Friskies changed formula badly need help finding carb count.

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SammieCat

SammieCat

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Hello,


I could really use some help. Friskies changed their pate formula for ocean white and tuna.

We had been using that because of its low carb count. When we got 3 new cases I noticed a new label. I didn’t realize the actual food had changed till I opened a can. The only difference I see on the labels is min protein is now 9 vs old 11. The rest looks the same.


I’m worried that all went to carbs. I called the company they said they didn’t have that information. They are going to try and find it and call back.


The issue is my diabetic cat who had been finally well controlled is not now. She had the new food for 3 days or so. This morning at 4 she got sick. Glucose 295 on relion meter. 8:16 354. Didn’t eat which is very abnormal. We gave half a shot like the vet suggested. We go in today at 1pm.


However I need to know the carb count. I am going to try and upload a picture of both labels. If someone smarter than me can tell. If it is higher carbs what fancy feast closely matches it?


I see the classic chicken seems to be one of the best. Still the food chart at cat info says 3g carbs but chewy says .9. That’s a big difference. I think friskies is 3.5%. I don’t want to change things too much. We just lost our other cat a few days ago. So this is affecting us more than normal.

here is the link to the picture of the old and new label. I hope it’s ok I couldn’t upload a file when I tried. Maybe because I’m on mobile. https://ibb.co/C0HRn3T

Thank you
 
SammieCat said:
Hello,


I could really use some help. Friskies changed their pate formula for ocean white and tuna.

We had been using that because of its low carb count. When we got 3 new cases I noticed a new label. I didn’t realize the actual food had changed till I opened a can. The only difference I see on the labels is min protein is now 9 vs old 11. The rest looks the same.


I’m worried that all went to carbs. I called the company they said they didn’t have that information. They are going to try and find it and call back.


The issue is my diabetic cat who had been finally well controlled is not now. She had the new food for 3 days or so. This morning at 4 she got sick. Glucose 295 on relion meter. 8:16 354. Didn’t eat which is very abnormal. We gave half a shot like the vet suggested. We go in today at 1pm.


However I need to know the carb count. I am going to try and upload a picture of both labels. If someone smarter than me can tell. If it is higher carbs what fancy feast closely matches it?


I see the classic chicken seems to be one of the best. Still the food chart at cat info says 3g carbs but chewy says .9. That’s a big difference. I think friskies is 3.5%. I don’t want to change things too much. We just lost our other cat a few days ago. So this is affecting us more than normal.

here is the link to the picture of the old and new label. I hope it’s ok I couldn’t upload a file when I tried. Maybe because I’m on mobile. https://ibb.co/C0HRn3T

Thank you
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Hi below is a Drs Food Chart the third column contains the amount of carbs for each brand and flavors, and 9% is a good carb % for a diabetic cat 0-10% is great, you can also call Chewy.com customer service and they can tell you the amount of carbs for the foods you feed, no need to be a customer:bighug::cat::cat:
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
 
I find the food chart used here a bit confusing—it doesn’t use Dry Matter % for certain (at least not in the tiki cat section, I’m guessing it uses metabolized energy but even that I can’t make line up with my math on tiki cat. I suspect products have changed ingredients after the main pages were listed. if calculating Dry Matter % you subtract everything listed, including moisture, from 100 and what’s left is %carbs. To calculate the dry matter percent carbs you’d divide % carbs by (100-% moisture).m then multiply by 100. In this case I believe moisture % was 78 so divide % carbs by 22, multiply by 100 and you have percent carbs by dry matter %. For some reason I can’t open the picture anymore so I can’t calculate but yes, the new version is a higher carb percent.
I suspect the confusion re your second part of the question is you’re talking about several different ways to look at carbs: percent of the food, grams in the food, and whatever calculations the food list uses. I’ll check back tomorrow to see if I can open the attachment and I’ll do the %dry matter
 
