10/28 Xander AMPS 272 +2 263 +3 201 +5 89 +6 88 PMPS 244 +2 215+3 148 +4 92 +5 73

Albert & Xander

Albert & Xander

Member Since 2025
Yesterday's post

Last night was horrible. I slowly got him to his calories for the day and his glucose numbers cooperated with some gravy, but it was terrifying to see him refuse so much and seem a bit off.

This morning, he greeted me like normal and ate a decent first meal. I have a suspicion that last night was made worse by the cerenia. I see a good number of people online report reduced appetite from the med and this was the 6th time Xander has thrown up within 10 minute of taking it. In the past I never really noted it helping him much. Maybe its just not for him.

I think I am going to start with 3x a day dosing for the ondan/gaba, just having trouble figuring out the optimal timing for appetite stimulation .
I currently give his pills at 9am/9pm with his shot time at 9am/9pm and It seems to take about an hour to kick in. Unfortunately I can't give his morning pill before 9am, so I am thinking maybe 9am, 5pm, and 12-1am? I just hope that 5pm dose would cover his PM meals enough.

Also looking into the limited ingredient foods and they're so expensive. I'd totally be okay with paying 3x the price of fancy feast, but I worry about times like last night when I had to open multiple cans for maximum freshness and different flavors to get him to eat. That would bankrupt me. On his normal eating days it would be fine though. Also I noticed duck as an option that was cheaper than rabbit. I wonder if duck would be different enough to be worth a try? He's had duck treats before and liked it so I have hopes for him liking that one. I see a local pet store has several options available in Koha and Rawz among others.
 
I’m sorry to hear about your rough night. I like what you said “maybe it’s just not for him.”

Do you know if your local store will sample out cans for you? Ours will – they don’t advertise it, but if we ask they will sample out a can or two when we are in the process of trying new foods.
 
Hey Albert, I’m just spit balling here but I’m curious. Is it only pate he gets low appetite with? Or does he also refuse other textures too?

I’m just wondering if it’s a texture thing. When I was feeding Khloe straight pate, I spent most of my time spoon feeding her and chasing her around the house to eat, and it would take her a solid 30 mins to finish a bowl. Once I started mixing 1:1 pate to gravy is when she started eating without coaxing and finishes a bowl in 10 mins or less. It did raise the carb content from 4% to 9% (which Khloe personally needed) but I’ve noticed an extreme difference in appetite.

If you think it could be a texture thing, maybe you could try less expensive foods in different textures first before committing to the more expensive foods? Just an idea tho. I know how stressful a low appetite cat can be so I hope you get a system worked out for Xander soon 💜
 
Carina and Shelly said:
Do you know if your local store will sample out cans for you? Ours will – they don’t advertise it, but if we ask they will sample out a can or two when we are in the process of trying new foods.
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Hmm I'll ask when I go in to check it out!

Sara & Khloe said:
Hey Albert, I’m just spit balling here but I’m curious. Is it only pate he gets low appetite with? Or does he also refuse other textures too?

I’m just wondering if it’s a texture thing. When I was feeding Khloe straight pate, I spent most of my time spoon feeding her and chasing her around the house to eat, and it would take her a solid 30 mins to finish a bowl. Once I started mixing 1:1 pate to gravy is when she started eating without coaxing and finishes a bowl in 10 mins or less. It did raise the carb content from 4% to 9% (which Khloe personally needed) but I’ve noticed an extreme difference in appetite.

If you think it could be a texture thing, maybe you could try less expensive foods in different textures first before committing to the more expensive foods? Just an idea tho. I know how stressful a low appetite cat can be so I hope you get a system worked out for Xander soon 💜
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That's been an issue in the past, but for the past few months he's been eating wonderfully. Its all of a sudden. Now the meds arent' even having as dramatic of an impact. This is a bad pancreatitis flare.

