Cat not eating. Needs Insulin. PLEASE help!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
It sounds as if he has diabetic neuropathy which is very common in diabetic cats. My cat Sheba had it quite badly. She couldn’t walk up stairs, or jump on chairs, she would slip and slide as she walked and would have to sit down every few steps. She also couldn’t squat for long in the litter box.
Treatment is getting the BGs under control and giving Methyl B 12 daily. You can buy Zobaline for cats from lifelink.com
Sheba fully recovered from the neuropathy. It took probably 6 months.
Click to expand...


Omg thanks! Going to buy Zobaline today and give him the rec daily dose. Also going to buy flat litter box. So glad your cat recovered as well!
 
Hes had 6 doses. 10000% increase in appetite..he actually begged me for my burger yest which made me smile bc hes starting to become his old self. Ofc I had to say no to the burger lol. Hes walking around (has issues with back legs so has to sit evety few steps) and being curious again. So thank god hes improving. But gotta get a flat litter and medicine for his back kegs which dont work well but should I start checking his glucose? I havent yet bc hes lost so much weight that finding skin for his insulin is becoming difficult bc not much for me to gently grab and poke thus didnt want to then have to poke him again for glucose but ofc its important. Do yous guys rec doing it daily like in the am before insulin dose 1 or check glucose twice a day or what? Thank you!!
 
Please check the BG before every dose of insulin to see it is safe to give and check at least once during every cycle.
So glad appetite is returning
 
So glucose check 2x daily then; one before insulin 1 and one before insulin 2? Also, going to get Methyl B12 that you told me about and Zobaline is hands down the best and seemingly only cat specific on the market but do you know of any other that ofc doesn't have fructose/Xylitol/weird flavors/any other harmful ingredients for cats, that is maybe a bit cheaper? I know $40 isnt much considering how imp it is but with the vet bill, insulin, new foods, new litter, I am soooooo tight lol ofc if there isnt Ill just buy the Zobaline but figured Id ask. Thank you again!
 
With checking the BG try and also get a test in during each cycle to see how low the dose is taking Wesley.
With the Methyl B12 there are others available but I can’t tell you what because I am in Australia. You just need to be careful of the other ingredients and make sure it doesn’t have any sugar or other ingredients that are harmful to cats. The Zobaline is the only cat specific one available.
You could start another thread to ask for Methly B12 where you live if you want
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
With checking the BG try and also get a test in during each cycle to see how low the dose is taking Wesley.
With the Methyl B12 there are others available but I can’t tell you what because I am in Australia. You just need to be careful of the other ingredients and make sure it doesn’t have any sugar or other ingredients that are harmful to cats. The Zobaline is the only cat specific one available.
You could start another thread to ask for Methly B12 where you live if you want
Click to expand...


Okay will do. Thank you so much. Gonna do a little research (checking ing. Of various ones) and if nothing gonna buy the Zobatine...tonight. Thanks for all the help!
 
When one thing starts to get better, something else happens and I just dont know what to do. Hes starting constantly blowing his nose similar to when humans have a stuffy nose. Idk what to do. Im just miserable thinking about him being miserable. Im sitting up with him right now waiting for him to sleep. Idk why this is happening.
 
Kris S. said:
When one thing starts to get better, something else happens and I just dont know what to do. Hes starting constantly blowing his nose similar to when humans have a stuffy nose. Idk what to do. Im just miserable thinking about him being miserable. Im sitting up with him right now waiting for him to sleep. Idk why this is happening.
Click to expand...
Sorry you have more to worry about.
Take him into the bathroom and turn on the shower to create steam and see if that helps.
He may need an antibiotic if he has an infection. I’d ask the vet
 
  • Kris PMed me as he was worried about Wesley. He’s been very lethargic the last 24 hours and his BG is 507. I can’t see any BG data on the SS

Kris, do you have your SS up to date?
I would test Wesleys urine for ketones to see if he has any. To do this you need to buy a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and test the urine. It’s a simple test. Just follow the directions on the bottle and compare the result of the test strip against the colours on the bottle exactly 15 seconds later.

Is the 507 during the cycle? He could be bouncing from a lower number but without data to look at I can’t tell you much.

