5/6 Shen PMPS 152, +2 142, +5 134, +8 198, AMPS 328

[Nimi S]

Link to previous condo: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/5-2-shen-pmps-137.277124/#post-3068833

We had 5 really great days - Wed & Thu especially were so similar I could see a trend in the amount of drop / rise in the BG levels.

Yesterday we had some guests over and ordered tandoori chicken from outside - Shen loves it and was making puppy eyes at everyone. Ended up washing a few very tiny pieces (to get rid of the masala/spice ) and fed them to him.
And learnt our lesson this morning

Hopefully he goes back to blues and greens once it's out of his system.

Here's a pic of Shen eyeing my food yesterday - hard to deny him when he shows any interest in food by himself these days :')

 

[Bandit's Mom]

Almost impossible to resist that look! Just chicken should not raise BG. But you won't know if the tandoori chicken is the offender without trying again. I am sure Shen will agree to the experiment.

He could also be bouncing from that dive he took yesterday morning. It's not unusual for a cat to bounce after a few days in blues and greens.

Looks like the loose stools are continuing even after the antibiotic has been discontinued?

Btw, who is the other cutie in the background?

 

[Nimi S]

Almost impossible to resist that look! Just chicken should not raise BG. But you won't know if the tandoori chicken is the offender without trying again. I am sure Shen will agree to the experiment.

He could also be bouncing from that dive he took yesterday morning. It's not unusual for a cat to bounce after a few days in blues and greens.

Oh wow. I thought for sure it was the chicken. Lucky Shen
He's had it before but back then he was in reds and pinks so the rise in BG post tandoori wasn't all that noticeable.

Looks like the loose stools are continuing even after the antibiotic has been discontinued?

Yep, no improvement. Although, he's still on the other herbal/ayurvedic medicine (Bangshil tablets) for another 9 days, so maybe it could be a side-effect of that too.
Anything else that I could try apart from Darolac?

Btw, who is the other cutie in the background?

There are 2 cuties actually, apart from Shen in that picture
The white lump to Shen's left is Twiggy and the brownie to his right is Chiu Sr. They'll be 6 years old in June, they're sisters and they don't get along

Here's another picture of them from harmonious, chubbier times

 

[Bandit's Mom]

Yep, no improvement. Although, he's still on the other herbal/ayurvedic medicine (Bangshil tablets) for another 9 days, so maybe it could be a side-effect of that too.
Anything else that I could try apart from Darolac?

Let's give it a few days to see if it improves now that you have stopped the antibiotic.

He is fed only Whiskas chicken in gravy? And he has not been allergic to chicken in the past?

@Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

[Nimi S]

He is fed only Whiskas chicken in gravy? And he has not been allergic to chicken in the past?

Yes, currently only Whiskas Chicken in Gravy. His loose stools started ever since I began increasing the amount of wet food, even when I was giving him Tuna in Jelly.
They've definitely worsened with the addition of the antibiotics.

He does have an allergy to something which was responsible for his eye's itchiness and redness, which was why he was on steroids earlier.
But I'm not sure if it's chicken.
Farmina Vetlife Obesity dry has a mix of both chicken and fish, but he's never had loose stools while he was on it all those years.
His eyes are also much better right now even without any other eye drops, so it could be something in the dry food that he suddenly developed an allergy to.

Maybe I can try alternating or mixing Whiskas with some other brand's chicken flavored wet food. Will wait for a couple more days and see.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I have a cat ( My daughters really) who has an allergy which manifests itself as red areas above eyes and on legs and itchy, also weepy eyes. And she will have frequent loose poops. We eliminated chicken and she seemed better but still had the problems to a lesser extent. We would give her 1/2 zytrec (5 mg) when it was bad for a few days and it would improve.
A couple of months ago we started to give the 1/2 zyrtec to her every day and the difference is very noticeable. There is no more red or itchy areas, no runny eyes, her appetite is better ( zyrtec does improve the appetite) and her poops are now firm and she only goes once or sometimes twice a day whereas before she was going several times a day.
She has put on weight for the first time ever and she is generally much happier. She is obviously utilising the nutrients in the food properly.
I’m wondering if it would be worth while trying zyrtec for Shen. But I would run it past your vet first because I don’t know what medication Shen is on. We didn’t ask the vet but Clover was not on any other medication. the only things I give her is SBoulardii and slippery elm bark powder which she has been getting for years.

 

[Nimi S]

I’m wondering if it would be worth while trying zyrtec for Shen. But I would run it past your vet first because I don’t know what medication Shen is on.

Shen was on a medication called Atarax 10mg (Hydroxyzine Hydrochloride) for 2 weeks (mid-end March) for his allergy - I can't say it improved his allergy by a lot.
I was reading up on the difference between the drug in Atarax and Zyrtec (Cetirizine Hydrochloride) and while both are anti-histamines, it seems like Atarax treats a wider variety of conditions while Zyrtec is primarily for treating allergy symptoms.
I'll run it past the vet. It's certainly worth trying since his allergy flares up every now and then, and it only takes a few paw rubs for his skin to break since the fur around his eyes is still sparse.

She has put on weight for the first time ever and she is generally much happier. She is obviously utilizing the nutrients in the food properly.

Would love this for Shen, especially the happier bit. Although I don't think he needs to put on any more weight (a little around his cheeks maybe :'))

I think his loose stools boil down to insufficient fiber in his current diet.
Farmina Obesity dry has pea fiber, psyllium husks + seeds, inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides, dried beet pulp as sources of (soluble/insoluble) fiber.
I've read that most cats don't need a whole lot of fiber in their diets but Whiskas wet has only 0.2% fiber in it, most likely from the thickeners for the gravy, so I don't know if it provides even the bare minimum required.