Lux is refusing to eat... any ideas?

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luxthekitty

Member Since 2013
Hi everyone,

Lux is refusing to eat again. I've tried a variety of canned foods (Purina DM, Friskies, Wellness...). Tried heating it up, catnip. Tried to trick him with treats as encouragement/to get his appetite going. He just came out of DKA from the weekend... I do NOT want this to happen again.

Any ideas?! I'm so worried
 
Go and get some stage one gerber baby food... either chicken or turkey (make sure to check ingredients on the back and all it should have in it is Chicken and Corn Starch or Turkey and Corn Strach... Also go and get a 3 mL syringe can usually purchased from Walmart or CVS. Putt baby food in microwave for about 10 seconds (want it luke warm) and try to sryinge feed until his appetite kick starts... You can also try some of my tricks of the trade which is 9 lives ocean white tuna fish which is actually pretty stinky. The gerber Baby food is the easiest to sryinge feed. You want to get in about 2 to 3 jars minimum a day... I had to do this for Lincoln a diabetic kitty we pulled from a kill shetler and had a pretty severe cold. You can also call your vet about appetite stimulants like mertazapine.. Is the kitty licking lips? if has upset tummy may want to try to give some Pepcid AC (1/4 tab) to settle tummy.
 
Since this is kind of urgent - ask your vet if they carry FortiFlora. Its in an animal digest and many cats really love the smell/flavor. When you have time, ordering it online is less expensive.

You can make a broth to add to the food - snag some chicken and simmer until really cooked down. The cooled broth may be added to the food, along with any of the shredded chicken meat (up to 1/5 of the meal may be just meat, per Dr Pierson of Cat Info.
 
I've also used Walmart's brand of probiotic to help with appy stim. My cats seem to like the taste.
Syringe feeding is a good option. Also make sure you are syringing water to Lux so that he doesn't get dehydrated.
 
So glad Lux pulled through this past episode and your responded to my PM. I was almost afraid to ask nailbite_smile I'm glad to see you posting for help on the board also.

He is young but there is a kitty here that was dx'd as a kitten. My Hope was dx'd at age 3, Mishka at age 5.

What PZI are you using? Is it Prozinc or from some compounding pharmacy? The PZI may just not be the correct insulin for him.....he may do better on Lantus or Levemir. His dose is not that high that the vet should be thinking of insulin resistance. Are they checking to see if he has any infection going on right now?
Did they send you home with any fluids to give him in case they are needed? Is he showing signs of dehydration? Pick skin up at scruff....should snap right back down. Also keep an eye on the color of his skin inside his ears or his gums....you see any hint of yellow (jaundice) showing he needs to go in.

I would definitely ask the vet for an appetite stimulant because you don't want fatty liver to start up. Also, have you tried any of the Fancy Feast flavors? There are several that are gluten free...believe Tender Beef and Chopped Grill are two of them. DM is a waste of money and cats just stop eating it.

Just keep updating on Lux and you'll get all the help you need.

Did he use to eat dry food? Several years ago Hope decided to quit eating any canned but I did find she would chow down on the DM dry so......for several weeks we ate that and I worked insulin around the bg numbers. She then decided to go back to her canned food. Main thing is, no matter what they want, good or bad, give it to get him over this hump.
 
I would have them also check him to see if he has pancreatitis. Might want to do that if you are already at the vets.

Terri
 
Hi there :cool:

I'm on my lunch break and have to be brief - apologies. Also, I have not yet read you previous post regarding the DKA episode.

My Black Kitty has been hospitalized for DKA twice.

In order to avoid a relapse of the DKA your kitty must eat, stay well hydrated and get enough insulin. Also, any infections, underlying or obvious must be cleared up; this includes gingivitis.

If it takes (canned) high carb food to get him to eat - let him have it. The effects of high carb on the BGs can be off set with insulin and once over the hump you can transition back to low carb. I've also heard that Kentucky fried chicken, minus the skin, can get a kitty eating again.

In general, a kitty that is recovering from DKA should consume 1.5 times the calories needed to maintain their weight.

