help

[Brittany & Liberty]

My 11 year old cat Liberty was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday and the vet wanted to wait on trying insulin after we started a low carb diet and saw how he felt with that. He hasn't ate anything since yesterday morning and he doesnt seem interested in eating at all. I called our vet and she said to bring him in tomorrow because he probably needs insulin. Any thoughts on cats not having appetites and what this all means for him. I am very new to all of this and really am not sure at all as to where to go. Just want my baby to feel better!

 

[Kris & Teasel]

My 11 year old cat Liberty was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday and the vet wanted to wait on trying insulin after we started a low carb diet and saw how he felt with that. He hasn't ate anything since yesterday morning and he doesnt seem interested in eating at all. I called our vet and she said to bring him in tomorrow because he probably needs insulin. Any thoughts on cats not having appetites and what this all means for him. I am very new to all of this and really am not sure at all as to where to go. Just want my baby to feel better!

I'm glad you're taking your kitty to see the vet tomorrow. All cats are at risk of developing hepatic lipidosis if they go for more than 48 hours without eating. A diabetic cat is also at risk of developing diabetic ketoacidosis which can be life threatening and requires intensive treatment. Your kitty might need antinausea meds, appetite stimulant meds and if pancreatitis is part of the picture, fluids and pain meds.

 

[JanetNJ]

Usually diabetic cats are hungry. I'd be worried about pancreatitis or dka. Keep encouraging him to eat. Maybe tuna or fresh chicken?

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Question: is it just the (new) low-carb food he isn't eating, or food in general? Kris and Janet are right; a cat that goes more than a day without eating is a cat at risk for severe health issues. It's great you are taking him to the vet tomorrow, but in the meantime, if there's anything you can get him to eat, please do it, even if it is high-carb!

 

[Brittany & Liberty]

We've tried many different canned cat foods and he just kind sniffs at them and doesnt have much interest. I got him to eat a couple of his favorite treats but that took awhile. even tried warming up his food to make it more appealing

 

[Brittany & Liberty]

I wasnt sure if it would make things worse if I gave him high carb food on an empty stomach

 

[Mackenzie Obermeyer]

Hi, my cat was in the same situation a couple months back. Not very interested in food.

Here is a list of things to try to get him to eat:
- baby food (just the plain meat kind, no onion or garlic in it)
- boiled chicken breast (again completely plain)
- sprinkling a little parmesan cheese on top of his food to get him interested

These are a couple things that helped my eat eat a little. It's super important that he eats even if it's not the best kind of food for him.

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

Raise the food bowl about 4-6 inches. A couple of old books, or an upside-down cookie tin works.

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

Also, try a bit of wet food in the palm of your hand. If a cat isn't feeling well or is nauseous, it doesn't want to bend its head down to eat.

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi Brittany,

I'm sorry to hear that Liberty is not eating at the moment.

When you go to the vets tomorrow, make sure your vet checks Liberty for ketones! Bring a urine sample with you if possible.

Offer some food and check for nausea symptoms in the meantime.

Nausea and appetite problems - symptoms and treatments

In the meantime see if any of the tips here might help you get some food into Liberty:

Persuading your cat to eat

Tips for stimulating appetite

The first things to try are raising the food and water bowls and also trying to offer food from your hand. Try ANY food to see if you can tempt her to eat even a little to tide her over until you get in to see the vets.

If Liberty is nauseated ask the vet to make sure she's not constipated because that will need to be treated first before anti-nausea meds can help. If the vet prescribes an appetite stimulant make sure that the vet also prescribes an anti-nausea med as well because the appetite stimulant alone won't help matters.


Mogs
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[Critter Mom]

@Red & Rover (GA) & "Cat" - Snap!


Mogs
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[Brittany & Liberty]

I just got him to eat some treats but he still refuses to eat other food even after raising it up and sprinkling cheese on it

 

[Critter Mom]

Any food is OK at the moment [ETA - but don't overdo it with the treats; you're in a tricky place because his sugars are high and ideally a lower carb food would be better but right now some food is better than none]. The few treats might settle Liberty's stomach a little so it might be worth trying to tempt him to eat a little regular food in a short while. If you blend a little of the wet food with water to make it a thick, soupy consistency and offer it to him on your fingers he might lick a little off.

If you have any chicken breast try poaching it in water. Keep the watery broth. Mince the cooked chicken breast finely and see if he might eat some of that. Also put some of the broth in a bowl (tepid temperature) to see if it might tempt Liberty to drink something. (If he hasn't been drinking much he may be dehydrated and that will make him feel a bit crummy, too.)

It would be a highly advisable precaution to check for ketones sooner rather than later. I don't know what time it is in your part of the world but if it's at all possible for you to do so, I'd suggest you pop to a pharmacy and get some urine ketone test strips today (e.g. Keto-diastix or other urine test strips which include a ketone test). Here are some stickies with more information:

Are you testing your kitty for ketones? If not, do it!

Tips for catching and testing urine samples

For information, a trace ketone result should prompt a call to the vet for advice. A positive result higher than trace should prompt an immediate trip to the vets for emergency treatment so as to prevent the cat from going into diabetic ketoacidosis.


Mogs
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[Critter Mom]

Also, try crushing some of the treats into a powder and sprinkling it over some plain chicken or some of the regular wet food.


Mogs
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[Mackenzie Obermeyer]

Yes my cat has gone into ketoacidosis twice now... and you definitely want to avoid that if you can. I get my ketone strips at Walmart. If you can catch ketones earlier it will be an easier process to recover from.

To collect urine for a ketones test I suggest sticking a ladle or big spoon under your cats butt to catch it. It's way easier than trying to get them to pee on the little test strip.

If you do go out to get the strips, pick up some chicken flavored baby food too. That was one of the very few things he would eat while he had ketones. It's easy for them to eat since it is a paste.