Newly Diagnosed Cat Keeps Vomiting

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Wendy&Lewis

Wendy&Lewis

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Hi,
My name is Wendy and I'm new here. Not sure if this is the right board to post questions, please let me know if it's not.

My beloved cat Lewis was diagnosed with diabetes last Saturday. It's been 5 days but I feel like 5 years...

Lewis is a neutered male cat, almost 6 years old. Two years ago he had urinary tract problem and was on Purina UR prescription dry food ever since. Some special days (2-3 times/week) I gave him Fancy Feast Appetizer or Classic canfood for treat. He absolutely loves it.

I took him to vet because he was vomiting (like 2-3 times a week), accompanied with some diarrhea. His initial BG was 470. We did urination check and luckily, no ketone found. My vet gave me PZI and told me to give him injections twice per day, 1 unit each time. So I did. I also changed his diet to wet food-only.

However, we could not start a set routine for insulin injections and diet because of his vomiting problem... His stool is almost normal now (sometimes it's a little mushy but my vet said not to worry about it), but he keeps vomiting up his food.

Monday, he vomitted up his food twice. I was feeding him Purina DM can food, so I thought he might not like the food. I switched to Fancy Feast Appetizer and Wellness can food, trying to figure out which one he likes better. My vet also gave me Famotidine to mix with his food at every meal and Propulsid--which is an oral medication that I need to give him 30 minutes before eating, 2-3 times/day.

Due to his vomiting, I skipped one insulin shot on Monday morning. Only one shot Monday night.

Tuesday, I fed him 6 little meals throughout the day. So no vomit. But because he was eating tiny amount every time, I was worried the insulin might be too much and did not give him the morning shot. One shot Tuesday night.

Wednesday, took him to the vet before breakfast and morning shot. Got the AMPS BG, which was 500!!! My vet used a home test kit for that BG test just to show me how to use it at home....however, I fainted at the sight of blood.....which was quite a disaster.

That said, I couldn't do any home test yet. Felt like a loser and I deicided to make it today....but, Lewis vomited up his breakfast in the morning. I gave him another round of food, and gave him the insulin shot. Everything was fine until noon...he vomited again. I called my vet, he told me to feed him frequently but very small amount each time, so I'm doing it. My vet also changed his mind--before he told me to skip one insulin shot if he vomits, now he said please go ahead give him the injection and feed him a little more later, because his BG is not being controlled very well.

His last meal was about 1 hour ago. He does not seem very energetic and playful right now, not a good sign. Usually he would be very happy and playful after eating. :sad:

I'm so worried about him. Sorry for the long post, and here are my main questions:

1. I know I'm doing a poor job regulating him, but I'm really worried about his vomiting problem right now. I just hope he'll stop vomiting soon so that I can put him on a regular diet and hopefully do his BG curve soon (my fainting will go away, I have confidence). Is it normal for a sugar cat to vomit up his food that frequently?

2. Is Fancy Feast Appetizer a good choice for sugar cat? I've tried different types of wet food, but it seems this is by far his favorite. I'm definitely open to suggestions.

3. I live in Northern Virginia, but my vet is in Gaithersburg, Maryland (we used to live close by). It's such a long distance to drive up there so it becomes inconvenient since we have to go up there frequently now. Can anyone recommend a good vet (with experience dealing with diabetic cats preferred) in NoVA area?

Thank you all for reading.

A very worried mom
 
Hi and welcome. First breathe. Treating diabetes isn't a sprint, it is more like a marathon. However, the learning curve at the start is quite steep as you read, read and re-read information and absorb it. Then it starts to make sense.

First....did you have any bloodwork run at either vet visit? Reason for asking is that vomiting is not often a sign of diabetes...but it is a symptom of lots of other things, especially infections or other things that make kitty feel icky. Many of those things can be ruled out or at least start to be narrowed down through a complete bloodwork panel.

Secondly, glucose levels are not a static thing. They change all the time in humans as well as in felines. So just because you got a test result of 500 one time and 470 another, it doesn't mean that they are at those numbers all the time. Glucose levels are affected by insulin, food, stress, exercise, infections, and so many things. Even an allergic reaction to something can cause discomfort and raise the level. And if your cat gets stressed going to the vet, the number gotten by a test there may be artificially raised due to that stress (if the test had been done at home in the cat's comfort zone, it could easily be much lower...but likely still too high to be ignored).

We strongly encourage hometesting glucose levels around here. I would never give my daughter an insulin shot (if she were diabetic) without testing and knowing it was safe to do so.....and I treated both of my diabetic cats the same way. If you are interested in learning, we can provide you with the information to learn how to do it.

I know others will be along with other questions and feedback, but welcome.
 
Thank you Karen for the reply.

First off, yes, we did the blookwork last Saturday, and X-ray, too. My vet couldn't find a clear reason for the vomiting...

