Cat stopped eating and drinking

Status
Not open for further replies.
DreMeister

DreMeister

Member Since 2016
It's been a while since I posted here. Snickers is almost 16 and has been on insulin for 5 years. Just a couple days ago, she stopped eating, puked and won't drink water. Wife took her to vet yesterday and he said he couldn't find anything wrong except for being dehydrated. He said her heart and lungs sounded good and gave her a shot for nausea and some subcutaneous fluids. He just said don't give her any insulin until she eats again. She hasn't touched anything all day, even stuff she's not supposed to have she likes. Do we just hope she starts on her own? Don't know what flipped a switch so suddenly. TIA.
 
Did they run any lab work? Check for pancreatitis, ketones, anything?

The shot for nausea wears off in 12-24 hrs I believe. He didn't give you any take home meds?

Have you tried syringe/assist feeding?
 
No, they didn't run any lab work. Didn't do crap to her except listen to her heart and lungs and take temperature and sugar levels and didn't seem concerned at all. No home meds either. She's gonna have to go back tomorrow. What I hate is the vet still won't open the inside up you have to give them the animal in the parking lot so you can't be in there to see what they're doing. I hate that. Force feeding her doesn't work. She won't drink either. She can't go on like this much longer or she isn't going to make it.
 
I am so sorry. Definitely take her to a vet tomorrow...ideally not the one you already saw! That's terrible.

I would ask for labs, a full workup if you can afford it. If you open the spreadsheet in my signature and go to the labs tab, look at the most recent one for Mr Kitty. Those are the tests I'd suggest. It sounds like possible pancreatitis to me but hard to say.

Any trouble with her teeth/mouth? Have you tested her for ketones since she stopped eating?

I would ask for take home nausea meds (people on the forum like Cerenia and ondansetron, they can be given at the same time as they work on different pathways), pain meds (like buprenorphine), appetite stimulant (like mirtazapine) , and subQ fluids (ask them to show you how to do it at home). I say all these because it'll save you trips back and forth, as well as money (I think I pay $18 for a bag of fluids and the needles to have at home vs like $45 for them to administer). It's also nice to have on hand in case you need them during times when the vet is closed.

Please just try to get her to eat and drink whatever you can, syringing if needed. I've read that cats can develop an aversion to foods they're fed this way, so maybe try a different food than usual.

If you do get the meds, do not give the appetite stimulant until nausea has gone away.

I know this is information overload, but want you to have as much info as possible when you take her in.
 
***Important
If you are not giving insulin you need to be testing for ketones.
Not eating and no insulin are red flags for ketones forming. And if there is an infection present, you have the recipe for DKA

I would go back to the vet and insist on getting some cerenia and ondansetron tablets to bring home for nausea.
I would also ask them to show you how to do subQ fluids at home
I would ask for a fPL snap or a on fPL spec test to see if she has pancreatitis. Treatment is subQ fluids, pain medication, antinausea medication.
Maybe ask for some A/D hills canned food. It is a recovery food.

Also at this point, any food at all is ok to eat.
 
I will have to tell my wife this as she will be the one to take her in tomorrow. She has had teeth trouble in the past but we can usually smell her bad breath from that. I smell nothing this time. How do you check for ketones? She is not peeing because she is not drinking anything? I would gladly have any tests run as I can afford it thankfully. There's usually a disconnect from what I tell my wife to what she tells the vet. I do not like this vet but wife refuses to switch. It seems as though they really don't care about cats.
 
DreMeister said:
I will have to tell my wife this as she will be the one to take her in tomorrow. She has had teeth trouble in the past but we can usually smell her bad breath from that. I smell nothing this time. How do you check for ketones? She is not peeing because she is not drinking anything? I would gladly have any tests run as I can afford it thankfully. There's usually a disconnect from what I tell my wife to what she tells the vet. I do not like this vet but wife refuses to switch. It seems as though they really don't care about cats.
Click to expand...
If you can't use a urine dipstick there are blood meters, but it's probably too late/short notice to grab one of those now (I use a NovaMax Plus from WalMart)...and hopefully the vet will check ketones tomorrow. Best I can say right now is if her breath smells sort of like acetone, get her to emergency vet right away.

I personally would be taking my cat to an emergency vet, as both DKA and pancreatitis can go downhill fast. That's a long time without food, water, or insulin.
 