SmallestSparrow said:
I find the food chart used here a bit confusing—it doesn’t use Dry Matter % for certain (at least not in the tiki cat section, I’m guessing it uses metabolized energy but even that I can’t make line up with my math on tiki cat. I suspect products have changed ingredients after the main pages were listed. if calculating Dry Matter % you subtract everything listed, including moisture, from 100 and what’s left is %carbs. To calculate the dry matter percent carbs you’d divide % carbs by (100-% moisture).m then multiply by 100. In this case I believe moisture % was 78 so divide % carbs by 22, multiply by 100 and you have percent carbs by dry matter %. For some reason I can’t open the picture anymore so I can’t calculate but yes, the new version is a higher carb percent.
I suspect the confusion re your second part of the question is you’re talking about several different ways to look at carbs: percent of the food, grams in the food, and whatever calculations the food list uses. I’ll check back tomorrow to see if I can open the attachment and I’ll do the %dry matter
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Honestly I admire your math calculations, I am horrible at math, but for me, my Corky's health is more important and not in the way you mentioned, before knowing all about what foods to feed a diabetic cat, being brought up on Meau Mix kibbles since 8 weeks old he just turned 11 yesterday, I never would have thought what food could do to him or my female cat Coco, and honestly, after diagnosed and following all diabetes protocol, from loosing 8.5lbs when diagnosed, right now eating the Fancy Feast Pates between 0-10% carbs, reassures me that he is back to being or better than when diagnosed and he gained all his weight back, and the Fancy Feast are USA made so it's regulated were no waste goes in my babies food, I hope I have made sense to your calculations:bighug::bighug::cat::cat:
 
CORKY said:
Honestly I admire your math calculations, I am horrible at math, but for me, my Corky's health is more important and not in the way you mentioned, before knowing all about what foods to feed a diabetic cat, being brought up on Meau Mix kibbles since 8 weeks old he just turned 11 yesterday, I never would have thought what food could do to him or my female cat Coco, and honestly, after diagnosed and following all diabetes protocol, from loosing 8.5lbs when diagnosed, right now eating the Fancy Feast Pates between 0-10% carbs, reassures me that he is back to being or better than when diagnosed and he gained all his weight back, and the Fancy Feast are USA made so it's regulated were no waste goes in my babies food, I hope I have made sense to your calculations:bighug::bighug::cat::cat:
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Hi Maria, the math was in response to the original poster’s question and food, it doesn’t apply to what you are feeding your cat. I still can’t open the photo—maybe it’s an Apple issue on my iPhone—but it’s a simple thing to calculate percent carbs by dry matter %, a bit more complicated to do by metabolized energy, although I think for low carb food those numbers will be very similar
 
SmallestSparrow said:
Hi Maria, the math was in response to the original poster’s question and food, it doesn’t apply to what you are feeding your cat. I still can’t open the photo—maybe it’s an Apple issue on my iPhone—but it’s a simple thing to calculate percent carbs by dry matter %, a bit more complicated to do by metabolized energy, although I think for low carb food those numbers will be very similar
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;) GotCha
 
You re right to question tge carb content in the Friskies. The food chart is great BUT these manufacturers change the formula often and when that happens it’s a problem. The food chart often suggested here is quite old unfortunately. Tanya’s is more recent but it’s primarily for cats with ckd. Carbs are listed but not for all foods. Years ago I was one that helped compile her early list and it was quite frustrating to gather info from the companies. Helen has the dates when she got the information.
https://felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm

If you search her site under diabetes someone made a chart there as well.
 
SmallestSparrow said:
I find the food chart used here a bit confusing—it doesn’t use Dry Matter % for certain (at least not in the tiki cat section, I’m guessing it uses metabolized energy but even that I can’t make line up with my math on tiki cat. I suspect products have changed ingredients after the main pages were listed. if calculating Dry Matter % you subtract everything listed, including moisture, from 100 and what’s left is %carbs. To calculate the dry matter percent carbs you’d divide % carbs by (100-% moisture).m then multiply by 100. In this case I believe moisture % was 78 so divide % carbs by 22, multiply by 100 and you have percent carbs by dry matter %. For some reason I can’t open the picture anymore so I can’t calculate but yes, the new version is a higher carb percent.
I suspect the confusion re your second part of the question is you’re talking about several different ways to look at carbs: percent of the food, grams in the food, and whatever calculations the food list uses. I’ll check back tomorrow to see if I can open the attachment and I’ll do the %dry matter
Click to expand...

ok thank you for explaining things. I think you’re right about the fact I might be confusing the numbers. I ended up getting a call back from purina. The phone was breaking up so much I’m not sure what they said.

