No insulin if not eating???

[Kimarie121]

Hi, I’m new to the boards and have had a rough few weeks with my kitty. She seemed to be on the mend all week and then stopped eating. I was only able to get her to eat 1/4 a can of food today and a few bites of her dinner. No breakfast and therefore no insulin. Should I avoid giving her insulin until she eats?? I don’t get my glucometer until tomorrow, and I was already at the vet last week for a similar issue and aside from determining that vet visits stress her out and screw with her numbers, she’s healthy. She still is acting normal. I’m just so lost and confused and so afraid of doing the wrong thing. Any insight is appreciated.

 

[Idjit's mom]

I can't advise you on shooting insulin or not, the Lantus forum is the best place to ask about that. Have you tried offering other low carb foods to entice her to eat? There are lots of Fancy Feast flavors and our kitties can be notoriously picky, as we all know. Plus you could try the Friskies pates that you get at the grocery store, just no gravy varieties. I had to learn by experience that Idjit just will not eat any canned food with tuna in it,.so maybe Lucy has an aversion to some of the FF you are offering? Maybe try that baby food meat, just to get the little darling chowing down better? I hope you get some input about whether to give the insulin and tomorrow, you can start testing and get some hard data so you know what's going on with the blood sugar.
Hang in there, it will get better.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi Kim,
What was the matter with Lucy when you said you'd had a rough couple of weeks.?
She might be nauseated and that might be why she isn't eating. Was she not eating last week when you went to the vet? Is she lethargic?
Not giving any insulin to a diabetic cat can be risky especially if she had been ill as she could develop ketones. Can you go out and buy a bottle of Ketostix from the pharmacy today and test her urine for ketones? It is important to know if there are ketones in the picture if kitty won't eat and has been sick.. Anything above a trace of ketones needs vet attention. It can lead to a very serious illness called DKA.
I'm glad you are getting your meter tomorrow.
It is really important to try and get her to eat something. Anything at all, it doesn't matter if it is unsuitable for diabetics at this stage....just get her to eat. Try sprinkling Parmesan cheese on some food. Or tinned sardines or tuna. And fluids as well are iimportant.
If she is still not eating I think you should go back to the vet and ask for antinausea meds such as cerenia and/ or ondansetron. Cats won't eat if they are nauseated.
Also if not eating give a small dose of insulin .....If she has been having 1.5 units, then try giving her 0.5 units or 0.75 units.. not the full dose.
But don't let it go on, go to the vet and insist on anti nausea meds if he can't find the cause.

 

[Kimarie121]

Thanks, all! Yes, last week when she was not eating, they gave her anti nausea and pain meds which helped her start eating again. She was meowing for her food this morning and did eat some. I do wonder if she is being finicky about what she eats based on those behaviors. Her faves were always the gravy lover fancy feast cans. I’m calling the vet this morning. She continues to act like herself. Not lethargic at all, which is how she was last week. Everything they tested came back normal and actually really healthy- including urine.

 

[Athenaglaukopis]

IS very common that cats develop an aversion toward the food they were eating when they started feeling sick/nauseated.
you can try by changing flavors or adding something enticing to it like fortiflora. hope it helps.