Just started ProZinc today and Kit won't eat

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Terri&Kit

Terri&Kit

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Afternoon everyone,


Short and sweet, newly diagnosed, on glipizide for a week and a half. First vet visit BS was 529. Been home testing randomly the last week his average BS has been around 240 with no insulin involved. Glipizide stopped 24 hours prior to 1st injection. Vet visit was yesterday, prescribed ProZinc. The vet said to give him 1.5 U but I only gave him 1U because I was, well, chicken. Now I'm glad I only gave him 1U. Kit's AMPS was 273. I took a late lunch to go home to check on him and his +6 is 107. He hasn't eaten anything all day except the treat I gave him after is AMPS BS test, which wasn't much. He even refused the treat I gave him at his +6 check. He seems ok, I'm just worried that he isn't eating. Did anyone experience loss of appetite for any amount of time after their first injections?
 
I did not have that problem. If you didn't already know, don't give anymore insulin if he's not eating. How long after shot are you now?
 
Yeah, I definitely won't give him any insulin unless he starts eating. We are at....+7 now. I won't be able to check his BS again for at least another hour, I had to go back to work.
 
Ok, did you recently change food? What are you feeding? I have heard some people have success with Bonito flakes sprinkled on wet food but I've never used them. Maybe there is a pet store you could stop by on the way home? I recently used Forti Flora for my civvie that decided she wasn't gonna eat but I had to order from Amazon. Your vet might sell you a packet or two. I've gotta get off and it's usually slow around here in the afternoon but if you get in a bind & need immediate help post on health. Great #'s by the way! Glad you didn't shoot 1.5!
 
Bonito flakes do work well for some kitties. You might pour on some tuna juice or add some water to make the food soupy. If he was really into dry food, you could crush up a little bit and sprinkle it on top. Other people suggest heating the wet food until it is nice and stinky. Some people swear by parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Whatever he really likes, put it on top. He does need to eat, so whatever it takes.

Nice numbers. Sure glad you went with the one unit. Good call! :-D
 
He's been on all wet FF for over a week. Not eating a lot, but he was eating 2-3 cans a day. There's a pet smart here somewhere, not sure where, but I may have to venture out.

Just to be a little more clear, he ate a whole can of FF overnight last night. Despite being stressed from the vet trip, that kind of surprised me. Him not eating is something that just happened today. I just thought maybe the insulin was a cause since our first injection was this morning, but it could just be a coincidence.
 
Just wanted to say hello. I'm sure you're already figuring out that you've come to the best place for help with your diabetic cat. I didn't experience any loss of appetite when my cat Max started on insulin, but I did experience some finicky eating when I changed his diet (from listless to refusal to eat what he thought was yucky food). After experimentation with flavors, I finally found the one and only food/flavor Max will eat, FF Classic Chicken (yep, he hates anything else but the 1 flavor). Anyway, you've probably already thought of this, but I would experiment and find what flavors Kit likes best. Like others said, make sure he gets a good meal in him before you give his next shot and depending on his BS you may need to reduce the dose. Check back if you'd like advice on dose. We've got some good, experienced people on the forum that can help. Nice #'s today by the way.
 
Mine are pretty good eaters but the switch to wet food was a bit of a challenge at first. I definitely used FortiFlora and it worked like a charm. I ordered it from Amazon.com and barely have to use any and they eat the food up. Before I got that, I tried the parmesan cheese trick (sprinkle a little on top of the food) and they loved it. The bontio flakes are not appealing to my cats, but I've heard of a lot of other people having success with it.
 
I have out 3 different foods 3 different flavors, one sprinkled in parmesan, one a little warmed and extra stinky, and one with a few pieces of kitty crack crumbled up and sprinkled on top. Kit is laying in the bathtub completely uninterested in the food and me. I actually checked his BS while he was laying in the bathtub. He flinched when I accidentally pierced his ear, but he was kinda upside down so I couldn't really see what I was doing. His BS is 147 @ +10. So it is coming back up but obviously he isn't getting a shot tonight. I'm not sure what to do. I'm gonna bust open a can of tuna and see if I can entice him out of the tub.

I turned down the AC thinking maybe he was hot. I'm about to go sprinkle cat nip on him.
 
