David - coco
Member
So, I’m trying to change my cat to a different wet food and its proving to be very difficult as she’s being very picky, at least that's what it appears. She also seems to have a bit of an appetite issue in general, not eating very much or very fast. She has been eating the Hills AD Urgent Care food the last few weeks. I’ll explain why with a quick back story. Its probably going to be a long read but I appreciate the help.
When she was first diagnosed with diabetes back on 12/11/22, the previous week she had diarrhea which was the first time in pretty much forever that she had that. Coincidentally or not, when I took her to the vet for the diarrhea, they diagnosed her with the diabetes. She was on metronidazole for 10 days and the diarrhea cleared up. A few days later, she started having on again, off again diarrhea for the next couple weeks and started another round of metronidazole. She also had some occasional vomiting but it was only while straining to poop. One morning, she had diarrhea and vomited. She then lost all appetite. I took her to the vet and they gave her a nausea med and appetite stimulant. The appetite and diarrhea issues lasted about 5 more days, she was eating very little and lethargic, we darn near put her down as nothing was working and she was completely miserable. We then gave it one last chance and got her another nausea injection as she's difficult to give a pill. A day later, she started to eat much better. Coincidently or not, she also had her first hypo the same day. But over those 5 or 6 days of barely eating, she would only eat the Hills AD food. Now I cant seem to get her off of that food the last few weeks.
The vet wanted her to be on a food for digestive issues, although there isn't any facts at this point that points to her really having any digestive issues like IBD per her blood tests. She had been on the Hills KD food for her CKD and I'm convinced this food may have been causing the stomach issues as she hasn't ate that food for almost a month now and no diarrhea. Initially they prescribed me the Royal Canin Select Protein wet and dry food, she said trying a novel type protein may help. Of course I really only tried the wet but it didn't take. I tried another flavor and same result, she keeps going back to the Hills AD. The vet then recommended to try a diabetic food if she didn't like the hydrolyzed type protein foods. So we tried the Purina DM and she didn't like that either. It got to the point where the vet (and myself) just said try ANYTHING, regardless of the nutritional facts. she didn't care what it was and didn't need to be diabetic, CKD, or digestive specific or prescription. The vet just wanted her off the AD food as its not a great option long term. Obviously I still wanted to go low carbs and lower phos and maybe easy on her tummy, if possible. So I tired a couple other foods and settled on the Koha brand wet food as its low in carbs and not terribly high in phos. The vet also prescribed Elura appetite stimulant to help with her meals. I used it the last 7-8 days to try and get her transitioned onto the Koha food. The first few days were great, she ate like a pig and seemed to like the new food. Then the last few days, she's seemed to not like the new food very much and not eating as much. Its like she started to get a tolerance to the appetite stimulant and it wasn't working very well. Now it seems we've taken a few steps back and might need to find another food as she doesn't seem to like it much anymore and want the AD food. I'm still trying the Koha but thinking I'll need to go to petsmart and throw a dart at a couple other foods and see what sticks. I've also stopped the appetite stimulant the last couple days since it wasn't doing anything anyways.
The main issue I've had with her the last several weeks is she just doesn't seem to eat very much in a short time. I mentioned appetite issues but that may be subjective. She wants to eat, acts hungry and is ready when its feeding time. But when she goes to eat, she'll only eat for a minute, then walks away. I have to grab her and put her in front of her food several times to get her to eat, but she'll always just eat for a minute then walk away. Its like something shuts off in her brain. On average she'll only eat about 1/2 her meal in 30 minutes or so. By then, I'm ready to give her shot and have to figure out what dose to give her. The vet told me this; little to no food - no shot. 1/2 meal - 1/2 dose. most or full meal - full dose. I've still tested before each shot and use both methods to choose a dose, and more times than not I error on going with the full dose. The only time I'm more cautious is in the morning when I know I'm not home all day. I know the routine should be test/feed/shoot and should stick with feeding twice a day only but its hard when she doesn't want to eat very much very quickly. The difficult part is I cant tell if she's just a slow eater or if she doesn't like the food or if it is an appetite issue or nausea?? Its so hard to tell. I've given the nausea meds and it really doesn't seem to make a huge difference. The appetite stimulant, for the first few days, made her scarf her food in like 15 minutes, but what does that mean, probably nothing. Oddly enough, most of the time she will eat almost all her meal (90-100 calories) with in a couple hours if I leave the food out that long. So maybe she is just a slow eater? But I really need/want her to eat all of it within the 20-30 minutes before her shot but maybe that's to much to ask of her? Like I said, she always acts hungry and I figure if she is, she would just eat the whole meal. I just wish I could tell if it was the food or if its something else. It's worth noting with the slow eating part, it doesn't matter if its the new food or the AD food, its the same result. My gut tells me its a combination of being picky and slow eating. But maybe there is something clinically that prevents her from scarfing her meal (except under the influence of a stimulant). But overall, she only eats about 60-80 calories per meal (occasionally less) when it should be 90-100. So her appetite is not terrible but its the constant baby sitting and sometimes taking over an hour or more to eat this much thats the issue. I know Shouldn't be leaving the food out this long and need her to eat faster. Worth noting that the vet said there wasn't anything in her blood work that should be causing this, like pancreatitis, and they did every test possible I think.
What about B12? The vet said her B12 was good a few weeks ago but could it be worth trying to get an injection?
