Cat won't eat or drink

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DickensF

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Hello, this is my second post here and I'm beyond terrified.

I have been trying to get my cat regulated but his blood sugar levels have consistently been in the very high 20s - very low 30s even with insulin.

However, I don't want to give him insulin if he doesn't eat since that's what the vet said and I've been trying to get him to eat but he absolutely refuses to. I have low carb wet food (fancy feast classic pates) that he refuses, I have his purina DM wet food that he refuses, I even bought the 0 carb tiki cat food that he will lick a bit but not really eat much.

He just sleeps and is super weak and doesn't really do much. He's getting dehydrated too which is why I'm trying to get him to eat wet food but he just... refuses no matter what I try to do. He doesn't even eat the dry food he used to love (tried to get him to eat literally anything).

I don't know what to do and I'm just holding him crying at the moment... he has a vet appointment in 2 days to put a glucose monitor on.

Edit:

I also want to put that I'm scared I didn't do anything to help him properly... or I don't want him to be suffering. I just feel absolutely horrible. I'm just so new to all of this and I feel like I didn't learn fast enough...

Edit 2:

I haven't made a SS because I haven't gotten the labs from the vets yet and also I haven't been taking his blood sugars super regularly because he hasn't eaten a proper meal (for lack of a better term) since we got back from the vets.

I'll hopefully have all his labs and the spreadsheet made in 2 days when he has the blood glucose monitor.
 
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I’m not an expert, but I would get him into the vet now (rather than waiting two days for his appointment). I know there is so much to learn on this journey, but right now you want to get him feeling better. He could be nauseated, dehydrated, have ketoacidosis… can you get him seen today? If he’s not eating, drinking, or getting insulin, things can go downhill quickly.
 
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DickensF said:
Hello, this is my second post here and I'm beyond terrified.

I have been trying to get my cat regulated but his blood sugar levels have consistently been in the very high 20s - very low 30s even with insulin.

However, I don't want to give him insulin if he doesn't eat since that's what the vet said and I've been trying to get him to eat but he absolutely refuses to. I have low carb wet food (fancy feast classic pates) that he refuses, I have his purina DM wet food that he refuses, I even bought the 0 carb tiki cat food that he will lick a bit but not really eat much.

He just sleeps and is super weak and doesn't really do much. He's getting dehydrated too which is why I'm trying to get him to eat wet food but he just... refuses no matter what I try to do. He doesn't even eat the dry food he used to love (tried to get him to eat literally anything).

I don't know what to do and I'm just holding him crying at the moment... he has a vet appointment in 2 days to put a glucose monitor on.

Edit:

I also want to put that I'm scared I didn't do anything to help him properly... or I don't want him to be suffering. I just feel absolutely horrible. I'm just so new to all of this and I feel like I didn't learn fast enough...

Edit 2:

I haven't made a SS because I haven't gotten the labs from the vets yet and also I haven't been taking his blood sugars super regularly because he hasn't eaten a proper meal (for lack of a better term) since we got back from the vets.

I'll hopefully have all his labs and the spreadsheet made in 2 days when he has the blood glucose monitor.
Click to expand...
@Wendy&Neko
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
@Bron and Sheba (GA)
@Bandit's Mom
 
I would take your kitty to the vet asap. If a cat doesn’t get insulin when he needs it, ketones can form in the blood/urine which are dangerously not retreated.
The fact he is not eating and is weak are red flags.
Let him eat whatever he will eat at the moment.
You could get a bottle of Ketostix from a pharmacy to test the urine for ketones, but I really think he needs to be seen by a vet. Leaving it 2 days to see the vet could well be too late.
 
Hey everyone,

Sorry for the delay. It's been a long almost 24 hours. Shortly after making this post, I took poor Dickens to an emergency vet hospital.

While there, they did bloodwork and a urine test, which I do have now. Some good news, while very diabetic, there are 0 ketones and he is most definitely not experiencing ketoacidosis.

The bad news however is he is experiencing Kidney Failure. Due to his kidneys shutting down, it caused him to not want to eat or drink, which was also going to affect his appetite which in turn affects his diabetes.

He is currently hospitalized and I received an update about 30 minutes ago saying that he is currently on IV to rehydrate him, he has eaten twice on a renal diet and his blood sugar is being monitored every 30 minutes and he is being injected with Lantus and another faster acting insulin to regulate his blood sugar while going through treatment for his kidneys.

Thank you all for your responses. I'm getting updates every 12 hours on his condition and I will update here when I get another update.
 
DickensF said:
Hey everyone,

Sorry for the delay. It's been a long almost 24 hours. Shortly after making this post, I took poor Dickens to an emergency vet hospital.