I don't have a lot of experience getting them to eat. The Forti Flora worked really well if you can get your hands on some. Have you offered him whatever you were feeding him before? If it was dry I know it's not idea but he has to eat. If he ate that you could try to switch him back to wet slowly & get some Forti Flora to sprinkle on. I tried the parmesan cheese but they wouldn't touch it. Maybe someone else will be on in a bit with some other ideas. This might be a question you could post over on health since it looks like he might be a little stubborn about not eating. If he doesn't start eating tomorrow I would take him to the vet. Good BG though!
 
Hi Terri and welcome!

I had a very hard time with Shakes when I switched his diet..
there are times he refuses to eat...now I will tell you what I do, but the others will probably yell at me...
but I will anyway..

Shakespeare LOVES his dry food and misses it terribley
EVO chicken and turley flavor only has 8% carbs, which is very low
and I know from checking his blood..it doesnt raise his sugar levels
but when I give him about 10 pieces he will stay at the number he is at for a couple of hours..
now I am NOT saying to do this alot, but once in awhile if he does not eat
I will sprinkle a couple of pieces on the top of his food and he eats like crazy...
sometimes you have to improvise and do whatever works for your kitty...
I had bought the Fortiflora and he hates it, but I think he is the only one who hates it.
just remember every cat is different so you will need to experiment to see what is best for you 2.
As for the dose...good call on only giving one unit, and also for checking his numbers!
Keep up the good work

Denise and Shakes
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I am trying all of them lol. I ordered some forti flora and we'll try it in 3-5 business days lol. I put some tuna and chicken in a bowl and put it in the bathtub with him, next to his head. He looked at me like I was nuts. I waited a few minutes and checked him and he had turned so his tail was facing the food instead of his head. He didn't touch it. He was eating the Hills M/D prescription low carb diabetic food before. It's 13% carbs according to the dry list, but at this point I don't really care I want him to eat something! I took 5 pieces in and laid right next to his nose. Then walked into the kitchen. As I was walking back into the bathroom, he poked his head out licking his lips! So I took a few more pieces and sprinkled more on some of the wet food. He ate a few bites, but not much. I may cave all together and give him the prescription food and then just ween him off of it instead of cold turkey. Even though the nut was fine with the wet food for the last 5 days! He is my cat though so he would have to be difficult lol. I am skipping the shot tonight. I'll check his bs at shot time, but I'm not giving him the shot and he won't get one in the morning either unless he eats some kitty crack.
 
This sounds a little ridiculous but it has worked for people. Sometimes they will eat off your fingers - a little hand feeding....sort of priming the pump.
 
That did work a little bit actually! He ate maybe a teaspoon full off of my fingers, while he was laying in the tub lol. Then he turned his tail to me and laid back down. I left the bowl in the tub for him. A little bit is better than nothing! Thanks for that.
 
It does sound a little crazy maybe but when I was transitioning Harley off the kitty crack to wet canned I would take him into the bathroom with me and sit on the floor and hand feed him the wet and explain to him why he needed to start eating it. :-D But it worked after a week or two and we havn't looked back

We do what we have to do.
 
Ok so we are at shot time. I'm not giving it, but I still checked his BS. It dropped....to 134 it was 143 two hours ago.

Oh and he left the tub and is laying on the bathroom floor. He didn't want that food anywhere near him lol.
 
Hallelujah he ate 1/2 FF Salmon covered in about 20 pieces of crunched up kitty crack. I'll just keep doing that and reducing the kitty crack and hope he keeps eating. I'm still not giving him a shot tonight and I'll monitor what he eats over night and check his BS in the morning. Since he isn't eating much should I reduce his dose (if I give him any in the morning at all)? Should I not shoot him if he's under 200 in the morning, even if he's eaten more?
 
You are absolutely right, that is a no shoot number.

Keep testing the bg's to see where you are at so you know if and when you need to shoot again.

You are doing AWESOME!
 
Since you are just beginning the sugar dance I would not shoot any insulin under 200 until you have alot more data/testing to know how the insulin is working.

I'm glad we are eating again, sometimes the transition takes a while.
 
Terri,
You have done an awesome job! testing, making sure he eats ..... good job! and reducing his dose, you will be an expert in no time! welcome to our little group .....

Nancy and Payne
(back from her first vacation! with us ...... )
 
Hi Teri and Welcome!

South Carolina?! We are neighbors!

A little HOT in the South today....hummm?

Once Again, Welcome....You are Doing Great!

Kim
 
Yeah I'm afraid to shoot under 273 since he dropped to 107 at his +6 today. I'm way to new to this to be dealing with numbers that low lol. I mean yay the numbers are good, but holy cow that dropped quick!

