Cat not eating. Needs Insulin. PLEASE help!

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Kris S.

Member Since 2021
Hey yall, my cat was diagnosed with diabetes 2 days ago after he started displaying out of nowhere symptoms about 3 weeks ago thus took him to the vet. Hes gone from 16lbs to 13lbs and its broken my heart seeing him like this. I dont know what to do. My vet recs going to hospital for 2 days to help with fluids/increase appetite PRIOR to insulin treatment but I dont have the money....laid off due to covid. So I decided to do everything I can myself to increase appetite. Ive gotten him to eat maybe 1 teaspoon of wet food (zero carb food for diabetic cats) but its not enough. I get insulin today and need to start him but I dont know what to do. Hes more than just a cat to me...hes been there every step of my life the past 10 years (hes 10) so this is killing me but I dont know what to do. I posted pretty much everything I own for sale on Ebay/Mercari etc to try and raise money for hospital if I have to take him which would obv be next day or 2 but obviously I pray I can avoid that for financial reasons but of course I want the best for him but I dont know how to get him to eat. He drinks plenty water but not enough food. Anyone have any advice in helping increase his food. Im creating this post in an act of desperation because he needs to start eating ASAP so I hope anyone can help me. Thank you!.
 
Oh my. It is so terrifying when they won't eat! Some questions:

1) is the loss of appetite recent, or do you think that's how he lost so much weight? Possible causes/solutions are somewhat different in the two cases.

2) has he been tested for ketones? You can test at home using urine dipsticks (cheap, available in human pharmacies)

3) what kind of insulin, and at what dose?

Here's a link to some general suggestions for getting a cat to eat: Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite

If nausea is the problem, your vet may be able to prescribe meds to help. A low-tech solution is to raise the food and water bowls a few inches. Baby food (just meat, no garlic or onions) sometimes works to get them eating again. At this point, don't worry about carbs. Not eating is far more dangerous to a diabetic than BG running a bit high for a while.

Might your vet be willing to prescribe fluids for at-home administration? It's not hard and would be a lot cheaper than a hospital stay. As long as the vet checked his heart recently (fluids are dangerous when there are heart issues). If he's drinking he may not be terribly dehydrated, but fluids often perk them up and get them feeling better anyway.

I hope he's feeling better soon!
 
Thank you for replying! Was going to start insulin treatment at dinner time (6p) and continue 1 unit 6am 1 unit 6pm and so on. My vet said give a half unit if hes eating but very little. I need to start him. I bought that Tiki and Wanurva (spelled wrong I apologize) which are zero carb (Tiki is the other very low) but part of me thinks he doesnt like it bc my other cat (3 year old beautiful Siamese girl) didnt like it either (shes perfectly healthy but figured we would feed her high quality low carb food in lieu of my other cats health issues) so going to get a more 'fun' tasting wet food just to get him to eat and pray that it works. I really need to dose him so going to a Walmart now (10p) to get it and though its late, I really need to get him going. I am reading everything you posted and changing up tactics to get him to eat. But I pray he eats enough to atleast give him a .5u dose! Thank you! And excuse my poor grammar, when I become anxious, worried, scared, etc., my grammar goes out the window. Lol.
 
Is he eating by himself at all? try some fancy feast pate canned. That is low carb. As long as it’s 10% or less. But atm let him eat whatever he will eat. Eating anything trumps everything.
 
Nan & Amber (GA) said:
Oh my. It is so terrifying when they won't eat! Some questions:

1) is the loss of appetite recent, or do you think that's how he lost so much weight? Possible causes/solutions are somewhat different in the two cases.

2) has he been tested for ketones? You can test at home using urine dipsticks (cheap, available in human pharmacies)

3) what kind of insulin, and at what dose?

Here's a link to some general suggestions for getting a cat to eat: Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite

If nausea is the problem, your vet may be able to prescribe meds to help. A low-tech solution is to raise the food and water bowls a few inches. Baby food (just meat, no garlic or onions) sometimes works to get them eating again. At this point, don't worry about carbs. Not eating is far more dangerous to a diabetic than BG running a bit high for a while.

