Buddy P-titis- not eating much

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Marci and Buddy

Marci and Buddy

Member Since 2009
Buddy was diagnosed today. He is on meds, bup,subq fluids, pepsid.
he only ate about 1 oz today and is isolating. how long can he go eating so little before i have to bring him to the vet?
also, he has a slight heart murmer. i read subq fluids may be harmful for him because of it--vet didnt say anything.is that true?
 
My understanding is yes - for some heart conditions - but I don't think a murmer is one of them. Grayson has a slight murmer, actually from a leaking valve, and I gave him fluids regularly for several months when we were dealing with ketones without any problems.

There are some appetite stimulants you can give him to encourage eating - as well as FD Chicken sprinkled over his food. Or cheese. Or tuna juice. Keep doing what you can to get him to eat - and get the stimulant if the enticements don't work. Good luck!
 
I would go easy on the fluids. Ask the vet about it because too much fluid for a cat with a possible heart condition is as bad as too little fluid. I think 50cc once a day or even 25cc bid would be better than 100 at one time.

Beau never had fluids with his p-titis attacks. But that could be because of his HCM, which was diagnosed at the same time as a really bad (and f=his first) pancreatitis episode. He did have a murmur at the time as well, although the vet had not heard it in the recent years. And it was before treating them for pain was standard, so all he got was steroids for the inflammation. More recently I used pepcid and assisted feeding (forced) when he totally stopped eating (happened 3 times over the years). Usually his appetite just decreased and I could tempt him with meat baby food gently warmed. I tried several flavors, ham was his favorite. You want to get Buddy eating about half his daily calories to avoid liver complications, ketones, etc. For Beau I felt good if I got a 3 oz jar of baby food into him. He got a tsp of warmed plain Greek yogurt after I gave him his pepcid - about 20 mins before a meal attempt.

After the diabetes diagnosis, I found that his insulin needs decreased due to decreased eating, but others have seen the BG go up due to pain. Maybe Beau didn't feel much pain (yeah, right!). You just have to test and adjust the dose accordingly. Beau's worst episodes lasted about a week - maybe 5 days with 2-3 of those when he needed forced feeding.

I am using the past tense because he has not had any p-titis issues since he went OTJ. (knock on wood) I think the diet change helped as does the fish oil, enzymes and probiotics I add to all the cats' food.

I hope Buddy feels better soon.
 
Thanks Sheila. Buddy is eating half his regualr amt. about 1-2 jars ham baby food (his favoite also). so i guess no worries there.
Should i just keep him on the Bup , everyday... till when?
I will reduce the subq to 50 cc, put in call to my vet,
His #'s are high past 2 days, could be rebound , or pain. he shows no signs of pain. He is staying near the radiator in the bedrm, which he never does. wonder if he is cold? This whole thing is very scary.
 
I'd guess that appetite is a good gage of how they feel, so when his appetite starts to come back, you could try reducing the bupe.

Also, I think I remember that bupe can cause constipation - might want to look that up. I didn't know that when Jeddie was on it at the end and had very little poop - poor guy. He was probably uncomfortable from it. You might ask about it on Health and how to deal with it. Maybe a very small amount of squash babyfood mixed into the ham would work?

Unless he was really low at some point the higher BGs are probably from pain and inflammation, so raising the dose a bit might be a good idea. You just have to work the insulin around this for the time being.

Beau used to crawl under beds and sleep there for hours - guess he didnt want to be messed with. Buddy is probably getting some comfort from the heat. But if you think he is actually cold and can't regulate his body temp I would ask the vet about it or take him in. He wouod need to be kept warm somehow if that were the case.
 
Hmm, I wonder if the sub-q's are making him cold and that's why he's sticking to the heater. Glad to hear that he is eating the baby food. Klinger didn't like any of the flavors so that made things a lot harder.
 
thanks -- I really appreciate the help. Buddy has not eaten since this morning, except for maybe a teasoon of baby food. He does seem more lively, though, coming into my room to check on me and then back to his room (which he never did before-he always layed wherever i am).
I do think the bupe has made him constipated, and now I am not sure what to do about that, don't know how to assess how much pain he's in,
and to give the Bupe and suffer the consequences.
Now he is on the following meds: Levemir, fortiflora (since day 1), B12 shots, Pepsid ac, Cerenia, Metronidazole, SubQ fluids, Adequan. @-)
I have to focus so much on when to give what that i forgot to take my own suplements !
 
Be sure to take care of yourself. That med list is crazy, and I'm sure there are things that are 1,2,3 and 4 times a day. Hopefully you've got a chart that you work from so you don't miss or double up something.

I watched Kim pilling Kitty what seemed like every 5 minutes. I know it was very confusing for her, and very stressful. Right now Grayson is getting ear cleanings and drops at shot time, hypo thyroid med at AMPS, and now Miralax also at preshots. Even so, it's a lot to remember. Thus the importance of caring for yourself.
 
can you tell me what bupe is? my spell checker keeps wanting to change it to dupe.

On the fluids. The only real time too much fluid is a problem is IV, then you can drown their lungs. But with subq, it's just absorbed into the tissue and bloodstream as needed. If the bolus bubble stays around too long, then you should reduce because the body doesn't need it. But as long as the kidneys are still functioning, it shouldn't hurt the heart, especially with just a murmur.
 
I think the bubble that is referred to is the hump the fluids forms under the skin.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
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