Recently Diagnosed

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ASmith86

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Hello everyone,
My name is Austin and I have a calico cat by the name of Patches who is about 16 years old. She was recently diagnosed with diabetes about 3 months ago. For the first month or so, I was checking her blood sugar and giving her the recommended dosage of insulin everyday. But for the past month or so, her BG has been staying around 100 - 150. I stopped giving her insulin after her BG dropped to dangerous levels, and its still staying around the same. My problem is that she's not staying hydrated anymore, and has stopped eating again. I don't have the money to take her to a vet right now, but I need to do something in the meantime. Any suggestions? If you need more information, just as.

A friend in need,
Austin
 
Hey, Austin -

First, relax - You said Patches is staying around 100 - 150 and you haven't given her insulin in a month? Those are not dangerous numbers, they're quite good. If you're not giving insulin, then going hypo isn't a concern, either. You said she's not staying hydrated? Why do you think she's getting dehydrated? And, she's not eating...

A couple of thoughts - we mix water with Hershey's food (just a couple or three Tablespoons/meal), just to make sure he's getting a little extra water in him. That might be something you want to think about doing once she's eating again. What kind of food does she usually eat? Did you check Binky's list and look for another food to try? Hershey loves Wellness, but Oreo (non-diabetic) snubs it and eats Friskies Pate'. I did see someone posted Friskies Pate' has rice, so you just need to read the labels to find what you do or don't want in a food.

As far as getting her to eat - I've read on several threads the last few days of people using the meat baby foods. Make sure the label says "meat", water but doesn't have anything added to it. I would imagine you could even add a little water to it. I have also read threads of people syringe feeding their kitties. You could always do a search here and see if that's something you think you need to try. When my last kitty, Smokey, stopped eating - I was able to entice him with tuna packed in water or by thinning his food and putting a little around his mouth/nose area so he had to lick it off.

I understand what you're saying about finances, but I've also read that several people took their kitties to the vet to get fluids, but took the fluids home to administer, rather than having the vet do it and charging for it. Might that be an option?

Sorry I don't feel like I'm being much help. The board is usually pretty quiet this time of morning. I'm not sure where you are, but it's 1:55am here in NC. I'm sure others will be along who will have other suggestions for you. I just saw your "911" and thought I'd check on you. We're pretty new here, too. Hershey was diagnosed Nov, 2011 and started ProZinc in Jan, 2012.

Take care and I'll check back in on you -

Libby (and Hershey, too!)
 
I don't want to scare you, but it's dangerous for a cat not to eat for more than a day or so; they can start getting fat buildup in their liver, which they don't handle very well, and not only do they then feel even less like eating, but it can make them very sick. If you can't coax her to eat her normal food by adding the usual "temptations" like tuna juice, Fortiflora, meat baby food without onions or garlic, parmesan cheese, etc., you may have to syringe feed her as Libby mentioned. I haven't done much of this myself, but my understanding is you want to blend up canned food with water in the blender to make it easier to force through the syringe, then gently squirt to the food into the side of the kitty's mouth (not straight down the throat as she could choke). I am not sure if there are other underlying issues with your kitty that are causing her not to eat, so it's hard to say if this will solve the problem (sometimes kitties apparently start eating on their own again once they feel better), but it is important to get food into her.

Karrie and Maverick is a user who has a ton of experience with assist feeding. If I were you, I would definitely send her a PM and ask for advice.

Good luck... I know how stressful this is. :sad:
 
A good food (available at the vet) that is really mushy (so syringe feeds really well) is Hills AD - its also very high protein and most cats like it a lot. Putting water in a syringe to see if your cat will drink is also worth a try if you can't afford to get a bag of fluids, line, & needles.
 
Hi Austin, Welcome to FDMB. Someone flagged me as I try and help people that have cats that aren't eating. My cat Maverick almost died from liver failure due to weight loss from not eating and had a feeding tube for ten weeks. The thing with all cats is they need food to keep their livers happy. Diabetic cats have a double wammy - they need food to keep their blood glucose managed.

I am an active member of a yahoo group dedicated to helping cat owners assist feed their cats. Assist feeding means anything from finger feeding dollops of food, feeding on a baby spoon, to feedings with a feeding tube. They saved Maverick's life and I pay it forward every chance I can. Everyone will tell you when they have a cat that survived FHL that you don't want another cat to go through it. So we educate every cat owner - even ones in grocery store aisles :mrgreen:

If you join the Yahoo Feline Assisted Feeding forum you will be sent five automatic files without having to post anything to the group. One of them is a great article on how to syringe feed safely and easily. Lots of tips because cats are so different. It takes a bit of practice. Syringe feeding is something every cat owner should try, not just wait for a crisis to try it.