I agree with what Melissa has said. I would think seriously about going to an ER vet now and catch anything brewing before it gets full blown. Not eating, not drinking, no insulin is very serious and can lead to life threatening illnesses quickly. If Snickers is not peeing she must be dehydrated which is another reason to go to theER.

To test the urine for ketones you need a bottle of Ketostix which you can buy from Walmart or a pharmacy. It’s a simple test.
 
DreMeister said:
I will have to tell my wife this as she will be the one to take her in tomorrow. She has had teeth trouble in the past but we can usually smell her bad breath from that. I smell nothing this time. How do you check for ketones? She is not peeing because she is not drinking anything? I would gladly have any tests run as I can afford it thankfully. There's usually a disconnect from what I tell my wife to what she tells the vet. I do not like this vet but wife refuses to switch. It seems as though they really don't care about cats.
Click to expand...
Can you send an email to the vet, with the tests you would like and medications you wish to try, also give a copy of the email to your wife to hand to the vet when your cat is picked up from the car?
Also, I called around to the pharmacies in the area (way back when the keto diet was not "a thing") asking about a blood ketone meter. Several of them had the meters, but not the ketone test strips to go with them, and those said they could order the test strips for me and have them within 24 hours. Now a days, they may have both the blood ketone meters with the ketone test strips available. I would go ahead and try to buy/order them.
I agree with trying to get some a/d from the vet (maybe a couple of cans, since the weekend is coming up), and ask for some feeding syringes for just in case.
​
 
Ok so here's what's going on. I got called to work early this morning so never got to speak to wife. She went and took Snickers back to vet and said she isn't doing any better. She is alert and all that but just refuses to eat or drink. The vet's wife took care of her and we like her better. They gave her more sub fluids because she still wasn't drinking. They ran some tests and blood work and only found she has pancreatitis. And her sugar level was 400 which doesn't make sense because she wasn't eating and the vet told us to not give her insulin. She's staying there over night and my wife works tomorrow so I'll have to pick her up. Wife is going to call them tonite and see how she is doing and if they figured anything out. Thanks for all the help and I will post an update when I find anything out.
 
Good thing she's at the vet! The fluids will help a lot. Sugar not surprising really, weird things happen when diabetic cats get sick and don't eat.

Please be sure you get sent home with the meds we listed above, those will be key to helping her get back to normal!

Pancreatitis is often chronic, I'd also ask for extra supplies to have at home, so next time you can treat at home instead of having to go back to vet. I keep a stash at home, the attacks always seem to happen late at night or weekend.
 
FrostD said:
Good thing she's at the vet! The fluids will help a lot. Sugar not surprising really, weird things happen when diabetic cats get sick and don't eat.

Please be sure you get sent home with the meds we listed above, those will be key to helping her get back to normal!

Pancreatitis is often chronic, I'd also ask for extra supplies to have at home, so next time you can treat at home instead of having to go back to vet. I keep a stash at home, the attacks always seem to happen late at night or weekend.
Click to expand...
So what do I need to treat pancreatitis at home? Wife just called to see how she was doing and she still isn't eating. So I have to call tomorrow to see if she can come home or not. I'm pretty worried about her. I also hate that the vet still isn't letting people come inside. You have to curb drop off your pet. I hate that.
 
DreMeister said:
So what do I need to treat pancreatitis at home? Wife just called to see how she was doing and she still isn't eating. So I have to call tomorrow to see if she can come home or not. I'm pretty worried about her. I also hate that the vet still isn't letting people come inside. You have to curb drop off your pet. I hate that.
Click to expand...
Our vet is the same way and I don't like it, although they did let me inside to show me how to give fluids.

The home treatment is generally this:
Once symptoms appear, so not drinking, not eating, nauseous (often looking like they want to eat but can't/won't), start with pain meds and the anti-nausea (ondansetron and Cerenia, vet should advise on dose and frequency). Give the anti-nausea time to kick in, then give an appetite stimulant. Hopefully that's enough to get her to eat, but sometimes you still need to assist feed. I keep a stash of Gerber baby meat 2nd foods on hand for assist-feeding, as well as syringes.

If she's still not acting right, then it's possible you need to increase dose of anti-nausea.

