suddenly stopped eating

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Spike's Mom

Spike's Mom

Member Since 2015
Has anyone had a problem where your cat just stopped eating. Spike has not eaten anything in 22 1\2 hours. I have two different food bowls down and he is not eating anything. I have been in contact with the vet all day. I am supposed to take him in the morning if he doesn't eat tonight. My cat has not missed a meal in his life. I am beyond terrified. I am at work now. My family is watching spike right now so I can't update his spreadsheet. His last glucose reading a few minutes ago was 324. He received 2.5 U of insulin around 10:30 am at the advice of his vet.
We started changing his food to a homemade diet last week. I am not sure of the date since I am at work without my documents.
 
Some of mine have. I wait 24 hours like y are doing before going to the vet.
My concern is that you are giving a full insulin does with no food. That can drive BG too low.
Are yo checking the urine for ketones? The BGs are relatively high and not eating is a symptom of DKA (diabetic keto-acidosis)
Is Spike acting normally? Being lethargic is another symptom of DKA.
 
Definitely take him in to the vets tomorrow or sooner as you do not want to leave him much longer without eating.

In the meantime try to encourage him to drink (or if you are able to assist him by giving water carefully in an oral syringe -don't aim the water down the throat but from one side to the other). If you can do that I would do it as often as you can. Will he not eat his old food at all?

Is he acting okay otherwise? Is he licking his lips, walking up to the food but walking away? Siting in a meatloaf position? If so He could be nauseous and or in pain. I would speak to the vet about the possibility of pancreatitis. Remi hadn't flair when I changed his food. If I remember correctly you were switching spike from dry to a raw homemade?

At the vets you might want to discuss how to get him eating again, so an anti nausea tablets or anti vomiting tablet such as ondansteron or cerenia and then maybe some pain relief and sub q's depending on what the vet says. Remember it is the weekend coming up so you want to be able to take home something that will help over the weekend.

Please check for ketones in the meantime.
 
Have you offered his old dry food? When a cats not eating we're not so concerned about carbs, it's more important just to get food into them.
 
See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for tips on urine testing, dehydration checks (do these!) And more.
While not as precise as blood testing, these observations will help you talk with the vet about his condition.
Also, if more than 2 days of not eating, go to the vet. Fat breakdown for calories can overwhelm the liver causing hepatic lipidosis, which so disrupts the GI tract it can be fatal.
 
Oh, Tammy. :( I know the worry you are feeling right now only too well. :bighug: Saoirse had appetite issues not long after starting insulin, too. I've seen other cats here have similar problems, too. It's scary.

I don't know whether this might help till you can get Spike to the vet, but I put a bit of her old kibble diet in a dish and nuked it in the microwave for about 10 seconds and that helped her to eat a little bit (check it's not hot first). Also, maybe try mixing a bit of wet food with a good bit of water, warm it a little, and see if Spike might lick a bit off your fingers? (But let him go at his own speed.) Sarah's suggestion to get some water into Spike is a good one.

I second Sarah's recommendations to look at the pancreatitis guidelines just in case. Sarah has already given you some things to check in case Spike is nauseated. Here's a nausea symptom checker from Tanya's site. I found it extremely helpful to identify whether or not Saoirse was experiencing nausea. If Spike is nauseated, in addition to Cerenia or ondansetron for nausea I suggest also asking your vet whether s/he might prescribe some cyproheptadine to help stimulate Spike's appetite (assuming that it's a suitable medication for Spike).

Also, I can't recommend BJ's secondary monitoring methods highly enough. I used them and they helped me to help Saoirse enormously and, as BJ advises above, the observations were very helpful when discussing her clinical signs with our vets.

I hope Spike starts eating soon.

:bighug:
.
 
He hasn't eaten dry food since Jan 20th. He was never a fan any dry food. I just made him eat a small handful with his wet food. I gave away all his food when I switched him to the Hills in early February.
I am considering the baby food recommended in the FAQ section. Has anyone tried this or should I try the tuna or liver.
Yes I have been weaning him off the hills to homemade. I thought we were doing great. His hydration was improving dramatically this week. The only problem I was having was he preferred the homemade food and would pick out the bits from the new food and leave the canned food untouched. Unfortunately I had to work today. My family said he was really withdrawn. He likes to hide in my closet behind my jeans in the closet in the master bedroom. That is where he spent his day.
I came home and cooked dinner hoping that would encourage him to eat. We have an extra chair at out dinner table he likes to sit in when the family is eating. I brought his food to the dinner table. NO LUCK. He is refusing and food even if it is offered in my hand. I am going to send someone to the store to get a dropper to get some water in him. He is sitting on the bottom of his kitty tower right now. I can see he does not feel well by his really slow walk.
I have updated my spreadsheet with the latest numbers. Sorry for the delayed response I have been trying anything tonight so he will eat.get
I am watching him waiting for him to head to the litter box to test for keytones. I did test him mid week and he was negative for keytones.
I guess I am ready for another long night.
 
