Diarrhea and loss of appetite in my diabetic furkid

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

Buffy has my Heart

Member
Hello. I'm needing help with Buffy, my diabetic cat. She's been sick this past month, having diarrhea and loss of appetite. I've had her to the vet several times but the only suggestion is that she ate something that led to gastritis and is having a time getting over it. I was hoping if I post her history someone could offer a clue based on your own experience and/or expertise.

Thanks,
Nancy
 
Are you checking blood sugar levels? Have you checked for ketones?

If the blood sugar has been running high, ketoacidosis may be a problem.
 
Hi. Thanks for the suggestion. I have checked ketones since her illness started because I did have that fear. She's had a lot of tests in the past couple of weeks, so I suppose I should ask if they've checked them. She did have blood in her urine and was started on Clavamox, but yesterday the emergency vet asked to stop as she wasn't eating and she was vomiting. I'm getting ready to contact her vet now and see if she should start back or if there are other options. As for her BGs, they're running about the same, though I did get a new meter and I'm not sure it's as accurate as her other one. This morning she was 147, last night 321, and yesterday morning 131. BGs on the 27th were 111 a.m. [which was 250 after a 2-hr wait at vet, and almost 400 by the time I arrived at emergency vet]. That evening she was 204 - by my meter.

She's had x-rays and double blood tests [vet and emergency vet] and the only thing found on her blood work was some slight anemia. Her regular vet didn't find any signs of chronic renal failure, nor did the workup at the emergency vet. She didn't check thyroid but she palpated it and said there was nothing that would lead her to believe it's the thyroid.

Her x-rays showed normal everything and no blockages of any type, but a lot of gas floating around. And she's wanting to eat a lot of grass.

edit: She's not urinating very often for me to check ketones. I had read something once about forcing urine, is there a way to do this that you know of?
 
Have you tried all the tricks to get her to eat? Boiled chicken breast chunks, tuna juice, parmesan cheese on a bit of her usual wet food, warm water on her wet food to make a little gravy, Fortiflora, and as a last resort anything human that she likes - deal with the carbs later.
 
Also wondering if your vet talked about appetite stimulants - they can be a good interim measure. Cats sometimes need a 'kick start' to begin eating. Even hand feeding will sometimes do it - a suggestion I forgot to put in the previous post.
 
Just-As-Appy said:
Also wondering if your vet talked about appetite stimulants - they can be a good interim measure. Cats sometimes need a 'kick start' to begin eating. Even hand feeding will sometimes do it - a suggestion I forgot to put in the previous post.
Click to expand...

Regarding first post - She's been eating only very small amounts for the last week or so, and sitting beside her water bowl like she did before diagnosis of diabetes. She's no longer doing that, probably because of fluid hydration done yesterday. Her BGs are relatively stable, unless my meter is off and that might be.

The very worst day was yesterday, Sunday. I mixed Clavamox and metronidazole in some chicken broth and 2 hours later she was vomiting. I tried everything to interest her. She loves parmesan, but no. She loves to eat from my hand but would not do that either. She even refused dried salmon treats that she loves. She was just too nauseous to be interested in anything - had lip smacking, turned her back to me, and was in meatloaf position. Up until she had the antibiotics she would eat small amounts.

So I took her back to the emergency vet and they gave her something for nausea, told me to halt the antibiotics until I talked to her vet about other solution. Also gave her an appetite stimulant injection and a pill form for me to give if needed after 72 hours. She's eating small amounts now, after the stimulant, anti-emetic, and fluid hydration. I took her for a walk outside and she ate grass [she begs to do that] and she's been a little playful. I just tried to feed her and she refused. I took a very tiny piece of ham to her and she gobbled it, so I know she'll eat if I can find the right thing. Don't want to feed her too much ham but is it okay at this point?

BTW - She was diagnosed with a UTI which is why she's on Clavamox [stopped for now]. Had diarrhea once today, but no longer is liquid but has thickened somewhat. She's been on once-daily Fortiflora for a week and has had 1 normal stool mixed in. How long can diarrhea last!

Heading over to talk to vet about options for her UTI.

Appreciate the help!
Nancy
 
Hi there

Sorry to read about this and I hope you find a solution soon. A quick clarification - are you giving insulin through this?

Also, good that you stopped the clavamox as it is notorious for causing stomach upset in SOME cats

Jen
 
Jen & Squeak said:
Hi there

Sorry to read about this and I hope you find a solution soon. A quick clarification - are you giving insulin through this?

Also, good that you stopped the clavamox as it is notorious for causing stomach upset in SOME cats

Jen
Click to expand...

