15 year old diabetic cat ate dry food (was sick) and now has low appetite

[Elisa Glaze-Santonen]

Hi there,

I have a nearly 16-year old diabetic cat called Huey. He had diabetes about 4 years ago for 3 months, was treated with Caninsulin and had a change of diet - and then went into remission (via a hypo incident). In October this year, he was quite poorly again and was re-diagnosed with diabetes, and insulin treatment started.

He responded well to the insulin, and has been improving - he was just last week considered relatively well regulated (after several vet trips and BG checks etc). However, on Friday night (two days ago) he unfortunately managed to eat dry food (meant for my other 2 cats) - and subsequently vomited overnight. Saturday morning he had no appetite and was drinking excessively - the first time he had shown his diabetes symptoms in a while. I gave him his insulin shot, as the dry food must have spiked his blood glucose. As a side note, I do have the Alphatrak 3 meter, but he is a feisty one so checking his BG usually involves giving him a sedative (gabapentin) first otherwise I get swiped at - so I don't do it daily. He has always been a bit of a grumpy one (though he's perfectly fine with the insulin shots).


Anyway, he kept coming down for his meals (he has two meals a day with his insulin shot usually). He has been eating, but only small amounts - it seems like he wants to eat, but possibly feels nauseous, so can't manage his usual portion.

Based on googling, it seems to me he might have mild pancreatitis - with the nausea, and possibly pain as well stopping him from eating. I skipped his insulin shot this morning as he barely ate, and will try to take him to the vet's this morning (if he lets me, he was already growling at me!).

It seems to me that anti-nausea, and possibly pain medication might help him - which I will ask the vet about. I doubt the vet's will be able to handle him even if I manage to get him there.

Does anyone have any experience with this and potential advice? I'm in the UK btw.

Thanks,

Elisa

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I’m sorry no one got back to you sooner.
If you suspect it is pancreatitis you will need to get a fPL snap or a fPL spec blood test from the vet. They are not routine tests.
If it is pancreatitis he will need anti nausea medication. The vet may give him an injection and then hopefully will give you pills to bring home. Ondansetron is the best antinausea to get but failing that cerenia may help. It will need to be giving for several days. and he will need pain medication as pancreatitis is very painful.
And he may need subQ fluids as cats with pancreatitis can get dehydrated.
Offer small meals often.
And I would not skip any doses of insulin… that is not a good idea with a sick diabetic cat. Even a reduced dose is better than a skip..
Are you still using Caninsulin? There is a much better insulin now for cats. In the UK you can get ProZinc and Lantus. Both excellent for cats and more gentle than caninsulin which is not really a cat insulin. It’s a dog insulin.

You might like to look at getting a freestyle libre fitted to give you an idea how the BGs are going. The libre is fitted onto the cats body with a tiny wire and automatically monitors the BGs for 2 weeks.

 

[Elisa Glaze-Santonen]

Thanks for the reply. Huey was seen by the vet yesterday and was given an anti-sickness shot and a pain medication shot. He did eat more after that. They checked him over (as much as he allowed), including his gums and he wasn't seeming dehydrated. They couldn't manage a full blood test as he wasn't sedated (he gets a bit aggressive), but did note that he has quite bad dental disease. We had been holding off on a dental while trying to get him regulated with his diabetes, but might do that sooner now if it might be stopping him from eating.

He is still on Caninsulin and has been doing well on it. It was just the unfortunate dry food incident that seems to have messed him up for a bit (he was doing so well! Acting like a younger cat again). They are giving me pain medication to give him at home until he can have a dental, and we'll likely try a full blood test as well - but he needs a sedative for that (which I couldn't manage yesterday as he wasn't eating much in the morning).

I have been giving him several smaller meals over the weekend, which sort of worked as usually he would eat a little every time.

I tested his BG yesterday evening before his meal (and insulin shot) and it was 13.3 mmol/L so not bad at all.

He ate quite a lot yesterday evening and this morning so is back on his full insulin dose. Hoping he will improve now, and will schedule in his dental ASAP. Of course, the vet was saying there are increased risks with full sedation if he has other underlying conditions, hence the blood test before.

The vet has mentioned the device that you mentioned which would continuously check his BG, but I also don't know how Huey would react to that. He is (and always has been) a bit of a grumpy cat.

Thanks,
Elisa

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Once the dental work is done and his mouth settles down you might find he needs less insulin so please be aware of that.
If the libre device is put high in the shoulder he may not notice it.
Please let us know how he gets on with the dental.

 

[Elisa Glaze-Santonen]

Hi there,

An update on Huey. He has seemed more like himself and has been eating well since yesterday afternoon. Nothing wrong with his appetite anymore, even without pain medication (the vet has prescribed some, but I haven't picked it up yet). So maybe it's not pancreatis then - phew.

However, we have a new problem that he is leaking urine. As in, he isn't even trying to use his litter tray to pee, but seems to slowly leak it throughout the day (mostly soaking into whatever he is lying on). I have contacted the vet's, as my first thought was a UTI. The vet's just keep asking for a urine sample, but obviously this is tricky as he isn't using his litter tray and is weeing tiny amounts at a time. Any suggestions? He doesn't seem unwell in himself.

Also just to clarify, he has used the litter tray for poos today. But not to pee, I guess he doesn't feel the urge as it's leaking out of him. I even had to dip his bum in the bath last night, as he stank. He seems less wet in the bum (and less smelly today).

It's obviously not ideal as I'm having to keep washing whatever he I'd sleeping on (and washing carpets etc where he has 'accidents'). But mainly I'm concerned about the reason - if it is a UTI, it could get worse while I wait for an opportunity for a sample. Even taking him to the vet's won't help with a sample, so not sure there's much point unless he seems unwell.

I also read a blog earlier thay gabapentin might cause temporary incontinence, and he has been having some recently for vet visits (and had some the day before this started). However, would like to confirm it's not an infection.

Has anyone experience this?

Thanks,
Elisa