Might your vet be willing to prescribe fluids for at-home administration? It's not hard and would be a lot cheaper than a hospital stay. As long as the vet checked his heart recently (fluids are dangerous when there are heart issues). If he's drinking he may not be terribly dehydrated, but fluids often perk them up and get them feeling better anyway.

I hope he's feeling better soon!
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1. This all happened out of nowhere! Like few weeks. So its rapid weight loss from not eating at all out of nowhere.

2. My vet said 'hes close to dka' which scares me bc its serious but told me to get him on insulin and ofc new diet and etc., and go from there. But I havent done any outside test. Im sorry Im not to versed in this stuff.

3. 1 unit after meal 1. 1 unit after meal 2. So 2units total a day. Told me do half a unit if hes not eating enough just to get him going. Lantus I believe. I got the insulin today only a few hours ago. Ive been in such shock at how all a sudden this happened to him that its all been a blur.

He does drink a lot. My vet said hes partially dehydrated bc he drinks then pees it out and repeat. They put a water bubble under his skin which I think worked well. I may ask for another because it does work well and pretty manageable money wise. Thank you for all your feedback and help. Going to read what you sent me and apply.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Is he eating by himself at all? try some fancy feast pate canned. That is low carb. As long as it’s 10% or less. But atm let him eat whatever he will eat. Eating anything trumps everything.
Click to expand...

Yes! Im going now to buy fancy feast that everyone has mentioned. I bought him zero and low carb Tiki and Wanuerva (spelling) which were pretty exp and he ate a few bites a few as in a teaspoon amount a few times all day. Ive been sitting on the floor and holding his food up to him which helps a lot but Im going now to buy him new food. Exactly...I need him to eat..anything and will worry about a low carb food option later. Just need him to eat!
 
Did you ask for cerenia or ondansetron from the vet for nausea?
Also you need to test for ketones in the urine. But ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy. It’s a simple test.
I’d buy a selection of fancy feast for him. Maybe some others that are not pate. You just need him to eat.
Don’t forget to tell us what type of Insulin .
 
Really important
****If the vet said he was close to DKA that means he had ketones. So it is very very important you get those Ketostix I mentioned and test the urine every day for ketones.
It’s also very important he eats and eats well because it is the food and the insulin that will combat the ketones ....as well as lots to drink.

Offer him food during the day and evening as well as the two main meals.
Please keep post of every day so we can help you.
 
Hi Kris,

I am no expert. Just a suggestion, one year ago my cat FaFa suffered CKD and she hardly ate anything. Terrified, I went to pet shop to buy every food I can think of. At last, I found a liquid food that is from Japan, the brand is Aixia. FaFa absolutely LOVED it and ate a lot, gained back 1lb in a week. After that she slowly switch to Dr Lisa's raw food recipe. She is doing really great now.

The Aixia liquid food contain, excluding water content, 30% to 40% carbs but as other people say your cat needs to eat first. You said you cat like to drink water so I think you can give it a try.

The product name is Aixia Kenko Pouch Senior Cats Kidney Care.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Really important
****If the vet said he was close to DKA that means he had ketones. So it is very very important you get those Ketostix I mentioned and test the urine every day for ketones.
It’s also very important he eats and eats well because it is the food and the insulin that will combat the ketones ....as well as lots to drink.

Offer him food during the day and evening as well as the two main meals.
Please keep post of every day so we can help you.
Click to expand...

Bless you! Okay going to go buy those Ketostix (what am I hoping for when I test? Im sorry not too familiar with all this stuff). I bought a glucose meter today. I got him some Fancy Feast. He definitely ate a few more bites than the last few days which makes me super happy. Vet told me give him .5 U instead of 1 so I did which was officially his first dose and so far so good. He ate enough for a half unit. I got Lantis insulin but she gave me a Lantis kwikpen which is what I wanted BUT regular syringes to use instead of those mini needle heads youd get with a pen. So not sure if she did this to make me pay more because arent the pens more expensive than a normal vial of insulin/syringe? So really weird to why she gave me the pen but syringes that youd get with a normal vial. Maybe this is normal and Im just misinformed.

