10/13 Apollo PMBG 153

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John & Apollo

John & Apollo

Member Since 2011
Apollo's Condo

Good morning. Just posted Apollo's AMBG 161. He is eating, but still not enough to feel comfortable giving shots at this point. I am going to call the vet to schedule a dental ASAP to check for any tooth of gum infection issues.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

Good luck! I hope this gets him back to eating normally. It's amazing to me how good his numbers look with so little insulin over the past several day.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

I'm also wondering if some abdominal xrays might be helpful. Maybe there's still a blockage. I'm just trying to think of some other questions you may want to run past your vet that could account for Apollo's not eating well.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

Ok, we have an appointment for today at 5:15pm with our regular vet. I tried to get in to the dental vet with top of the line dental equipment, but earliest he can be seen there is wednesday next week. I can't wait that long. My regular vet is good and I trust them to give him good care.

Sienne and Gabby said:
I'm also wondering if some abdominal xrays might be helpful. Maybe there's still a blockage. I'm just trying to think of some other questions you may want to run past your vet that could account for Apollo's not eating well.
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I don't think that is the issue as I had a full body xray done about 2 weeks ago when I thought he might have a blockage or potential hairball issue. The vet didn't think it was necessary, but I sort of insisted as Apollo has never had an xray done anyways. He showed us the results and everything appeared to look normal. He did say he had quite a bit of poop build up, but that it was nothing to be concerned with at the time. All organs and such looked normal as well.

Any other ideas what could be causing him not to eat enough? Let me know and I'll bring them up to the vet as potential issues. Do they do a blood test to confirm if any infections are present or how is that done? Other then the lack of eating enough food, Apollo does seem to be in decent spirits. I am more concerned about the lack of food intake then he is. :smile:
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

Barbara and tuffy said:
Is Apollo dropping weight? Sometimes when the numbers come down, their appitite decreases.
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No, he has been steady at 12 lbs for a while, but I just keep looking at the lack of food being eaten and thinking that he will start to see issues because of that sooner rather then later. Plus I don't feel comfortable giving him a shot with such little food being eaten throughout the day.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

Hi guys .. nice numbers, especially for no insulin .. But I understand not wanting to give any if he isn't eating well .. Good luck at the vets tonight .. Hope they can figure out what's going on .. have a great day guys!
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

Morning JohnBean - wow! What beautiful numbers Sir Apollo is giving with so little insulin! Is he gettin' ready to go OTJ?

Sending 'eatin'' thoughts for the day...
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

Thanks to everyone for all the warm wishes. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this later today.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

I'd forgotten that you had gotten xrays. That's good and it should rule out any problems. If he's recently been weighed at the vet's office, make sure they weigh Apollo again. He's now post-poop and been eating considerably less. So you'll be able to determine if there's any weight loss.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

Sienne and Gabby said:
I'd forgotten that you had gotten xrays. That's good and it should rule out any problems. If he's recently been weighed at the vet's office, make sure they weigh Apollo again. He's now post-poop and been eating considerably less. So you'll be able to determine if there's any weight loss.
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Will do. Any other potential causes of lack of eating I should ask the vet about when I am there? I just have a gut instinct it is his tooth or an infection in his mouth causing all this. We will see.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161

i'm glad you're able to get apollo in to see the vet. one thing which concerns me is the possible return of ketones since apollo is not eating well and you've skipped so many shots. please continue to monitor for ketones if you're not already.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161, +34 151

Just tested Apollo's BG at +34 (I think that is correct) and he is at 151. He is holding his own even without getting any insulin. Going to the vet shortly.

Jill I will see if I can have the vet check for ketones when we are there. I wouldn't think that would be an issue though since his numbers continue to remain low even without the insulin?

In all honestly he appears to be behaving normally. Coming out and spending time with the family and such, but just not eating a whole lot when I put food out. He eats a few teaspoons full maybe and then walks away.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161, +34 151

John & Apollo said:
Jill I will see if I can have the vet check for ketones when we are there. I wouldn't think that would be an issue though since his numbers continue to remain low even without the insulin?
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ketones seem to be more likely to develop when a kitty is in high numbers, but contrary to what most think they can also develop when kitty's BG numbers are lower. ketones are all about an insufficient supply of insulin, poor appetite, and some other stress in the body such as infection. since apollo is prone to ketones i'd remain vigilant about testing for ketones given the circumstances.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161, +34 151

Also sending good vetty visit vines for Apollo.

