05/09 Singha update

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Sam&Milo(GA)&Singha

Sam&Milo(GA)&Singha

Member Since 2020
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/09-02-singha-off-caninsulin-bg-went-up.234510/

Good morning! I took Singha to the vet yesterday because he was vomiting up his food and generally not himself. He was seemingly in remission after coming off of Caninsulin but his BG started rising as he started vomiting each day/few times a week.

I managed to do both a keytone test and urinalysis strip given to me by the vet. Singha gets super stressed in the car and he peed on his pad before we ever got out of the driveway so I went back inside and tested the fresh urine on the pad. Nothing showed up as unusual on either strip. I showed the vet and he confirmed this.

The vet did a thorough check-up and nothing really was unusual either until we got to the teeth. Yup, bad teeth, gingivitis. He's booked in for three weeks from now but on the waitlist for sooner to have this dealt with. He's also on liquid antibiotic twice a day (Clavamox broad spectrum antibiotic) which I started last night. Yesterday he only ate 1 tsp MC FF when he got home but refused anything else all day.

I was worried about a bowel obstruction because he had emergency surgery last summer to remove a series of hairballs that almost killed him. He isn't pooping often at all but then I read up on the raw diet and this is typical, it seems. I believe that he had a BM the other day but he's often doing it outside the litterbox (unless it's his brother?). Between the two of them, they both appear to have pooped within the last 24 hours so that's good. The dr didn't feel anything that made him suspect an obstruction. However, the poop is very dry (I think Singha). He gets probiotic and herring oil added and I'm starting to put a little extra water in the food, as well. Other suggestions? Pumpkin? I'm guessing pooping isn't easy or comfortable that he's avoiding the litterbox. The transition to raw does seem to have been a little rough though he likes it generally well enough.

This morning he was his normal chirpy self, greeting me warmly and demanding food. He still wasn't super stoked about his raw food so I gave LC FF and this got him started. He went back and ate the raw afterwards. So far, I believe he's holding it down. He had his second round of antibiotics this morning. I am not checking his BG because I know it's elevated likely due to dental and the testing is stressing him out on top of the antibiotic and vomiting, which also are causing him stress. The vet is going to do his blood work when he does the dental surgery. I'll post the labs when I get them.

Phew! That's more than I expected to write. I have also posted about my other cat, Milo, on the Lantus/Levemir forum. I'm not sure if I should stick to one forum for both cats (they BOTH have been diagnosed with diabetes....seriously!) Here's the link to Milo, if anyone is interested.

Have a good day everyone!

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/05-09-milo-amps-88.234674/
 
Sorry that the dental issues are causing a rise in BG. It sounds like you did a good job of figuring out what the problem was. If it were me, I'd get some random checks on Milo's BG just so you know what's going on.

If you've recently transitioned to a raw diet, did you actually transition or did you switch all at once? It's not unusual for a cat to have some GI discomfort if you made a fast switch. The raw diet, as you are finding out, is more fully metabolized so there's less poop. I would suggest adding water to the food.

Are you buying commercially prepared raw or are you making this yourself? If the latter, are you using a pre-mix or a recipe that includes all of the supplements to insure it's a nutritionally complete diet?

The other consideration is that an antibiotic may also cause GI problems -- usually more in the direction of diarrhea than constipation. If so, you may want to get a probiotic (e.g., S. boulardii) which will help if the Clavamox causes an upset system.
 
Thanks for all of this. I thought I transitioned Singha slowly onto the commercial raw (Big Country), little by little. Perhaps it just wasn't slow enough. Or perhaps it just coincided with the bad teeth making themselves known... Now that the vomiting has stopped, I don't actually think it was the raw food at all. He's keeping everything down and wanting more. The vomiting stopped after the first dose of antibiotics and I woke up this morning to my normal cat again. He was vocal and chippy and social again. Milo always responds VERY quickly when he (frequently) has to go on antibiotics too.

I mix a bit of water, herring oil and a probiotic mix with a dozen or so different types of probiotic in with the food. I alternate proteins so they get a wide range of nutrients.

I will get some random checks on the BG but Singha's been so stressed with the vet visit, rectal thermometer, antibiotics etc I just couldn't bring myself to do it since the vet visit. He is understandably upset by random things like these due to his blindness. After the vet visit, he was walking into things and had to take some time to get his bearings again back at home.

Predictability is key for Singha (don't move furniture, leave things lying around, keep a consistent routine) and he does great. Poking him and giving oral meds seem especially upsetting. However, when he was on Caninsulin, this became predictable and he managed it ok. He really hates the testing, though. You'd think I was killing him. I actually talk to him now and describe what I'm going to do, not that I think he understands but I'm hoping that my voice and tone will be soothing and become part of the routine to make it easier on both of us.
 
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