Lolly still not eating normally, need highly digestible food- vet recommending Hills d/d

[Martha and Lolly (GA)]

Hi,

I think crisis may have been averted, but I have questions:

• if my kitty is eating a little, acting normal again after 1 day of vomiting, 1 day still nauseous but not vomiting can I rule out obstruction?
• Could 7 days of Clavamox cause a gastric problem 3 days after the last dose?
• I've gotten a little food in her, with some extra water, but not much, and she hasn't urinated in 2 days.
• How often can I give famotidine (gave her 2.5 mg two hours ago)
• Based on below info, should I take her to vet again tomorrow, or avoid as it STRESSES her out and I'm running up credit cards now.
  
• How do I find a vet who believes there is a link between carbs and FD? NB: my vet sells Hills, even has online business.

Lolly is 16, been in remission since 2015, thanks to this forum and tight reg. She eats Fancy Feast classic only. I test her weekly with relion confirm, she stays at about 50-60. 2 weeks ago, she had her 6 month check up, Blood test were very good, except had a slight UTI. I gave her a 7 day course of Clavamox, ended last Wed, she seemed fine.

Friday night, at 12pm began vomiting every 20 minutes, mostly white foam, was clearly nauseous, licking lips. I took her to vet at 11am, vet said didn't feel an obstruction, gave famotidine and subcutaneous fluids, and INSISTED we feed her Hill's i/d, NO Fancy Feast, and monitor her vomiting fluid intake carefully. I asked about carbs, vet said Hills i/d is low glycemic, a couple of days wouldnt matter.

She only vomited 2 more times on Saturday, ate a couple of tablespoons of i/d, drank nothing and was obviously sick and lethargic. She did not use litter box, no urination. Sunday, she ate a little more of the i/d in am and pm, but kept getting up and licking lips, obviously nauseous. I tested BG, could see it going up. Was 78 at 3pm, today, I know that's not bad, but higher for her normal BG. I spoke to off-hours vet, who said I could give her more famotidine, but continue with i/d, NOT Fancy Feast even after I told her BG going up. Also she has not urinated. Vet recommended she come in tomorrow, Monday.

I gave her famotidine, and she perked up immediately. I checked her BG - up to 100!! not bad by sugar cat standards, but going up, up, she hasnt been at 100 since OTJ. And I still hadnt gotten any fluids into her. So I said to hell wth vet, and gave her three TBS Fancy Feast, mixed with some of water. She ate it, and has kept it down. Seems back to normal, left her hidey hole corner, up on the bed, sleeping and snoring.

But she still hasn't urinated in 2 days, nor gotten any fluids other than the food. I'm going to try more FF with lots of water in a bit.

If no more vomiting, should I skip the Vet visit, which stresses her out no end? But not urinating, maybe she needs another subQ fluids?

I looked up Hills i/d on Dr Lisa's charts. i/d is 24% carb, Fancy Feast is 2% !!!! Should I just call vet practices and ask about their views on carbs and Hill's vs. FF? the receptionists answer the phones, Vets arent going to speak to me without an appointment- can't afford that. What can I do? Why don't they get it? Other than this issue, I really like my vet, she obviously REALLY cares. She texts wth me, answers questions in extreme detail, avoids expensive tests (they offered X-ray and US yesterday, but said I could wait safely) has helped me with questions with my other cats, even letting me text pics to avoid stressful and costly office visit.

Diabetes one of the best understood and researched diseases in the world. How can they not get the food carb link?

Thanks, I know this is long, and partly a rant.

 

[Amina&M'row]

No peeing is really concerning. I'd push fluids, like your idea of ff & water. I think the differential diagnosis here is dehydration vs obstruction. If anyone else has other ideas, please speak up! If no obstruction, yes she needs fluids, sq fine. If obstructed, bladder can rupture (painful and fatal), so I'd not be shy in getting fluids in right away, to rule out dehydration fast so you can move on to obstruction issues. Best fortune to you both.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Hi I don't know if you have taken her to a vet already but not urinating in two days is a VERY big concern and needs vets attention, once you deal with the urinating problem you can focus on the food issue why did the vet put her on hill's i/d?

