I need help! Newly diagnosed and sick cat

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Erindm

Member Since 2016
Hi guys, this is my first thread forum thing? My cat Seamus had an inflamed bladder about 3 months ago. We ended up spending $300 to get him healthy again. Then we started seeing him lose weight, so we brought him in (may I note that he was super skinny at this point so it may have been a little late) and they started him on insulin and he was eating urinary and diabetic dry food. That was around a month or two ago. Now, he has lost so much weight to where he is skin and bones. He has thrown up the past three days and he refuses to eat anything now. We even tried to give him chicken soup and he drank some of the broth and left the chicken. Before he was on 2 mg of insulin twice a day and now he's on 5 as of today. He was put on an IV for a little bit today and we were told to bring him in tomorrow to get him on an IV. We have spent around $500 now in the past three months and this one IV today was $55. It's getting to be expensive and obviously we want to see our beloved cat get through this without going completely broke. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get him a bit healthier so he isn't so at risk of not making it through this? This is serious as he's gotten to the point where he needs to be on IVs and he doesn't even respond to his name any more. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you guys
 
He needs to eat. If you can not get him to eat, you may have to assist feed him. Here is a video of how to do it. You'll need to give just a little tiny bit at a time and only in the side of the mouth, not straight down the throat.
You can try to give him anything he will eat, for now. Again, he needs to eat.
 
Thank you for your reply! I tried to force feed him his food absorbed in water (I crushed up the food after it got soft) and I tried to put it in the saringe but most of it was left over water. He ate some of it but I will check out the video and try again later :)
 
Hi Erin and Seamus. Welcome :)
I am sorry you are having such a hard time with Seamus.
Can you tell us what insulin Seamus is on please?
Do you know if the vets have tested for ketones in the urine? You can do this yourself by buying a bottle of Ketostix from a chemist or similar place.....not sure which country you are in. If he does hav ketones they need to be treated promptly as it is a serious condition.
It is very important Seamus eats ....anything at this point. You may need to give him some sloppy food via a syringe.

We would recommend you home test the BSL. It is not hard and is one of the best things you can do for Seamus.
Also the urinary and diabetic dry food is not good for diabetic cats. Wet...canned food ....is much better.
At this point any canned food is ok to get him to eat. But once he is stablised, you would need to switch to low carbohydrate.
Ask lots of questions and we will help you.
 
I've watched the video and I don't have any pumpkin, are there alternatives? Thanks for the reply!
Dyana said:
He needs to eat. If you can not get him to eat, you may have to assist feed him. Here is a video of how to do it. You'll need to give just a little tiny bit at a time and only in the side of the mouth, not straight down the throat.
You can try to give him anything he will eat, for now. Again, he needs to eat.
Click to expand...
Dyana said:
He needs to eat. If you can not get him to eat, you may have to assist feed him. Here is a video of how to do it. You'll need to give just a little tiny bit at a time and only in the side of the mouth, not straight down the throat.
You can try to give him anything he will eat, for now. Again, he needs to eat.
Click to expand...
 
Hello thanks for the response! They tested his urine about three months ago when he was having bladder problems but I'm not sure if it was for that. The insulin he is on is called "navolin" and we bought urine strips to test his glucose level and it's still super high. By the way, I don't know if I'm replying to this in the correct way. I just signed up for this website and have no idea what I'm doing
Bron and Sheba said:
Hi Erin and Seamus. Welcome :)
I am sorry you are having such a hard time with Seamus.
Can you tell us what insulin Seamus is on please?
Do you know if the vets have tested for ketones in the urine? You can do this yourself by buying a bottle of Ketostix from a chemist or similar place.....not sure which country you are in. If he does hav ketones they need to be treated promptly as it is a serious condition.
It is very important Seamus eats ....anything at this point. You may need to give him some sloppy food via a syringe.

We would recommend you home test the BSL. It is not hard and is one of the best things you can do for Seamus.
Also the urinary and diabetic dry food is not good for diabetic cats. Wet...canned food ....is much better.
At this point any canned food is ok to get him to eat. But once he is stablised, you would need to switch to low carbohydrate.
Ask lots of questions and we will help you.
Click to expand...
 
Exactly what did the doctors say was wrong with him? Did they do any other tests? The 3 days of vomiting and now not eating sounds like something more in addition to diabetes.
 
Update, I just gave him wet food in the first time in a month (since his hunger declined) and he is chowing down! I'm beyond happy that this worked :) I will keep updates going after I come back from the vet tomorrow!
 
Testing 3 months ago would have no bearing on results now. I would recommend getting a bottle of ketostix and testing yourself.
Novolin insulin is quite a harsh insulin. If he has not responded to that insulin, Seamus may do better on one of the more gentle, longer lasting insulin as like Lantus, Levemir or Prozinc.

Once you can get the blood sugar levels down closer to normal, he will start putting on weight and hopefully not get dehydrated.
Another possibility is he could have pancreatitis,which is very treatable but needs to see the vet.
 
Woodsywife said:
Exactly what did the doctors say was wrong with him? Did they do any other tests? The 3 days of vomiting and now not eating sounds like something more in addition to diabetes.
Click to expand...
They said today that it could be hair balls, I'm thinking it could be water consumption? I know that when I drink a lot and don't eat, I get Sick but I know humans and cats are different. :/
 
Bron and Sheba said:
Testing 3 months ago would have no bearing on results now. I would recommend getting a bottle of ketostix and testing yourself.
Novolin insulin is quite a harsh insulin. If he has not responded to that insulin, Seamus may do better on one of the more gentle, longer lasting insulin as like Lantus, Levemir or Prozinc.

Once you can get the blood sugar levels down closer to normal, he will start putting on weight and hopefully not get dehydrated.
Another possibility is he could have pancreatitis,which is very treatable but needs to see the vet.
Click to expand...
Wow thanks for the info! Seems like vets don't give much info as far as alternatives.. I'll talk to them tomorrow! Hopefully they don't charge me another $100
 
Erindm said:
Update, I just gave him wet food in the first time in a month (since his hunger declined) and he is chowing down! I'm beyond happy that this worked :) I will keep updates going after I come back from the vet tomorrow!
Click to expand...
That is great he is eating the wet food. Don't let the vet talk you into going back to the dry food
 
Erindm said:
They said today that it could be hair balls, I'm thinking it could be water consumption? I know that when I drink a lot and don't eat, I get Sick but I know humans and cats are different. :/
Click to expand...
I would be surprised if it was hairballs.
Cats will drink a lot when their blood sugar level is high and also when they are being given dry food as there is very little moisture in dry food. And cats need lots of water.
I would give him small amounts of the wet food often .....not too much at a time as you don't want him vomiting.
A lot of cats don't like the prescription foods. There is no need for them to have them. There are plenty of suitable canned foods for diabetic cats in supermarkets and pet stores.
Once this present problem is over we will help you with that.
Please let us know how he is going.
 
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