Crap - 2U tonight and now he won't eat

[shelaghc]

This is weird, but not unprecedented.

Jester's PMPS was 269 and he hadn't eaten in over three hours. So I gave him his PM shot while he was munching on dinner.Then he decided he didn't want his dinner. I figured he was just being picky as it was the rest of a can he'd started in mid-afternoon.
But I opened a new can after a while. He trotted into the kitchen just as usual when he hears that noise. I filled his bowl. He licked at the gravy for a while, then not only left the kitchen, but bypassed the dining room - his standard second stop for eating where he'll wait until I serve up the rest of his dinner.
Not this time. He kept going until he got to the living room.

I've tried cuddling him - sometimes he wants that before he eats. No soap. Oh, he cuddles and purrs, and is generally in a good mood. But even over two hours after his insulin he still isn't interested in eating.

tbh, I should have seen this coming. This afternoon he was emphatic about being fed. I gave him some from a new can and he only ate about a quarter of the can. He did, however, munch very enthusiastically on some zero carb salmon treats. But that was it. Maybe the equivalent of a half can of food between the treats and the actual can.

I'm thinking he might have a hairball that's messing with his tummy. It's happened before. But I *really* hate having given him a full 2U with so little food....

He's not lethargic or even hiding. In fact, right now he's snoozing in the dining room on his favorite chair in plain sight.

I'll likely give him a +3 instead of the +4 or +5 I'd been planning just to be safe.

 

[shelaghc]

And when did Jester decide he wanted to eat?
11 freakin' 30 - when I was literally falling asleep in the living room .

But when I brought the food to him all he did was nibble. And if I walked away from him to get my things ready for bed, he stopped eating. In 45 minutes he ate no more than 1/4 can. And his +5 was 111.

I'm going on faith that he'll be fine since he did eat something and I can't do work on much less than six hours of sleep.

 

[shelaghc]

@Djamila @Kris & Teasel @Rachel
Jester's AMPS was 108.
He is, however, eating carby foods. But I've been having to nursemaid him through most of the bowl - I literally can't walk away for more than a minute before he stops eating and just sits there.
Then I walk back, move the food in his dish, stroke his back and he'll eat a bit more.

We've been doing this for nearly a half an hour. He should have inhaled that food by now.

I didn't plan to give him insulin this AM just because of the BG, even with the carby foods. Do you agree?

 

[Kris & Teasel]

@Djamila @Kris & Teasel @Rachel
Jester's AMPS was 108.
He is, however, eating carby foods. But I've been having to nursemaid him through most of the bowl - I literally can't walk away for more than a minute before he stops eating and just sits there.
Then I walk back, move the food in his dish, stroke his back and he'll eat a bit more.

We've been doing this for nearly a half an hour. He should have inhaled that food by now.

I didn't plan to give him insulin this AM just because of the BG, even with the carby foods. Do you agree?

I agree. You’ll be at work and this is the safest option.

 

[shelaghc]

I agree. You’ll be at work and this is the safest option.

I just wish I could understand what the eating issue is about.
If I want to get dressed, I can't leave the food out because Sage will eat it instead.

He's eaten about 3/4 of the can over more than 45 minutes.
UPDATE: got about 7/8 of a can into him along with a bit of some pate.
All told, it took about 90 minutes to get that much food into him.
Afterward, I picked him up to see what he'd do. If he's not feeling well, he tolerates my cuddling him briefly, then jumps down.
Naw - he wanted to be cuddled forever. If I hadn't needed to leave, the purring, cuddling, and nuzzling might still be going on.

 

[shelaghc]

This hasn't happened for a really long time. Jester gave me a *really* hard time about eating today.

His PMPS was 340. But there was no way I was giving him 2U considering that's usually based upon about a can - at least - of carby Friskies shreds.

This time he stopped eating the shreds after about 1/3 of the can. I switched to the beef pate he had eaten a bit of this morning and he ate some of that too - maybe about a third or a little more. Then he ate just a smidge of a different pate.

