Chloe won't eat..can I still inject?

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ChloesMama

ChloesMama

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I got Wellness for Chloe yesterday...she ate the chicken flavor at night and finished it. I left the Turkey down for her this morning and she only ate half of it.

Just left down some more, she's usually been running to me when it's feeding time, but she sniffs it and walks away. I heated it up to make it smell a bit more, and nothing. So then I tried another flavor of Wellness..and nothing. I couldn't get the strips tonight for the glucometer. CVS was out of 25 packs and I got out of work too late to run to another pharmacy. I guess if I knew her numbers I could do it, but I can't afford the $55 for a pack of 50, which is what CVS had.

She is on 1 unit of Pro Zinc. Does she have to eat a large amount for me to give her a shot? Is not eating a symptom of something associated with fd?

Sigh. Had an awfully long day. Had to close the library up tonight, then am scheduled to open it at 7:30 tomorrow. I just want to sleep, but I know I can't rely on the BF to do things the right way with Chloe right now (hence our fight this morning. Ick).

What to do...?
 
If she is on PZI Pro Zinc, it is not as important that she eat right away. It takes about 6 hours to take her low (nadir)- at least that is an average for most cats. If I were you, I would go ahead and shoot but as for the food, I would keep trying. Sprinkle some parmesan on it or some tuna juice. Feed her some by hand or spoon (I know, I know....what we will do....) You could try the chicken again or mix the two together. If she really is resistant, you can crush up some of the kibble and mix it in.)

I would guess it has less to do with the diabetes than she isn't used to the wet food flavor. Some cats are picky. They may eat one flavor but not another. Some take a while to make the change from dry.

We will all feel easier once you get the hometesting down. This shooting in the dark is scary.
 
Is PZI and Pro Zinc the same thing? I asked the vet what kind of sample of insulin we were given (it isnt labeled), and they said Pro Zinc. But I thought PZI and ProZinc were the same.. or maybe just a different manufacturer. Maybe I should change my profile to say Pro Zinc instead of PZI.

After trying 2 diff cans of Wellness, Peter went ahead and gave her half a can of the Science Diet m/d...and she freakin' ate it. What a jerk she is. I'm trying to give her the better food, and she literally turned her back to it and started flicking it with her tale. M/D has too many carbs, ughhhh


Will shoot her after she finishes the m/d. Hmph.
 
Sue beat me to what I was going to suggest.

ProZinc is the newest insulin on the market. I believe it is a type of PZI - but I could be waaaaay off.
 
just want to explain further that we worry very much about ketones if we don't shoot a diabetic cat, even if they're not eating at the moment. this is true at least for most of the insulins except vetsulin or the humulins because they hit fast and you need food on board. with the other kitties you have at least 4 hrs to get food into them and at the very least you can put high carb cat food gravy into their mouths or give baby food.
not eating, possible infection or problem on board that's causing them not to eat, diabetic numbers (usually high), and/or insufficient insulin is a recipe for ketones, which can be expensive and difficult to treat.

hope that info helps you at some point in the future if you're faced with the question again. :)
 
I am new to all this, but everything I read says do not give the insulin until after the cat eats or you are sure it will eat.
Call and ask your vet if you should or not.

My cat is having a major problem after one shot of insulin and had not eaten in 32 hours. Not even the bad dry food she is use to.
(she is at the vets now being tube fed and given fluids intravenoulsy and her BG was normal when she got there)
My vet was very happy I did not continue to give her anymore shots because she was not eating.
 
ProZinc is a type of PZI. I used PZI for 4 years for Angus. I would recommend that if Chloe does not eat at all and you cannot test, to skip the shot. But, I would keep trying to get her to eat. Try all the low carb tricks first (lunch meat, any type of plain meat, parmesan cheese, etc.) Try feeding by hand or spoon. If that doesn't work, try a little bit of dry on top of the wet. Does she have a favorite treat? If so, try that. As a last resort, feed her dry. Sometimes changing food too quickly can cause an upset stomach. Not eating is dangerous for diabetics. They can develop ketones and/or fatty liver very quickly.
 
PZI Vet is 90% bovine insulin and 10% porcine insulin mixed with protamine zinc. The protamine zinc extends the duration of the insulins. ProZinc is made from human recombinant insulin mixed with protamine zinc. PZI stands for Protamine Zinc Insulin.

Sherri & Stash said:
Sue beat me to what I was going to suggest.

ProZinc is the newest insulin on the market. I believe it is a type of PZI - but I could be waaaaay off.
Click to expand...
 
She finally ate the m/d, and I checked the ingredients and it has pork in it. She always used to like chicken flavored stuff.. I dunno what her issue was last night (I gave her Wellness chicken). I told Peter to give her the m/d again this morning, because she'll eat that, and he is giving the shot alone, since I'm at work. None of the Wellness or EVO have pork flavored, which I'm guessing she likes. I thought we'd have a hard time switching her to all wet food, but she just GOBBLES UP the Science Diet. I wish it didn't have such a high percentage of carbs. She literally put her back to the Wellness and started flicking it with her tail. I couldn't believe it!

I don't want another repeat of last night, so I guess I'll head back to the pet store to check out their EVO 95% flavors. Needless to say, Frankie, our civvie, enjoyed a few different kinds of Wellness last night.

Peter is bringing her to the vet on Thursday to see how she's doing with the insulin. When I take readings today and tomorrow, I'll have him bring the results to the vet.
 
With a 1 unit dose half a can of Wellness (small or large?) is sufficient food to have on board. If Chloe will not eat at all you don't want to shoot.
 
Glad she ate something. You might try a few of the Fancy Feast flavors. They do not have the premium ingredients but they are fine. (Cats eat mice; I figure some byproducts are not the worst food for them.) Go for the ones that are not in gravy. You goal is to get her to eat, and to eat wet lo carb food.
 
Gingers Mommy said:
I am new to all this, but everything I read says do not give the insulin until after the cat eats or you are sure it will eat.
Click to expand...

That's a good caution for some of the faster-acting insulins, and therefore if we dont' know what your insulin is, that's the best thing to say. Sort of.

But it's not universally true. If you have a slow-acting insulin (like ProZinc) then the exact timing of food isn't all that important. And not-eating is an important symptom.

What's more important is this: Your cat's heart must keep beating, and her brain working at all times. These things, even if she's not eating, require energy and that requires a base level of insulin. Same as she has to keep breathing. If she doesn't get any at all, her body will start to do bad things.

My usual rule is even a fasting cat gets half their normal dose of a slow-acting insulin, just to keep some going at all times, as a normal cat would do. It's safer than none at all.

After that, I'd start worrying more about why she won't eat, and how to convince her to. And how's her blood sugar? If she won't eat because she has a very high blood sugar, for example, then insulin is crucial.
 
eating is most important

when transitioning to healthier food, patience is needed -- I ended up transitioning my crew of 4 cats over nearly a year period. (faster for the diabetic)

Went from Science Diet senior dry to Wilderness Blue (18% carbs) and Fancy Feast

Then to EVO dry (8% carbs) and Fancy Feast, Wellness canned, EVO canned, Friskies canned (low carb flavors)

Then eventually weaned off the dry totally.

At this point, they mostly get Wellness chicken or turkey with occasional Fancy Feast or BFF.
 
When Tess got finicky after she had already transitioned, I found that crushing some freeze dried liver dog treats and sprinkling on her food really got her attention. There are cat food "toppers" but I couldn't find them here. The other thing that got her going was tuna water, or Old West freeze dried shrimp treats crushed on top. I have to hide those in a drawer or she chews the tube open.
 
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