Please help Diabetic cat with diarrhoea

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C

chatran (GA)

Member Since 2014
Hi everyone. Is it safe to give insulin if cat have diarrhoea? He is on 2.5 iu at the moment and his bg this afternoon is 21mml. He only ate a little bit. Please help!

Rosie & Chatran
 
Hi Rosie,

I've been through this and it's not fun. If Chatran is not eating then I'd recommend that you contact your vet straight away to see if they can prescribe something to help with the diarrhoea and inappetence.

I'm not experienced enough to give you advice about what to do about the insulin. Again, I'd strongly recommend getting your vet's advice (even if it's out of hours). Other more experienced board members may be able to give you more help. It might help if you could post details of the insulin you are using and any concurrent conditions (e.g. IBD, pancreatitis) that may be affecting Chatran. Also, do you have any idea of what might have triggered the diarrhoea?

I feel for you. It's a very scary and distressing situation for both of you. I'm sorry I could not be of more help, but I didn't want to leave you alone with this.
 
Hey Rosie

I've popped a note on the facebook page......I'm really too wet behind the ears to give any advise, other than if kitty isn't eating, get in touch with your vet ASAP, and I would perhaps not shoot if it was Java and I. Rather give not enough one day than too much!

Let's see if we can't get someone with oodles of kitty knowledge here to help!

C
 
Thank you critter mum. He's using glargine (lantus) no other medical condition so far (knock wood) just had a blood work done kidney all clear. I'm not sure about pancreatitis. I took him to the vet today for his glucose curve and did told the vet that he have diarrhoea. He check his temperature which came normal and I'm not sure what triggers the tummy upset :sad:
No vet open now (we living in a small town) have to wait first thing tomorrow morning. It's going to be a long night.
We did gave him his usual dose of insulin because he bg is quite high 378 (21 mmol) will be doing home testing as soon as his diarrhoea subsides. Thank you again!
 
Hi Java, thank you! We did gave him insulin as he did ate little bit. He ate his usual meal this morning. Oh god I hope we did the right thing :sad:
 
I feel for you :(.

You can but do your best!! Perhaps try feeding him little and often while he has a sore tum?

Charlene :)
 
Hi Charlene. What sort of gluco meter you're using, I noticed you from New Zealand perhaps we have same products (I'm in australia)

Rosie :-)
 
Well hey there neighbour!! :lol:

I'm using a caresens n, they replaced the accucheck a couple of years ago. I feel so much more a ease home testing! Cept for last night when Java had his first 8 :). 2am, tom checked him as he had been heading down all day and hello - he was sitting on 8. Soooo low for him!

Do you have a spreadsheet started for your testing yet? So helpful for the experienced peeps on here to peak in on testing results when helping us noobs out :)
 
Hi Crittermom, yes he did have diarrhoea before. He is always been eating fancy feast, I just didn't feed him dry no more - he's not keen on them anyway.

Charlene, I haven't done spread sheet yet. I wish I had found this site long time ago. We have accu check here, what do you think of them?

Thank you ladies
 
Rosie, this site is pretty amazeballs huh!

I think they are all pretty much of a muchness - the biggest thing I would look at is how much the strips are! We pretty much have one option here, and the strips aren't too bad - about $19 for 50, and if you buy in bulk it can be a bit cheaper!

How's your furbaby doing this morning?
 
Thank you critter mom and Charlene. My fur baby have ate little bit. drank lots of water and pee heaps too. No runny poo so far. He's got a googly eyes this morning - like sleepy look. Will ring the vet soon as they open.

This site is amazing! I'm so glad I found it :-D
 
Morning - do you check his pee for ketones? Just wondering, as they can cause the drink lots, pee heaps thing, and can sometimes put him off his food as a build up makes them feel quite crap.

You can get the ketone sticks from a pharmacy, dip them in fresh urine, and if anything above a trace, its off to the vet for kitty!

Let us know how you guys get on!

Fingers crossed kitty is just having a little moment :)
 
Hey :)

Just a thought - if you are using Lantus, and are wanting to manage the fur baby into possible remission, and learn a shed load about using the insulin we have chosen (Java is also on Lantus) then perhaps a post on the Lantus board, either tight regulation or relaxed lantus might help?

Here is a link, that contains a lot of reading on how to go about regulating your kitty - It will make your head spin, but I promise you, its really really good!

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18139

Of course, im making a massive assumption that you're newish with insulin and diabetes :) so I apologize if you're not!

C
 
If the glucose is high, it can be OK to give a token dose of insulin to help the glucose be used by the body, especially if not eating.
You might try 1/4 to 1/2 of what you normally give.
 