He's also been sneezing a lot so I'm wondering if he has a little URI.

Anyway, I waffled for a while about what to do with his insulin and finally decided to give him what he usually gets in the morning. 1.25U - and only that much because his BG was in the mid-300s. No way did he eat enough to justify anything more than that.
By now he's usually eaten nearly two cans of carby foods.

This kind of eating behavior scares the crap out of me.....

 

[Sharon14]

It’s scary when they won’t eat! I don’t know Jesters history, so I don’t know what you’ve tried in the past, but If he’s got a stuffy nose he may not be able to smell his food. If a cat can’t smell their food they won’t eat. Try the smelliest food you have, warmed and stirred up to release the aroma. Fingers crossed it’s as simple as that.

 

[shelaghc]

It’s scary when they won’t eat! I don’t know Jesters history, so I don’t know what you’ve tried in the past, but If he’s got a stuffy nose he may not be able to smell his food. If a cat can’t smell their food they won’t eat. Try the smelliest food you have, warmed and stirred up to release the aroma. Fingers crossed it’s as simple as that.

I have done that in the past - thanks for reminding me.

Between a *lot* of encouraging - including heating the food up - and switching of flavors, it looks like he got enough in his stomach.

Of course, I took a +4 and he's only come down to 281 - and that was on about a four hour fast (I was out most of the night) so it looks like I was being too conservative with his insulin. But under the circumstances that's probably better than going low.

 

[shelaghc]

And (fingers crossed) it looks like we're back to normal.
AMPS was 201 and he ate nearly a whole can of shreds.

I suppose I could have brought out the pate to see if he still had a taste for lower carb. But I need less stress right now ...

 

[shelaghc]

However, less normal this evening. His +10.5 was 335, but he still wasn't eating much. Took from about 5:30 till 6:45PM when I gave him his insulin, before he'd eaten even half a can of food - and that was 1/4 can of pate and another 1/4 of the shreds.

I just wasn't comfortable giving him the full 2U so I cut it back to 1.25. About half an hour later, he ate about another 1/2 can of the shreds. But he still usually eats another 1/2 can of shreds total in a day.

It's so frustrating to think I've got things under control. Then a wildcard is dropped on the table and changes everything again.

On top of all the worry about Jester, my car needs to be looked at - but since I'm working and my regular mechanic is nowhere near a busline, I can't go to him. Now I need to find an alternative when I'm in a jam and more easily taken advantage of.
Plus, I've been having a nasty pain in my shoulder since January - took from late January until the middle of last week before the doctor's office decided a steroid injection would probably help. Then they made the appointment but forgot to tell me that only one doctor was actually certified for giving such injections. I only found out by accident that I was no longer on the schedule to be treated.
The rescheduled appointment is Friday at 8:00AM which means I have to readjust my morning routine and try to get Jester to cooperate.....

 

[Djamila]

Sounds like you've got a lot going on right now!

One thing to keep in mind is that when a kitty is hitting higher numbers, it can often make them not feel well and not want to eat. Giving the insulin can bring them down so they feel better and will be more willing to eat. The rule to not shoot if they aren't eating is a very persistent, but not always helpful, piece of advice. If he will take even a couple of bites, it's okay to shoot. Not carelessly of course, but if you know you're giving a normally safe dose, and you know how to monitor (which you do now), it's okay to shoot. That really applies more when someone is new and not confident in testing, and wouldn't know what to do if they got a lower number. You're a pro now!

Car troubles are the worst! I wonder if we can send healing vines to a car? We can definitely send healing vines to you for that shoulder though! I hope the shot helps on Friday!

 

[shelaghc]

I appreciate the kind words, although I doubt I'd call myself a pro.

Frankly, I had a couple of mini-meltdowns the last two days. I'm in a catch-22 right now. If I didn't have a job, I'd have more time to deal with Jester's unexpected food variations, the shoulder problem, and the car issues.
But without a job, I don't have money for food for any of my cats and I definitely couldn't afford to get the car fixed......