It sound as if his appetite is not great, so here is what I would do
  • Get the Ketostix and test the urine.....this is a priority.
  • Try and get him to eat more
  • Try and get him to drink more.
  • If he is no better you may need to take him to a vet or ER
  • Update the SS after you have done the above things.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
  • Kris PMed me as he was worried about Wesley. He’s been very lethargic the last 24 hours and his BG is 507. I can’t see any BG data on the SS
Kris, do you have your SS up to date?
I would test Wesleys urine for ketones to see if he has any. To do this you need to buy a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and test the urine. It’s a simple test. Just follow the directions on the bottle and compare the result of the test strip against the colours on the bottle exactly 15 seconds later.

Is the 507 during the cycle? He could be bouncing from a lower number but without data to look at I can’t tell you much.

It sound as if his appetite is not great, so here is what I would do
  • Get the Ketostix and test the urine.....this is a priority.
  • Try and get him to eat more
  • Try and get him to drink more.
  • If he is no better you may need to take him to a vet or ER
  • Update the SS after you have done the above things.
Click to expand...


Okay okay doing this asap.
 
Im having like a panic attack and I dont have a choice so I hink going to take him to the er now. Anyone have any experience with scratch pay? Lady said I have to apply to basically finance the vet bill. Ugh.
 
Kris S. said:
Anyone have any experience with scratch pay?
Click to expand...

I haven't had any personal experience with Scratch Pay, but I think it's like Care Credit. Be sure you understand how long you have to pay it off without interest because it can vary and if you're 1 day late, the interest from day 1 gets added onto your total.

As long as you pay on time, it can be a live saver though. You might want to apply to Care Credit and see if you get a better deal.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Kris, when Is Wesleys next insulin dose due?
It sounded in your PM to me that it was due about then.
Is that correct?
Click to expand...


Yes. He didnt eat enuf bc of him sleeping so much. Im taking him to er now for ketone check and just to make sure. Im so overwhelmed and just so sad for all this.
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
I haven't had any personal experience with Scratch Pay, but I think it's like Care Credit. Be sure you understand how long you have to pay it off without interest because it can vary and if you're 1 day late, the interest from day 1 gets added onto your total.

As long as you pay on time, it can be a live saver though. You might want to apply to Care Credit and see if you get a better deal.
Click to expand...


Im so nervous. Hope they even approve me.
 
Take your insulin with you.
It’s not good to skip a dose if there are ketones in the picture. If his BG is 507 he may be able to have half a dose. How much did he eat?
 
So at the ER or 24 hour vet. So they didnt find any ketones in urine which she said its a good news so thank god. Then said small chance he is producing or making ketones that dont show up on test strip which is rare but possible so theres a more detailed more expensive test we can run which I didnt know what to do bc Ive heard from everyone the strip test will get job done but then she came back with a we can do that tomm if need be so for tonight dw. Then said he has a uti which explains so many things like difficulty peeing and other symptoms with being sick. His BG was 507 so they are giving him some insulin which I could do myself as I just bought insulin but its okay more comforting. Anti-biotic shot for the UTI. An anti-nausea I forgot if she said shot I was kinda having a panic attack wishing I could be inside with him so kinda like blacked out on the phone lolol but anti-nausea medication though he hasnt shown any symptoms related to nausea but still. Then a sub q fluid bubble for being dehydrated bc he pees out water so fast even though I give him fresh water all day so that makes me sad but the sub q thing is awesome. Im not an expert by any means but his symptoms (minus uti related symptom) in the last 24 hours that led me to taking him to 24 vet were 100% exactly the same that led to his diabetes diagnosis so I felt like he wasnt getting enough insulin and I pray that was and is the case meaning hell be okay. So total is a good amount...more than I have under $400 but I feel actually not relieved but Im glad I came bc UTI/symptoms I had no idea and long lasting antibiotic thus only this 1 shot was great as well as ketone test which I have strips but Ive never done it so having them do it was comforting so Im happy I came is my point. Okay THEN she tells me though there are no signs of DKA currently I rec hospitlizing him now for DKA. My vet told me $1200-$1500 which would be a big big hurdle for me but she told me minimum 3k up to 5k...thats when I was like uhhhh. The prices my vet gave me actually were for this exact hospital that Im at so was a bit alarming. And I was like smiling bc she was finding issues with my Wes and providing solutions such as the uti which I had NO idea. So I was happy but then she ended with Im worried hes going to get very bad tonight so hospitalize him. Put me in an awful mood bc all night Im going to sit there and be like 'if you had a better job youd have money' 'if he does get worse by the am its all your fault'. And I know thats not fair to me but thats just how my brain works. To tell me hey he has 0 symptoms of A but you NEED to treat A now and itll be 5k...kinda sucks to hear you know? But just pray he doesnt need it bc 3-5k is an entirely diff beast than $1200 so I pray he doesnt need it. Thanks everyone for your help. Hes back with me and about to drive home so gotta put phone down. Bless you all.
 