Fluids are only given if dehydrated (tacky gums, scruff not bouncing back like it should). You can always try tuna water or broth added to water to entice her to drink, just make sure it doesn't have onions and stuff in it.

When it seems she's back to normal while on meds, continue meds for about a day. I personally drop pain meds first, then the appetite stimulant, then the anti-nausea. I do it slowly so I know what to add back in if he starts feeling poorly.

If you look at my spreadsheet from March 16th you can see what I gave and when. That was his most recent pancreatitis attack.


It sounds like a lot, but it really is fairly easy to manage at home. And there's really nothing the vet would do that you can't at home, unless you really can't get her to eat or administer fluids.
 
FrostD said:
Our vet is the same way and I don't like it, although they did let me inside to show me how to give fluids.

The home treatment is generally this:
Once symptoms appear, so not drinking, not eating, nauseous (often looking like they want to eat but can't/won't), start with pain meds and the anti-nausea (ondansetron and Cerenia, vet should advise on dose and frequency). Give the anti-nausea time to kick in, then give an appetite stimulant. Hopefully that's enough to get her to eat, but sometimes you still need to assist feed. I keep a stash of Gerber baby meat 2nd foods on hand for assist-feeding, as well as syringes.

If she's still not acting right, then it's possible you need to increase dose of anti-nausea.

Fluids are only given if dehydrated (tacky gums, scruff not bouncing back like it should). You can always try tuna water or broth added to water to entice her to drink, just make sure it doesn't have onions and stuff in it.

When it seems she's back to normal while on meds, continue meds for about a day. I personally drop pain meds first, then the appetite stimulant, then the anti-nausea. I do it slowly so I know what to add back in if he starts feeling poorly.

If you look at my spreadsheet from March 16th you can see what I gave and when. That was his most recent pancreatitis attack.


It sounds like a lot, but it really is fairly easy to manage at home. And there's really nothing the vet would do that you can't at home, unless you really can't get her to eat or administer fluids.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the helpful tips. Getting her to eat when she doesn't want to is almost impossible. You hit the nail on the head when you said she acts like she wants to eat but can't/won't. That's exactly how she was acting. I will see how she's doing tomorrow. They told wife that pancreatitis makes her stomach hurt so she won't eat. She is on an IV for fluids right now. Poor thing.
 
Update. Kitty came home Saturday. She's glad to be home, and she's drinking but still not eating well. hard to give insulin with her very erratic eating. She will wake us up wanting to be fed, then turns her nose up at it. I took some advice from here and wife got her some baby food. She does eat or should I say lick it, but it's better than nothing. And I hope she's better by next weekend as my wife has to go out of town for 9 days to house/dog sit for her sister so I have to be sole caretaker of Snickers but I work a lot and could get called to work at any time. My wife thinks Snickers is on her way out but I refuse to believe that. She's still alert and acts normal, except for the eating part. I sure hope it gets better!
 
DreMeister said:
Update. Kitty came home Saturday. She's glad to be home, and she's drinking but still not eating well. hard to give insulin with her very erratic eating. She will wake us up wanting to be fed, then turns her nose up at it. I took some advice from here and wife got her some baby food. She does eat or should I say lick it, but it's better than nothing. And I hope she's better by next weekend as my wife has to go out of town for 9 days to house/dog sit for her sister so I have to be sole caretaker of Snickers but I work a lot and could get called to work at any time. My wife thinks Snickers is on her way out but I refuse to believe that. She's still alert and acts normal, except for the eating part. I sure hope it gets better!
Click to expand...
Glad she's home!

Did they send you home with any meds? It sounds like she's still nauseous.

Are you monitoring ketones? That's very important right now. The recipe for DKA is inappetence + not enough insulin + infection/inflammation...so right now she meets all 3
 
FrostD said:
Glad she's home!

Did they send you home with any meds? It sounds like she's still nauseous.

Are you monitoring ketones? That's very important right now. The recipe for DKA is inappetence + not enough insulin + infection/inflammation...so right now she meets all 3
Click to expand...
No meds were sent home. She hasn't been throwing up or acting like it. She is eating somewhat but not a whole lot. Wife is trying to feed her several times a day. Vet gave us no instructions whatsoever. She had dka a few years back after starting insulin and wound up at the vet. She was in bad shape and I thought she was a goner but she pulled out of it. I'll have to get some ketone sticks but that's gonna be tricky to catch her at the right moment especially when we are not going to be home much for the next couple of weeks.
 