So with everything all piling on and not having time to see my counselor (and now she doesn't have a free appointment for at least two weeks), I have meltdowns.

 

[Djamila]

Hang in there! The job is important and good for all of you. It's just going to take some getting used to, but in time you'll figure out how to work everything else around it.

I'm sharing a little of that stress this week as usually I can sneak home for lunch or between appointments to keep an eye on things, but this week my work day is packed and I don't have any down time. I hate not being able to keep an eye on my kitties. They need me to work though or their usual level of kitty-luxury might suffer!

Did you grab that appointment in two weeks? It feels far away, but having it on the calendar might help. Hugs to you as everything gets sorted out!

 

[shelaghc]

Did you grab that appointment in two weeks? It feels far away, but having it on the calendar might help. Hugs to you as everything gets sorted out!

No. At the time they were offering it, I started stressing about the timing. The only available times that would work with my work schedule both were right after work - one would have me going straight there and meant that I couldn't be home to feed Jester right away, plus would have put me in the middle of rush hour going and coming.
The other would have given me just a small amount of time to feed the kids, but likely not enough, but only one leg of the drive would have been during rush hour.

And I started stressing about which would have been the better option.

 

[Rachel]

I'm sorry it's all so stressful now! Sometimes life is just kind of slamming us over the heads...I know how that feels!

Out of curiosity, do you switch up Jester's food flavors? I know he eats shreds, but maybe if he had different flavors for breakfast and dinner he'd be more interested?

 

[shelaghc]

I'm sorry it's all so stressful now! Sometimes life is just kind of slamming us over the heads...I know how that feels!

Out of curiosity, do you switch up Jester's food flavors? I know he eats shreds, but maybe if he had different flavors for breakfast and dinner he'd be more interested?

There are three shreds flavors I tend to go with - turkey & giblets, chicken, and turkey & cheese w/ gravy. The last is 15 on the carb scale, the others are 14. So I try not to give him the third as much. I do switch them around a bit.

But here's the thing - before any of this went on, Jester's "go to" canned food was Friskies "Chunky Chicken & Turkey Casserole With Garden Greens In Gravy." He ate it everyday anytime without fail.
I tried the seafood flavor along with the "Homestyle Turkey," just for some variety, and he'd eat them without too much fuss. But Chunky Chicken and Turkey he could eat forever and never complain.

Before he started on insulin he was *so* reliable food-wise. Our routine was a little of his dry prescription c/d (he had a blockage when he was about 1.5 years old), then about half a can of the chunky chicken, and we were good to go. Before Bastian, I'd leave some of the dry stuff out for him to graze on during the day.

I swear, something about the insulin must affect his tastebuds. He was *never* this picky - even before he was diagnosed.

The one good thing is that I may have accidentally found a pate he likes - Beef & Liver Dinner With Cheese. I bought it for Bastian because he seemed to be getting bored with his standard pate flavors and Jester became *very* interested in it - even walked away from his beloved shreds to try to sneak some away from Bastian.

Last night we had another "will he or won't he eat" session. He started with the shreds, but quit after about 1/3 can. His +10.5 was about 340 and he wasn't due for his insulin for about an hour. So I gave him some of the beef pate and he ate some of that too (not more than 1/4 can at first, but he ate a little bit more later in the evening that brought the total up to about 1/3 can - yes, I keep that close track of his food intake *g*).
Considering his spottiness eating, I decided to give him the same dosage that he's been getting in the morning - 1.25U - to make sure he didn't go low, but I wasn't happy about the prospect of him going high.

He didn't eat as much as I prefer - I'm still trying to get his weight up above 10 lbs - but he did eat a total of two cans throughout the day between the shreds and the pate.

Not only did he not go high, his AMPS was 165. (Frankly, I decided to only give him 1U this morning just in case after checking over his SS.)

Not suggesting this is a trend, but if I find that he'll reliably eat both the shreds *and* that pate, we may be able to keep his insulin dosages down again.

Time will tell.