I didn't get here before you left but does he act nauseous and that's why he doesn't want to eat?
 
Ok, just got back from the vet. Well he sedated Apollo and did a thorough exam. No tooth issues found, no gum or other infections found, negative for ketones, blood work done showed everything in normal ranges, actually he had significant improvement since last blood work done. At this point he is really scratching his head as to what could be the issue. He said I could try to give a 1/4 tablet of Pepcid AC daily to help settle any tummy upset issues he may or may not be having. He said to continue to try different foods and see if one works better. He said maybe Apollo's body is still adjusting "metabolically" and that can throw off his appetite for a while? He really didn't have any answers for me.

He also said he was extremely impressed with Apollo's BG numbers and he looked at my spreadsheet. He said he felt like I could have Apollo go off the insulin for a while and see how he does. He didn't feel like he needed it anymore at this point in time (not sure if I agree with that). He said I can continue to test and keep an eye on it and if he starts to go back up then slowly start the insulin up again, but for now in his opinion he would give it a rest for a while.

I'm glad Apollo is fine, but I have to admit I was hoping for more definitive answers. At this point I'm not sure what else to do for him, but keep trying different types of foods and some of the tricks others in the forum have suggested.
 
Re: 10/13 Apollo AMBG 161, +34 151

Marjorie and Gracie said:
I didn't get here before you left but does he act nauseous and that's why he doesn't want to eat?
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I can't really tell for sure. How would I know if he was nauseous? If I put down food he usually comes over, sniffs for a bit, then eats maybe a few teaspoons full then walks off. He just licks the surface of the food and never dives right in and cleans the plate. Periodically he then stops and eats small bites throughout the day, but total amount of food being eaten is just not enough to maintain healthy weight.

Also I had him weighed and he hasn't lose any weight, which is surprising.
 
Only other things blood work showed were:

Apollo's CREA was high, 0.8-2.4 mg/dL is normal range and he was at 3.3 mg/dL (but that has been the same since blood work done on 7/13/11). Basically Apollo does have a little kidney damage due to hyperthyroidism a few years back. He has since had the radioactive iodine procedure done and been fine.

Apollo's LIPA was high, 100-1400 U/L is normal range and Apollo was at 1947 U/L. The doc didn't see anything to be concerned with that number being high. Just thought I would mention it.
 
Just checked on him and he is grazing right now, so he does have an appetite, but just not eating a lot yet at this point. I am about to head to bed soon. I just wanted to give everyone an update.

Feel free to leave your thoughts. I'm anxious to read them. Thanks again everyone for everything you do for both of us.
 
Hi Guys,
I hope that Apollo will decide that he really likes his food!! Has it been particularly hot where you live? Sometimes hot weather can affect the appetite.

Sending some good-eating vines to Apollo tonight,

Ella & Rusty
 
John:

Take a look at his phosphorus level and compare it to his 7/11 bloodwork. Kitties in renal insufficiency can have increasing phosphorus levels and that can make them go off their food as it can make them have upset tummies. You want to see his phosphorus level close to 4. If it's creeping up to 5, then I would start being concerned about getting him on a low phosphorus diet. I cannot figure out why but there are alot of vets out there who think that 5 is a normal number for P for an adult cat. If the cat has always been there and it's his/her baseline, well ok.. BUT the reference range for normal for P for cats includes kittens and kittens always have a much higher P level than adult cats.

If he's nauseous, he might sniff and walk away from his food or he might drool; he also might lick his lips, sit in a meat loaf or like a sphinx. Sometimes kitties with a little extra acid in their tummies will vomit a clear, foamy liquid.

It's often good to give them a pepcid ac (1/4 of 10mg) at night before you go to bed and to also feed at night late....the food in the tummy also helps absorb any acid.
 
hi john - so glad you got him in and looked at. seems kinda puzzling because his appetite has changed, right? he hasn't always eaten such a small amount. but he hasn't lost weight either. the fact that his appetite has dropped would still make me think something isn't quite right.

i don't know enough to offer any ideas. i hope some of the wisdom from others with more experience will be helpful to you.
 
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