He drinks a lot which makes me glad. He has access to cold (loves cold water) purified water 24/7 which I change it every hour or so which may be a waste of water but whatever...I want him happy.
 
PH&MonkeyPenPenFaFaTiger said:
Hi Kris,

I am no expert. Just a suggestion, one year ago my cat FaFa suffered CKD and she hardly ate anything. Terrified, I went to pet shop to buy every food I can think of. At last, I found a liquid food that is from Japan, the brand is Aixia. FaFa absolutely LOVED it and ate a lot, gained back 1lb in a week. After that she slowly switch to Dr Lisa's raw food recipe. She is doing really great now.

The Aixia liquid food contain, excluding water content, 30% to 40% carbs but as other people say your cat needs to eat first. You said you cat like to drink water so I think you can give it a try.

The product name is Aixia Kenko Pouch Senior Cats Kidney Care.
Click to expand...


Oh my! Because Ive noticed he likes licking up his food (low energy so its easier...absolutely breaks my heart) so I started mashing it up even with pate I mash up but liquid food may be exactly what will work. He drinks water a lot too. Im going to go find this right away today! Thank you!
 
You guys have been awesome. Im seriously overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation. Its truly an amazing thing that a bunch of you happily take time out your day to help a complete stranger like me! Its a beautiful thing! Thank you and bless you all! I am going to update you all in the evening but for now; he ate enough for his first dose- .5u instead of 1u which was real weird because it was such little liquid it felt like I didnt even inject anything in him! But of course I did. He was drinking water as I did it and he didnt flinch or even seem to notice-thank God! I dont think you guys know how much youve helped me thus far! I seriously thank you! Will update shortly!
 
The syringes are better to use because with the pen you can only increase or decrease by whole units
With Lantus we use the syringes with half unit markings . We increase or decrease by 0.25 units at a time

If you don't have the syringes with half unit markings we can tell you where to get them, they can contact your vet and she can fax over a script for them

Make sure to add water to any of the wet food you are feeding
 
Did you buy a human meter?
If you can fill out your signature if will help us/so we don't have to keep asking you the same questions over and over again.
It's at the end of everyone's post in gray writing which contains information about our cats
Look at mine



Click on your name upper right hand corner , a drop down will appear , tap in signature , fill out info
  • On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
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Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.
 
So its 953p my time (central...I live in Milwaukee). I went and bought a bunch of different types of foods; again, but I bought liquid food as someone above suggest...I couldn't find the exact brands mentioned but I got some liquid/broth (delectable bisque) type with tuna and chicken mashed in at 1.6 ounces and Im feeding him now and if he eats this last half a tablespoon (which Ill get him to) then hell have eaten entire package! I couldnt stop smiling. I know that isnt A LOT of food but it says give adult cat 2 packages a day for a complete meal blah blah so Im assuming each package isnt that little either. Either way its def working!! Going to give him his 2nd dose in a few minutes. I gave him dose 1 at 1030a which is why doing dose 2 now but lets hope he can continue eating tomm because again maybe 1 of those pouches which arent a lot of food (def not small either) is for sure an increase in food intake compared to yesterday!!

I also have keytone strips and as mentioned bought a glucose meter this morning. I bought Contour Next which many ppl including on this website said that works great. I know some vets say dont use human glucose meter on your pet but according to like 100 different comments from different people that Ive read; human glucose meter works perfectly fine on a cat. So knock on wood. Oh I also bought that Fancy Feast small can of food-1 flavor is 10% carbs and I thing the other flavor is more but getting him to eat is most important and will hopefully move back to a diabetic/low or zero carb food once he starts really recovering! Going to read all your comments and reply but this is a small yet kind of exciting update! Thanks everyone!!
 
