? New member. New to Lantus- No Appetite

SadieParris

SadieParris

Member Since 2026
Hi there! This is my first post, I just joined the group. I am Sadie and my cat is Hillie.

Hillie, spayed female, born April 2018. Diagnosed October 2025 started Vetsulin and home testing immediately. Switched to Lantus 02/11/2026
No other known health issues for Hillie


It has been a week on Lantus for Hillie and things have been fine so far, I think she’s adapting well and her glucose curve has been much more gentle. With the Lantus I have been giving her more opportunities to eat throughout the day instead of only two big meals a day based on some Lantus specific information I have been reading through. We are still adapting to a new-ish feeding schedule.

No worries until yesterday. She has always been eager to eat and waits for me to wake up to feed her. Yesterday morning she had less interest in food and didn’t eat as much and same thing at dinner time, she ate very little. All day I had a feeling that something might be wrong with her and this morning she had almost zero interest in food and would not eat any of her normal wet food or kibble (that she’s usually crazy about). She did eat a churu however.

Her attitude still seems off- not normal which is my primary worry tbh.

My girl has always been a good eater and usually harasses me for food and races me to the kitchen at meal time but last night (dinner) and now this morning she has very little interest in food and won’t eat her normal food this morning. Like at all and won’t eat her fav treats that she was crazy about 2 days ago. She ate 1 churu slowly at breakfast/shot time (7am), nothing thru the day, and 1/2 churu at dinner/shot time (7pm). I offered everything under the sun, tried to hand feed, tried to squirt food in her mouth with a syringe, tried food toppers- nothing! I’m scared honestly.

I am wondering if you think this change in her attitude and appetite might be associated to the insulin change and her body adjusting (was on Vetsulin for 3ish months)
Looking for opinions? I’m headed to the vet first thing in the morning.

I gave her 1/2 dose (0.5 unit) this evening due to her high glucose levels and not eating.

Should I give her morning shot if she still does not eat?


Spreadsheet for data

Thank you in advance,
A scared cat mom

Hillie (Sadie E) 's Sugar Sheet
 
Last edited:
SadieParris said:
Hi there! This is my first post, I just joined the group. I am Sadie and my cat is Hillie.

Hillie, spayed female, born April 2018. Diagnosed October 2025 started Vetsulin and home testing immediately. Switched to Lantus 02/11/2026
No other known health issues for Hillie


It has been a week on Lantus for Hillie and things have been fine so far, I think she’s adapting well and her glucose curve has been much more gentle. With the Lantus I have been giving her more opportunities to eat throughout the day instead of only two big meals a day based on some Lantus specific information I have been reading through. We are still adapting to a new-ish feeding schedule.

No worries until yesterday. She has always been eager to eat and waits for me to wake up to feed her. Yesterday morning she had less interest in food and didn’t eat as much and same thing at dinner time, she ate very little. All day I had a feeling that something might be wrong with her and this morning she had almost zero interest in food and would not eat any of her normal wet food or kibble (that she’s usually crazy about). She did eat a churu however.

Her attitude still seems off- not normal which is my primary worry tbh.

My girl has always been a good eater and usually harasses me for food and races me to the kitchen at meal time but last night (dinner) and now this morning she has very little interest in food and won’t eat her normal food this morning. Like at all and won’t eat her fav treats that she was crazy about 2 days ago. She ate 1 churu slowly at breakfast/shot time (7am), nothing thru the day, and 1/2 churu at dinner/shot time (7pm). I offered everything under the sun, tried to hand feed, tried to squirt food in her mouth with a syringe, tried food toppers- nothing! I’m scared honestly.

I am wondering if you think this change in her attitude and appetite might be associated to the insulin change and her body adjusting (was on Vetsulin for 3ish months)
Looking for opinions? I’m headed to the vet first thing in the morning.

I gave her 1/2 dose (0.5 unit) this evening due to her high glucose levels and not eating.

Should I give her morning shot if she still does not eat?


Spreadsheet for data

Thank you in advance,
A scared cat mom

Hillie (Sadie E) 's Sugar Sheet
Click to expand...
Hi Sadie,

Welcome to the FDMB. The moderators might move your post to the main forum, as they like for new folks to post there first so that your post gets attention.

