Q: No shot vs drop shot - low appetite & food allergies

MelanieAndJosh

MelanieAndJosh

Member Since 2020
One step up, two steps back =( But we can do this!

Here is my question - should I do a drop shot or no shot given where we are right now:

Weenie had a food allergy and used to eat Z/D food. Super high carbs. Switch her off and she started doing great! Except... Here come the food allergies. She started scratching yesterday, and probably only now because she has use of her legs again =)

We decided to just switch to raw and pick a protein. Her housemate Ben is full raw, and he lent us his supply of pork. Weenie is eating it! But not much. Intake was low to begin with in the last week or so, which is probably part of the lower numbers.

So, friends - if we are low on intake and seeing numbers like 107 and 95, should I keep going with the drop shot, or move to no shoot? For the last two cycles (95, 110) and her really low intake, I have not shot.

Looking for advice on what to do tonight.

Thanks as always!
 
109 PMPS. Although she is starting to take to the raw, we are at 1.6 oz eaten and I’m not going to shoot again. Hoping to see the intake continue up and shoot again maybe tomorrow. Got some fortiflora and it seems to be helping her interest. Hoping it’s related to allergies and we get the appetite back with this switch to raw and a single protein.
 
112PM. We have only had an ounce of food today. Still no BM. No sign of discomfort or her usually puking when that happens, so could still be OK given low intake. Hoping it’s just getting through an allergic reaction and we start to get better and eat more.
 
I'd have skipped the shot too.
Hope that Weenie eats better and more.

When a cat is not eating enough, it's important to test for ketones, at least once a day.

Raw food produces much less poop, than canned food. Only the meat in the raw food, which is pretty well digested, so not as much to "poop out" at the end.
Think of the raw diet as a "low residue" food. Like the doctors have you eat before a colonoscopy prep.
 
Deb & Wink said:
I'd have skipped the shot too.
Hope that Weenie eats better and more.

When a cat is not eating enough, it's important to test for ketones, at least once a day.

Raw food produces much less poop, than canned food. Only the meat in the raw food, which is pretty well digested, so not as much to "poop out" at the end.
Think of the raw diet as a "low residue" food. Like the doctors have you eat before a colonoscopy prep.
Click to expand...

We have poop!

She stood up, walked to her box, pee then poop. Appetite is up slight with more intake by 2pm vs all day prior. Still not good at around 1.5oz today plus pumpkin but better. Will see what her PM scores look like and hope for better intake tomorrow.

I am testing for ketones daily, so far so good. Thanks!
 
The Remarks column on the SS is a perfect place for those ketone results to be listed.

Yeah for poop! Three cheers for Weenie getting up and using her box. I know she has been having a tough time walking under her own power.
 
So we are day 3 of limited intake. We went from right around 1.0 ounce of food on Friday to 1.5 yesterday, plus a little pumpkin. Drinking is still good. She also gets SQ fluids. Today we are already at 1.0 ounce so I’m hopeful we will be the same or better as yesterday.

Does anyone have input on how long before we really start to worry about such a low intake? The scratching has stopped, some signs of itching based on shaking her head a little. She seems decent otherwise. No more fish (I gave her too much) and we are on novel proteins for now. Raw pork and an instinct that is limited ingredient and novel to what she has ever eaten in the past.
 
Up to 1.6oz eaten at 6PM + some pumpkin. 103PM tested, no shot. She seems to have interest in eating every few hours (I have to bring the food to her of course), but will only eat a small amount. Thinking it's IBD or food allergies impacting appetite. No more fish - ever. Continuing with the novel proteins. Did offer her some Z/D - she didn't go crazy for it, so I don't think it's being picky.
 
Here's hoping you find something to perk up Weenie's appetite.

Does she act nauseous? Turning her head away from the food?
Could it be a touch of pancreatitis?
 
Deb & Wink said:
Here's hoping you find something to perk up Weenie's appetite.

Does she act nauseous? Turning her head away from the food?
Could it be a touch of pancreatitis?
Click to expand...

She is turning her head away from food - pretty much all of it. Yesterday we hit 2.0oz total, and this morning we pooped which was a surprise. She likes pumpkin on a spoon more than anything right now, but we are getting SOME food in to her.

No diarrhea so far, so vomiting. Her poop was decent and came easy. Walking to the box to pee on her own power.

Because I saw that she was itching, I think I gave her a flare-up of allergies by giving her all the fish-based food. Since we stopped it, the itching with the rear legs has stopped. I still see her shake her head but it has slowed down.

Will keep going like we are for a bit longer.

Thanks!
 
The turning her head away sounds like it could be nausea. Pancreatitis is a common cause. You might want to ask your vet about some medications, like the anti-nausea med ondansetron. This primer may be of use to you.

Info A Primer On Pancreatitis
 
Deb & Wink said:
The turning her head away sounds like it could be nausea. Pancreatitis is a common cause. You might want to ask your vet about some medications, like the anti-nausea med ondansetron. This primer may be of use to you.

Info A Primer On Pancreatitis
Click to expand...

Long day here so just a quick update - we went to the vet and they checked literally everything they could. No sign of pancreatitis, blood tests all great, no sign of food allergies. Appetite is coming back and we got some appetite stimulant if needed. So will see what tomorrow brings!
 
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