On the home page there is a video of someone assist feeding their cat. Here is a link to this video: [youtube]U6o17wH6ujk[/youtube]

The thing is to get food into her. It doesn't matter whether its the best for diabetics. AD actually isn't very high in calories. Wellness Chicken has 200 calories a can. You can find pure meat babyfood (no onions, seasonings, garlic) - that's 100 calories a jar. Start on this right away. The vet can get you prescription food that is 330 calories a can and only 2% carbs called MaxCal.

When you assist feed, choose a food that you don't feed her right now. She's probably not feeling so hot and you don't want to risk her getting food aversion to one of her old favourite foods.

Syringe feeding buys you time to figure out why she isn't eating and whats going on. Don't wait to start this.

You are in amazing hands here with managing diabetes. They know more than most vets do helping thousands of cats a year. I had the courage to adopt a diabetic cat from the shelter last June and wouldn't have done that in a million years before finding this group. We've saved a fortune doing our own curves at home. Hefner is not on any insulin today - managed with just low carb food. Trust the group. Sending hugs.
 
Thank you guys for the suggestions so far. I just gave her some tuna mixed with some water, and she's loving that. I've been feeding her Fancy Feast Classics, and she was enjoying that, or so I thought. Its just been the last couple weeks she's been eating less and less of it. I guess I'll try mixing it with some canned tuna until its gone, and try and find something else she'll eat. Also, is it odd that her BG levels have been so good, even when she was eating without insulin?
 
So happy to see you posted and that she's eating!!

That sounds like her pancreas is healing and helping out. There are so many factors, I certainly don't pretend to know/understand them all, but it's a good thing to see nice numbers without insulin.

As far as the FF, maybe her tastes have changed? My Oreo (non-diabetic) will eat dryer sheets! but tired quickly of the Wellness Hershey eats. As you know, cats can be VERY opinionated! There are lots of low carb choices on Binky's list that you can look into.

Take care -

Libby (and Hershey, too!)
 
Any updates?

I would second the "meat baby food" idea. A couple weeks ago, one of my kitties stopped eating (he's not a diabetic), and it took Gerbers to get him to eat. My next option was syringe feeding, and he's a very grumpy old man who would have literally fought me tooth and nail so I was glad he decided baby food was yummy. After about 4 days, he was back on the Friskees Pate menu.

Carl
 
Hello Austin & Patches!

Reading this thread and having a civvie that has just turned 16, last July, she was slowing down on eating until one day, just stopped.

I did the dropper feeding with a/d from the vets, mixed with tuna water while she was burritoed. We did this for days, until she graduated from the burrito but still on the dropper. After the dropper and still to this day (yesterday), momma had to touch her mouth with her food??? then she took it off my finger, then off the spoon, the finally out of the bowl...all in 20 min. time. I dont know why she would not just start in the bowl, but after last July, I will not let her go that long. She went for about 4 days of basically no food!

After the blood work, they think that her thyroid being hi, kept her from eating??? usually, it will make them hungry. But ECID... and she is that for sure.
Now that her thyroid is 1.0, she is eating me out of house and home - 2-3 cans of f.feast per day! she gained 1/2 lb in 2-3 wks - coming in last Friday at 7 lbs! She has never ever weighted that much her entire life...she seems soo much happier and we have to admin. meds to the ear and shaved belly 2 times a day to keep it in check.
Just something you might want to check out.

Please let us know how she is doing! Sending purrs your way ;-)
 
Thanks for all the support guys!

She's still not eating on her own, so I started syringe feeding her soon after my post. She's still not doing well though. She's showing most of the signs of Ketoacidosis, which isn't good at all. I'm still unable to afford to take her to the vet until next week, and I'm sure going this long without treatment isn't good at all. I'm afraid in the end I'm going to have to put her down. I can't afford the vet bills, or even the time to take care of her so she can be a happy healthy kitty. I'm going to school full time, and working full time as well. It's just all getting to be too much, and it's killing me to watch her in the state she's in. In the end, all I'll be able to afford and do for her is put her down. I'm just at my wits end here. I wish there was more I could do for her.

Thanks for listening everyone,
Austin & Patches
 
Austin

Please check into DCIN's financial assistant program. My Musette is a DKA survivor that I adopted from them after her previous owner wanted her put down. Today you wouldn't know there was ever anything wrong with her, unless you are around when I'm either testing or giving her insulin. Otherwise she is just a healthy, happy kitty who snuggles with me at night and wakes me up purring.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
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