Hi Kris, thanks for the update.
Getting the antibiotics, antinausea and subQ fluids is great!! Hopefully that will turn things around.
If you have the Ketostix at home I would test every day at the moment to catch any ketones early if any appear.

Now that he’s had his dose of insulin you will be need to monitor the BGs. And try and get him to eat small amounts often. Both insulin and food help prevent ketones.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Kris, thanks for the update.
Getting the antibiotics, antinausea and subQ fluids is great!! Hopefully that will turn things around.
If you have the Ketostix at home I would test every day at the moment to catch any ketones early if any appear.

Now that he’s had his dose of insulin you will be need to monitor the BGs. And try and get him to eat small amounts often. Both insulin and food help prevent ketones.
Click to expand...

I know asking you this isnt quite fair to you bc you arent here of course and havent monitored him so I apologize for these difficult stressful questions but any idea what made him fall back into this? I mean he was exactly like this when I first took him which diagnosed diabetes then about 2 days later after treatment he started improving. Of course 2 days isnt much but tried moving and eating as opposed to just sleeping all day and over the week showed significant improvements as in greeting me when I came home. It was great but of course he still had a lotttt to improve but he had noticeably started improving. Then about a day and half ago he fell back...the nurse said he has 0 ketones in his urine followed with a 'I dont think his UTI 100% explains his symptoms' impling his UTI definitely is a reason for this behavior which is great news as we caught it and then the anti-biotic but what else ? His BG was very high so that also provides an explanation to why. I just wonder what else bc everything was going well. His 2nd dose comes around 830p but last night it came by 1am thus gna wait a little bit longer to give dose 1 today but Im preparing it now or getting ready. If his BG was that high he def needs another shot but gotta get him to eat. Its an awful catch 22...doesnt feel well to eat bc needs insulin but cant give him insulin to feel better until he eats. If he eats very little should I just drop his insulin dose a half? This is just the worst...not knowing exactly what the issue is, is just hell. Im sorry for so many questions and putting this all on you and everyone else Im just so beat and overwhelmed and panicky.
 
Kris, you asked me in a PM how to use the spreadsheet. Here is a link that explains it.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-use-the-spreadsheet.241653/
I’ll ask @Bandit's Mom to just check you are doing OK with the SS as I am not going to be here for a day or two.

How did you get on with Wesley eating? Did he eat for you? If he is still not eating, you will need to go back to your normal vet and ask for some antinausea tablets to give each day until the appetite improves. The two antinausea tablets you can get are cerenia and ondansetron. Ask the vet if you can have both as they work on different pathways and can be given together........but make sure you follow direction on when you can give them.
Let him eat whatever he likes at the moment. Eating anything is more important than just eating low carb food, because he just has to eat. Here is a link to how to stimulate his appetite.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/suggestions-on-how-to-stimulate-kittys-appetite.130770/

You may have to syringe feed him if he won’t eat at all for you as he has to eat food otherwise he will run into other problems. A/D canned food that you can get from the vet is a good recovery food for cats that won’t eat and need syringe feeding.
Here is a link to syringe feeding
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/syringe-assisted-feeding-videos-and-tips.144367/

What did You decide to do about the insulin dose. I’m sorry I wasn’t around earlier but I live in Australia and it’s just early morning here.
When you give a late dose of insulin, you have to give the next dose 12 hours after the last one and work you way back to your preferred dosing schedule 1/4 hour each preshot time (twice a day) or 1/2 hour once a day.

*****IMPORTANT. I think you said you have Ketostix at home, please make sure you are testing daily for ketones in the urine at the moment

When you go back to the vet I would ask him to do a fPL snap or a f PL spec blood test to see if Wesley could have pancreatitis. The treatment for that is pain medications, antinausea medications and sub Q fluids. If you are not happy with his progress, please go back to your normal vet.......lack of appetite needs to be treated and the cause found out.
I’m also going to ask @tiffmaxee if she will help you while I am away.
 