Yes I'm very new with this. We took him to the vet this morning because we were concerned about him having the third eyelid all of a sudden. The vet said its because of his diarrhoea and possible upper respiratory infection. He's got another dose of long acting anti biotic. And some med for his tummy. Our vet supports us with home testing - he even recommend a glucometer (acchucheck). His bg this morning is 11.5 three hours after the shoot which is good the vet said.

I have started reading but coming from a non English speaking background - my head already spinning. :o

Thank you BJ for the advise :smile:
 
11.5 is good! Just take it one step at a time, the wonderful people here will help you get to grips with whatever you need :)
 
Hi critter mom. Chatran still not well. Doesn't eat much and I haven't seen him drink water yet since yesterday, I'm so worried he could get dehydrated. I figured he have a flu. He was coughing and sneezing. He would like to eat but it seems like he's have trouble swallowing so probably his throat is sore. My poor bubba. The vet gave him some anti biotic. His diarrhoea seems to be ok - he did have a hard poo this morning.

We tested his bg this morning before his shoot and it was 17.5 mmol and he on 2.5 units twice a day.

I am hoping he will feel better soon otherwise back to the vet again :-(

Thank you for checking on us.

Rosie & Chatran
 
Hey Rosie

You got your testing going! Nice work!

Sorry Chatran isn't feeling so well still - hopefully those antibiotics kick in soon! Keep an eye on his eating, and perhaps post a message in here again this evening if he still isn't eating a lot. I'm new to diabetes too, but I think we have to watch that they eat reasonably well when we are giving them insulin. I wonder whether we have to worry about fatty liver if they are not eating well?

C
 
Hi Charlene, I wondered how long before the anti biotic,kick in? Vet gave him long acting yesterday and it seems like not working yet. I would really like to take him back to the the vet but hubby said we should wait :sad:

What is fatty liver?

R
 
Antibiotics help when it is a bacterial infection. However, they can kill off some of the good bacteria ... resulting in diarrhea.

Giving a probiotic can re-supply the good bacteria and reduce some GI issues. One that is usually quite palatable is Forti Flora, available from many vets ... and much cheaper online (try our shopping partners listed under the SHOP button at the top of the page). Another is Intelliflora, also online. A 3rd is Renew ultimate flora critical care 50 billion--sold at some health/vitamin stores--look in refrigerated case--also at a store called Whole Foods OR online at www.renewlife.com -- dosage is 1/3 capsule 1x day--mixed in with food.
 
Thank you for the info BJ. Will look online. I tried giving him his old food which is royal canin dry - I know its a big no no but I thought better some food in his tummy than non, he ate about 10 kibble s. hope it won't hurt him.

Any suggestion on food that he will eat. I tried everything but he just snip then go

Thank you

R
 
Hi Rosie,

How are you and your boy doing today?

Chatran said:
Chatran still not well. Doesn't eat much and I haven't seen him drink water yet since yesterday, I'm so worried he could get dehydrated. He would like to eat but it seems like he's have trouble swallowing so probably his throat is sore. My poor bubba. The vet gave him some anti biotic. His diarrhoea seems to be ok - he did have a hard poo this morning.
Click to expand...

I'm glad that Chatran's diarrhoea has improved. Bet you never thought you'd see the day when happiness would be a solid kitty stool! (I never thought I would, either. :-D )

Has Chatran eaten or taken any fluids yet? He must eat. You asked about fatty liver disease. It's also called Feline Hepatic Lipidosis. It can be fatal and it can arise very, very quickly if a cat stops eating. (I found this out the really hard way: I lost my beloved healer puss, Danú, to it. She was only seven. Losing her like that is a sorrow and a shame that will haunt me the rest of my days. :cry: )

It is VITAL that a cat eats regularly, even when it is poorly, because of the way a cat's metabolism works. Without regular food intake, fatty deposits build up in the liver very quickly. The link below will provide you with more information:

Feline Hepatic LIpidosis

Have you anything bland at home like chicken breast? You could try poaching that gently in water for Chatran. You could use the cooking water (broth) to flavour ordinary water to tempt Chatran to drink something. (I give Saoirse a mix of half broth and half water. She won't drink unflavoured water at all.) Also, you could use a blender or food processor to liquidise some of the meat & broth to make a soup that might be easier for Chatran to swallow. If he hasn't eaten for a while you need to get some food into him as soon as possible. If you don't have chicken, do you have any tinned tuna in water? You could try flavouring some drinking water with the water from the tuna tin.