I keep worrying that this is the new normal and not just a temporary flare setback. So hard with an anxiety/ panic disorder 😟
 
Albert & Xander said:
That's been an issue in the past, but for the past few months he's been eating wonderfully. Its all of a sudden. Now the meds arent' even having as dramatic of an impact. This is a bad pancreatitis flare.

I keep worrying that this is the new normal and not just a temporary flare setback. So hard with an anxiety/ panic disorder 😟
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I’m sorry Albert 😔 I was hoping it was a smaller, easier fix.

I wouldn’t worry too much just yet, it seems you have a few things you’re going to try that could get him back to his normal 💜
 
Thank you 🤗

I reached out to the vet to see if 3x a day is a good idea, or if she thinks a different pain med would be a good idea. But don't think she really has answers, its more of an experiment to see what works.

This morning his appetite never caught up and he's a tiny bit short on calories even with the mirtazapine. And his numbers never came down to normal nadirs today. Worried what that means for tonight's appetite.
 
The vet reiterated that we should transition his diet ASAP and said we could do a short course of prednisone in the meantime for a pick me up. I would rather avoid that and disrupt his insulin regulation even further.

I guess I will just trial the gaba/ondan 3x a day and see if it helps. Weird she doesnt want to target the pain and nausea first more aggressively but ill do my best on my own. I hope this passes soon
 
Albert & Xander said:
The vet reiterated that we should transition his diet ASAP and said we could do a short course of prednisone in the meantime for a pick me up. I would rather avoid that and disrupt his insulin regulation even further.

I guess I will just trial the gaba/ondan 3x a day and see if it helps. Weird she doesnt want to target the pain and nausea first more aggressively but ill do my best on my own. I hope this passes soon
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I hope the 3x daily ondansetron and gaba do the trick 🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃
It really seems there’s so much trial and error.
I would think pain and nausea are important to have under control if possible.

When Ivy had that really bad flare this summer, it seemed I could not get her loose stools under control. And Marje suggested to me that maybe her B12 was low and she wasn’t absorbing the S. Boulardii I was giving her. She was right.

I had her B12 tested and sure enough she was low so we started giving the B12 injections and I think that’s really helped.

So maybe that’s an issue with Xander as well, I know you were talking about B12 the other day as a possibility.

You’re doing such a great job advocating for your boy. I know how hard it is on you and I’m thinking of you, sending many hugs and healing vines Albert 🍃🍃🍃 :bighug: :bighug: :bighug: :bighug:
 
I appreciate it Staci! 😍 NO ONE else understands outside of this forum. I am someone who has a really hard time making decisions, and it has been so rough making countless decisions a day that he depends on.

Tonight I increased his gabapentin from 30 to 50mg and gave his gaba/ondan an hour before PMPS and he ate a really good first meal. I think gaba is the one thing that really helps him. I'm also going to start adding in another ondansetron dose during the afternoon.

Hopefully we can get him eating great again so I can attempt to transition his food.
 
Albert & Xander said:
I appreciate it Staci! 😍 NO ONE else understands outside of this forum. I am someone who has a really hard time making decisions, and it has been so rough making countless decisions a day that he depends on.

Tonight I increased his gabapentin from 30 to 50mg and gave his gaba/ondan an hour before PMPS and he ate a really good first meal. I think gaba is the one thing that really helps him. I'm also going to start adding in another ondansetron dose during the afternoon.

Hopefully we can get him eating great again so I can attempt to transition his food.
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Believe me, I understand 🫂
Unfortunately most people just don’t understand or even want to.
I pretty much have to make all these big decisions myself too. It’s very hard.
It’s so good we have a community here that understands and is happy to help one another along. Because we truly care.

I know you are doing that absolute best for Xander every single day.

I do think the Ondansetron seems to be underdosed by many vets so it just won’t do the job if it’s not staying in their system if given only 2 x daily.
I’m glad the gabapentin is helping him.
So hopefully with increased coverage of ondansetron and gaba, he will feel better and eat better.
Keep us posted! All paws 🐾 crossed 🤞 for improvement 🍃🍀🍃🍀🍃🍀🍃🍀❤️
 
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