So glad to see you are making progress. Well done!
Don’t worry about the food being diabetic friendly at the moment. Eating trumps everything.
Have you managed to get a urine test yet for ketones or testing the blood glucose??
The contour next meter is a good one.
I’ll ask @Bandit's Mom to look in and see if she can help you with the spreadsheet for you to put the BG data into when you start testing. I know you are caught up trying to get your kitty to eat.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
So glad to see you are making progress. Well done!
Don’t worry about the food being diabetic friendly at the moment. Eating trumps everything.
Have you managed to get a urine test yet for ketones or testing the blood glucose??
The contour next meter is a good one.
I’ll ask @Bandit's Mom to look in and see if she can help you with the spreadsheet for you to put the BG data into when you start testing. I know you are caught up trying to get your kitty to eat.
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I spent so much time getting diabetic food that I didnt even think about getting him to eat in general. Im going to do a Ketone test (1st one) in the morning!
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
The syringes are better to use because with the pen you can only increase or decrease by whole units
With Lantus we use the syringes with half unit markings . We increase or decrease by 0.25 units at a time

If you don't have the syringes with half unit markings we can tell you where to get them, they can contact your vet and she can fax over a script for them

Make sure to add water to any of the wet food you are feeding
Click to expand...

Took me some time to understand the syringe but I finally understand how to read it and use it! I didnt even think about that...I just assumed the actual pen is the best but being able to adjust doses by .25 is soo beneficial especially for my cat and starting him super low. I started adding water to it and I noticed his current preferred method of eating was just licking and maybe eating 2 tiny pieces of the actual chicken/tuna etc which isnt enough at all. I went and got a few pouches of liquid food-chicken, tuna, salmon, etc., that has like baby food consistency and he ate like 80% of the pouch! Took a while but he did! Then I was able to give him his 2nd dose. Going to continue feeding him this way but 100% the water aspect is saving me because thats what hell actually eat. Hopefully hell continue to eat tomm and so on.
 
Hi I'm too new to feline diabetes to help with that but I am not new to making kitties eat! That said, one of my cats didn't eat for 2 days and I started blending up his food myself. I did gravy lovers friskies with some tuna water and it got him to eat! I don't know what made him not eat but I forced him to take antibiotics for 2 weeks and he's fine to this day. Another cat of mine recently had pneumonia and she refused to take pills so I had to crush up her pill into food. She still wouldn't eat it so back to blending wet food with tuna water and bam. She took her pills. I blended the food on liquefy mode so that it was just a thin paste. Hope this helps!
 
Kris S. said:
Oh my! Because Ive noticed he likes licking up his food (low energy so its easier...absolutely breaks my heart) so I started mashing it up even with pate I mash up but liquid food may be exactly what will work. He drinks water a lot too. Im going to go find this right away today! Thank you!
Click to expand...

Yes, I remembered my first try was to mash up food for FaFa to eat, she ate a little bit but not enough. And that liquid food saved me and her. o_O
 
So he ate another almostttt full pouch for morning dose (730a) then he ate like 60% of a 2nd pouch few hours later (1pm), which shows hes getting an appetite back! He actually was moving around and came to me for food when he heard me touch the pouch (which he hasnt done since he fell ill ) !! Ans ate it standing/sitting. Hes been eating laying down with me holding the bowl and his poor head due to no energy so him sitting and eating is great! So knock on wood this continues and even more!!
 
April & Quincy said:
Just wanted to say - fellow Milwaukeean here! Welcome! It's nice to know there's someone in my city going through something similar! :)
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Ahh thats so cool! And yes it is actually comforting knowing someone near by is going through something similar! And Im sorry about your cat this is such a horrible thing. Your cat have diabetes as well?
 
Hey quick question: is it ok to use same syringe for both doses before disposing or literally a new syringe per every dose? Ive given 5 doses thus far with 5 brand new syringes so I haven't reused but I was just curious. And you guys absolutely know so much so I wanted to ask here. Thanks!
 
Fresh syringe for each dose. Using the same one multiple times not only risks contaminating your insulin, but the points do get dull rapidly, making the poke more painful (that's also why lancets for tests should be single-use).

49823913987_5d0da2fd0d_o.jpg


(from the sticky Insulin Care & Syringe Info: Proper Handling, Drawing, Fine Dosing in the Lantus forum)
 
Kris S. said:
Ahh thats so cool! And yes it is actually comforting knowing someone near by is going through something similar! And Im sorry about your cat this is such a horrible thing. Your cat have diabetes as well?
Click to expand...

