? not sure what else to do for sick cat

[underdawg]

My diabetic cat has been diagnosed with pancreatitis. His diabetes is not regulated yet. He is mainky in the 200s but will go in the lower 300s and will dip into the 100s. We were going to begin tight regulation protocol but due to other issues, we haven't been able to begin that quite yet.

He has had soft poop for five days and has vomited a couple of times. He also has the beginnings of neuropathy. I started giving him b12 injections once a week (he has had two now) and he is getting Cerenia twice a week. We tried to give him Simplicef for an antibiotic. After he had his fourth Simplicef is when the diarrhea started. He has not eaten much since then. I added pumpkin to the food one day but then none of my 4 cats wanted that. In addition to a little of his Fancy Feast Classic Chicken or Turkey, he has eaten a little boiled chicken or Young Again Zero Carb. We changed the antibiotic to Baytril since he began soft poops. He took one Baytril and vomited shortly after that. I tried giving him a Zenequin instead yesterday which he took. I only had one Zenequin so I tried the Baytril again this morning but he didn't want to take it. He ate a little freeze dried chicken, chicken baby food, and YAZC this morning but vomited a short while later. I gave his shot before he vomited.

He began drinking water three days ago. When he came out of remission last fall, he never drank water until a few days ago. (I added some water to his food for a few years.) He has been pooping outside the litter box and has to be cleaned up afterward since he gets it all over his rear end. He is able to urinate but he is straining now to poop probably because he doesn't have much to poop. I don't know what else to do for him.

I will call the vet this morning to see what she suggests now. I know that there is an antibiotic that looks like gravy that we can try since he loves gravy but I dont know what else I can do for him to make him comfortable, to get the poop under co trol, and to make sure he eats enough when he gets his insulin.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

You said " he is getting Cerenia twice a week." Cerenia is dosed once per day without problems although some say yushould have two days on them miss a day or does every other day.
You can also give Ondansetron twice daily with the Cerenia.
A pain med is also typically used for pancreatitis together with sub-Q fluids.
If not eating enough you can try a appetite stimulant or syringe feed. Bo has to keep eating. If eating bu vomiting try small meals throughout the day.
A compounding pharmacy can compound drugs with flavors including one for pets

 

[underdawg]

Thanks Larry. The vet mentioned we can increase the frequency for cerenia. He actually did look better after he took one yesterday. He is not on pain meds right now since he did not seem to be in pain while at the vet earlier. She did say it was an option. I am not sure what
Ondansetron is but I will ask about that.

I just offered about a tablespoon of YAZC and he began eating it. He is under the sofa now which means he wants some privacy. I put the plate under the sofa and then heard crunching. That is what we did yesterday to get him to eat.

One of the things that stresses him is that we have to clean him up after he poops since it gets all over his rear end. I don't know if that affects whether he vomits or not. He just looks miserable at times.

Thanks for your suggestions Larry. I will make a list of all these for when I talk to the vet.

 

[BJM]

Cats hide when they don't feel good, too.
Cats tend to hide pain, too, so even if you don't see obvious signs of pain, using an opiod pain reliever may help considerably.
Check his hydration (Instructions in my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools); he may need subQ fluids to stay hydrated.
For the diarrhea, a probiotic such as Forti Flora (Amazon or your vet) may be helpful, or even a teaspoon of plain yogurt with active cultures, if he is not dairy sensitive.

 

[underdawg]

Thanks BJM! Your secondary monitoring tools are very helpful. I have some pain meds now for him along with the nausea meds Larry suggested. I also have some probiotics too. I gave him another cerenia. Hopefully, we will see some improvement. He did look a little better late today and ate a good meal. So far, no vomiting and only a couple of small poops for today that looked like there may be a tiny solid forming in the middle. So glad the poops made it in the litter box and not on the floor. He has been out from under the sofa most of the afternoon and is in the bed now. Hopefully Bo will have a better night. And hopefully we have an uneventful night with pooping. .

I wonder if giving him some YAZC food triggered these issues. No more of that right now, if ever.

Thanks so much Larry and BJM!

 

[BJM]

About 2/3 of cats with pancreatitis may have chronic disease, per the IDEXX April 2011 Diagnostic Update. This attack may not have anything to do with what you were feeding.

Food changes, though, should be done gradually to allow the GI tract to become accustomed to the new food. This helps avoid food refusal, diarrhea, and vomiting.