Sorry for the long read but any help or advice on food choices or her eating habits would be really appreciated. This is getting very frustrating, especially she seems to be getting betting in every other way. Thanks
When she was first diagnosed with diabetes back on 12/11/22, the previous week she had diarrhea which was the first time in pretty much forever that she had that. Coincidentally or not, when I took her to the vet for the diarrhea, they diagnosed her with the diabetes. She was on metronidazole for 10 days and the diarrhea cleared up. A few days later, she started having on again, off again diarrhea for the next couple weeks and started another round of metronidazole. She also had some occasional vomiting but it was only while straining to poop. One morning, she had diarrhea and vomited. She then lost all appetite. I took her to the vet and they gave her a nausea med and appetite stimulant. The appetite and diarrhea issues lasted about 5 more days, she was eating very little and lethargic, we darn near put her down as nothing was working and she was completely miserable. We then gave it one last chance and got her another nausea injection as she's difficult to give a pill. A day later, she started to eat much better. Coincidently or not, she also had her first hypo the same day. But over those 5 or 6 days of barely eating, she would only eat the Hills AD food. Now I cant seem to get her off of that food the last few weeks.
The vet wanted her to be on a food for digestive issues, although there isn't any facts at this point that points to her really having any digestive issues like IBD per her blood tests. She had been on the Hills KD food for her CKD and I'm convinced this food may have been causing the stomach issues as she hasn't ate that food for almost a month now and no diarrhea. Initially they prescribed me the Royal Canin Select Protein wet and dry food, she said trying a novel type protein may help. Of course I really only tried the wet but it didn't take. I tried another flavor and same result, she keeps going back to the Hills AD. The vet then recommended to try a diabetic food if she didn't like the hydrolyzed type protein foods. So we tried the Purina DM and she didn't like that either. It got to the point where the vet (and myself) just said try ANYTHING, regardless of the nutritional facts. she didn't care what it was and didn't need to be diabetic, CKD, or digestive specific or prescription. The vet just wanted her off the AD food as its not a great option long term. Obviously I still wanted to go low carbs and lower phos and maybe easy on her tummy, if possible. So I tired a couple other foods and settled on the Koha brand wet food as its low in carbs and not terribly high in phos. The vet also prescribed Elura appetite stimulant to help with her meals. I used it the last 7-8 days to try and get her transitioned onto the Koha food. The first few days were great, she ate like a pig and seemed to like the new food. Then the last few days, she's seemed to not like the new food very much and not eating as much. Its like she started to get a tolerance to the appetite stimulant and it wasn't working very well. Now it seems we've taken a few steps back and might need to find another food as she doesn't seem to like it much anymore and want the AD food. I'm still trying the Koha but thinking I'll need to go to petsmart and throw a dart at a couple other foods and see what sticks. I've also stopped the appetite stimulant the last couple days since it wasn't doing anything anyways.
The main issue I've had with her the last several weeks is she just doesn't seem to eat very much in a short time. I mentioned appetite issues but that may be subjective. She wants to eat, acts hungry and is ready when its feeding time. But when she goes to eat, she'll only eat for a minute, then walks away. I have to grab her and put her in front of her food several times to get her to eat, but she'll always just eat for a minute then walk away. Its like something shuts off in her brain. On average she'll only eat about 1/2 her meal in 30 minutes or so. By then, I'm ready to give her shot and have to figure out what dose to give her. The vet told me this; little to no food - no shot. 1/2 meal - 1/2 dose. most or full meal - full dose. I've still tested before each shot and use both methods to choose a dose, and more times than not I error on going with the full dose. The only time I'm more cautious is in the morning when I know I'm not home all day. I know the routine should be test/feed/shoot and should stick with feeding twice a day only but its hard when she doesn't want to eat very much very quickly. The difficult part is I cant tell if she's just a slow eater or if she doesn't like the food or if it is an appetite issue or nausea?? Its so hard to tell. I've given the nausea meds and it really doesn't seem to make a huge difference. The appetite stimulant, for the first few days, made her scarf her food in like 15 minutes, but what does that mean, probably nothing. Oddly enough, most of the time she will eat almost all her meal (90-100 calories) with in a couple hours if I leave the food out that long. So maybe she is just a slow eater? But I really need/want her to eat all of it within the 20-30 minutes before her shot but maybe that's to much to ask of her? Like I said, she always acts hungry and I figure if she is, she would just eat the whole meal. I just wish I could tell if it was the food or if its something else. It's worth noting with the slow eating part, it doesn't matter if its the new food or the AD food, its the same result. My gut tells me its a combination of being picky and slow eating. But maybe there is something clinically that prevents her from scarfing her meal (except under the influence of a stimulant). But overall, she only eats about 60-80 calories per meal (occasionally less) when it should be 90-100. So her appetite is not terrible but its the constant baby sitting and sometimes taking over an hour or more to eat this much thats the issue. I know Shouldn't be leaving the food out this long and need her to eat faster. Worth noting that the vet said there wasn't anything in her blood work that should be causing this, like pancreatitis, and they did every test possible I think.
What about B12? The vet said her B12 was good a few weeks ago but could it be worth trying to get an injection?
Sorry for the long read but any help or advice on food choices or her eating habits would be really appreciated. This is getting very frustrating, especially she seems to be getting betting in every other way. Thanks
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Good luck and let us know how coco is doing
