate anything when he brought up the liquid? (Sorry for brevity of this post - juggling a few things at the moment.)


Mogs
.

 

[Alicia and Tank]

Hi Alicia. Welcome to you and Tank.

Very sorry to hear about the food woes. They're not good.


Had it been several hours since Tank ate anything when he brought up the liquid? (Sorry for brevity of this post - juggling a few things at the moment.)


Mogs
.

No worries and thank you for the reply. Yes each time he puked up water it was 2-3 hours after he had eaten so not much food was in the puke; mostly all water. He ate and drank 2.5 hours ago and so far so good! He did eat double the wet this morning then he usually does so I’m thinking he over did it this morning and maybe got an upset tummy.

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

Hi Alicia I am relieved Tank seems better this morning. SMH what a roller coaster!
Diabetes is a roller coaster as it is. Added issues doubles the worry.
I wish your vet would have done a fructosamine test. sigh

I'm wondering if there isnt an upchucked furball hiding somewhere.

Sending best wishes
j

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi again, Alice.

No worries and thank you for the reply. Yes each time he puked up water it was 2-3 hours after he had eaten so not much food was in the puke; mostly all water. He ate and drank 2.5 hours ago and so far so good! He did eat double the wet this morning then he usually does so I’m thinking he over did it this morning and maybe got an upset tummy.

Sometimes acid build-up in the tummy can cause cats to bring up watery vomitus. It can sometimes be helped by feeding smaller meals approximately 3 hours apart. It's something you should keep any eye on and if it doesn't resolve soon get the vet to check Tank over.

A one-off spot check of blood glucose levels at a vet's office is not sufficent for a solid diagnosis of diabetes because it only tells you about BG levels at that instant in time, and BG levels could be temporarily elevated by stress (travel, strange environment, etc.). A fructosamine test needs to be run. The test provides an indication of average BG levels for the last fortnight or so, and it won't be influenced by vet/travel stress.

12 days ago at the vet. [...] The vet wanted me to switch him to 100% wet so I attempted and he refused to eat the wet with only eating limited for 5 days and also started having diarrhea.

I wonder whether part of Tank's problems at the moment might be due to trying to transition his diet too quickly, as suggested by the diarrhoea. Perhaps if you were to backtrack a little, feed more of the Dr. Elsey and then v-e-r-y g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y change the proportion of wet to dry over a longer period you might have more success.

Feline Nutrition and Tips for Transitioning to a Low Carb Wet Diet

With the digestive system knocked off kilter a bit, Tank might be a bit nauseated. Here's a useful resource:

Nausea Symptom Checklist

That'll help you to spot any signs, and then you could report them to your vet. If nausea is an issue then Tank might need a little anti-nausea support - and possibly an appetite stimulant - till his digestive system settles down and he is eating properly again. Ondansetron and Cerenia are good anti-nausea meds. There is a lot of very helpful information on the page linked above


Mogs
.

 

[Maddie Mouse]

Hello, my 11.5 year old male 1/2 Maine coon cat had a very high blood sugar; 392 12 days ago at the vet. This is all new to us and has never had health issues until now. The vet wanted me to switch him to 100% wet so I attempted and he refused to eat the wet with only eating limited for 5 days and also started having diarrhea. So she had me switch back to a grain free food that I can find which was low carb 16% but she didn’t like the fact it has a lot of plant base in it. So I ordered some Dr Elsey Clean Protein and started adding in a little bit to wet food twice daily and also left out dry 24 hours because he still isn’t eating enough of the wet. Was eating more with the dry mixed in to the wet but not what he should be eating. That was 4 days ago I started that and 2 days in he had loose stool and that has ended after day 3 but now today, day 4 he has vomited about 2-3 hours after eating and each time he vomited it was after drinking a lot of water. I’m just so at a lose and don’t know what I can do different. The only thing I did different was at night I put the dry food up so he wouldn’t eat during the night to hopefully get him to eat morning in the morning on day 4 of the wet in which he did but has vomited twice today. My question is...do some cats just not adapt to wet food and if so would I just feed the Clean Protein dry daily and continue to try to get him to eat wet but not push it on him? He goes back in 7 days for another glucose test to see if the food changes has helped but he’s been all over the place so I don’t know if it will help at all. He is not on insulin yet and the vet is hoping to get him to 100% wet will balance everything but not sure if that is going to happen at this point. I’m just feeling very discouraged.

I can understand your vet wanting to try a simple dietary change rather than the stress and hassle of twice daily injections, but if Tank needs insulin, he needs insulin! My vet went for the opposite approach - full blood work for a solid diagnosis and then insulin + prescription dry food (with a recommendation to introduce wet food), and Maddie is vastly better after only a few weeks. I would press your vet for a fructosamine test rather than a simple glucose test - if he won't do one, you probably need a new vet!

Maddie has always eaten dry food (lower carb than most commercial food, but not low enough for a diabetic) and she's very reluctant to eat wet foods, especially anything made of ground-up animal products moulded into chunks - she likes real meat! It's a slow process of finding "complete" foods that she finds palatable, and I had to go back to 100% dry for a few days after she got an upset tummy from one wet food. Take it slowly, as suggested above - right now it's more important that he eats enough (and not too many carbs) than that he eats the "perfect" thing.