new member, much advice needed

Ayumu

Ayumu

Member Since 2026
Hello, forgive me in advance if this gets incoherent I am quite a basketcase tonight.
My Hanya is 13 years old, we took him to the vet wednesday after 2 days of him refusing to eat and drinking a crazy amount of water. Multiple tests show everything is fine except his blood sugar is high (they said still in grey zone but right on the edge of that). Fructosamine test confirmed it wasn't just vet stress.
Today they sent me home with senvelgo, said to put it on food... reading the drug paperwork states clearly you don't give this to an anorexic cat.
I think I'd rather just get him on insulin, preferably human-grade so I could purchase it through my prescription discounts, but the issue then is still, I can get him to eat maybe a tablespoon of wet throughout the entire day and everything I am reading says absolutely do not start them on insulin if they can't eat.
I need to call the vet in the morning, I need help to figure out what to say/what to request, and just any advice on what I'm to do to help my sweet little son of the void.

Please help.
 
Also, he's been a grazer of dry food his entire life, and is on royal canin urinary care (otc formula) due to 2 instances of urethra blockages about 5 years ago.
 
Hello and welcome. What are you feeding him now? Still the urinary care dry? Here are some tips that might get him to eat:
When my cat Neko was diagnosed, a week later my other cat got a cystitis diagnosis, because of a blockage. I asked his vet what he and Neko could eat - she liked to steal his high carb "vet" food. The vet suggested raw food. Which I gave both of them and it helped her blood sugars and his cystitis. Later I found that any wet food with preferably low phosphorus and lots of water added would work just as well. Here is more information on what to feed cats with urinary issues: Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection. This is a website written by a vet specializing in feline nutrition. More tips from her that might help later: Transitioning your cat from dry to wet food

Here is a post that talks about Senvelgo (and Bexacat, the pill form). Look at the section on what makes these medications contraindicated: New Treatments for Feline Diabetes. Some cats do well on Senvelgo, as long as they are a good candidate for it.

You might want to test him for ketones. I worry when I read about a newly diabetic cat that won't eat. What is his activity level? Here is a post on how to use Ketostix or other urinary test sticks to test for ketones. You absolutely do not want to start Senvelgo if any ketones present. Here is a post with about Ketones, and another post on tips on how to test for them. Tips to catch and test a urine sample. There are also ketones meters that test ketones from a blood sample.
 
I can get him to eat a tiny bit of the wet urinary care, I cooked up some chicken, he might eat a bite. He'll eat some of the churus. But for the most part ignores everything. I know they took some wee during testings, but I think it was just for glucose, they said a week after starting the senvelgo they would test for ketones. With how very picky he is, there's no way he's gonna eat that medication, and with him not eating, I don't want to give him the meds.
 
I wouldn't wait that long to test for ketones. Been helping another cat here, vet said do Bexacat. Caregiver tested for ketones at home before starting Bexacat. Found ketones were high and took him off to the vet who found he was in DKA. Thankfully sounds like caught it early. Waiting a week to test for ketones can be too late.
 
Since I don't have any testing supplies for anything yet, should I have them test him tomorrow for ketones to see what we're at and then like, give him an appetite stimulant or something since he's just not wanting to eat. Also, in the last year he did lose a pound, so this has been an ongoing thing we were just not aware of till the anorexia began.
 
You can get ketones testing strips at any human pharmacy. Ketostix is one such brand.

Asking the vet for an antinausea medication is a good idea. Ondansetron or Cerenia (maropitant) are the options. Treat any nausea first, then do the appetite stimulant. You don't want to compel a nauseous cat to eat - it could put them further off that food. You also don't want him going more than a day without eating anything. That can lead to additional problems.

One of the symptoms of diabetes is losing weight, as they aren't properly able to process their food.
 
Given he can be skittish and I'm unsure if I'll be able to capture a wee, would it be acceptable to get a blood ketone tester? I think ketosense is what it's called? It's for humans though, would the readings differ when it comes to cats?
I'll request something for nausea, see if that prompts him to start eating so we can try to get him started on the meds at some point... I don't want to wait too long but it feels like he's too delicate right now to start up.
 
I am reading up on all I can right now, but it's an overwhelming amount of information and paired with me just insanely worried about him... yeah...
 
Keto Mojo, Nova Max Plus, and Abbott Precision Xtra are a few of the common blood meter. They are all human meters and can be used on cats. Tips on blood testing here: Hometesting Links and Tips including videos.

Yes, the learning curve is steep to start. That's why many of us hang around to help others even when our cats are gone. Just paying back the favour someone gave to us. Take a big breath, you CAN do this.
 
Vet is refusing to give me anti nausea meds and saying he should just go to er vet in the town over...
 
Okay, vet gave him fluids and a 24 hour anti nausea shot, and strips to increase appetite if needed. They blood tested his ketones at 0.1 so he's alright for now. Here's hoping I can get some food in him.
 
The anti nausea shot is Cerenia. Fluids should also help him. Any interest in food yet? Did the vet mention an appetite stimulant? Mirataz - an ointment you put in their ear is what I'd suggest.
 
They gave me that ointment, and a few hours after the shot when he showed no interest in food I rubbed a dose in his ear. Still no eating. He perks up when he smells food, he comes over, pushes it around, licks off any gravy (I got a couple different cat foodsand doesn't want it. I can get him to eat a little churu, sometimes a few crunchy greenies. I offered him little bits of chicken nuggets, licked a few pieces but didn't actually eat any.
When he's awake he's vocal and bright eyed, but it's like he's just content to starve himself to death before I even have a chance to try to help him. And as I type this he woke up, came and rubbed all over me for love and got some water but just bypasses all the food.
 
Okay we got half a jar o baby food down! Gonna give him the other half in a little bit. I get the ketone/glucose monitoring stuff sometime tomorrow, figure if I can get him to eat that stuff throughout tomorrow and his blood numbers are okay, monday morning I can in theory start the medication, then I can monitor him until he sees the vet friday... and we go from there. Hopefully mixing the meds up in his favorite thing in the world (the churus) gets him to accept it.
 
Oki so I got him eating baby food, going to start pureeing normal cat food and mixing that in to get him back on normal food as we go. Started his meds today, buried in churu, he did find it a little sus but kept adding more treat till he licked the plate clean. Should get new meter today (one I got yesterday of course had a busted display... mother of pearl...). Friday he goes to vet for them to ketone test and do a glucose curve. How often do I need to be testing him at home?
 
Sounds like a good plan on the food.

Once you are testing regularly at home, you don't need to go to the vets for curves. In fact, cats often get stressed at the vet and blood sugars go higher so it's not representative of what you'll see at home. Hence, it's actually better to test at home. I'm not sure what the recommendations are for how frequently to test at home. If you take a look at the threads of people posting on our Bexacat and Senvelgo sub forum, you may get an idea what is typical. I think the ketone testing is fairly regular for the first while, as that's when the risk of DKA is highest.
 
Yeah, I'll have to see how well I can do with him, if he's agreeable and I can get testing done without too much stress I was going to call them and tell them that I'll test and give them the numbers.
 
Try raising the food bowl four to six inches.
A nauseous cat does not want to put their head lower than their body because it makes them more nauseous. Just like humans.
An upside down cookie tin works well. It has a small rim to help prevent the bowl from sliding off.
 
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