As for hometesting, I understand the importance of it. Vomiting just makes everything even more complicated. But anyways, I will try to do hometesting tomorrow...hopefully he won't vomit and I won't faint... :oops:
 
Wendy, why is Lewis being given Propulsid? Has he had constipation trouble? That is usually what Propulsid is used for....especially in megacolon kitties. I would suggest you give Lewis his Famotadine a good hour before every meal, not with the meal. It will help settle the stomach much better than way. I feel you also know how very important hometesting is going to be so hoping you will be able to do that. Do you have Ketostix for testing the urine for ketones?
 
Wendy&Lewis said:
2. Is Fancy Feast Appetizer a good choice for sugar cat? I've tried different types of wet food, but it seems this is by far his favorite. I'm definitely open to suggestions.
Click to expand...

No. Fancy Feast Appetiziers are supplements (snacks) because they do not contain any vitamins or minerals: Fancy Feast Appetizers are intended for supplemental feeding only. This product may be fed daily along with a complete and balanced cat food diet.

The regular Fancy Feast are fine, though not all are low carb enough for a diabetic cat. Use the "old" food chart to see which varieties are low carb (under 10% carbs): http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html There's a "new" chart as well: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html

Keep trying different brands of food. Try different textures, flavors, etc to see what your cat likes. Have you tried Weruva? It's chunks or slices of meat or fish, kind of like the Fancy Feast Appetizers. Weruva is 100% nutritionally complete. http://www.weruva.com The comapny claims that their food is low carb at something like 6% but members here have found that some varieties do spike bgs. Look for the varieties that do not contain rice. Paw Lickin Chicken and Mack and Jack are two low carb varieties that my cat liked.

Raw food is another option. You can make your own using a recipie or buy a commerical brand.
 
Hope + (((Baby)))GA said:
Wendy, why is Lewis being given Propulsid? Has he had constipation trouble? That is usually what Propulsid is used for....especially in megacolon kitties. I would suggest you give Lewis his Famotadine a good hour before every meal, not with the meal. It will help settle the stomach much better than way. I feel you also know how very important hometesting is going to be so hoping you will be able to do that. Do you have Ketostix for testing the urine for ketones?
Click to expand...

He did not have constipation trouble. I was a little surprised as well after googling Propulsid.

I tried to give Lewis Famotadine this evening about 40 minutes before his meal, let's hope he won't vomit tonite (fingers and paws crossed).

My friend has sent me Ketostix. I'm waiting for that. According to the Saturday checkup, no ketones...
 
Kira & Twink said:
It could easily be IBD. My Twink vomited non-stop until we got her on steroids. Of course steroids aren't good for her, so now we're trying a gluten-free diet instead and it's going surprisingly well. Is the fancy feast you're feeding your cat one of the gluten-free ones? http://www.felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm
Click to expand...

Thank you so much Kira! I was discussing with my vet after I saw your reply. He said IBD is possible. He has suggested me to give Lewis some rabbit meat can food that I'm gonna pick up tomorrow.
 
squeem3 said:
Wendy&Lewis said:
2. Is Fancy Feast Appetizer a good choice for sugar cat? I've tried different types of wet food, but it seems this is by far his favorite. I'm definitely open to suggestions.
Click to expand...

No. Fancy Feast Appetiziers are supplements (snacks) because they do not contain any vitamins or minerals: Fancy Feast Appetizers are intended for supplemental feeding only. This product may be fed daily along with a complete and balanced cat food diet.

The regular Fancy Feast are fine, though not all are low carb enough for a diabetic cat. Use the "old" food chart to see which varieties are low carb (under 10% carbs): http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html There's a "new" chart as well: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html

Keep trying different brands of food. Try different textures, flavors, etc to see what your cat likes. Have you tried Weruva? It's chunks or slices of meat or fish, kind of like the Fancy Feast Appetizers. Weruva is 100% nutritionally complete. http://www.weruva.com The comapny claims that their food is low carb at something like 6% but members here have found that some varieties do spike bgs. Look for the varieties that do not contain rice. Paw Lickin Chicken and Mack and Jack are two low carb varieties that my cat liked.

Raw food is another option. You can make your own using a recipie or buy a commerical brand.
Click to expand...

Wow, good to know. Thanks a lot.

I will definitely make him some food. I tried raw beef the other day, he seemed enjoying it. :razz: Will do more in the future.
 
Cindy + Mousie said:
fwiw, i was thinking IBD also actually when i read the initial post, i.e. vomiting, soft stool, etc....
Click to expand...

Yea, after reading more and more about IBD, I was kinda surprised why my vet never brought that up....
 
i had a civie that had mild IBD. her main symptom was chronic diarhea. within 24 hours of starting her on raw rabbit, the diarhea went away. my cat's case was mild by most standards though
 
Cindy + Mousie said:
i had a civie that had mild IBD. her main symptom was chronic diarhea. within 24 hours of starting her on raw rabbit, the diarhea went away. my cat's case was mild by most standards though
Click to expand...