It's creates such a complication when diabetic kitties aren't hungry. Have you tried stimulating her appetite with low carb toppers or FortiFlora, etc.? Here is a note that offers other ideas for stimulating the appetite: Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite.

I'm going to let someone with more experience weigh in on whether or not to give her insulin in the a.m. if she isn't eating.

I think it's an excellent idea to get her to vet to see if something is going on--that's what I would do with Jude (in fact, we've just gone through a period of inappetence--Dr. diagnosed an infection). While you are there, you might discuss some medications that can calm nausea and stimulate the appetite: Ondansetron and Cerenia are used for nausea, and Mirataz is used as an appetite stimulant. Those drugs are available in transdermal form. You always want to make sure that the nausea is treated while dosing the Mirataz--you run the risk of creating food aversion if you give Mirataz when a cat is nauseous. Generally, they are great drugs to always have on hand in case you need to boost Hillie's appetite.

I hope you can quickly get to the bottom of this!
 
Mary & Jude said:
Hi Sadie,

Welcome to the FDMB. The moderators might move your post to the main forum, as they like for new folks to post there first so that your post gets attention.

It's creates such a complication when diabetic kitties aren't hungry. Have you tried stimulating her appetite with low carb toppers or FortiFlora, etc.? Here is a note that offers other ideas for stimulating the appetite: Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite.

I'm going to let someone with more experience weigh in on whether or not to give her insulin in the a.m. if she isn't eating.

I think it's an excellent idea to get her to vet to see if something is going on--that's what I would do with Jude (in fact, we've just gone through a period of inappetence--Dr. diagnosed an infection). While you are there, you might discuss some medications that can calm nausea and stimulate the appetite: Ondansetron and Cerenia are used for nausea, and Mirataz is used as an appetite stimulant. Those drugs are available in transdermal form. You always want to make sure that the nausea is treated while dosing the Mirataz--you run the risk of creating food aversion if you give Mirataz when a cat is nauseous. Generally, they are great drugs to always have on hand in case you need to boost Hillie's appetite.

I hope you can quickly get to the bottom of this!
Click to expand...
Hi there! Thanks for the reply.
I tried several tactics to stimulate her eating. None worked.

Should I or can I move this to the main forum? Or just make a new post? Sorry not sure how this all works yet
 
SadieParris said:
Hi there! Thanks for the reply.
I tried several tactics to stimulate her eating. None worked.

Should I or can I move this to the main forum? Or just make a new post? Sorry not sure how this all works yet
Click to expand...
No, you can't move it. It's okay that you've posted here--I just didn't want you to be surprised if someone moved the post.

I'm bumping you up. Let me tag some folks and we'll see if we can attract some attention to your question: @Bandit's Mom @tiffmaxee @Christie & Maverick
 
Hi @SadieParris , welcome to FDMB!

Sorry to hear that Hillie's gone off food! As BG improves, that ravenous hunger that they see in higher numbers can reduce, but other than that, insulin should not affect appetite to this extent - in my experience. Does she look nauseous - licks lips at the sight of food? How is her bowel movement? Constipation can cause loss of appetite. Is it possible that she is blocked with a hairball? My civvie once went off food because of that.

Any other symptoms besides inappetence? Does she have a history of ketones? A diabetic cat not eating can be a cause of concern if there are ketones in the picture.

If this continues, you might want to take her to the vet to see if its pancreatitis, constipation, etc

On another note, it looks like 1U is too low a dose for her. I'm not sure which dosing method you are opting for, but even with SLGS she is due for an increase to 1.25U.
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Hi @SadieParris , welcome to FDMB!

Sorry to hear that Hillie's gone off food! As BG improves, that ravenous hunger that they see in higher numbers can reduce, but other than that, insulin should not affect appetite to this extent - in my experience. Does she look nauseous - licks lips at the sight of food? How is her bowel movement? Constipation can cause loss of appetite. Is it possible that she is blocked with a hairball? My civvie once went off food because of that.

Any other symptoms besides inappetence? Does she have a history of ketones? A diabetic cat not eating can be a cause of concern if there are ketones in the picture.

If this continues, you might want to take her to the vet to see if its pancreatitis, constipation, etc

On another note, it looks like 1U is too low a dose for her. I'm not sure which dosing method you are opting for, but even with SLGS she is due for an increase to 1.25U.
Click to expand...
Hi there. Thanks for the reply.
I honestly can’t tell if she’s nauseous. She doesn’t have any reaction to food. But about 10 minutes ago, after giving her like 10 options for food she finally took 3-4 licks of a wet food and some gravy from a different wet food.

