New diabetic kitty won't eat, Vet stopped insulin!

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CleoandMarni

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Hi all,

Brand new, and I've been trying to read up on this site this week, it's been great. But now I finally have Cleo home, and yes, of course, I'm freaking out. She spent the week with the vet, received IV fluids, insulin, but now that she still isn't eating (it's been a week), the vet has stopped insulin and sent her home with me for the weekend to see if she will eat here. So far she's hardly been able to move, but she hasn't been interested in any food, at all. The vet has advised me to not force her, but how often should I try? I haven't tried the food syringe, but may consider it later. I just don't want her to feel like eating is a punishment, either. Any advice to try to entice her to eat?

Thanks everyone.
 
Your cat needs to eat. You need to assist feed (syringe feed now. You need to get a\a 5.6-6 oz can of cat food into the cat each day. Usually it is better to syringe feed through tout the day. After a day or so a cat get fatty liver from not eating and usually does then not want to eat by themselves.
 
My advice is to take your kitty to an ER vet clinic if there is one in the area. A diabetic kitty not eating and not moving is a poor sign. We see a lot of newly diagnosed cats here in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and you are describing a situation in which this could be happening. It may be an emergency situation for your cat. I highly recommend getting a second opinion now and not wait until Monday.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
Your cat needs to eat. You need to assist feed (syringe feed now. You need to get a\a 5.6-6 oz can of cat food into the cat each day. Usually it is better to syringe feed through tout the day. After a day or so a cat get fatty liver from not eating and usually does then not want to eat by themselves.
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Use an oral syringe (no needle attached) or pet feeding syringe, not an insulin syringe or other syringe with an attached needle. Watered down regular canned food will work. You can also try this recipie: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=30432

But I agree that your cat needs immediate vet treatment. Even if your vet is closed on weekends, call anyways and the after hours business voicemail recording will tell you who to call for emergencies.
 
Ditto on all of the above. YOur kitty needs to eat NOW! One of mine just went thru a horrible 6 wks of illness and hospital stays and ER clinic visits w/DKA, fatty liver, pancreatitis, etc. She eventually got a feeding tube (e-tube) which saved her life. She is doing well now. But a kitty not eating for more than a day is a very serious thing and yours sounds very ill.

If you cannot get her to an ER clinic NOW I would suggest syringe feeding IMMEDIATELY. I would only give about 20mls every hour or so, you don't want it coming back up.

Have you checked her for ketones? This is also very important and if she has ketones she needs emergency treatment right away. We fight ketones w/insulin and calories (Tawny's ER vet also put her on IV fluids, meds and many other things).

We fight ketones w/insulin and calories, I can't believe your vet took her off insulin. What are her BGs running?

Sometimes a kitty that won't eat will eat baby food, the meat kinds were what was recommended by people her for Tawny.
 
Thank you, everyone. Your advice helped me, I was unsure of whether I should try to feed her or not. I have given two oral syringe feedings and it is staying down, so that's good. I live in Brussels, Belgium, so this has been a difficult process to begin with - I don't speak French very well, at all, nor do I speak Dutch. Cleo and Callie made the trip over here with me a year ago today, so my anxiety level over my cats are the same today as they were a year ago. Except last year, it was Callie who wouldn't eat. Anyway, I do like my vet so far, and I am now going to call her and get a plan together for Cleo. Thanks again, I really appreciate it. I hope to be a contributor here for many years...keeping my fingers crossed.
 
CleoandMarni said:
... I live in Brussels, Belgium, so this has been a difficult process to begin with - I don't speak French very well, at all, nor do I speak Dutch. ...
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Maybe this sheet, Translation of Diabetes Terms and Phrases will be helpful. You could print it out and take it with you, in case the translation in one language made more sense than another. I just filled in English to Dutch for you.

I used Google Translate to take a lot of our words and phrases and put them in different languages, so the translations are approximate. Corrective feedback is appreciated.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your cat not eating--I know how distressing that is! We have a cat who twice, we have had to force feed (and inject with fluids) for weeks at a time due to liver problems, and once she regained her health, she still loved us and has a healthy interest in food!

I was looking up the same issue just the other day, and I read on a kidney disease board, that if you present them with food right as they're waking up from a deep sleep, they will instinctively eat. And when my elderly dog who struggles with stomach issues won't eat, I suspect nausea or another GI problem, and she will perk up pretty quickly with something that helps her stomach. I sometimes give her carafate, slippery elm, pepcid, or, when I can get a hold of it, centrine. I don't know how most of these work with kitties with diabetes.

Best of luck to you, Stacy (and GA Henry)
 
I have heard of other people using pepcid for their kitties (can't assist with dose) but be very very careful using other products designed for or used for humans or dogs with cats. Cats are very different creatures and you can end up doing more harm than good so don't use unless you're sure.
 
Thanks again, everyone. I hope this helps others, too. However, I had to say goodbye to my Cleo on Sunday - there were other liver and pancreas issues, and I couldn't prolong her pain in order to put my own mind at ease. She's now hopefully running in big huge meadows and eating whatever she wants. Thanks again. - Marni
 
I am so sorry for your loss, Marni. It's a terrible decision to have to make. Lots of hugs.

For others who might find themselves having to forcefeed, I found strained baby food, specifically lamb or chicken, watered a little, in a syringe or on fingers to be the best, as suggested, just a little at a time, The few times I had to do this with my poor deceased Calli.

Melanie & Racci
 
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