While there, they did bloodwork and a urine test, which I do have now. Some good news, while very diabetic, there are 0 ketones and he is most definitely not experiencing ketoacidosis.

The bad news however is he is experiencing Kidney Failure. Due to his kidneys shutting down, it caused him to not want to eat or drink, which was also going to affect his appetite which in turn affects his diabetes.

He is currently hospitalized and I received an update about 30 minutes ago saying that he is currently on IV to rehydrate him, he has eaten twice on a renal diet and his blood sugar is being monitored every 30 minutes and he is being injected with Lantus and another faster acting insulin to regulate his blood sugar while going through treatment for his kidneys.

Thank you all for your responses. I'm getting updates every 12 hours on his condition and I will update here when I get another update.
Click to expand...
@Bron and Sheba (GA)
 
His kidney results are most likely worse because he is dehydrated. They should improve once he is better hydrated and is recovering. It could take a couple of weeks. I would question that the kidneys is the cause of the problem. I would suggest the kidney issues could be as a result of something else causing the original problem.
Can you ask for a copy of all lab results on discharge please and post them on here for us to see. To do this you will need to copy and paste them.
 
Update on Dickens for tonight

He ate twice today, he urinated but hasn't had a bowel movement yet. He's apparently looking better than this morning.

He isn't responding to insulin yet as his blood sugars are still high, so they gave him 3 units of insulin just now and will continue to monitor his blood sugars to see of it'll drop more. It has lowered it slightly but it's still really high.

@Bron and Sheba (GA) for sure. I have his lab results from when I was there to drop him off. I will include them in the morning when I get the next update about him as I have therapy right now and I'm also busy for the rest of the night to try to keep my mind off of everything at the moment as I have been crying and worrying nonstop today.
 
On second thought here is the lab results that I received when we dropped him off. On discharge I'll ask for updated ones. I know these should go in the Spreadsheet which I am working on.

IDEXX Services: ProCyte Dx Hematology Analyzer, Catalyst One Chemistry Analyzer, SediVue Dx Urine Sediment Analyzer, IDEXX VetLab UA Analyzer

Hematology:

RBC - 8.32
Hematocrit - 0.306
Hemoglobin - 129
MCV - 36.8
MCH - 15.5
MCHC - 422
RDW - 25.7
% Reticulocytes - 0.1%
Reticulocytes - 5.0
Reticulocyte Hemoglobin - 16.7
WBC - *7.65
% Neutrophile - *80.2%
% Lymphocytes - *11.9%
% Monocytes - *2.0%
% Eosinophile - *0.9%
% Basophils - *5.0%
Neutrophils - *6.14
Lymphocytes - *0.91
Monocytes - *0.15
Eosinophils - *0.07
Basophils - *0.38
Nucleated RBCs - *Suspected
Platelets - 308
MPV - 16.3
Plateletcrit - 0.50

Chemistry:

Glucose - >38.14
IDEXX SDMA - 33
Creatinine - Too high to analyze
Urea - >46.4
Phosphorus - 4.23
Calcium - 2.49
Sodium - 113
Potassium - 2.0
Na: K Ratio - 56

Chemistry (Continued):

Chloride - 78
Total Protein - 79
Albumin - 41
Globulin - 38
Albumin:Globulin Ratio - 1.1
ALT - 45
ALP - 65
GGT - 2
Bilirubin - Total - 15
Cholesterol - 7.27
Amylase - 1,155
Lipase - 804

Urinalysis:

Collection - Cystocentesis
Colour - Straw
Clarity - Clear
Specific Gravity - 1.013
pH - 5.0
Urine Protein - 30
Glucose - 1,000
Ketones - neg
Blood / Hemoglobin - 250
Bilirubin - neg
Urobilinogen - norm
White Blood Cells - 2 /HPF
Red Blood Cells - >50 /HPF
Bacteria, Cocci - None Detected
Bacteria, Rods - None Detected
Squamous Epithelial Cells - None Detected
Non-Squamous Epithelial Cells - <1 /HPF
Hyaline Casts - None Detected
Non-Hyaline Casts - None Detected
Calcium Oxalate Dihydrate Crystals - None Detected
Struvite Crystals - None Detected
Ammonium Biurate Crystals - None Detected
Bilirubin Crystals - None Detected
Unclassified Crystals - None Detected

Endocrinology:

Total T4 - 10
 
Newest update:

Dickens is responding very well to hospitalization.

His blood glucose levels are now steadily at 15 and he is regularly eating again and is properly hydrated.
 
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