We did switch to fancy feast classic chicken with liver. I dropped the lantus by 1 unit to 3. As this looks to have 2.3% carbs vs the 3.5 friskies in the old formula. However I think we will have to drop more.

She hasn’t been getting sick since the vet visit. However she is only eating 3.5 oz max per meal. That is even taking her a hour and lots of prompting. The friskies had more calories according to the food chart. So not only is there less carbs but also less calories.

It’s very strange for her to not want to eat. We did just lose our other cat. However this one has never been one to notice things. So I doubt that is the reason for her not eating. She is not a picky cat when it comes to food
 
tiffmaxee said:
You re right to question tge carb content in the Friskies. The food chart is great BUT these manufacturers change the formula often and when that happens it’s a problem. The food chart often suggested here is quite old unfortunately. Tanya’s is more recent but it’s primarily for cats with ckd. Carbs are listed but not for all foods. Years ago I was one that helped compile her early list and it was quite frustrating to gather info from the companies. Helen has the dates when she got the information.
https://felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm

If you search her site under diabetes someone made a chart there as well.
Click to expand...


Thank you I will check out that link. I appreciate the information :)
 
SammieCat said:
ok thank you for explaining things. I think you’re right about the fact I might be confusing the numbers. I ended up getting a call back from purina. The phone was breaking up so much I’m not sure what they said.

We did switch to fancy feast classic chicken with liver. I dropped the lantus by 1 unit to 3. As this looks to have 2.3% carbs vs the 3.5 friskies in the old formula. However I think we will have to drop more.

She hasn’t been getting sick since the vet visit. However she is only eating 3.5 oz max per meal. That is even taking her a hour and lots of prompting. The friskies had more calories according to the food chart. So not only is there less carbs but also less calories.

It’s very strange for her to not want to eat. We did just lose our other cat. However this one has never been one to notice things. So I doubt that is the reason for her not eating. She is not a picky cat when it comes to food
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What did the vet say about her not eating? I always worry when any cat stops/slows down eating but especially a fat cat or a diabetic cat. (Fat because they are I think at greater risk for fatty liver if they stop eating suddenly, diabetic because they’re are increased risk of pancreatitis.

I’ve been told to suspect nausea first if a cat stops eating and try cerenia; once cerenia is on board consider other causes and maybe add Mirataz to stimulate appetite. I’ve had luck sprinkling fortiflora in food to get them interested, and several people here have said Parmesan cheese works.
 
What insulin are you using? What dosing method are you following? I agree that when my cats start getting picky about food or inappetent I treat for nausea. I use ondansetron for nausea at least every 8 hours. Cats often suffer from pancreatitis.
 
SmallestSparrow said:
What did the vet say about her not eating? I always worry when any cat stops/slows down eating but especially a fat cat or a diabetic cat. (Fat because they are I think at greater risk for fatty liver if they stop eating suddenly, diabetic because they’re are increased risk of pancreatitis.

I’ve been told to suspect nausea first if a cat stops eating and try cerenia; once cerenia is on board consider other causes and maybe add Mirataz to stimulate appetite. I’ve had luck sprinkling fortiflora in food to get them interested, and several people here have said Parmesan cheese works.
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I just gave her some Cerenia. She went to the vet on Wednesday. We used the Cerenia that day and Thursday. However she wasn’t doing the lip licking so we thought she was ok. I’m upset at myself for throwing out the elura from our other cat. We were thinking she was just sore. However it’s 3 days after the solensia so I don’t think that’s it. The vet gave her an antibiotic just in case. So we are on the 3rd day of that also.
 
tiffmaxee said:
What insulin are you using? What dosing method are you following? I agree that when my cats start getting picky about food or inappetent I treat for nausea. I use ondansetron for nausea at least every 8 hours. Cats often suffer from pancreatitis.
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We are on lantus. We use the pen and draw it out with a needle. She was stable on 4 units 2x a day till the formula change. We dropped it to 3 even though the vet didn’t say to out of caution. At 2:20pm her glucose was 133. I was able to get her to eat 1 more ounce just now. I didn’t want it to drop too low given we won’t be hone for a few hours.

She normally eats twice a day at 8 and 8 and gets her shot after. We had been checking midday and before dinner. After switching foods each day the numbers have been lower.
 