If Chatran hasn't eaten since you last posted - and if you haven't done so already - I strongly recommend that you get in touch with your vet about Chatran's not eating or drinking. The vet can prescribe medications to help with nausea and to stimulate appetite. Cyproheptadine works well for Saoirse and other FDMB members have recommended it. (Note: Mirtazapine is another drug that vets may use to stimulate appetite but it is a very strong, harsh drug (I know - I've been prescribed it) and it can cause serotonin syndrome (a life-threatening condition) in both humans and cats.)

EDITED TO ADD:
=============

Rosie, forgot to add that you might try warming his food up a little. If Chatran is all bunged up with the respiratory infection, he probably can't smell the food so it won't seem very appealing. If that's the case, tuna water's nice 'n' stinky. :smile: You could put a very small amount of food mixed with water or tuna juice in microwave at lowest power setting (20% or less) for about 10 or 20 seconds. Leave it to stand for a minute or so, then check the temperature. If it's just about human skin temperature (i.e. it feels very, very slightly warm) it should be ok. Remember to mix it through and check for hotspots in the food before giving it to Chatran.
 
If he's not eating, finding some canned food even if it's higher in carbs in important.

You can also try baby food, stage 1 where it is nothing but chicken or turkey ... no other ingredients.
Another item to try is deli meats.... like turkey.... or even fried chicken ( just peel off the skin part and give him the meat inside)

Some of us use a syringe ( without a needle) to give a little water after a pill.... take advantage and give him a little more water when you give him his medicine....
 
Critter mom - I tried all of the above. At the moment he will only eat his old dry food and a FF broth :sad: I'm so worried about giving him dry food but that's the only thing he eat at the moment. He did drink water yesterday. The poo is still a bit runny.

Rhiannon I try and get the baby food today and see how he goes.

Today we are all stress out, we can't even do a AMPS bg test. Chatran just keep running and hiding.

Thank you ladies for your help.

Rosie
 
Good to hear back from you, Rosie. I've been worried about how you and Chatran were getting on. I'm relieved to hear that Chatran is at least getting some food and fluids.

My vet prescribed Pro-Kolin (a gooey paste with kaolin and probiotics) and that helped stop the runs, but her tum is terribly sensitive.

I know what you mean about the stress and the upset of seeing our little ones so poorly and not being able to make them better straight away. Saoirse tries to hide sometimes and it makes my heart sink. I hope you find some suitable baby food for Chatran and that it will help him. Be sure to let us know how he gets on.
 
Hi Critter mom. Thank you so much for your concern. Since you are from UK maybe we have the same product what you're selling there. I want to ask what sort of lancet are you using. It seems like the lancet that comes with the monitor (accu check) doesn't work or maybe we don't know how to use it. Hubby poked his precious ears through this morning *ouch* my heart just sank when I saw him maybe hurting - my poor bubba :sad:
 
Hi Rosie and let me also welcome you to the FDMB!

If you can't figure out how to get the spreadsheet going, let us know. There are several people on here that know how to do it and are happy to help out!

On the food, if heating doesn't help (and you don't have the FortiFlora yet, which also makes a lot of kitties eat stuff when they're not really hungry, as well as helping with the diarrhea) there are some other things you can try.

Sprinkle a little oregano or parmesean cheese on top of his food. Catnip might also help.

If nothing helps, try crushing a few kibbles of dry food into a powder and sprinkle it on his food. That can help to get them started eating and only using a little shouldn't add too many carbs

A lot of us don't even use the lancet tools. You can also try freehanding it by just using the lancet itself instead of putting it into the tool to "click" it. Look for lancets that are 26 or 28 gauge ...they make a bigger hole than higher gauges like 30, 33
 
See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for 2 ways to check for dehydration, plus some other assessments you can make to evaluate your cat.

Also, when eating a wet diet, a cat may seldom drink as it is getting moisture from the food.
 
Thank you chris and BJ. Hubby already ordered pro biotic and catnip and it could take a while before it actually get to us. we live in Australia and everything here is "no worries mate" it means everything is slooooooow lol.

I will go and get a free handing lancet today. Hubby should help me with spreadsheet and we are going to give chatran a break from poking - he's a bit freak out when we start rubbing his ear and run! :sad:

I can't thank you enough. This site keep me sane :smile:
 
the accu-chek softclix device is a good one for cats.... has the right size lancets..... I have this one....
if you have the fastclix.... that one is harder to use.... it has finer lancets which aren't so good for a newly diagnosed cat.....
I had to use that one on the highest setting and it wasn't so good....
if you want to continue using it, you may have to lower the setting number but just make two quick pokes in the same spot....

the softclix has a larger lancet and I usually only need to set it on 3....
so 4 might be good for yours.



would also like to share this picture.... to show you the best spots for testing....
diabetic-cats-blood-glucose-levels-200X200.jpg


getting close to the edge... it's less sensitive.... those sweet spots....may help you not poke so hard .... that would hurt to get your ear truly pierced...
find some Neosporin ointment with pain relief ...
I'm sure you have some version of it....
 