((((Tammy and Spike))))

Have you any chicken at home? Try poaching it gently, chopping it up finely and mixing it with a bit of the poaching water and plain water. Maybe try adding a little tuna water to it? If nothing else, maybe try the broth/water or tuna water/water on its own to see if you can encourage him to at least drink a little under his own steam. If not, maybe go with Sarah's tips above. (Dehydration can make a poorly cat feel worse.)

If Spike were mine, I'd definitely get him to the vets asap. (I'm not trying to be alarmist, just making suggestions about what to do next if your worries increase.) I'd suggest asking your vet about some pain management, too, if Spike continues to withdraw/hide. Does your vet have an emergency number you can call to get advice?

:bighug:
 
yes they have an emergency number and already told me to call if he gets worse tonight. Ok going to cook some chicken now. while reading about pancreatitis
 
Poor baby. :(

I'm very glad that you've got out-of-hours support from your vets. I was very grateful that I could call our vets when Saoirse wasn't good last year.

When I gave Saoirse the poached chicken, I popped the cooked meat into a mini food processor and gave it a couple of brief pulses. It minces it up nice and finely (and quickly) - easier than chopping if you have one.

Fingers and paws crossed that Spike will take something for you, even if it's just some water or broth. I really feel for you. :bighug: I was terribly distressed when Saoirse couldn't eat.
 
Success I got him to eat 2.5 oz of chicken baby food mixed with the water drained from a can of tuna. All gone bowl is clean. Although a temporary fix he ate for the first time since 5:30 PM yesterday.
 
Thank you both. I have been ready to cry all day. Talking to someone that understands what I am going through helps so much. I am going to leave food down for him tonight. I am exhausted and need to be prepared to go to the vet at 8am I am going to set my alarm for testing 2hours after feeding & cuddle up with Spike for a while.
 
I lost my Danú to hepatic lipidosis. When Saoirse stopped eating last year I was absolutely frantic (and shed many, many a tear).

Enjoy your snuggles with Spike. I wish you both a cosy and refreshing sleep.

:bighug: (((Tammy and Spike))) :bighug:
 
BTW, forgot to suggest the following earlier. While Spike's appetite is iffy, try raising his bowls a bit so that he doesn't have to lower his head to eat/drink. (A small, shallow box or a few paperbacks under the dishes can do the trick.)
 
I just got off the phone with the vet. Spike ate just under 3 Oz of homemade food. He refuses to eat anything with the Hills MD wet food in it. I put down his mixture of homeade and hills canned food. He refused it. 2nd bowl just hills md. He also refused it. 3rd bowl just homemade and he ate everything on the bowl. Pre meal reading at 388. Waiting for 9 am to take his reading again. The vet wants me to call him before 11 to see if we need to bring him today before they close at 3.
 
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Tammy,

I'm glad Spike had a little food.

Do you have any Fortiflora? Some cats find it irresistible.
(My cats would eat gravel if it had a sprinkling of that on top...)

And is he pooping OK?
If he's constipated then he won't want to eat if something is blocking the other end of the digestive tract.

Keeping everything crossed here that Spike is back to his normal self very soon.

:bighug:Hugs:bighug:

Eliz
 
No I looked for the Fortiflora when I went to Whole Foods last week. Where would I find it? Would it be in the dairy or vitamin section? He has not had a bowel movement since I cleaned his litter last night around 7pm. I added a small amount of Guar Gum to his food this morning. I also keep Miralax on hand at all times. My youngest son suffers from chronic constipation and his doctor advised him to take it daily a few years ago.
I have to go to Publix today do you think I could find some Fortiflora there?
 
Forti Flora is a veterinary product; you won't find it at Whole Foods. Try Amazon, or your vet's office.
 
Hi Tammy,

I'm glad to hear that Spike ate more for you today. It sounds like he's voting with his taste buds. Is he now keeping the homemade food down OK? If yes, then maybe ask your vets about whether it's OK to feed Spike what he will eat willingly and whether there is anything the vet can recommend/prescribe to support Spike's digestive system while it acclimatises to the homemade diet? Maybe other members might have suggestions for you, too.
 