Raw rabbit? Like completely raw? Did you chop it into small pieces or give her the ground rabbit?

Thanks!
 
Wendy&Lewis said:
I will definitely make him some food. I tried raw beef the other day, he seemed enjoying it. :razz: Will do more in the future.
Click to expand...

Raw is great for cats :smile: There's a good recipie to use at http://catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood

http://www.catnutrition.org has another recipie.

Raw meat by itself is not nutritionally adequate for cats. You need to add in vitamins and minerals or follow a "Frankenprey" model of raw feeding which is feeding raw meat, bones, and organs.

Short of making your own raw from scratch, you can use a pre-mix with the meat of your choice. http://www.tcfeline.com/ and http://www.knowbetterpetfood.com/cat_fo ... in_the_raw and http://www.knowwhatyoufeed.com/alnutrin ... ments.html are three pre-mixes that I am aware of.



Wendy&Lewis said:
Cindy + Mousie said:
i had a civie that had mild IBD. her main symptom was chronic diarhea. within 24 hours of starting her on raw rabbit, the diarhea went away. my cat's case was mild by most standards though
Click to expand...

Raw rabbit? Like completely raw? Did you chop it into small pieces or give her the ground rabbit?
Click to expand...

I'm sure Cindy feeds completely raw. With any raw, you want to cut up the meat up into easy to eat pieces. Avoid ground meat because harmful bacteria from the market grinders may be mixed throughout it. Buy whole cuts of meat and cut/grind it up yourself. Some people invest in a kitchen meat grinder.
 
Wendy&Lewis said:
Thank you so much Kira! I was discussing with my vet after I saw your reply. He said IBD is possible. He has suggested me to give Lewis some rabbit meat can food that I'm gonna pick up tomorrow.
Click to expand...

How interesting, rabbit meat almost sounds like a magic food for cats....
Is the canned food available at local pet store?
 
Mimi and Hope, thank you for your concern.

So I gave Lewis Famotidine about 40 min before his breakfast this morning, and 25 min after his breakfast (snall amount of Fancy Feast Appetizer), gave him 1U PZI.

He was doing fine this morning until 20 min ago, he vomited up his breakfast again. :sad:

I did ask my vet about the medication. He said because Famotidine did not seem to work (I was mixing it with Lewis' food), he was thinking of another option.

Regardless, the vomiting has been bothering Lewis (and me)....I'm heading to the local store this afternoon, searching for rabbit meat, hopefully that would help him.

Praying......
 
If Lewis will eat Pill Pockets, try giving him 1/4 tab of Pepcid A/C an hour before his normal food time. Have you asked the vet about stopping the Propulsid and just going with Pepcid A/C or Famotidine?
 
Never tried Pill Pockets, will get some for him later today. He's on Famotidine .15cc twice/day. Maybe I was giving that to him too close to his meal (30-40 min before meal), will try to give him an hour before eating. Thank you!

As for Propulsid, I stopped giving Lewis since Tuesday (he only had that for one day), and here's a quite interesting story--my other cat, Timbra, who's healthy and much younger, lately had some constipation trouble. My vet did say that Propulsid is supposed to work for constipation AND vomiting nausea. So I decided to give Timbra a little Propulsid, and it worked! After not seeing any stool from her for two days, on Wednesday I finally saw her stool, which was very hard though.

Yesterday evening, I gave Timbra Propulsid before her dinner...But an hour after her dinner, she vomited up her food; 10 minutes later, the Propulsid came out.... And then she felt much better and ate something later.

I couldn't help wondering: is the medication actually causing vomiting? Because cats don't like the taste of the medication, so they try their best to let it out of their stomach? Also, some webpage says that giving medications on an empty stomach can cause vomiting......Well, I'm quite confused and kinda desperate... :cry:

Hope + (((Baby)))GA said:
If Lewis will eat Pill Pockets, try giving him 1/4 tab of Pepcid A/C an hour before his normal food time. Have you asked the vet about stopping the Propulsid and just going with Pepcid A/C or Famotidine?
Click to expand...
 
Thank you so much!!!

squeem3 said:
mimi1997 said:
How interesting, rabbit meat almost sounds like a magic food for cats....
Is the canned food available at local pet store?
Click to expand...


Nature's Variety has a canned rabbit formula: http://www.naturesvariety.com/Instinct/cat/can/rabbit

Wysong also has one: http://www.wysong.net/products/aujus-na ... t-food.php

Nature's Logic: http://www.natureslogic.com/products/cp_can_ra.html

Other novel proteins may help, too. Venison, buffalo, duck, other "exotic" meats, etc.
Click to expand...
 
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