Zofran ? sick cat

nerominka

nerominka

Member
Hi, my 13 yo cat is sick and refusing to eat or drink. He was given Cerenia inj 2 days ago at vet and I have at home to continue. I asked vet about Zofran after reading threads on here, as I have some 4 mg and he said cats don't absorb it. I just picked up mirtaz and gabapentin for pain.
 
nerominka said:
Also any side effects with the gabapentin for pain? I haven't given it yet
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Gaba makes my cats sleepy and they stumble. I would start with no more than 50 mg and see how your cat does. My one cat stumbles even on 25 mg.
 
Thank you for the reply. I didn't end up giving it to him yet as I wanted to avoid things like that. The mirtazapine helped him eat - seems to be doing better (fingers crossed) that I wont need to give him gabapentin
 
nerominka said:
Hi, my 13 yo cat is sick and refusing to eat or drink. He was given Cerenia inj 2 days ago at vet and I have at home to continue. I asked vet about Zofran after reading threads on here, as I have some 4 mg and he said cats don't absorb it. I just picked up mirtaz and gabapentin for pain.
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Zofran is an excellent anti-nausea medication for cats with a lot of people using it in their cats daily That vet is not correct. I would not use Mirtazapine in my cat without addressing nausea first as it can cause them to hate certain food (food aversion.). Imagine feeling nauseated but have a medicine make you really hungry all at the same time.

As to Gabapentin, I am currently giving my cat 100 mg twice a day. He has no problems walking while on it, but it does make him sleep a lot. Some cats are very sensitive to it though (although they can build up a tolerance to it) so it’s better to start slowly. With mirtazapine it’s also necessary to use a tiny amount and see how much they can tolerate. It’s the same with Mirataz (the transdermal ointment that goes on their inner ear.). Start with 1/3 to 1/2 of the recommended dosage strip of ointment and give every other day… increasing to every day only as needed. If your cat gets seratonin syndrome from mirtazapine then cyproheptadine acts as an “antidote” to the mirtazapine. Hopefully you will not have any problems.

But why is your cat in pain? And why is your cat not wanting to eat? You need to treat the cause if possible and, if not, to manage the symptoms as you are trying to do. I am very sorry that your cat is ill.
 
I can’t remember if you told me why you are not testing to see how low the doses of insulin are taking Nero. It’s not safe to give him this insulin without knowing the nadir. Also, he may be dropping too low and then bouncing high because of it - at the next preshot — and you think he meeds a higher dose based on the preshot number so you give more (I see you have been changing the dose sometimes based on preshots) but he may actually not need more insulin but may need less insulin (because that high AMPS or PMPS is due to a bounce.) Doses are based on the nadir (lowest point in the cycle— with some consideration given to the preshot numbers if it’s a low number that is not typical.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Zofran is an excellent anti-nausea medication for cats with a lot of people using it in their cats daily That vet is not correct. I would not use Mirtazapine in my cat without addressing nausea first as it can cause them to hate certain food (food aversion.). Imagine feeling nauseated but have a medicine make you really hungry all at the same time.

As to Gabapentin, I am currently giving my cat 100 mg twice a day. He has no problems walking while on it, but it does make him sleep a lot. Some cats are very sensitive to it though (although they can build up a tolerance to it) so it’s better to start slowly. With mirtazapine it’s also necessary to use a tiny amount and see how much they can tolerate. It’s the same with Mirataz (the transdermal ointment that goes on their inner ear.). Start with 1/3 to 1/2 of the recommended dosage strip of ointment and give every other day… increasing to every day only as needed. If your cat gets seratonin syndrome from mirtazapine then cyproheptadine acts as an “antidote” to the mirtazapine. Hopefully you will not have any problems.