The vet thinks the whole incident was caused by Spike being stubborn and refusing to eat more of the hills food during the transition. I went to his vet and picked up a pro-biotic called Advita. It is supposed to help his appetite and is recommended for use during food changes. He has been eating today. He has eaten about 3 oz of homemade food and 3 oz of the Hills wet canned food. I have found that I have to use separate bowls though. He does not want to eat it mixed.
I also stopped by Petsmart and picked a calming spray. I sprayed a spot in my bed where he likes to lay. I got Spike out of his hiding spot and carried him towards the bed. He jumped out of my arms onto the bed. He has been laying there for over an hour thumping his tail against the bed. His eyes are closed but I can tell he is feeling a lot better. One word of caution was as I was reading the labels and a lot of them the main ingredients ware are man-made chemicals. I was surprised the Martha Stewart variety contained the most plant based ingredients.
Now I just have to convince my vet the Vetsulin is not the best choice of insulin and I will be happy. He goes back Thursday for a recheck so I need to get my documents in order. The vet already has the glucose readings from the Alphatrack. I know the strips are a little pricey but I feel they are worth it for now. We discussed the change but the vet said the earliest he would consider changing it after the recheck. He said if spike is feeling well we will look at other options.
Are any of you in the U.S.? I am in Jacksonville, Florida.
 
Fantastic news about Spike eating more. I hope the Advita helps him. :)

The tests you got today are very useful in that they show that Spike's BG was climbing again at +7, most probably indicating that the Vetsulin was losing its effectiveness. If you could get as many +4 and +7/+8 tests as you can manage between now and the vet visit it might give you more evidence of when the Vetsulin is wearing off later in the cycle, and would better support your case for switching Spike to a longer-acting insulin. Also, it might be worth journaling Spike's mood at different times in the insulin cycle (before injection, onset, nadir, and when the injection is wearing off - say from +10 onwards). Sometimes if an insulin disagrees with a cat they can get a bit mopey while the insulin is working but become a bit more perky as the dose is wearing off. That was certainly the case with Saoirse: she used to hide behind a curtain and looked miserable most of the day when she was on Caninsulin.
 
Did the vet do bloodwork to rule out infection someplace? Those high flat curves sometimes are due to infection (UTI, Teeth, etc.)
 
Yes I need to get the results updated. Bloodwork is good. That was why he thought it was due to the food change.
 
Also, I noticed you cat has a very broad face (although it could just be the picture). Has anything changed in his facial characteristics in the last year? If you have younger pics of him, you can compare. Too much growth hormone, acromegaly, can make cats resistant to insulin, so it might be something to test for if his dose ends up being high.
 
Spike's Mom said:
I just feel like the past 6 weeks his glucose levels have been all the place.
Click to expand...
Don't lose heart, Tammy. :bighug:

It's not at all unusual for cats to have high and/or erratic blood glucose levels initially.

Spike's numbers look very much like Bertie's were when he was first diagnosed. (And in fact some of Spike's numbers are much better than Bertie's were!)
We were also on Vetsulin/Caninsulin at the time; but I don't think our problem was just caused by the fact that the insulin wasn't the best choice. When a cat has been in high blood glucose numbers for a long time it's body can have difficulty utilizing insulin ('glucose toxicity') . It can take a while for the body to be able to use it properly again. Sometimes I felt that I was injecting water instead of insulin...

Fortunately, cats can often tolerate high blood glucose levels surprisingly well (much better than humans or dogs). But it is important to watch out for other factors such as infection and ketones.
Are you testing Spike's pee for ketones? If not, then it would be prudent to do so. You should be able to get Ketodiastix (or equivalent) test strips from most pharmacies.
Crumpling a bit of plastic food wrap in the litter tray can help to catch a sample. You only need a teensy weensy amount.

Reassuring hug to you,

Eliz
 
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I have been trying to test for keytones since Friday. I even picked up some fish tank gravel. I have not been successful yet.
Meya14 said:
Also, I noticed you cat has a very broad face (although it could just be the picture). Has anything changed in his facial characteristics in the last year? If you have younger pics of him, you can compare. Too much growth hormone, acromegaly, can make cats resistant to insulin, so it might be something to test for if his dose ends up being high.
Click to expand...

He has always had a broad face. Before diabetes he was a pretty big (broad) body to match. I really need to update his picture. This picture was taken when he was taken when he was healthy.
 
I was finally able to test for keytones last night after several unsuccessful attempts. Thank goodness all was clear and results were negative. I was reading other peoples post and used the saran wrap over the top of the litter in the box. I was getting frustrated because nothing else worked; watching & waiting for him to go or fish tank gravel. Now I have found the easy way for us I will use the saran wrap first next time.
 
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