SammieCat said:
We are on lantus. We use the pen and draw it out with a needle. She was stable on 4 units 2x a day till the formula change. We dropped it to 3 even though the vet didn’t say to out of caution. At 2:20pm her glucose was 133. I was able to get her to eat 1 more ounce just now. I didn’t want it to drop too low given we won’t be hone for a few hours.

She normally eats twice a day at 8 and 8 and gets her shot after. We had been checking midday and before dinner. After switching foods each day the numbers have been lower.
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The new formula has more carbs so in theory if it was the formula causing the problem her BG would be higher, not lower than in the past. Did you change anything else? Change treats/syringe brand/ new pen/etc?
 
SmallestSparrow said:
The new formula has more carbs so in theory if it was the formula causing the problem her BG would be higher, not lower than in the past. Did you change anything else? Change treats/syringe brand/ new pen/etc?
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Sorry i didn’t explain it well. She was on the friskies ocean fish pate for over a year. They changed the formula recently and she was on it for 3 days.

She started throwing up and her blood sugar was close to 400. We took her to the vets Wednesday. The vet thought it was high more likely due to her being sick for an unspecified reason vs the food. So she was going to keep us on the reformulated food. However when we told her about the black stool from the new food she didn’t like that. That’s when she recommend switching to fancy feast classic.

So she was on the higher carb one for only a few days. Now she is eating less on the fancy and the food is also lower calorie and carbs. We had an old can of the friskies I tried today to make sure it wasn’t the food. She still didn’t want to eat much so that can’t be it.

Before it was 4 oz twice a day of Friskies. Now she needs more like 4.5 oz twice a day for the same amount of calories.

SmallestSparrow said:
Vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite are listed as potential side effects on the solensia insert
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that’s good to know maybe she does feel off still from the shot. Normally within two days she is good after it. However this is the first time she has been sick when we brought her in to get it.
 
Is there a reason why she’s only fed twice a day? Most of us feed a couple mdd as in meals and a couple of snacks each cycle. If concerned she might get too low I would consider a few snacks. We use syringes too and increase and decrease in .25 increments. If not eating enough the 1 unit less makes sense. Is that how you dose? Is her weight stable or is she losing? I hope she feels better soon.
 
Ok now I think I understand. She was sick before the solensia so that’s probably not it. Did the vet do any blood tests? Her BG might go higher bc of the difference in carb content but I wonder if something else is making her nauseated and driving up her blood sugar, like a problem with her pancreas or liver, and it just coincided with the new food formula.

I hope she’s better soon. Freeze dried liver is a favorite topper when my boys get picky about food. They also do better with many small meals but I give cerenia a chance to work before putting food in front of them.
 
SmallestSparrow said:
Ok now I think I understand. She was sick before the solensia so that’s probably not it. Did the vet do any blood tests? Her BG might go higher bc of the difference in carb content but I wonder if something else is making her nauseated and driving up her blood sugar, like a problem with her pancreas or liver, and it just coincided with the new food formula.

I hope she’s better soon. Freeze dried liver is a favorite topper when my boys get picky about food. They also do better with many small meals but I give cerenia a chance to work before putting food in front of them.
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I tried a single dose of metacam we had just to see if it is pain related. I know it’s not the best medicine and we only had 1 dose.

Her stool has been hard. This morning she went in the litter box and laid down. She got back up after a minute or so and used the bathroom. I also gave a little cat lax in case she is bound up.We do have the senior type boxes with the low front.

The antibiotic was amoxicillin. Normally by now it would be giving her diarrhea but it hasn’t. I got 3.10 oz down her this morning. It took a hour and putting it in front of her while she was laying down. She wasn’t that interested at all. I did 2 units this morning. Last night we skipped lantus all together because she only ate 1-2 oz.

We do have freeze dried duck liver we give her after her testing. I also used some of the fortaflora on her food we have. It’s the calming formula but I believe it’s still fortaflora. Not sure if it helped or not. It was for our other cat.

the vet didn’t do any blood tests.
 
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tiffmaxee said:
Is there a reason why she’s only fed twice a day? Most of us feed a couple mdd as in meals and a couple of snacks each cycle. If concerned she might get too low I would consider a few snacks. We use syringes too and increase and decrease in .25 increments. If not eating enough the 1 unit less makes sense. Is that how you dose? Is her weight stable or is she losing? I hope she feels better soon.
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We had been dosing in 1/2 units when we were getting her stable. I used 2 units this morning because she only ate 3 oz. Last night it was 1-2 oz so I skipped the shot all together. I will have to weigh her when my spouse gets up.