This is a critical period and you must remain vigilant, even after he pulls through.

Keep us updated . . .
 
I totally agree with Sandy. Lux needs to eat, and a lot. If you need to give him a higher carb food and up his insulin, then that's what it takes. Have you checked his urine for ketones?
 
Hi everyone!

Lux has been in and out of the vet because of him not wanting to eat. He is there now-- they just called me actually to ask me about the option of an esophagostomy tube which I think is a huge step that I am not willing to take yet. They have been syringe feeding him at the vet and just started him on appetite stimulants. His pancreas is okay and he doesn't have any ketones so that's good. He is a little dehydrated so they have been giving him fluids for that but not at home.

Does anyone have experience with an e-tube? I think it sounds like a really big jump and worries me :(. I think for now I will try to syringe feed him at home with a high protein/calorie food if need be..

We switched him to Lantus today-- he was previously on ProZinc. The PZI didn't seem to be helping so I'm hoping the Lantus will show improvements and he will feel better and get his appetite back as a result!

The strangest part is that he seems like he wants to eat-- he comes running when I open the food and rubs at my feet. He follows me into the room and sniffs it and then just walks away or stares and purrs at the food. I don't understand!
 
Also-- I do leave the Purina DM Dry food out for him but it's hard to say how much of it he actually eats since we have 2 cats
 
If he is nauseus, you'll see that behavior.

What are you giving for nausea? If only giving an appetite stimulant, it won't help until you deal with the nausea first.

An e-tube may save his life; you aren't likely to syringe feed enough food easily.
 
He doesn't seem to be nauseous-- he hasn't thrown up at all and aside from being lethargic (energy is low from not eating and glucose being high) he seems to be okay.

I will definitely do the E-Tube if I have to, and I would love all of your inputs on that. He means the world to me. I just wonder if there is anything else to try first :(
 
Nausea may not include vomiting.

Empirical trial: pick up some Pepcid AC, cut a quarter tablet, and give it to him, chased with about an mL of water. See if that enables him to eat.

There is an assisted-feeding group on Yahoo; I'll look up the address.

Here it is:

Yahoo Feline Assisted Feeding
 
Thank you so much BJM! Going to check out that site now and I will pick up some Pepcid AC on my way home from work to see if I have any luck with that. You are all so wonderful for helping offer advice! My nerves are shot worrying about my poor baby
 
I have worked with a few kitties needing a feeding tube to include one kitty we rescued that refused to eat for 6 weeks straight. It can be actually much less stressful to some cat to use a feeding tube because you aren't constantly trying to shove things down their mouth. If he has lost a good amount of weight and was over weight then he could be close to fatty liver disease which will require a feeding tube and typically takes about 5 to 6 weeks to recover from even with that. Fatty liver disease can start within three days of a cat not eating and the cat becomes jaundiced (yellow) because the liver is shutting down. They also begin to get a sulferic taste in their mouth which makes them not want to eat even more. If the kitty is getting fatty liver then you may want to go ahead and place in a feeding tube. This will allow you to get in more food expanding the tummy and will help him get that "hungry" feelng again.
 
If the kitty has or is on antibiotics this will also make a kitty stop eating (especially clavamox) and it given on an empty tummy. NEVER GIVE ANTIBIOTIC ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. If the kitty is vomiting and you are trying Pepcid AC but that keeps vomitting up to then recommend Famatodine (injectable pepcid) to help settle the kitties tummy
 
Does Lux tolerate syringe feeding? If not then if he does not eat himself a feeding tube is then necessary. Three of my kitties have been syringe fed for over a year since they very frequently do not eat on their own.
 
Lux has been home all weekend, thank god, and been eating on his own!! I am filled with joy. Let's hope he keeps it up!! Hope you all had a great Easter!
 
:RAHCAT :dizcat I am so glad to see a post by you. This is fantastic news to read because I sent you 3 pm's asking how Lux was, did he get a feeding tube, etc. and no response so I end up thinking the worst.

What a wonderful Easter for you and I hope he keeps eating and stays ketone free.
 
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