Hi Rosie,

Don't panic about the dry food. The most important thing is that your cat eats regularly and you keep him as stress free as possible. There are lots of cats in remission on dry food, so it is possible. I never took the dry food away and my cat has been in remission for ages now.

Have you checked out the University of Queensland's diabetes page? The best thing you can do is to follow the Tight Regulation Protocol. If possible, concentrate on that first and diet later if necessary. For us, shooting low to stay low was key and diet was not an issue.

We have the Accu-Chek Performa. It is a good choice and has read consistently close to the serum analyser at our vet. Do you have the MultiClix lancet? Do you fold over a cotton pad behind the ear and use a little vaseline to help the blood bead?

Also, just to note that FortiFlora is not available in Australia. It is also illegal to import pet supplements into Australia, so you run the risk of having them seized by customs and losing your money.
 
Hi JC,

Finally from OZ land. Thank you! That made me feel better about dry food, he really won't eat eat wet at the moment. Yes we have the Accu check performa and comes with fastclix.

What sort of dry food are you giving your fur baby? He wouldn't eat MD both dry and wet.

Chatran started on low dose and he did went on a remission and now back to all over the place because his not well. Another thing that concerns me is this Haws Syndrome, the vet said it happens when a cat get a diarrhoea but I don't know how long will this last as his eyes looks so freaky :?

As for the probiotic, hubby bought it in Brisbane online shop it's not forti flora is similar.

Thank you again.

Rosie
 
Balki would never eat Hills MD either. He was on Royal Canin Diabetic for the first year, then changed to Royal Canin Renal, plus various other RC, Hills and Eukanuba. He has wet food also, but just the supplemental gravy kind. Fortunately, no food seems to affect his BG, so he can eat anything now. Maybe this is because we kept up the tight regulation for such a long time.

I have never heard of Haws syndrome, so can't help you there. The only time I have seen the third eyelid was when our other cat had entropion. When did the diarrhoea start? Balki has only had diarrhoea once, when he was on antibiotics (Clavulox).
 
Chatran said:
Hi Critter mom. Thank you so much for your concern. Since you are from UK maybe we have the same product what you're selling there. I want to ask what sort of lancet are you using. It seems like the lancet that comes with the monitor (accu check) doesn't work or maybe we don't know how to use it. Hubby poked his precious ears through this morning *ouch* my heart just sank when I saw him maybe hurting - my poor bubba :sad:
Click to expand...
HI Rosie,

I use the lancet device that came with my Alphatrak glucometer but human lancet devices are just as good (and cheaper!.

Don't be disheartened at not getting the ear-pricking right at first. It does get easier. When I started out I found that I wasn't warming Saoirse's ear for long enough. LIke you, I found it really difficult to get a blood drop at first (Vaseline helps it to bead up). When I started warming Saoirse's ear for longer I had better success. After you have been testing for a little while, more capillaries will develop in the test area and it will become easier to get the blood droplet for testing.

Like you, it gives me no joy to use my little darling's ears as pincushions ( :sad: ) but it helps me to protect and help her and that's the most important thing. In truth, I think it bothers me more than it bothers Saoirse. :?
 
Hi Critter Mom,

Thank you for checkin on us. Chatran still not 100% but he is eating :smile:
His eyes (haws syndrome) still not better but the vet told me it could takes up to 9 weeks :sad:
He still sneezing heaps and looks miserable but he is walking around sometimes.
I have started to get the hang of home testing and I will put his SS soon so all of you lovely ladies can see if I am doing it right and I also started doing a ketone test which is all negative (a bonus)

Rosie & Chatran :YMHUG:
 
I'm delighted to hear that Chatran is eating and has a little bit of energy again. :-D I'm also glad to hear cat_pet_icon that the two of you are getting the hang of home testing. And you've got your spreadsheet up and running, too. Way to go, Rosie! :thumbup It would be helpful if you put Chatran's insulin type, meter type and food into your signature alongside the spreadsheet link.

I hope that Chatran's respiratory symptoms clear up soon, poor fella. Send him this from me: ---> cat_pet_icon

And this is for you: ---> :YMHUG:
 
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