Help! Not hungry after fluids?

Tyleete

Tyleete

Member Since 2025
I have my bog around 160ml in fluids around 2pm. Was supposed to be 200 but he wouldn't sit still long enough.
Last time he ate was maybe 3:00pm maybe? 1oz cooked beef (he eats cooked meat with ez complete), little shredded chicken, and 1oz of the chicken broth.
He hasn't eaten since, is still hiding since we did the fluids and it's time for his shot.
Could the fluids have messed him up to not want to eat? :( He's usually hungry by now. I think he might be tired of coming out and getting stuck all the time. But I don't know if I need to worry about this? Force feed him, again? He had to have this done with baby food Friday morning in order to get his insulin shot. Should I pull him out to stick his ear? I didn't want to do that again yet. He's seems so tired of this all and just shakes so bad when I have to keep stabbing him for this or that.😭
 

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I think you said he might not tolerate a Freestyle Libre. Many of the members using the continuous glucose monitor put a shirt/top on their cat so they can't easily remove the sensor. That would be one way to cut down on the poking.

I've not heard anyone mention that fluids affect appetite but every cat is different.
 
Oh my gosh. My boy would look so adorable in a shirt!😅
I had one fella that had a constantly exploding cyst removed on his back, and he work a sock vest the vets sent him home in. Was so adorable. Obviously I don't dress cats for cuteness, as none are running around with bat wings and devil horns. But it'd still be cute.
Do you know how those are stuck on an animal?:/ I never looked into them, as he's a bit of a wild child and can't see him leaving it on. In fact, I can see him going to great efforts to remove it. If it can give a constant reading whenever, does that mean it's got a needle sticking out of him 24/7?😬
I had to eventually force fed him, and gave him 3tsp of baby food before giving him his insulin an hour late. I just kept hoping he'd eat in his own.
Then, at 12am he turned around and ate a full serving of kibble. :/
Then took me about 2hrs before he would eat again this morning. Luckily I started real early feeding everyone. It's like he knows what will come once he eats. :(
But at least he finally ate. Thanks! He
 
@Staci & Ivy has a whole document she can share about using the Libre meter. I believe the Libre has an adhesive backing of some sort that allows it to stick onto skin. I have no idea how the Libre actually monitors blood glucose levels if the meter just sits on the skin.
 
squeem3 said:
@Staci & Ivy has a whole document she can share about using the Libre meter. I believe the Libre has an adhesive backing of some sort that allows it to stick onto skin. I have no idea how the Libre actually monitors blood glucose levels if the meter just sits on the skin.
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@squeem3 You are correct, it has an adhesive backing and a tiny filament, which gets inserted under the skin when it gets applied and it reads the interstitial fluid. That reading is sent from an app on kitty’s phone to your phone (using a linked app).

I keep a tube top on my kitty (no arms or shoulders covered) but most people use a little tee shirt to cover the sensor (some cats don’t bother the sensor, some do).

Here is the document we’ve put together to help Libre users with lots of good information.
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...ucose-monitors-cgms-for-diabetic-cats.301950/

If you have any questions, please ask.
 
The 200 ml fluids seems like a lot. How big is your boy and how often does he get fluids?

I have experience with fluids making a cat not want to eat with my girl Neko. But it was an indirect way. She had kidney disease which is why I was giving fluids, but it turns out she also had heart disease and it was the heart disease that made her inappetant. The fluids had triggered her heart condition so I had to stop giving fluids after that. Just as a precaution, count the number of complete in and out breaths he makes in a minute. It should be under 30. I set a timer on my phone. You need to do the count when he's at rest. It's called the RR or resting respiratory rate.
 
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I agree with Wendy about the 200 ml being a lot of fluids at one time, and 11 lbs (per your last post (Introducing Nico ) is not an enormous cat. And that’s on top of the 300ml of fluids the vet gave in one sitting earlier in the week, if I understand correctly.

Most don’t recommend much over 100ml at a time. Please watch for signs of fluid overload. When tracking resting respiration rate, a breath in and out counts as 1. The fluids should be fully absorbed before the next round is given— so the fluid pouch on the back should be gone and there shouldn’t be any sign of swollen feet/legs (sometimes the fluid migrates downward).
 
Turns out at around 40-45 every two weeks for these, it's way more than I can afford. So I'm going to have to just regularly stab him. :(
But I will check out what you've written on it just to educate myself, so thank you.
I'd read in a search somewhere though, that you can get bad readings from this for so many reasons. That it's not as accurate?