The vet had told us it was best to feed 2x a day at regular times. That’s why we have been doing like that for the last couple years. We do have freeze dried duck liver we can give her. Would you try to give her more canned food midday? I just don’t know if it will affect her levels. As we had to go out yesterday and her level was 133 we gave her 1 oz of wet at 2:30. Unfortunately I think that decreased her interest come dinner time.
 
I would feed the same amount of food but divide it in the first half of the cycle. Feeding twice a day is old school and fine with the older insulins (Vetsulin) tvss as f drop cats harshly. If we could see a spreadsheet it would help to see if it will help in your case. When cats are exhibiting signs of nausea feeding small amounts more often helps.
 
tiffmaxee said:
I would feed the same amount of food but divide it in the first half of the cycle. Feeding twice a day is old school and fine with the older insulins (Vetsulin) tvss as f drop cats harshly. If we could see a spreadsheet it would help to see if it will help in your case. When cats are exhibiting signs of nausea feeding small amounts more often helps.
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I have to start testing more to build a spreadsheet. Right now we had been doing a home curve once a month. However the last one was 7 weeks ago now. She also gets checked when we get her monthly solensa shot.

Now we have been testing midday and right before dinner. However before I was only checking when she had an issue once we have a stable number.

I need to be testing in the morning as well. With our schedules it hasn’t been an easy time to check. I know that’s no excuse and we need to start doing it. It’s stressful to check sometimes.

If she is taking a hour to eat now how do you recommend testing/ shot? Like this morning I gave the shot after she had ate 2 oz because of the time. She did eat another 1.10 oz in the end.

I know they say every 12 hours the shot should be and no more then 1 hour difference. However as it’s taking so long for her to eat a good amount it’s difficult. We either have to give a shot when she has ate some food or give it quite a bit later. If we add testing we are probably talking a hour and 15 min or so after her normal 8:15 ish shot.

As far splitting up the food you would recommend taking the 4oz in the morning and dividing it. Give it to her 6 hours later? The same with the evening food? My spouse is up at that time if we need to do that. Thank you
 
SammieCat said:
I tried a single dose of metacam we had just to see if it is pain related. I know it’s not the best medicine and we only had 1 dose.

Her stool has been hard. This morning she went in the litter box and laid down. She got back up after a minute or so and used the bathroom. I also gave a little cat lax in case she is bound up.We do have the senior type boxes with the low front.

The antibiotic was amoxicillin. Normally by now it would be giving her diarrhea but it hasn’t. I got 3.10 oz down her this morning. It took a hour and putting it in front of her while she was laying down. She wasn’t that interested at all. I did 2 units this morning. Last night we skipped lantus all together because she only ate 1-2 oz.

We do have freeze dried duck liver we give her after her testing. I also used some of the fortaflora on her food we have. It’s the calming formula but I believe it’s still fortaflora. Not sure if it helped or not. It was for our other cat.

the vet didn’t do any blood tests.
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My vet told me (I think, I haven’t slept in days and under a lot of stress) but I think when she prescribed amoxicillin for Methos she said it could upset the stomach. I know I’m supposed to give it with food. My boys are almost never on antibiotics so perhaps someone with more experience could comment.

edit: obviously this started before amoxil so something else is going on but the amoxicillin may be adding to her lack of appetite. Have you considered taking her back in or to the ER for lab tests, her not eating would make me anxious
 
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SammieCat said:
I have to start testing more to build a spreadsheet. Right now we had been doing a home curve once a month. However the last one was 7 weeks ago now. She also gets checked when we get her monthly solensa shot.

Now we have been testing midday and right before dinner. However before I was only checking when she had an issue once we have a stable number.

I need to be testing in the morning as well. With our schedules it hasn’t been an easy time to check. I know that’s no excuse and we need to start doing it. It’s stressful to check sometimes.

If she is taking a hour to eat now how do you recommend testing/ shot? Like this morning I gave the shot after she had ate 2 oz because of the time. She did eat another 1.10 oz in the end.

