Not sure what to do anymore??

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corteza

Member Since 2014
In the last couple of days my cat has stopped eating in the morning and so I have not been able to get his medication (oral) into him. Today he is not eating at all, is very out of it, very growling and unhappy when I touch him. I have been trying to syringe feed him some catmilk to give him something but that is not going too well. I am due to the vet's on Wednesday for his first insulin shot, but what do I do in the meantime. It seems there are starting to be more bad days with him than good and it is starting to get very hard to keep him going. Any advise is greatly appreciated. It is very hard to see him like this. Once a very loving cuddly cat to a very unhappy sickly one. Has anyone experienced this before?
 
Is the medication for a specific problem? Can you get a meter and test his blood sugar levels? Do you have any feeling for what they might be? Do I understand he is not on insulin yet? Has he been taking glypizide?

Not eating, lethargy and high blood glucose levels can lead to DKA which is a very dangerous condition. If you have no way to check his levels, I would take him to the ER vet now and get those and his ketone levels checked tonight.
 
The medication is for diabetes. I do have a meter and such but he is very difficult to test. Thank you for your reply. I will try to see what is level is.
 
I would get a bg level test, even if someone has to help you hold him. Be sure to warm that ear good. Do you have ketone strips? If so, it would be good to get a ketone test also. If those levels are high, it is DKA and you need to get him in.

Does he tolerate the syringe feeding? Could you water down some food and syringe it into him? Be sure to syringe into the side of his mouth, very small amounts. The other thing that they will sometimes eat is baby food (no onions or speices)
 
KetoDiaStix will give you information on the presence of ketones and glucose in the urine. Either indicates the glucose was not controlled since the previous void. Also, smell the breathe. If you smell something fruity or like nail polish remover, that could be ketones, a medical emergency.

Additional assessments which may be helpful are in my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools - dehydration checks, water consumption and output, plus more.
 
interestingly, it was able to get some blood and the reading was quite normal, not too high and not too low. Maybe tired of the food I was giving him. Feel abit better now that I know he is not extremely high or low. Thanks for the support.
 
That is better news. Cats with DKa do not always have high bg levels. Do you have ketone strips?

It would be good to get some food into him. Sometimes heating the wet food in the microwave till stinky, putting Parmesan cheese or tuna juice on top, or adding some warm water to it and making a gravy makes it more appealing. Or try the baby food.

How is he acting?
 
He is acting like a very tired drunk LOL Not very steady all around and lethargic. No I do not have anything to test his urine. He try to eat. So, just need to keep him at it for a little bit more.
 
Not steady and lethargic does not sound good. Do you have an Er vet? You might just take him in and ask them to do a ketone test? I hope you can get some food into him.
 
Caution: You CAN have nearly normal glucose levels AND ketones. When you get a chance, pick up some KetoDiaStix so you can check for sure.

Might also be the glyburide; it can have side effects.
 
With what you are describing I would be getting him to the vet asap. If your regular vet can't get him in today then start calling around to other vets and see if anyone can see you on an emergency basis.

Cats can and do go into DKA even with fairly normal BGs. I lost my Musette to DKA when she suddenly stopped eating on her own with BGs in the 60-100 levels. The lower numbers were a product of her not eating, not because she didn't need the insulin to control them. DKA is a perfect storm of Not enough insulin (your guy has none at this point), + Not enough food (he's not eating on his own) + infection (right now an unknown) = DKA

This is something you don't want to fool around with, if he was mine I would error on the side of caution and get him in IMMEDIATELY!!

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Well, as miracles may go...he started eating really well a short time later and obviously seemed somewhat better. Made it through the night and this morning he started off by eating and being in better spirits. So, this time all went well, with a lot of stress on my part. Thanks again for all the support!
 
Delighted to hear he's eating!

If you haven't already got some, I'd suggest getting some urine test strips (e.g. Ketodiastix) so that you can regularly check for ketones at home.
 
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