As for the fluids, what is suggested if he had ketones in his system? I've got to go out to the store to pick up more food tomorrow. He and his brother are almost out of pork tenderloin. Nico's just started eating this, as chicken is his usual favorite. But after I'm going to try to put him in the bathroom with only that specialty litter box so I can check his keytones with those strips I just bought. His ketone numbers were 15 last Wed. I think that's why she wanted him on fluids. She didn't say how often, but I did not like that she gave him 300 that day. She said 200 when she took him out of the room. He was leaking back in the carrier.😠
He's actually down to 9lbs now. Which is actually a good number for him. He was tubby before. If he needs them like twice a week, how much would you all suggest? He does drink a ton with large pee-balls. :(
Thanks!
 
Tyleete said:
Turns out at around 40-45 every two weeks for these, it's way more than I can afford. So I'm going to have to just regularly stab him. :(
But I will check out what you've written on it just to educate myself, so thank you.
I'd read in a search somewhere though, that you can get bad readings from this for so many reasons. That it's not as accurate?

As for the fluids, what is suggested if he had ketones in his system? I've got to go out to the store to pick up more food tomorrow. He and his brother are almost out of pork tenderloin. Nico's just started eating this, as chicken is his usual favorite. But after I'm going to try to put him in the bathroom with only that specialty litter box so I can check his keytones with those strips I just bought. His ketone numbers were 15 last Wed. I think that's why she wanted him on fluids. She didn't say how often, but I did not like that she gave him 300 that day. She said 200 when she took him out of the room. He was leaking back in the carrier.😠
He's actually down to 9lbs now. Which is actually a good number for him. He was tubby before. If he needs them like twice a week, how much would you all suggest? He does drink a ton with large pee-balls. :(
Thanks!
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300 mL and even 200 mL is too much fluid for a 9 lb. cat. That is very hard on his heart and he may end up with a pleural effusion (fluid around his lungs) or worse. I have personal experience with this. 100 mL is the most he should be getting per day and that is only if his heart is sound and he is clearing the fluid okay.
 
Tyleete said:
I'll get to reading right away. Thank you.
Do diabetic cats often need fluids?
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Not necessarily. If they are producing a lot of ketones, the fluids may help flush the ketones out. If they have chronic kidney disease, at a certain stage they can benefit tremendously from sub-q fluids. If they are dehydrated from not eating or drinking then they may need fluids (but also would need to be examined by a veterinarian.) What were your cat’s fluids prescribed for?
 
Is he eating okay now? Is he lethargic? Are you testing for ketones using a blood ketone meter or the urine test strips?
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Not necessarily. If they are producing a lot of ketones, the fluids may help flush the ketones out. If they have chronic kidney disease, at a certain stage they can benefit tremendously from sub-q fluids. If they are dehydrated from not eating or drinking then they may need fluids (but also would need to be examined by a veterinarian.) What were your cat’s fluids prescribed for?
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I was told to give him fluids for dehydration. That doc had 300 pumped in him the day we took him in and found out he had diabetes. Said he was really dehydrated. I tend to think she prescribes more fluids than necessary, from my experience. And I never would've allowed her to take him back if she'd said 300.
She'd told me 200.:/ But I noticed him leaking in the carrier and questioned it.😑
Anyhow, she told me to give them at home. I didn't the 200 she wanted. Then several days ago (Tuesday). I gave him some more as he seemed to be in need. I'm not the best judge of that.
She said he had ketones last Wed. But I did the Ketostix urine test and showed the doc a pic I took. She said it's Negative.❤️
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Is he eating okay now? Is he lethargic? Are you testing for ketones using a blood ketone meter or the urine test strips?
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He is eating. Actually eating a little more than he was several days ago. I read somewhere on here, that it's good to feed them +2, +4, and maybe even +6 after? So I've been trying to give him little amounts today and he's accepted it. :) I have to take the small wins where I can.
And it's the Ketostix urine strips.
 
Tyleete said:
He is eating. Actually eating a little more than he was several days ago. I read somewhere on here, that it's good to feed them +2, +4, and maybe even +6 after? So I've been trying to give him little amounts today and he's accepted it. :) I have to take the small wins where I can.
And it's the Ketostix urine strips.
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Yes. I usually recommend to my ProZinc users to feed small meals of LC food at +2 and +4 and the +6 is kind of optional but if you want him to gain weight then I would do it. For some cats, it’s really hard for them to wait more than 6 hours until PMPS for food (especially the ravenous cats who have high BG.) The reason for the timing of the +2 snack is because ProZinc will onset and begin to lower BG at approximately +2. That snack will help to prevent an overly rapid drop at +2. Then it’s good to keep the small meals coming at +4 because it will help smooth the cycle as the insulin kind of picks up steam and is approaching the peak of its action. The reason I say the +6 is optional is because I don’t normally recommend feeding much food after nadir(lowest point in the cycle) because it can cause the BG numbers to rise a little prematurely. It really depends upon the cat’s needs though and we can customize the feeding times to some extent based on that and your ability to feed at those times. Automated feeders are wonderful for this too if it’s a problem.
 
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