I know they say every 12 hours the shot should be and no more then 1 hour difference. However as it’s taking so long for her to eat a good amount it’s difficult. We either have to give a shot when she has ate some food or give it quite a bit later. If we add testing we are probably talking a hour and 15 min or so after her normal 8:15 ish shot.

As far splitting up the food you would recommend taking the 4oz in the morning and dividing it. Give it to her 6 hours later? The same with the evening food? My spouse is up at that time if we need to do that. Thank you
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she dies not need to eat a lot before shots. You just need to be sure she will eat something, even a couple teaspoons before you give insulin. It generally takes at least 2 hours for the insulin to onset. I never fed Max big meals as he had chronic pancreatitis so he got small meals. Free feeding is just fine.
 
SmallestSparrow said:
My vet told me (I think, I haven’t slept in days and under a lot of stress) but I think when she prescribed amoxicillin for Methos she said it could upset the stomach. I know I’m supposed to give it with food. My boys are almost never on antibiotics so perhaps someone with more experience could comment.

edit: obviously this started before amoxil so something else is going on but the amoxicillin may be adding to her lack of appetite. Have you considered taking her back in or to the ER for lab tests, her not eating would make me anxious
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yes I think we may have to take her back this week. We have been hemorrhaging money with vet bills lately. Otherwise I would have pushed for blood work as it’s around $400. Maybe I could safely skip the thyroid test? That would save over $100.

Sorry you’re not sleeping and under so much stress. That’s how I was with our other cat Sammie when she was battling lymphoma. She hasn’t even been gone a week it’s so hard. Especially with our other cat now unwell. I hope you feel better soon!
 
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tiffmaxee said:
she dies not need to eat a lot before shots. You just need to be sure she will eat something, even a couple teaspoons before you give insulin. It generally takes at least 2 hours for the insulin to onset. I never fed Max big meals as he had chronic pancreatitis so he got small meals. Free feeding is just fine.
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ok thank you that makes a massive difference then. I had been watching the clock and holding the food up to her in bed. Trying to beat the hour limit.

I was thinking she might feel unwell due to pain. However that one dose of metacam doesn’t seem to have made a difference. She might just be stiffer in her joints from not moving much. She pretty much stays in one room all day long on a heated bed. She used to go in other rooms.

If she had pancreatitis pain medication would make her feel better right? I’m going to try switching to 4 times a day feeding then and see if that works better.
 
SammieCat said:
yes I think we may have to take her back this week. We have been hemorrhaging money with vet bills lately. Otherwise I would have pushed for blood work as it’s around $400. Maybe I could safely skip the thyroid test? That would save over $100.

Sorry you’re not sleeping and under so much stress. That’s how I was with our other cat Sammie when she was battling lymphoma. She hasn’t even been gone a week it’s so hard. Especially with our other cat now unwell. I hope you feel better soon!
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I’m so sorry for your loss, and now this. IMO thyroid problems aren’t likely to be causing this. When my other cat was hyperthyroid he was hungry all the time. Maybe your vet could target the tests to things that most likely would give the symptoms she’s having. There’s a test for pancreatitis —I don’t know how expensive it is (there’s a screening test —a snap fpl and an more specific one —a spec fpl that’s probably more expensive)
I hope she’s better soon :bighug:
 
SmallestSparrow said:
I’m so sorry for your loss, and now this. IMO thyroid problems aren’t likely to be causing this. When my other cat was hyperthyroid he was hungry all the time. Maybe your vet could target the tests to things that most likely would give the symptoms she’s having. There’s a test for pancreatitis —I don’t know how expensive it is (there’s a screening test —a snap fpl and an more specific one —a spec fpl that’s probably more expensive)
I hope she’s better soon :bighug:
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thank you very much for saying that. Myself and my wife never had kids so are cats are as close as we will get. My user name is actually named after my cat Sammie. I named her after a character on the stargate tv show lol. The profile picture is our cat Ebony though.

That’s a good idea about seeing if they could target the most probable cause with the blood work first.

I hope you where able to get some sleep last night
 
Don’t get the Snap test for pancreatitis at this point. It just gives a positive/negative result. Far better to get the SPECFPL If the Snap is in the gray zone it will say negative. Pancreatitis is treated by managing symptoms with nausea medication, ondansetron if not vomiting and cerenia if vomiting, fluids if dehydrated, pain medication and if nausea med doesn’t work an appetite stimulant such as mirataz or cyproheptadine.
 
