Need advice! Diabetic cat refusing to eat/vomiting

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crazyride

crazyride

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Hello, I was looking to get some advice if I could. I haven't been to these boards in a while, since my cat had gone into remission at the end of May, but unfortunately his diabetes returned with a vengeance about a month and a half ago, so he is back on insulin (Lantus 1 unit/twice daily) and has been doing well. (Before going back on insulin he had dropped about 2lbs and began over-grooming to the point of bald patches in his coat. Vet smelled ketosis on his breath right away, and found his blood sugar was elevated. Put him back on insulin, has gained weight back, and hair is growing back) For more information on his original diagnosis, see my introduction post ( here: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=42732 )

Anyway. My concern is the fact that he has not been acting like himself for the last day or so. By that, I mean extra tired, doesn't seem to do much other than lay down, as well as refusing to eat his food. He will try to eat off my plate, or catch a few pieces of food if they fall out of the dog dish, but is refusing his own cat food. He's also vomited at least 3 times that I know of (thought it could be more. I live with my parents, who tend to clean things up and not tell me) my concern is that this could have been going on for longer, as I just got out of a week long hospital stay myself, and have only been home a little over a day. My parents have just said he "hasn't been eating much" while I was gone, but by the looks of what I put out, vs what he is eating, I wouldn't even say he is eating 1/10 his average food.

I'm really concerned. His vet is closed tomorrow, and I'm wondering if I need to think about a trip to the emergency vet tomorrow. Funds are incredibly limited, due to my own health problems, and because I work for my vet, I can get a discount if I wait. However, my discount is not more important if you think this is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. I have no way of testing his blood sugar right now, so I'm mostly just worried, and scared that something may happen to him before Tuesday. Help! Thanks in advance.

Tracy and Kitty
 
Hi, Not eating and vomiting can be caused by many things. And considering that you are not sure exactly how long this has been going on, if it were me, I would get my cat to the vet tomorrow. I understand being low on money, but if you don't go to an "Emergency Vet" but rather a regular Vet that can check his Blood Glucose and for a possible Fever hopefully they would just charge for a Regular Office Visit. I'll say a prayer for your kitty! Best of luck!!
 
If a ER vet is too expensive, I would call around tomorrow and find a vet that is open normal hours and try to get in. just to be safe. If you can't find a vet, it might be a good idea to go to the ER vet.

The only thing I can think of for vomiting, is to give fluids and also give 1/4 of a 10mg Pepcid AC tablet, for an upset tummy. (someone should confirm this for me, if possible)

What kind of food does he normally eat?.. maybe trying a different kind would be a good idea.


You mention not having a way to check his glucose right now. I would suggest going to Walmart in the morning and picking up a ReliOn Micro meter (they are $8 or $9), some lancets and test strips, then you can test at home. It will probably cost about $25 or $30 total for everything you will need. It will be worth it!



Good luck and keep us posted!

Sarah
 
Tracy

I would get him in right away. Just to have him checked. Many things could be going on but the main worry would be pancreatitis. They can run a test for that to check for it. The not eating and the vomiting are quite worrysome especially for a diabetic kitty.

Terri
 
tracy, i agree with terri. this is an urgent situation - a cat isn't able to tolerate very long without eating.

if you can take Kitty in right now, that's what i would do. if it's completely not possible, you need to force him to eat. water down his food and either syringe it or use your finger to get it into him. this sounds critical to me, like either pancreatitis or diabetic ketoacidosis. both of those need insulin, food and water to pull the cat out of the crisis.
 
He ate the whole plate of food I'd left out for him last night, and seems a bit more spry this morning, meowing and dancing around his food bowl. I have a key to my office, and actually got the OK from the doc/owner to run up there and let myself in to borrow some testing supplies and find out what's going on with him. I was worried he may be going back into remission and the continuation of insulin shots are making him sick, but I don't know if that's how that works. I'm running up to get that, and will let you guys know what I find out. Thank you for the quick responses!
 
I'm so glad to hear that he's eating and dancing around his food bowl and acting more spry.
 
Eating and more alert are great signs! While a newbie to these boards myself, I'm sure others know more about it though.

Good luck and well wishes!
 
Anyone heard how Kitty is doing???? What his numbers are? Do you have ketone strips that you could borrow from your office?
Please let us know nailbite_smile
Glad to know that he ate, what kind of dog food was he getting to snag? could that be making him not feel so well?
 
On my way home now to test him. He seems to have made a complete change since yesterday, much more alert and eating whatever you put out, pretty much his usual self. Even came out for a few rounds of "lets smack the puppy in the face, and then see how fast I can run away to get him to crash into the baby gate I can jump over." The dog food he stole is a high calorie performance food for my 5 month old golden retriever (nutri-source super performance) but at most, he'd not get more than two or three kibbles, as the puppy is a ravenous eater and scarfs his food up before Kitty gets a chance to even sniff in it's direction. I've been holding back his insulin since he'd been refusing to eat, so I'm wondering if the lack of insulin shots is making him feel better (could be going back into remission and the shots could be making his blood sugar crash) but I will know more tomorrow. I'm a lot less concerned since he hasn't vomited since Saturday night, and has eaten late last night/today. I will probably try to do a full glucose curve on him tomorrow, and I'll post his numbers. While going back into remission is an exciting thought, it's frustrating because the doctor had said he will probably just live out the rest of his life going in and out of remission. Luckily all his other blood tests and urine cultures have come back normal every time we test him. I'm fortunate to have such a great discount that allows me to run extensive testing on him more frequently (because I'm a worry wart!)

I just feel awful because I worry his roller coaster of health issues are my fault for bringing a puppy into the mix. Kitty grew up with a Golden, but one that was older and much more mellow than a crazy puppy is. I'm very careful that I don't let the puppy chase or hurt the cat in any way, and have baby gates up throughout the house so that Kitty still has places he can go to be alone, and get away when the dog is annoying him. I keep their food and water separated in different rooms, but I still hope that I didn't make things worse for him :(

Anyway, headed home. Will let you know what his numbers are when I get them! Thank you so much, you guys are just wonderfully supportive and really help when I'm worried about my little furry baby.
 
Tracy

I brought a new kitten into the household a year and half ago. She is the most predatory meanest thing I have ever seen and I am forever getting after her for attacking the older cats. I had 3 old cats when I brought her home, I have since lost 2 of then. I wondered if maybe she had a little to do with some of the escalating health problems of the older cats but I will never know. I wish now I would have adopted an older cat. My one old cat I have now does fight back every now again but I think he is just to old to deal with it.
So I know what you mean wondering about the puppy and the cat if its making things worse.

Terri
 
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