 

[Martha and Lolly (GA)]

Thank you. I'm taking her to vet at 9:30 am, in 8 hours. Anyone- how often can i give famotidine?

Hi I don't know if you have taken her to a vet already but not urinating in two days is a VERY big concern and needs vets attention, once you deal with the urinating problem you can focus on the food issue why did the vet put her on hill's i/d?

Hi Veronica,

She urinated last night, a decent amount, thank God. She passed a small stool (based on DH's description, who threw it out after I asked him not to clean the box) She saw vet on Saturday, the vet claimed the i/d was necessary for her gastritis. When I saw her BG numbers going up, I went back to Fancy Feast. I put lots of water in it. She hasn't vomited since early Sunday morning. She is no longer nauseous, but is not eating as much as before the stomach upset. I had a long talk with the vet today. I wish I knew what caused her to get sick, it was very sudden, she has been very healthy for a 16 year old. She'd just had bloodwork and checkup two weeks before, everything looked good, except for some bacteria in urine. She took Clavamox for 7 days, ending last Wed- tolerated it well. She started vomiting around 1am Friday night, so it's not the Clavamox.

She is not back to eating normally though- I have to coax her, so not sure what to do next.

Last year she had a bout on inappetance, so vet did fPL test, her result was very high, 12.3 indicating pancreatitis. She never had another episode of inappetance, and has been healthy. The vet did not do the Pancreatitis at her wellness check, as she was eating with no problems other than some dental. I am bringing her back to the vet for the fpL.

The vet wants her to go on Hill's d/d. We had a 15 min phone conversation, my vet really does care, and she seems to know her stuff. She says FF is too hard to digest for Lolly now. She says high digestibiliby and low phosphorous are most important factors for pancreas. FF is practically nothing but beef and turkey protein, so maybe she's right. She said I could test to see effect of d/d on BG. Her view seems to be that if a cat has been in remission for 4 years, she can tolerate higher carbs now. That contradicts everything I've read on this site.

I'm going to put a new post to ask for informaiton on d/d or for a more digestible low carb low phosphorous food.

 

[Martha and Lolly (GA)]

Does anyone know anything about Hills d/d? Vet says my 16 yr old cat needs something more digestible than Fancy Feast. Can someone recommend anything else low carb but more digestible than Fancy Feast?

Lolly is eating again after a sudden bout of vomiting two days ago. I am adding water to her food, she is urinating. She does not seem nauseous, and is getting famotidine 2.5mg every 12 hours. But I still have to coax her a little to eat. I also use bonito fish shavings on her food - she loves those, but she is definitely not back to normal.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I would not feed any of the high carb Hills prescription foods or your kitty will come out of remission.
I have to disagree with your vet....fancy feast is quite digestive....most of the kitties on the forum eat it...!!
If your vet wants you to go onto something "better" for the digestion, I'd give your kitty some plain cooked chicken for a week or two until things settle down and then go back cautiously to what you were doing before.
d/d Hills seems to be for skin and food sensitivities...but have you seen what the ingredients are...
The first two ingredients are yellow peas, Pea protein ( both high carb I would think) then venison, green peas, pork fat, powdered cellulose and the rest are all additives/supplements.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

You could try some brand that would have only one ingredient like Nature's variety limited ingredient they have lamb, turkey and chicken that way it would be easier to see if there's one protein that suits her better (there are other brands that offer this kind of products this is the one I thought right away since Babu loves the chicken and the turkey ones)

 

[Martha and Lolly (GA)]

@Bron and Sheba thank you for finding the d/d ingredients, it's what I expected. I'm glad I have the FDMB to remind me of the realities of diabetes and remission. It's as if the Vet thinks long remission means she no longer has diabetes. I wish I could find a Vet who really understands diabetes. How do I trust what they say? She says Fancy Feast is hard on the digestion - of course I trust you and the forum. Lolly just started acting like her old self today. I posted a question asking about possible link between clavamox and vomiting episode.

I tried copying the link here but it didn't seem to work


Thanks you @Veronica & Babu-chiri for Nature's Variety suggestion, I've ordered some.