Here is the Primer On Pancreatitis. She should have been given fluids, pain meds, and anti-nausea meds to be taken home, from the vet. Nausea does not always mean throwing up, especially when there isn't much in her tummy. As far as I know it means having an upset tummy. She could feel very hungry, but the smell of food makes her feel nauseous (tummy hurt). I hope she is eating better today. Cats can not go very long without food before it causes liver problems.
 
Dyana said:
Here is the Primer On Pancreatitis. She should have been given fluids, pain meds, and anti-nausea meds to be taken home, from the vet. Nausea does not always mean throwing up, especially when there isn't much in her tummy. As far as I know it means having an upset tummy. She could feel very hungry, but the smell of food makes her feel nauseous (tummy hurt). I hope she is eating better today. Cats can not go very long without food before it causes liver problems.
Click to expand...
Agree with everything, it can very quickly cause fatty liver. Additionally, pancreatitis is very painful, so she could still we'll be in pain and that's contributing to inappetence.
 
The vet did not give us anything for home use. They don't even call to see how she is doing. In my opinion they are very impersonal. My wife refuses to switch vets just because this one is 2 blocks from our house. She is eating a little better today. Wife is still feeding her baby food. We used to give her turkey lunch meat when she wouldn't eat anything else, but she turns her nose up at that too. I went to the store after work today and got ham for my lunch. I gave her some of that and she scarfed it down so I am happy about that. The real test comes this weekend when my wife leaves town and I have to make time to babysit kitty. She is drinking good. We put the water bowl next to where she lays. I just think it will take some time to get her back to normal. I looked at the invoice from the vet to see what they gave her. Besides testing, they just have iv fluids and insulin, no pain or anti-nausea meds given. At least she has not lost any weight from what I see.
 
Might be a good idea to set up your signature, it's at the end of everyone's post in gray

Click on your name upper right hand corner , a drop down will appear , tap in signature , fill out info
  • On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.
 
Are you home testing?
You might want to set up a spreadsheet so you can see how the insulin is working for Snickers, in case you need help with dosing. Enter the numbers on the spreadsheet.
I assume you are giving insulin from reading all your previous posts
Only way to keep your cat safe is to home test

I'll give you the link
From what you have said you are not happy with your vet
Might be time to find a new one even though the vet you have now is only 2 blocks away



Here is the link for setting up the SS and it also explains how it works
Mine says Tyler's spreadsheet at the end of my post
You can look at other members also
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
 
Pancreatitis can be quite painful:(.

When Butters has a pancreatitis flare, I start by giving her bupe (buperenorphine) or gabapentin for pain q8, ondansetron for nausea q8, cerenia q24, and cyproheptadine as an appetite stimulant if the anti-nausea meds aren't enough to get her eating. I slowly wean her off the meds over a period of weeks. If you do a search on FDMB for "pancreatitis" you will find these are commonly used medications to treat symptoms. I don't understand why the vet won't give them to you. Have you specifically asked for them? With pancreatitis, it is not uncommon for cats in a flare to need meds for days if not weeks. It is very manageable with the appropriate medications.

Butters's vet was at the end of my street. Sooo convenient, especially in an emergency. But he was not a good vet for her complex medical needs. I now have a 30 minute drive to get to her new vet's office but he is willing to work with me as a partner to manage her multiple issues, and he always prioritizes making sure I have the meds needed to keep her comfortable. Your conveniently located vet may have been fine when there was less going on, it sounds like Snickers has become more complex medically and imo, this vet may no longer be able to meet his needs.
 
Update on Snickers. Well, she just wasn't getting any better. My wife is still out of town this week but stopped by the house at lunch Wed. I said she needs to go back to the vet, she's not eating much at all and just lays around. Hard for me to keep track of her being by myself this week and working. She took her back and they said they were going to try and look in her mouth. Of course they never called like they said they would so I called them when I got off work. They still won't let anybody inside the building. Apparently she had another bad tooth and they took it out. This is the 3rd time she's had teeth pulled. So they are trying to get her to eat before letting me pick her up, so at least one more nite at vet. She did NOT want to go into her carrier, she's got fight in her yet. I think she will eat good once the pain wears off. She wanted to eat but just couldn't. My wife told them 2 weeks ago maybe they should look in her mouth and of course they didn't. I am fed up with this vet outfit. I think the counter girls and vet assistants care more for the pets than the vets do. Hopefully I can bring her home tomorrow and keep a close eye on her this weekend. They are gonna wallop me for a big bill I'm sure. I've got no problem paying the bill. When I was a kid, my Dad couldn't fathom taking an animal to the vet. My pets always lasted about 6 months if I was lucky then died. I swore I would take care of mine no matter what.
 