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tiffmaxee said:
Don’t get the Snap test for pancreatitis at this point. It just gives a positive/negative result. Far better yo get the SPECFPL If the Snap is in the gray zone it will say negative. Pancreatitis is treated by managing symptoms with nausea medication, ondansetron if not vomiting and cerenia if vomiting, fluids if dehydrated, pain medication and if nausea med Durant work an appetite stimulant such as mirataz or cyproheptadine.
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ok thank you for that information. We tried the Zofran we had left over from our other cat today. It didn’t seem to help. I’m thinking she is not nauseous now. The metcam didn’t help yesterday either and I would think if she was in pain it would. She is drinking a lot like she always does. No more lip licking.

With her laying in the litter box after getting in and trying to poop it could be bathroom related. She keeps doing that even with the cat lax. Her poop is not black anymore so that is very good. I might need to try pumpkin vs cat lax.

By offering food more often I have had an easier time getting her to eat today.
 
It took a few doses for Zofran to kick in for Chai and twice a day was not enough. I gave it 3 times every 24 hours. At first I skipped a late night dose since she didn’t eat late at night but it was needed.
 
tiffmaxee said:
It took a few doses for Zofran to kick in for Chai and twice a day was not enough. I gave it 3 times every 24 hours. At first I skipped a late night dose since she didn’t eat late at night but it was needed.
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do you use 1mg? I ask because of vet had our other cat on 2mg and Cerenia they recommend 12mg for our diabetic the other day. Those doses seem high to me.
 
Chai was down to 7 pounds 8 oz and she was given 2 mg. The dose is 0.5-1mg per kg every 6-8 hours I think. When eating normally for a couple days I usually cut out one dose and see what happens. So I taper it and go right back up if still needed.
 
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SmallestSparrow said:
I think I was told 2mg of Zofran twice a day is a dose, but when I use Cerenia tablets they come 24 mg and I give 1/2 of a tablet (12 mg) once a day

edit: but this chart seems to say the cerenia dose should be less
https://todaysveterinarypractice.co...tes/4/2015/02/MedicationsForAcuteVomiting.pdf
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Thank you for letting me know what the vet told you. I agree it’s confusing. Sometimes it feels like the are giving max dose of these meds to my cats weight. Of course maybe me reading google and not listening to the vet is the problem. I will try 2mg tomorrow.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Chai was down to 7 pounds 8 oz and she was given 2 mg. The dose is 0.5-1mg per kg every 6-8 hours I think. When eating normally fur a couple days I usually cut out one dose and see what happens. So I taper it and go right back up if still needed.
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Good idea to try thank you. Do you think 50 mg Gabapentin mjght be worth a try for pain? She has never tired it. Our 12 year old 7.5 lb took 100 and it hit her hard. So my 16 year old 10.5 lb diabetic I can’t have that. She is unsteady enough already.

We tried to weigh her tonight. However she couldn’t stand on it. The surface is slick and she was sliding. We got her to lay down on a blanket but her leg was way off the scale.
 
I’ve never used gabapentin. I was given buprenorphine for my cats.
Do you have a digital baby scale? That’s what I bought many years ago with my first sick cat. They are available from Amazon and Target as well as many other places and range from $40-50 ish. I think I’ve read people start with 50 mg gabapentin. Add a question mark to your subject and put gabapentin and you will get replies. Sorry you are dealing with all this.
 
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SammieCat said:
Good idea to try thank you. Do you think 50 mg Gabapentin mjght be worth a try for pain? She has never tired it. Our 12 year old 7.5 lb took 100 and it hit her hard. So my 16 year old 10.5 lb diabetic I can’t have that. She is unsteady enough already.

We tried to weigh her tonight. However she couldn’t stand on it. The surface is slick and she was sliding. We got her to lay down on a blanket but her leg was way off the scale.
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When Methos came home from the hospital his dose was 50 twice a day—he’s normally a 12.5 pound cat but was about 13 pounds then bc of the Cushing’s. Chewy sells gabapentin tablets in 25 and 50 mg, each about the size of a baby aspirin.
 
