? Smokey AMPS 258 - vet is saying go to ER

Julie mueller

Julie mueller

Member Since 2019
Hello!
I have been fighting with smokey for a week now to eat normally and I just called the vet to get an appetite stimulant and she is telling me to take him to an ER . CAN someone give me their advice ? Other than appetite hes using the litter box normally and acting normal. He was treated Tuesday for a double ear infection ( not oral antibiotics ) and all blood work came back perfect. I'm going to attack what I sent her this morning in an email .


Tuesday --at the vet in the after noon
9pm - wouldnt really eat- just licked it and picked at it
BGL 168
Gave 1 unit
+2 178
+4 185


Wed 03/04/2020::
9am - Ate a small amount of a combination of foods (just picking at it )
BGL 278
Gave 1 unit
+3 248
+6 226

9pm - Ate 1.5 oz of pate and also licked all the gravy out of another can I offered.
BGL - 228
Gave 1 unit
+3 266

Thursday 03/05/2020::
9am - Ate 1 oz of friskies gravy bits and licked all the gravy up plus drank some milk
BGL- 238
Gave 1 unit
+ 3 221 ( offered more food and he hate 1 oz of fancy feast pate )
KETONE .6

9pm- licked the gravy and ate a few treats
BGL 221
Gave 1 unit
+3 214

Friday 03/06/2020::
9am- licked the gravy and a few bites of pate
Gave 1 unit
BGL 213

NOON- ate 2 chicken nuggets ( no breading)

9pm- licked the gravy and a few bites of food
Gave .5 unit
BGL 258

Saturday 3/07/2020::

9am - licked the gravy and ate a few bites
BGL 258
KETONES .4 ( blood meter )
 
If he's acting normally and has no ketones, I hesitate to send you to the ER on that basis, but he must start eating more than he is currently. The potential weapons in your arsenal that you haven't yet used are:

1) meds (anti-nausea and possibly an appetite stimulant)
2) syringe-feeding a high-calorie food like A/D (available at a vet)

If your vet doesn't want to prescribe an appetite stimulant over the phone, it might be worth it to take a trip to the ER to see if you can get meds and a couple feeding syringes and cans of A/D out of them. It might also be good to get a second opinion-- perhaps they will spot something that is bugging him that they will be able to fix.

The fact that he's enthusiastic about some things (bites of kibble, chicken nuggets) but not others, and is licking gravy, makes me think that he might be dealing with nausea. Cats can easily develop aversions to food they are offered when they feel nausea. Once that gets going, they won't even touch previous favorites that they associate with feeling yucky, but give entirely new things an enthusiastic try. Once. Anyway, something to keep in mind-- even if you get an anti nausea med on board and he seems to be feeling better afterwards, you may have to play around to find food he will try eating.

I hope he's feeling better soon!
 
Have you tried human foods? Tuna? Chicken? Sardines? Canned salmon or mackeral?

Luci always wants some when I open a can or pouch of tuna for myself! She won't eat much - but she does seem to enjoy a little taste - I'm trying to make a salad or sandwich and she won't leave me alone...must be the smell...

I hope you can find something that'll peak his interest...Slippery Elm Bark is supposed to be helpful for nausea (as recommended on this forum for other kitties with eating issues).

I hope you can figure it out soon...sending prayers and hugs...:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
As odd as it sounds, sometimes when cats are nauseous they associate the queasiness with the area where they usually eat and even the dish they usually eat out of, so sometimes it helps to feed them on something different than what you usually do, like a paper plate, a saucepan, a measuring cup that kind of thing and change the place you feed him—feed him on the bed or the bathroom or on the couch—areas that he’s not used to eating in
 
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Zofran is the brand name for ondansetron which is a human anti-nausea drug used mostly in cancer patients who are nauseous from chemo

It's usually a very effective medication for our sugarcats so hopefully it will help!
 
Ondansetron works great, but you must give enough. It is dose by weight. My 8 lb girl gets 2 mg twice a day, or half a standard 4 mg tablet. If your tablets are 4 mg, 1/4 isn’t enough. Neko was 14 lb and when I did 1 mg, it was woefully inadequate.
 
Ingredients:
Water Sufficient For Processing, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Dried Potatoes, Wheat Gluten, Animal Plasma, Corn Starch, Wheat Flour, Pea Fiber, Natural Flavor, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Added Color, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Choline Chloride, Magnesium Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Xanthan Gum, Natural Glazed Ham Flavor, Guar Gum, Vitamin E Supplement, Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Potassium Iodide, Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) 8.0%
Crude fat (min) 2.0%
Crude Fiber (max) 1.0%
Moisture (max) 82.0%

Caloric Content: 990 kcal/kg ME, 99 kcal/tray ME



I'm not good at figuring out what food is good or bad .... how does this one look ?
 
Using the numbers you provided, it's 7% carbs. You really need the "as fed" values, though, for the carb calculation to be accurate. I'm surprised it's that low given the ingredients (i.e., potatoes, corn starch, wheat flour, pea fiber). What brand is this? Are you still using Friskies? I'm a little concerned that it doesn't contain taurine which is essential for cats.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Using the numbers you provided, it's 7% carbs. You really need the "as fed" values, though, for the carb calculation to be accurate. I'm surprised it's that low given the ingredients (i.e., potatoes, corn starch, wheat flour, pea fiber). What brand is this? Are you still using Friskies? I'm a little concerned that it doesn't contain taurine which is essential for cats.
Click to expand...


Its actually my dogs food . I've offered every kind of cat food and he will not eat it . I tested him at +4 and he was 102 which he rarely dips that low so I was trying to get him to eat anything possible and he hate half of that ...which I was shocked because he has barely eaten in a week .
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Using the numbers you provided, it's 7% carbs. You really need the "as fed" values, though, for the carb calculation to be accurate. I'm surprised it's that low given the ingredients (i.e., potatoes, corn starch, wheat flour, pea fiber). What brand is this? Are you still using Friskies? I'm a little concerned that it doesn't contain taurine which is essential for cats.
Click to expand...

I agree with @Sienne and Gabby (GA) and I am surprised the carb content As Fed would be 7% with the plant material in there. You hear a lot about no-grain foods but a vet nutritionist that I worked with with said when looking at ingredients, look for foods with no plant material (plants being peas, wheat corn, potatoes, spinach tapioca, rice etc as starches=carbs)
 
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