But why is your cat in pain? And why is your cat not wanting to eat? You need to treat the cause if possible and, if not, to manage the symptoms as you are trying to do. I am very sorry that your cat is ill.
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Thank you for the reply. Nero is doing better now. I gave him 2 days of mirtazapine (they said give 1/4 of the 15 mg tablet) - I dont know how I would reduce the tablet more - and he started to eat again and seemed to get better over the next few days. In the future, if this happens again, I will try the zofran for nausea, as you said. I was surprised when the vet said it is not absorbed by cats as I had read about it being used here. I only have 4 mg tablets however. I do not know the root cause of Nero having these episodes, I can only think he is getting some virus or bug or maybe it is pancreatitis. It seems like he is almost going to die and then he recovers - and is back to his former self. I think the fluids are vital and also the appetite stim did help but I understand what you are saying. Thank you for the info on gabapentin, I have that to use in the future if needed.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I can’t remember if you told me why you are not testing to see how low the doses of insulin are taking Nero. It’s not safe to give him this insulin without knowing the nadir. Also, he may be dropping too low and then bouncing high because of it - at the next preshot — and you think he meeds a higher dose based on the preshot number so you give more (I see you have been changing the dose sometimes based on preshots) but he may actually not need more insulin but may need less insulin (because that high AMPS or PMPS is due to a bounce.) Doses are based on the nadir (lowest point in the cycle— with some consideration given to the preshot numbers if it’s a low number that is not typical.
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HI, I have been testing Nero - I just cant remember how to get to my spreadsheet (where I can add to it) and I just write it on the frig whiteboard. he has been getting some lower numbers - for example yesterday PS was 250 and I gave 4.5 units instead of 5. His +6 was 135 and +10 was 68. I always try to keep food available to him because i am paranoid about hypo, and I did give him dry food when he is low. Then his PS was 225 and I gave him 4 units. I am still working on his dose. Then when he is low and I skip or give low insulin, he bounces up high and is in late 200s or 300s. I don't really know yet what his ideal dose will be.
 
nerominka said:
Thank you for the reply. Nero is doing better now. I gave him 2 days of mirtazapine (they said give 1/4 of the 15 mg tablet) - I dont know how I would reduce the tablet more - and he started to eat again and seemed to get better over the next few days. In the future, if this happens again, I will try the zofran for nausea, as you said. I was surprised when the vet said it is not absorbed by cats as I had read about it being used here. I only have 4 mg tablets however. I do not know the root cause of Nero having these episodes, I can only think he is getting some virus or bug or maybe it is pancreatitis. It seems like he is almost going to die and then he recovers - and is back to his former self. I think the fluids are vital and also the appetite stim did help but I understand what you are saying. Thank you for the info on gabapentin, I have that to use in the future if needed.
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I’m really happy to hear he is doing better. It sounds like he may be having flare ups of pancreatitis. There is a specific blood test for that Feline Pancreatic Lipase Immunoreactivity, fPLI. Fluids are very important, you are right.
 
nerominka said:
HI, I have been testing Nero - I just cant remember how to get to my spreadsheet (where I can add to it) and I just write it on the frig whiteboard. he has been getting some lower numbers - for example yesterday PS was 250 and I gave 4.5 units instead of 5. His +6 was 135 and +10 was 68. I always try to keep food available to him because i am paranoid about hypo, and I did give him dry food when he is low. Then his PS was 225 and I gave him 4 units. I am still working on his dose. Then when he is low and I skip or give low insulin, he bounces up high and is in late 200s or 300s. I don't really know yet what his ideal dose will be.
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@Bandit's Mom can you help with access to the spreadsheet so that it can be updated?
 
nerominka said:
HI, I have been testing Nero - I just cant remember how to get to my spreadsheet (where I can add to it) and I just write it on the frig whiteboard. he has been getting some lower numbers - for example yesterday PS was 250 and I gave 4.5 units instead of 5. His +6 was 135 and +10 was 68. I always try to keep food available to him because i am paranoid about hypo, and I did give him dry food when he is low. Then his PS was 225 and I gave him 4 units. I am still working on his dose. Then when he is low and I skip or give low insulin, he bounces up high and is in late 200s or 300s. I don't really know yet what his ideal dose will be.
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It sounds like the 4.5 took him to 68 so that is low enough of a nadir for now. Just remember that cats insulin needs do change and so if you find a good dose there is no guarantee it will stay that way. It sounds like you have been working really hard to help Nero! :bighug:
 
Usually you access your spreadsheet through docs.google.com. You need to either just go in and access or recover your account. You would have had to have a googledocs account set up to start your spreadsheet.
 
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