SammieCat said:
We got her to lay down on a blanket but her leg was way off the scale.
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Do you have a bed or basket she could curl up in on the scale? Is it a cat scale? Mine lets you tare the weight. If human scale you could hold her, stand in scale, put her down and weigh without cat. This isn’t exact of course.
Alternatively perhaps a sticky type shelf liner (the sort of waffle weave type) put on scale might give her some traction
 
tiffmaxee said:
I’ve never used gabapentin. I was given buprenorphine for my cats.
Do you have a digital baby scale? That’s what I bought many years ago with my first sick cat. They are available from Amazon and Target as well as many other places and range fro $40-50 ish. I think I’ve read people start with 50 mg gabapentin. Add a question mark to your subject and put gabapentin and you will get replies. Sorry you are dealing with all this.
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Sorry for the late response been dealing with a lot.
we do have a baby scale. However maybe it is just not a good one for pets. I might skip the gaba for now. With her back legs so unstable my wife is afraid to try it. I really wonder if the vet gave the solesna wrong somehow. Sure doesn’t seem to be helping.
 
SmallestSparrow said:
When Methos came home from the hospital his dose was 50 twice a day—he’s normally a 12.5 pound cat but was about 13 pounds then bc of the Cushing’s. Chewy sells gabapentin tablets in 25 and 50 mg, each about the size of a baby aspirin.
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I got some of those 50mg for my cat Sammie she was 7-8lb. Were yours big hard orange ones? I was shocked how big it was. So we just did the caps in water and a syringe for her. Ebony wouldn’t like that. I would prob just split the cap into 1/4 with the power as best as I could. I tried the pill cutter in the 50’s but it didn’t cut even close to halves.
 
SmallestSparrow said:
Do you have a bed or basket she could curl up in on the scale? Is it a cat scale? Mine lets you tare the weight. If human scale you could hold her, stand in scale, put her down and weigh without cat. This isn’t exact of course.
Alternatively perhaps a sticky type shelf liner (the sort of waffle weave type) put on scale might give her some traction
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I could try a bed that’s a good idea. It’s just a baby scale not a pet one. I could definitely try getting shelf liner like that.
 
I heard back from the vet, we are going to try mitrzpine 1.8mg every 24 hours. Man I hope we get it soon. Although with what I have read I want to try 48 hours. She is getting blood work mid net week. It costs a lot less than I thought, I must have be remembering a time when another service like X-ray was done with it.
 
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Yesterday she didn’t eat even the full 6 oz more like 5. Both yesterday morning and today she was/ is shivering. We gave her a lower dose of Zofran and cerriena. She got 7mg of ceriana and 1mg of Zofran then ate a tiny bit of food and we gave her 1 unit. She got sick like 5 min later. As we gave the low dose of nausea medication and immediately threw it up we gave it again. She kept that down.

However. She is still shivering. 8:18am 135 10:24 am 147 with the 1 unit lantus. Surprised to see 147 when all she has kept down is 1/4th of a pill pocket this morning. She did eat about 1 oz between midnight and 4:30 am. I tried turning up the heat but it doesn’t seem to help. Yesterday’s numbers on 2 units morning 1 1/2 at night. 8:10 127, 2:33 98, 7:05 108

edit: I added some water to her wet food and she did lap that up but not the food. I gave her 4 dry treats from our old cat. It is royal canin hydrolized treats. Just afraid of the blood sugar even with the testing.
 
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tiffmaxee said:
I would feed the same amount of food but divide it in the first half of the cycle. Feeding twice a day is old school and fine with the older insulins (Vetsulin) tvss as f drop cats harshly. If we could see a spreadsheet it would help to see if it will help in your case. When cats are exhibiting signs of nausea feeding small amounts more often helps.
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I added a spreadsheet to my signature. Please let me know if you can’t use it. I think I did it correct. I know there isn’t a lot of info on there right now. I added all that I could. I’m going to start using that only. I had been writing the numbers and issues down. However sometimes with the stress I go back and can’t read what I wrote.
 
We all understand the stress.:bighug: I can see your spreadsheet. Good job getting it up and running. Next step is a signature so we dint need to look to see pertinent information such as the DKA/ketones, dosing method, type of food, other meds or diseases, etc.

If not too late get Mirataz ointment that you rub on the ear every 24 hours. Some, like me, found the mirtazapine pills to make their cats agitated and extremely vocal. It’s a much less often symptom of the ointment.
 
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