I put out another 1/2 can and basically ground the kibble up so it's dust and just left a few small pieces. Maybe just the smell of the kitty crack will help. I tried to mix it in a little so he couldn't pick it out. I'll try and stick to the lowest carb FF on the list until I can stop the kitty crack, just to keep the carb content as low as possible.

Oooo oooo his nose is in the food bowl! Oh man I feel so much better. I told him he couldn't do this to his mommy, it makes her worry!
 
Yeah I'm watching him like a hawk! Or at least his bowl and box anyway lol. Thanks for the welcome! And Kim, I heard it was supposed to snow tomorrow ;)
 
Not to negate anything anyone else has said, but simply switching my Peeps to the m/d dry prescription food, she went off of insulin. She won't eat anything but pebbles, even before diabetes she hated wet food. I also began free feeding her, because if it isn't on her terms, she'll starve herself... And that's not a good mix with insulin. There is Evo Turkey & Chicken dry that is lower carbs (7% if I remember correctly) than m/d prescription, but I did get the same readings on it when they were switched from m/d to the Evo. All three cats decided they didn't want to eat the Evo anymore, so I put them back on m/d... $50 worth of cat food ended up going to lynx, but whatever. When the switch first occurred, I was paying about 75cents a pound less for the Evo dry than the m/d dry + the store I shopped at gave me a 10% discount.
 
Terri,
You mentioned that there is a petsmart nearby? They sell these freeze-dried treats made by Beefeaters in little plastic tubs. Whenever Bob decides he doesn't want his wet food (which actually is not very often), I crush a couple of freeze dried shrimp on top, and he devours the rest of his food. They have 3 varieties I think. Shrimp, salmon and maybe some poultry flavor?). If given a choice, Bob would eat only shrimp. So he's a sucker for these things. Maybe try to find them if you go to petsmart and see if you can convince Kit to eat his wet food. I don't know about the other flavors, but the shrimp ones are extremely strong smelling, and they mask whatever you put them on really well.

Carl in SC
 
Great job, and great numbers.
You'll be an old pro in no time.
I believe once you get the Fortiflora, kitty will have NO PROBLEM with the FF.
You could maybe call around to a few vet offices if you have some near by. They may have the Fortiflora available by the pack and you could pick up one to have on hand until your Amazon order arrives. It will last several days. It's a powder and you just sprinkle it on like you would salt and pepper your own food.
This stuff worked so good for Callie Mae. I couldn't figure out why she wasn't eating and was getting worried about her. She could not resist her food when I used it.Come to find out, she had been eating a secret stash of dry kibble and that's why she wasn't hungry and eating. But with the Fortiflora, even when full, she couldn't resit!!! :lol: :lol:

The little porker.
 
I read about the Evo, only problem is that its super high in calories. We'll see how he does over the next few days with the m/d on the wet food. I'm not giving him much of it, just enough to give him a kitty crack fix!

He loved wet food when he was eating all kibble (pre FD). I only used it when I needed to give him medicine. Just to mix the pills or liquid with. He saw it as a treat. He gobbled it right up. Now that I want him to eat it, he's being a pain!
 
carlinsc said:
Terri,
You mentioned that there is a petsmart nearby? They sell these freeze-dried treats made by Beefeaters in little plastic tubs. Whenever Bob decides he doesn't want his wet food (which actually is not very often), I crush a couple of freeze dried shrimp on top, and he devours the rest of his food. They have 3 varieties I think. Shrimp, salmon and maybe some poultry flavor?). If given a choice, Bob would eat only shrimp. So he's a sucker for these things. Maybe try to find them if you go to petsmart and see if you can convince Kit to eat his wet food. I don't know about the other flavors, but the shrimp ones are extremely strong smelling, and they mask whatever you put them on really well.

Carl in SC
Click to expand...
Good idea.
The salmon flavor is actually Callie Mae's crack. She loves it more than the dry stuff!!!
She sits in front of the treat locker and *stares* at the tub all day! :lol:
 
Lol, I can see Kit having a kitty crack stash! There is a petsmart, not exactly nearby, but if it'll make him eat, I'll make the trip! He ate a little of the flaked fish and tuna FF without kitty crack, so maybe the shrimp sprinkles will help too.
 
Hi and welcome to the PZI group.
Bonita tuna flakes work well for us. Of course my cat usually has a good appetite unless there is medicine hidden in the food; then hes suspicious of it. Just a few Bonita flakes sprinkled on the top and he will eat the food too.
 
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