Hi everyone, it's been a while since I posted. Trying to figure everything out. Agatha has gone through two different bouts of not eating. The whole nausea/not eating cycle feels like the chicken and the egg, which came first question. With Cerenia, Mirataz, SubQ fluids + lots of BeechNut meat baby food, she's eating normally now + seems to not be drinking at such an alarming rate (so at the moment she's not getting any of those medications). I also switched her from Petsulin to ProZinc (the vet also upped 1 unit to 1½ units). Some days she looks like she feels awful + a distant look in her eyes and lays in front of the water bowl with her chin in the water; other days she's her normal, serene calm beautiful house lioness self. It's been extremely stressful trying to juggle all responsibilities + other people's opinions on medical treatment I get for or administer to my cat. Seeing her drink so much water + the litter box looking like a swimming pool of urine after only 1 day is scary + disheartening and at various points I've felt I can't go on like this. Every day looking at my baby wondering if she will eat or not, if there's anything I can do differently to help her, wondering how much longer I will have her with me. It's morbid did hate it.... so, I have a couple questions + didn't know if I should make several posts or if 1 was better. 1) Her BG numbers seem high to me. I know several weeks of not eating well was likely a setback but I had hopes her BG numbers would start to lower by now. I've tried keeping thorough notes I'm her spread sheet. Should I change her dosing? 2) Will I always have to test her twice a day? The vet told me when she was diagnosed that I would need to test twice daily for a while, then once a day, then only sometimes. I understand the danger of giving insulin without testing. But at what point do you not have to test at this frequency? 3) She's been extremely particular in that if all else Falls she wants BeechNut meat baby foods. They are so expensive! $1/2½oz jar which is only 1 meal. Does anyone else make meat meals at home? I also give her Friskies pate but I'm in Texas with the bizzare winter storms and have been stuck at home so can't get to the store. The BeechNut foods are literally just meat + broth. I made her chicken thighs, livers + water + she liked it but I need to add way more water next time. Do cats stop eating + drink so much bc their BG gets so high they get nausea? The vet said the next diagnostic step would be a $400 ultrasound of her belly to look for a growth/cancer/etc but that he didn't think she wasn't eating bc of a reason like that, that he thought it was diabetes related. I've had Aggy almost half my life. She's been by my side through everything + I want to help her feel as best as she can. Thank you all very much for any advice in advance! -Sam + Aggy <3
First of all Sam, you are doing the best you can. You are a kind and loving cat mom, trying to get Agatha better. 1. Probably. Maybe. Can't really tell, since we don't know how low the current dose takes your cat, the nadir. 2. We actually like to see nadir tests too, so the middle of the cycle. You want to test in the +5 to +7 hour time frame, to see how low a particular dose takes your cat. The dosing protocols we use here need the nadir (low) to know what the dose should be. Please look at the Sticky posts at the top of this forum. There is one that talks about the dosing methods we use. When they go into diet controlled remission you don't need to test as much. 3. Yes, although I have no personal experience with that. Lots of information here for you on doing that. https://catinfo.org/making-cat-food/ Cats that are unregulated pee a lot, and then get dehydrated. Sometimes when a cat is dehydrated, they don't feel like eating. Could be pancreatitis. Especially from your description of your cat sniffing at the food and walking away. When you feel sick, eating anything is not appealing. Remember, we give suggestions and recommendations. It's up to you what you do with the information. Keep asking questions. It's how we all learned. p.s. Hope you have your power back, water too. Stay safe please. Looks awful down there in TX.