Last edited:
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Kris, you asked me in a PM how to use the spreadsheet. Here is a link that explains it.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-use-the-spreadsheet.241653/
I’ll ask @Bandit's Mom to just check you are doing OK with the SS as I am not going to be here for a day or two.

How did you get on with Wesley eating? Did he eat for you? If he is still not eating, you will need to go back to your normal vet and ask for some antinausea tablets to give each day until the appetite improves. The two antinausea tablets you can get are cerenia and ondansetron. Ask the vet if you can have both as they work on different pathways and can be given together........but make sure you follow direction on when you can give them.
Let him eat whatever he likes at the moment. Eating anything is more important than just eating low carb food, because he just has to eat. Here is a link to how to stimulate his appetite.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/suggestions-on-how-to-stimulate-kittys-appetite.130770/

You may have to syringe feed him if he won’t eat at all for you as he has to eat food otherwise he will run into other problems. A/D canned food that you can get from the vet is a good recovery food for cats that won’t eat and need syringe feeding.
Here is a link to syringe feeding
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/syringe-assisted-feeding-videos-and-tips.144367/

What did You decide to do about the insulin dose. I’m sorry I wasn’t around earlier but I live in Australia and it’s just early morning here.
When you give a late dose of insulin, you have to give the next dose 12 hours after the last one and work you way back to your preferred dosing schedule 1/4 hour each preshot time (twice a day) or 1/2 hour once a day.

*****IMPORTANT. I think you said you have Ketostix at home, please make sure you are testing daily for ketones in the urine at the moment

When you go back to the vet I would ask him to do a fPL snap or a f PL spec blood test to see if Wesley could have pancreatitis. The treatment for that is pain medications, antinausea medications and sub Q fluids. If you are not happy with his progress, please go back to your normal vet.......lack of appetite needs to be treated and the cause found out.
I’m also going to ask @tiffmaxee if she will help you while I am away.
Click to expand...

Hes eaten 3 licks all day. Idk wtf to do!! He doesnt look good and idk what to do. I really dont.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Please take him back to your regular vet. Something is causing his lack of appetite. He must eat or you will run into other problems
Click to expand...


I got denied scratchpay bc I wanna get him hospitalized so at this point my options are the absolute worst thing for a pet owner which Im sure you can guess what it is. Thanks for all your help and be safe wherever you are going!
 
Please look at syringe feeding him and getting some more antinausea meds for him.
Won’t your regular vet help you?
Did you test again for ketones in the urine?
 
Last edited:
I'm just now reading this. If you can give cerenia or ondansetron for nausea and syringe feed just one or two syringes every hour it might get him to start eating.
 
I have also successfully finger fed Gerbers seconds all protein baby food to sick cats. It’s 100% beef, chicken, Turkey or ham and doesn’t contain onion or garlic.
 
He had a seizure and rushed him to the hospital. Basically his body was shutting down. Took an hour with him and saw how miserable he was and the vet rec putting him down. So that just happened 4 min ago. Im kinda in shock and idk how to process this. Everything was fine. Um thanks everyone for all your help.
 
I’m so so sorry you had to say goodbye. He will always be with you and I hope your loving memories will help your broken :bighug: heart.
 
Thank you. I miss him so much. I keep seeing his poor face during the seizure in my dreams and its killing me. Seeing him on that bed moments before he passed was horrible and I was his bff and I let him down. If I had taken him to vet earlier hed be here right now. Ugh.
 
I gathered every dollar I could to pay to get his ashes and a paw print. They are going to call me in a few days when its ready. I cant grasp that only a few weeks ago he was running around and now hes going to be a box of ashes on my mantle.
 
My other cat keeps sniffing his old bed and shes very sad. Im thinking of getting a new friend for her but I dont want to replace Wesley. I feel like getting a new friend is dishonorable to him. I have pretty bad anxiety so this is a big deal to me. It just sucks. Everyones lost a loving pet I know that but I wasnt ready because he was improving. I finally got him to eat and then bam wake up to his cry and hes seizing and I rush to the vet and 45min later hes gone.
 
Kris S. said:
I gathered every dollar I could to pay to get his ashes and a paw print
Click to expand...

I wish you had contacted me and let me know. I know it doesn't help now but DCIN will always pay for euthanasia, a private cremation, etc. if it's in the best interest of the cat.

As time goes by, your visions of him in your dreams will get better, I promise. The dark ones will get pushed out and the good ones will creep in. With time, your memories will bring a smile instead of a tear.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top