Yes! Going on two years now. Don't worry - you'll get through this and soon it will just become a normal part of your life.
 
Nan & Amber (GA) said:
Fresh syringe for each dose. Using the same one multiple times not only risks contaminating your insulin, but the points do get dull rapidly, making the poke more painful (that's also why lancets for tests should be single-use).
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These images do not reflect my test. Maybe humans have tougher skin or harder seals on the insulin vials.
Here are my images for a BD syringe

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Used 10 times
 

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Apart from the needle getting blunt, you are contaminating the insulin if you reuse a needle and put it back into the bottle of insulin as it is no longer sterile or possibly very clean. Also the risk of introducing infection under the skin of the cat. I would recommend using a new needle each time
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Apart from the needle getting blunt, you are contaminating the insulin if you reuse a needle and put it back into the bottle of insulin as it is no longer sterile or possibly very clean. Also the risk of introducing infection under the skin of the cat. I would recommend using a new needle each time
Click to expand...
Plus cats with diabetes have a harder time fighting off infection right?
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Apart from the needle getting blunt, you are contaminating the insulin if you reuse a needle and put it back into the bottle of insulin as it is no longer sterile or possibly very clean. Also the risk of introducing infection under the skin of the cat. I would recommend using a new needle each time
Click to expand...
I didnt even think about the insulin! And you reuse to save a few bucks but then if you contaminate the insulin, itll end up costing you more in the end on top of harming your cat with a dull point or infection. Im just going to continue brand new syringe per dose. Not worth it and dont want him to suffer anymore but I was just curious because I am fully new to this.
 
Question...so the day I took him to the vet I noticed several things...which like all happened out of nowhere literally just 1 day but his back legs are causing him difficulty when walking. He can't like them iift them into litter so hes been peeing basically on the floor. And I dont understand bc these symptoms literally happened out nowhere so Im under the impression its diabetes related bc I don't know what else it would be so has anyone else had this issues? His legs 100% havent gotten better since treatment but I figured Id ask what to do and why...thanks guys.
 
It sounds as if he has diabetic neuropathy which is very common in diabetic cats. My cat Sheba had it quite badly. She couldn’t walk up stairs, or jump on chairs, she would slip and slide as she walked and would have to sit down every few steps. She also couldn’t squat for long in the litter box.
Treatment is getting the BGs under control and giving Methyl B 12 daily. You can buy Zobaline for cats from lifelink.com
Sheba fully recovered from the neuropathy. It took probably 6 months.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Apart from the needle getting blunt, you are contaminating the insulin if you reuse a needle and put it back into the bottle of insulin as it is no longer sterile or possibly very clean. Also the risk of introducing infection under the skin of the cat. I would recommend using a new needle each time
Click to expand...

I read somewhere that you can use the lancet a few times but it seems to me that the needle for that would also get dull rapidly. Am I wrong? Or is it okay to use lancets more than once? (Not trying to hijack this thread, just wondering!)
 
April & Quincy said:
I read somewhere that you can use the lancet a few times but it seems to me that the needle for that would also get dull rapidly. Am I wrong? Or is it okay to use lancets more than once? (Not trying to hijack this thread, just wondering!)
Click to expand...
I always used 1 lancet per test. Sometimes (more than I wanted) I had to poke more than once to get a good enough blood droplet, I would use the same lancet over and poke right next to the previous try, but I always used a new lancet for each new test. I guess that's confusing wording. The lancets I bought from ebay were like a couple of cents each, so that didn't bother me.
 
Dyana said:
I always used 1 lancet per test. Sometimes (more than I wanted) I had to poke more than once to get a good enough blood droplet, I would use the same lancet over and poke right next to the previous try, but I always used a new lancet for each new test. I guess that's confusing wording. The lancets I bought from ebay were like a couple of cents each, so that didn't bother me.
Click to expand...
Not confusing at all. That makes perfect sense. Thanks!
 
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