Randa & Mookie
Very Active Member
Hi -- I'm new here and I'm hoping someone can offer advice and encouragement. Our 5-year-old male Mookie, a domestic shorthair, was diagnosed with FD last Friday, 11/25. We were shocked -- he's so young! How could that happen?!
Until three weeks ago Mookie was a healthy, playful kitty. Around that time I noticed a decline in his appetite, which is very unusual! We brought him to the vet for a checkup on Friday, 11/11. She suspected an upset tummy and gave him a famotidine injection, prescribed 2.5mg of a human acid reducer daily, and 3.75mg mirtazapine every three days to stimulate his appetite. His diet at that time consisted of grain-free dry kibble and a variety of premium wet food, fed 3x/day. A week went by with a little improvement in his appetite and activity level, but he was clearly not feeling well.
By Wed 11/23 he was lethargic, anorexic and slightly dehydrated. We brought him to the vet immediately. She gave him subq fluids, took xrays, and took blood and urine for analysis, which had to be sent out to a lab. The only thing unusual on the xrays was a large intestine full of poop! He was constipated, and she recommended an enema. We were ecstatic that it was a relatively simple issue.
Unfortunately, his condition didn't improve, and we started syringe feeding baby food on Thursday (Thanksgiving). Because of the holiday we had to wait until Friday for the lab results. We brought him back on Friday, and she told us he had FD. His blood panel showed glucose at 300; fructosamine at 662. The vet prescribed 1.5U of Lantas twice daily and instructed us on how to give him his shots, which we started on Friday night. She said to continue the syringe feeding so that he gets 300 cal/day, or 3 jars of baby food. We're giving him plain chicken and turkey.
That brings us up to today. I'm slightly less panicky, I've found this forum, and I have about a zillion concerns and questions. Much of my confusion is with the diet/insulin interaction. In Mookie's case, his diabetes is secondary to his anorexia. We've been syringe feeding him every 3 hours and offering dry and wet food. Yesterday he showed interest in food for the first time, but the only kibble he'll eat is Fancy Feast with Chicken & Turkey -- which we offered out of desperation, knowing it was junk food. However, the first three ingredients are brewers rice, poultry by-product meal, and corn gluten meal, and I'm worried about how the low-quality carbs are interacting with the insulin. He's eating some low-carb FF wet food, too. At this point is it more important that he eat, rather than what he eats? Does the timing of shots and meals make a difference with an anorexic cat? Do we need to start home-monitoring his glucose ASAP? (which I didn't know I could do until I found this web site) The vet was supposed to give us a follow-up call yesterday, but we haven't heard from her. Please advise on how to go forward.
Thanks so much!
Zoe and Mookie
Until three weeks ago Mookie was a healthy, playful kitty. Around that time I noticed a decline in his appetite, which is very unusual! We brought him to the vet for a checkup on Friday, 11/11. She suspected an upset tummy and gave him a famotidine injection, prescribed 2.5mg of a human acid reducer daily, and 3.75mg mirtazapine every three days to stimulate his appetite. His diet at that time consisted of grain-free dry kibble and a variety of premium wet food, fed 3x/day. A week went by with a little improvement in his appetite and activity level, but he was clearly not feeling well.
By Wed 11/23 he was lethargic, anorexic and slightly dehydrated. We brought him to the vet immediately. She gave him subq fluids, took xrays, and took blood and urine for analysis, which had to be sent out to a lab. The only thing unusual on the xrays was a large intestine full of poop! He was constipated, and she recommended an enema. We were ecstatic that it was a relatively simple issue.
Unfortunately, his condition didn't improve, and we started syringe feeding baby food on Thursday (Thanksgiving). Because of the holiday we had to wait until Friday for the lab results. We brought him back on Friday, and she told us he had FD. His blood panel showed glucose at 300; fructosamine at 662. The vet prescribed 1.5U of Lantas twice daily and instructed us on how to give him his shots, which we started on Friday night. She said to continue the syringe feeding so that he gets 300 cal/day, or 3 jars of baby food. We're giving him plain chicken and turkey.
That brings us up to today. I'm slightly less panicky, I've found this forum, and I have about a zillion concerns and questions. Much of my confusion is with the diet/insulin interaction. In Mookie's case, his diabetes is secondary to his anorexia. We've been syringe feeding him every 3 hours and offering dry and wet food. Yesterday he showed interest in food for the first time, but the only kibble he'll eat is Fancy Feast with Chicken & Turkey -- which we offered out of desperation, knowing it was junk food. However, the first three ingredients are brewers rice, poultry by-product meal, and corn gluten meal, and I'm worried about how the low-quality carbs are interacting with the insulin. He's eating some low-carb FF wet food, too. At this point is it more important that he eat, rather than what he eats? Does the timing of shots and meals make a difference with an anorexic cat? Do we need to start home-monitoring his glucose ASAP? (which I didn't know I could do until I found this web site) The vet was supposed to give us a follow-up call yesterday, but we haven't heard from her. Please advise on how to go forward.
Thanks so much!
Zoe and Mookie