I don’t know about her BM. I have 3 cats so it’s not the easiest for me to see who’s doing what. I do know she’s peed a few times today (she pees in the tub).

Hairballs are unlikely- she’s almost 8 and I’ve never seen her have one. She’s shorthair.

Other symptoms are just her mood being off- not interested in playing or being brushed and never left the bathroom today. Usually she wanders the whole house. She didn’t nap in her normal spot either. She naps there every day but not today. She is also interested in water. Doesn’t really want to drink it so much but keeps wanting me to turn the sink on and she likes to dip her feet in the water. A lot of that today.
No history of ketones. I don’t have at home testing tools for ketones. Will ask vet to test tomorrow.

I was planning to go up to 1.25un yesterday evening actually but decided to wait until her appetite returned before I increased the dose.
 
SadieParris said:
Hi there! This is my first post, I just joined the group. I am Sadie and my cat is Hillie.

Hillie, spayed female, born April 2018. Diagnosed October 2025 started Vetsulin and home testing immediately. Switched to Lantus 02/11/2026
No other known health issues for Hillie


It has been a week on Lantus for Hillie and things have been fine so far, I think she’s adapting well and her glucose curve has been much more gentle. With the Lantus I have been giving her more opportunities to eat throughout the day instead of only two big meals a day based on some Lantus specific information I have been reading through. We are still adapting to a new-ish feeding schedule.

No worries until yesterday. She has always been eager to eat and waits for me to wake up to feed her. Yesterday morning she had less interest in food and didn’t eat as much and same thing at dinner time, she ate very little. All day I had a feeling that something might be wrong with her and this morning she had almost zero interest in food and would not eat any of her normal wet food or kibble (that she’s usually crazy about). She did eat a churu however.

Her attitude still seems off- not normal which is my primary worry tbh.

My girl has always been a good eater and usually harasses me for food and races me to the kitchen at meal time but last night (dinner) and now this morning she has very little interest in food and won’t eat her normal food this morning. Like at all and won’t eat her fav treats that she was crazy about 2 days ago. She ate 1 churu slowly at breakfast/shot time (7am), nothing thru the day, and 1/2 churu at dinner/shot time (7pm). I offered everything under the sun, tried to hand feed, tried to squirt food in her mouth with a syringe, tried food toppers- nothing! I’m scared honestly.

I am wondering if you think this change in her attitude and appetite might be associated to the insulin change and her body adjusting (was on Vetsulin for 3ish months)
Looking for opinions? I’m headed to the vet first thing in the morning.

I gave her 1/2 dose (0.5 unit) this evening due to her high glucose levels and not eating.

Should I give her morning shot if she still does not eat?


Spreadsheet for data

Thank you in advance,
A scared cat mom

Hillie (Sadie E) 's Sugar Sheet
Click to expand...
Just a small update… Hillie has been hospitalized. Critically low potassium and is on the verge of DKA. They want her to stay 2-3 days but I cannot afford that and I’m in shambles. I feel so lost and confused and sad. She’s staying overnight and Im expecting an update in the early morning hours… if things don’t get better I’m afraid it might be the end of the road for my poor girl :( I have no idea what to do. I feel so bad
 
Oh, Sadie, I’m so sorry to hear your precious Hillie is so sick. As we say here on the forum, I am sending all the healing vines 🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃. I hope she will quickly respond to the treatment she’s receiving. Please keep us posted.
 
Talk to your vet about managing this at home. You may need to learn how to give fluids -- it's really not hard.

Managing ketones involves getting enough insulin into your cat + enough calories + managing any infection that may be present. If Hillie isn't that interested in food, an appetite stimulant will help. It will do double duty -- she'll eat and you'll be able to give insulin. Fluids also help to dilute the ketones. The difficulty with at home management is whether your cat needs electrolytes in which case frequent blood tests are needed and the electrolytes are generally managed with an IV. Those are things you can't do at home. If hospitalization is the only/best recourse, you could see if your vet would be willing to discuss a payment plan or you could check into care credit.

We also have a post on fundraising so that may be an option to support your vet cost.
 
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