20210612_101804.jpgWent to visit Snicky this morning. She is eating good but they're keeping track of her glucose. Hopefully she will come home tomorrow. She was sure glad to see me! They are still not letting people inside but I know a vet tech there I used to help her husband farm so they made an allowance for me to come in.
 

Attachments

  • 20210612_101804.jpg
    20210612_101804.jpg
    48.9 KB · Views: 148
I don't know what the hell to do. Brought her home last Sunday. She still is not eating much the vet told us to cut back on her insulin. Today she's just laid around so far and sounds congested when she breathes. At my rope's end. I don't want to keep taking her to the vet, they still haven't figured out my bill yet and I bet it's gonna be over $1,000 and they really haven't done her much good.
 
I'm so sorry to hear that she's not eating much. She really needs meds as Lyla said above and get ketodiastix to check urine for ketones. And definitely a new vet. Do you have a good animal hospital nearby with internal medicine specialists? Often they are the doctors who know best on how to deal with ketoacidosis, pancreatitis, and diabetes.
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
I'm so sorry to hear that she's not eating much. She really needs meds as Lyla said above and get ketodiastix to check urine for ketones. And definitely a new vet. Do you have a good animal hospital nearby with internal medicine specialists? Often they are the doctors who know best on how to deal with ketoacidosis, pancreatitis, and diabetes.
Click to expand...
The one we use is an animal hospital, they are well equipped for all types of animals including cattle and horses. I just don't know how much effort they put into the smaller ones. We have used them for 15 years about as long as we've had Snickers. I usually have to ask them to run a certain test or check something in particular. It's so frustrating to have the cat following me around the kitchen, I know she's hungry but turns her nose up at most stuff even the lunch meat she craves. About all she eats is the hard food for the outside cats that she's not supposed to have. I'm at wits' end.
 
DreMeister said:
About all she eats is the hard food for the outside cats that she's not supposed to have.
Click to expand...
She has to eat, and if that's all she'll eat right now, then let her have it. Can you try ordering some of the lower carb dry food and see if she'll eat that or go to a pet store and buy some of the freeze dried raw food?
I hope her breathing and energy are better today.
 
Dyana said:
She has to eat, and if that's all she'll eat right now, then let her have it. Can you try ordering some of the lower carb dry food and see if she'll eat that or go to a pet store and buy some of the freeze dried raw food?
I hope her breathing and energy are better today.
Click to expand...
She is not doing good at all. She hasn't eaten anything today. She sounds very snorty and congested. She also was going to her litter box and stopped and peed on the floor. I called the vet emergency # and she will not see her today. She asked if we were still giving antibiotics and I said we were not given any to take home. So, she's going to leave meds for us to pick up, some antibiotics and an appetite stimulant. I think she cannot smell and won't eat. I don't think she'll last much longer. I don't want to give up on her but she isn't improving.
 
I'm sorry. I hope you can get the antibiotics and start them on them soon.
Putting her in the bathroom with a hot shower running may help to clear her nose.
I'm glad they are giving you some medication this time.
Prayers for your kitty to get better.
 
Dyana said:
I'm sorry. I hope you can get the antibiotics and start them on them soon.
Putting her in the bathroom with a hot shower running may help to clear her nose.
I'm glad they are giving you some medication this time.
Prayers for your kitty to get better.
Click to expand...
I can't pick up the medication for 3 more hours. We are upset! Snickers is struggling to breathe and we called other vets after hours numbers and we would have to take her a long way from home to get treated today. When I called our primary vet's emergency number, she said no we can't bring her in. she can't handle her. I don't even know what that means. That's her damn job! I just don't think she's gonna last the night. I am pretty upset right now. She hasn't gotten better in 3 weeks.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top