Gypsy not eating or drinking..need some assistance please

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mieke

Member Since 2012
I just received a RX for Lantus .5 2x's a day. I am in the process of getting all the supplies and a second opinion..a vet is coming to my house to redo the blood work. Gypsy is now holding up her right paw, limping a little bit and is not eating, drinking or urinating much..maybe once a day and just lieing around. I have her on some fancy feast chicken with Eukanuba sensitive stomach (her sister has IBD). She has lost 1 1/2 lbs. She only weighed 13 lbs before all this started and is a large cat for a female. Her urine glucose at the vets was 3+ and blood 257. Please advise. I am so afraid I am going to lose her. Thank you.


Mieke

Gypsy and Pirate.
 
Re: Gypsy not eating or drinking..need some assistance pleas

Until you can get the bloodwork done, I would work on getting her to eat and drink. You can try baby food - the kind with no spices, no onion, garlic or onion powder. People seem to like Beechnut meats or Gergers 2nd Foods. Sometimes if you put the wet food on your finger, she will eat that way. You can also syringe food. Scroll down on this page and there are lots of ideas about getting your cat to eat.
http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm#baby_food

It is possible if her foot hurts, she doesn't feel like eating or moving around. Could she had gotten hurt somehow?

If she continues to do poorly, I would consider taking her to the ER and having them check her out.
 
Re: Gypsy not eating or drinking..need some assistance pleas

Hi,
You've joined an amazing support group.
First of all, Breathe....
Reflect on ways she could have been injured. Is she an inside only? Or are there limitless things she could have gotten into outdoors? I had a friend who had a cat that got it's leg caught in a bed spring under the bed and broke his own leg.
Are they any signs of an insect bite , redness?

What is her favorite food or treat? Is she refusing that? How long has it been since she was eating normally? Many days would need immediate attention because of dehydration.
I would guess your vet is coming tomorrow, not today being Sunday.

I am pretty new here myself so I think you've just joined the emotional roller coaster of realizing your cat needs treatment and it's a scary thing.
So in my humble opinion, the numbers you have aren't way way out there like so many others I've seen. (500 + blood glucose sounds scary to me)
I agree with the previous posting that an emergency vet is necessary if you think there are dangerous flags.

If you don't have any major flags, then definitely, focus on the eating. You said your vet was coming to re-do the blood work. You definitely want a vet who doesn't discourage you from glucose monitoring and doesn't want to start the insulin at any higher dose than 1 unit. Start low is the motto here. .5 units is the better starting point but it tends
to be calculated by weight.

My girl is 12 lbs right now too and she has lost about 3/4 of a pound.
I think a pound or two are pretty normal for when most of us sense we need to visit the vet and get this initial diabetes diagnosis.

And if things suddenly get worse, be sure and add the 911 icon to your post or start a new post with it.
 
Re: Gypsy not eating or drinking..need some assistance pleas

Did she get any tests at the vet where they poked her in her paw to draw blood? Is that perhaps where they pulled the blood for any BG tests from?

I would recommend that you get some KetoStix at your local pharmacy right away and try to check her urine for ketones. I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "Her urine glucose at the vets was 3+" but I am thinking you might be at a place where you need to keep an eye on this with her. You can find all kinds of ideas around here for "catching pee" once you get some KetoStix, just post & we'll help.

Hope your kitty feels better soon.

Desi, Tinkerbell, Tawny et al
 
Re: Gypsy not eating or drinking..need some assistance pleas

Hello and welcome :cool:

If your kitty is eating less than 50% of what she normally eats that is cause for concern. How long has her appetite been off? In what period of time did that weight come off? Please e very cautious about giving insulin if kitty is not eating.

Any mouth issues? Has she ever had any dentistry - a thorough cleaning & examination of her teeth, done under anesthesia? Dental problems have been my Black Kittys achilles heel. My boy gave me quite the scare recently when he started to skip meals and lose weight. We thought he seemed to struggle a bit while eating, like his mouth was uncomfortable. Long story short, his last 5 teeth had to go and go they did.

The minute I brought him home, even after 5 extractions, he was ready to chow down. It's been a little over 2 weeks and he has been licking his plate clean - hasn't missed a morsel and is back to his old crazy self. When we started addressing his teeth and gum issues, things really turned around for us.

Keep offering her food, and if she will eat, mix a bit of water into it as well. If the lack of appetite continues, like the others said - taker her to the vet for an evaluation. Things can rapidly spiral downward when a cat stops eating.
 
Re: Gypsy not eating or drinking..need some assistance pleas

I second the question about mouth/dental issues - definitely could use some looking into. Literally! Hope you get answers soon, Mieke.

Sandy! Fabulous to see you posting! The Emperor is back for a 2nd stint on Lantus. Hopefully a short one. So great to "see" you.
Jane
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top