Thank you. Per emergency vet - I'm giving insulin if her BGs are 200 and above. If below, she wants to hold off because of her lack of appetite [one unit generally brings her down over 100 points within 4 hrs]. She's on 1 unit ProZinc twice daily otherwise.
 
Is it normal colored diarrhea? If light colored I'd worry about a blockage somewhere in/from the liver. That would cause nausea, pain and no interest in food. Sometimes just a little stone or cristal in bile ducts. I think there are a few kitties on ursodiol /actigall for this.
 
Kathyh said:
Is it normal colored diarrhea? If light colored I'd worry about a blockage somewhere in/from the liver. That would cause nausea, pain and no interest in food. Sometimes just a little stone or cristal in bile ducts. I think there are a few kitties on ursodiol /actigall for this.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. Sometimes the diarrhea is dark, sometimes lighter. I'll ask vet about this. I do know there was blood in her urine but no crystals. Would a bile duct blockage show up on x-rays? She had 2-views on Saturday and everything looked normal to emergency vet. Normal kidneys, bladder, intestines, no blockage that they could see - only a lot of gas. What other test should be done?
 
You might also want to check with your vet about Pepcid AC. Many of us give this to our cats when they are showing signs of nausea like you mentioned. (1/4 of a 10 mg tab)
 
You might see if there is a subcutaneous injectable antibiotic you could give. It won't wipe out the beneficial gut bacteria quite so quickly, letting the FortiFlora do its thing.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
mirtazapine is one of the stimulants given. The dose is 3.75 mg (1/2 of 7.5 mg tab or 1/4 of 15 mg tab) every three days.
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly right. I was told to give 1/4 tablet no more than every 72 hours. I didn't realize what she was given, I was so upset that all I heard was appetite stimulant. I work in the medical field and know that mirtazapine is given for depression, so I was surprised when I took time to look at the bottle. That would explain her loud vocalization, agitation, and getting in my face afterwards. Totally unlike her. I thought she was reacting to all the stress but now I know it was the mirtazapine!
 
Just-As-Appy said:
You might also want to check with your vet about Pepcid AC. Many of us give this to our cats when they are showing signs of nausea like you mentioned. (1/4 of a 10 mg tab)
Click to expand...

I knew about giving Pepcid, she was getting it once a day, but it wasn't helping. I'm thinking she was having a violent reaction to the Clavamox. She couldn't take it the other time they tried. Anyway she's off that now.
 
BJM said:
You might see if there is a subcutaneous injectable antibiotic you could give. It won't wipe out the beneficial gut bacteria quite so quickly, letting the FortiFlora do its thing.
Click to expand...

Vet is doing culture and we'll go from there.

It's been difficult to get her to eat the Fortiflora [I think she's suspicious of it], so the vet she saw today is having me try plain yogurt.

I found out that the antibiotic injection she had on August 11th was Convenia. I

So I asked the vet if she might be having a reaction to the Convenia, and she said it could be. Does anyone know if diarrhea is a side effect of Convenia, and how long will it stay in her system? Is there anything I can do?

Anyway, we're awaiting culture results before doing another antibiotic. In the meantime my baby is having diarrhea and I can't do anything about it. Good new is, she ate some Super Supper about an hour ago. She's been refusing Fancy Feast and I'm wondering if she connects it to her illness.

I appreciate the input. Please keep coming with any suggestions you can think of. I was originally going to post the history of this illness but I never did [it's long]. So I thank everyone for brainstorming and hope you know how grateful I am for every suggestion!
 
Diarrhea is a side effect of all antibiotics. The Convenia is effective for about two weeks but it lasts a little longer and it can take a while for the gut bacteria to get back to normal.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
Diarrhea is a side effect of all antibiotics. The Convenia is effective for about two weeks but it lasts a little longer and it can take a while for the gut bacteria to get back to normal.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. So the Convenia may be the culprit in much of this. Although she had already had a couple bouts of diarrhea before starting antibiotics, I can't help but believe it's continued this long because of them - because she was still her old self until she started them. For the diarrhea I'm now having a time getting her to eat anything with Fortiflora on it so vet suggested plain non-soy yogurt.

I hate to learn at her expense. Poor thing has been in such misery and it's made me into one huge wreck. I'll continue with subq fluids as it seems to be helping her maintain.

edit: I just read some info regarding Convenia and I'm just sick about it. It said the drug stays in system for 65 days!! The vet today told me it would be out of her system about now. The metronidazole was added the 15th and Clavamox added on 27th. And a week after being given the Convenia she had a worse UTI! My poor Buffy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top