Anorexia in my usually ravenous kitty

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Dale ate about a quarter of his dinner last night (I did give him his insulin right after), and left the rest untouched. Hasn't eaten since then. Usually he is screaming for his food. He vomited at about 7 hours ago. I took him to the vet and they treated him for dehydration and nausea. There is no fever. They tested his blood sugar and it's quite high but I can't give him insulin until he eats. I will take him in again tomorrow if he hasn't eaten, so I guess I am just looking for any other ideas and well-wishes in general. Am I freaking out way too early? It's just so out of character for him not to want to eat!
 
He needs to eat .... he can get really sick if he doesn't and he needs his insulin, which requires food. Is there a reason that you can see why he has quit eating? Try feeding him anything and syringe him if you need to. Meat baby food is good but anything he will eat, give him. Many bad things can happen if they refuse to eat, this should be your #1 priority right now and if you can't get him to eat he should go to emergency because something else is going on.

Sorry ..... wish I could be more positive but it is serious in a cat and even more so in a diabetic cat.
Nancy
 
No, I can't see any reason. How to do get him to eat though? I keep trying and he just isn't having it. Also, at what point should I take him in? I was definitely going to take him back to the vet in the morning if he's still not eating.
 
Maybe there's something wrong with the food. Or could he have ingested something he shouldn't have? Turkey day bits? He does have to eat. Not eating is a big red flag. Have you tried baby food yet? Get, I think it's Beechnut, the brand without onions. You can also water it down and syringe feed him some.
 
We weren't at our house for Thanksgiving dinner and are really careful about leaving any kind of food out. I don't think there's anything he could have gotten into. Since he vomited earlier I'm afraid of force-feeding him anything.
 
do you test for ketones?

no food + no insulin is a fair amount of danger of developing ketones so if there's any chance you think it could be that, i'd take kitty in tonight.
 
Get some baby food or puree some meat or? and syringe feed him. Do you test for ketones? DKA is very nasty and can kill quickly if not treated. I am not trying to alarm you but there is something called fatty liver disease that cats can get if they don't eat ... I lost one of my babies to it two years ago. Be strong and syringe feed him, if you can't take him to emergency. Diabetic cats need food more than others because they need insulin and to get insulin they need food, kinda a catch 22. He may have vomited for all kinds of reasons but he needs to eat.
Nancy
 
When my vet had me fast Spitzer prior to a dental, she had me give half his regular dose of insulin that morning.

If his glucose is very high, a token dose (maybe 1/4 of his regular dose?) may help his body use that rather than breaking down fat for ketones.

If he has an upset stomach, 1/4 of a regular Pepcid may help. You can put it an oral syringe, add water, and dissolve it so it is easy to give.
 
Pancreatitis could be a possibility as well. They can do a test at the vet for that. Ketones are another thing that could be going on. If he does not eat I would take him in and have him tested for both.

Terri
 
Thanks everyone. Dale is being monitored at the hospital right now and has his insulin there to be given as needed. So far, the bloodwork showed a high red blood cell count. They are doing some other tests.
 
Had the same problem along with N/V in my kitty at his diabetes presentation (after a couple steroid shots). It is an emergency in a cat as they can develop hepatic lipidosis, particularly if obese previously. May need force feeding &/or a feeding tube. Cause could be pancreatitis (as mentioned) or hepatic lipidosis itself.

My one pearl here is meated baby food. After 2 1/2 weeks getting ground purina dm through his feeding tube when he regurgitated the feeding tube, that's the only thing my big boy would eat. While it's nutritionally incomplete for a cat, it did get him over the hump and I was eventually able to get him to eat chicken gerber's baby food mixed 50/50 with Hill's A/D. Of course that made his blood sugars crazy, but that was a problem to deal with after he'd been eating for a while and hat put a pound back on.

Just make sure no onions in the baby food.

That's my pearl.

Nothing is ever easy with a 23 year old cat with newly diagnosed diabetes (and probably pancreatitis to boot)!!!

Good Luck!
 
It could be pancreatitis as they did see a mass in the ultrasounds, but still waiting on results. My poor kitty is still at the emergency vet. They've gotten his blood sugar lowered but he's still not eating. I am off from work and just waiting for more results and hoping for good news.
 
You might take a piece of clothing that smells of you over to the e-vet and put it in his crate.

It may be necessary to put in a feeding tube; this will allow the food to be syringed into a fairly wide tube directly into the stomach. It is a small operative procedure and it could save his life.
 
Thanks for your advice everyone. Dale is still at the e-vet, waiting on results from the test on his pancreas. I went to visit him and he's pretty out of it, very unresponsive, but he did purr a little. He also swallowed some baby food/water mix that they fed him with a syringe when I was there. Before that, he was just holding it in his mouth and spitting it out. They have tubes providing nutrients. Right now his potassium is really low and the vet is concerned, which is never a good sign. I'm hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, hard as it is.
 
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