 

[Djamila]

Oh how many of us suffer from that same nostalgia! I miss the days of dumping a bunch of kibble in the bowl and being done with it! Knowing that both cats would happily munch away for days at a time with no stress. Alas, it was also that very easy kibble that gave him diabetes and got us into this mess!

I guess I’m the same way to be honest though. Given a pile of cookies, cake, pie, etc., I would always see something I want to eat. however, when I open my fridge to a bunch of salad ingredients, I suddenly find I’m not that hungry!

 

[Becky & Baby Girl GA]

Baby still sits at her chicken temptations drawer. Looking up ... longingly. I buy a couple shreds & prime filets in friskies too. I mix them with the pate she likes... she loves her chicken shreds too! But those temptations, kitty crack. She wants those soooo bad! If there’s another bag rattling like the treat bag,, she comes to the kitchen to see if it’s for her!
I’d rather have cookies any day!

 

[Rachel]

If we're talking about cookies...I'll warm mine up first, and then they're EVEN BETTER!

 

[Kris & Teasel]

If we're talking about cookies...I'll warm mine up first, and then they're EVEN BETTER!

Hey, I've never tried that! I have been known to eat them straight out of the freezer if batches of homemade ones are there awaiting a special occasion ...

 

[shelaghc]

FYI - Jester's +10.5 was lower than it's been in almost a week.
Weird, since he had less insulin this morning.

 

[Tina and Gracie (GA)]

Oh how many of us suffer from that same nostalgia! I miss the days of dumping a bunch of kibble in the bowl and being done with it! Knowing that both cats would happily munch away for days at a time with no stress. Alas, it was also that very easy kibble that gave him diabetes and got us into this mess!

I guess I’m the same way to be honest though. Given a pile of cookies, cake, pie, etc., I would always see something I want to eat. however, when I open my fridge to a bunch of salad ingredients, I suddenly find I’m not that hungry!

Ha! Isn't that the truth!

 

[Tina and Gracie (GA)]

If we're talking about cookies...I'll warm mine up first, and then they're EVEN BETTER!

What? Is this a thing?? I need to try this next time.

Suddenly my veggie burger doesn't taste that good.... lol

 

[shelaghc]

I think I've lost control of my post....

Jester's pre-bed was 146 - not sure if I should label it as a +4 or +5 since it was 4.5 hours after insulin.

 

[Djamila]

I think I've lost control of my post....

Jester's pre-bed was 146 - not sure if I should label it as a +4 or +5 since it was 4.5 hours after insulin.

Not exactly lost control of it....we just stopped by your "house" for a little cookie party!!!

And speaking of cookies, y'all have to google cookie-in-a-mug recipes. You can make one in about two minutes and then you have a fresh warm cookie with no extra dishes to wash.

Now back to sweet Jester....I usually follow the math rule and round up when I do a test halfway between two hours. Or sometimes I'll add a note or put in the cell something that says @+4.5. Then you have to make the cell the right color on your own since adding extra info cancels the programming for that cell. Good to see he's doing pretty well tonight!

 

[shelaghc]

And speaking of cookies, y'all have to google cookie-in-a-mug recipes. You can make one in about two minutes and then you have a fresh warm cookie with no extra dishes to wash.

Here are all the mug recipes you'll ever want or need:
https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/gemmas-mug-meals/

Now back to sweet Jester....I usually follow the math rule and round up when I do a test halfway between two hours. Or sometimes I'll add a note or put in the cell something that says @+4.5. Then you have to make the cell the right color on your own since adding extra info cancels the programming for that cell. Good to see he's doing pretty well tonight!

The numbers are good, but unfortunately it's because he's getting pickier about eating. He'll start with carby shreds, then walk away and I have to coax him to eat more. Then when he keeps walking away I have to try something else - like the beef pate, which he'll sometimes eat a decent amount of and sometimes not. Take a gander at my "remarks" cell to get an idea of how wonky his eating habits have become since last Sunday.

While his numbers were higher with the carby stuff, at least he was eating fairly reliably. It makes the idea of going away for a few days (which is coming up in just about two months) something of a nightmare.