I adopted a 14 year old cat 7 months ago. He was owner surrender to the shelter. Crabby old boy had been with the same dad his whole life but when marriage and kids happened, he just wasn't having it. Kids 1 / cat 0. So, I got him. Way overweight. Noticed he was drinking tons of water. Litter box cleaning was a riot! LOL Took him in for full blood panel. Diagnosed diabetes. GREAT! So, he doesn't allow being picked up. Doesn't like touch. I knew this from the info the family gave to the shelter. He was a loner and that's just how it is. He lets me give a pet or 2 but also let's me know when I've pushed it too far. Walks away. Started Bexacat! Was super excited insulin wasn't involved as there is no way this boy would be a willing participant. Not like I can hold him or pick him up. He will fight. Well, he wants nothing to do with eating the pill like the vet said. I crush it and put in a small amount of food. He walks away. I tried every safe food under the sun, walks away. Gave all the same items without the pill and he chows. I fear his time is limited with me before he starts to get sick and show symptoms. His sugar was wayyyyyy high when the test came back. Anyone have other advice? Seriously, gave this guy everything from fresh poached salmon to ice cream! I pulled all the punches. Zero luck.
Have you asked the vet if you can give Senvelgo a go? It's a liquid variation of a similar medication and might be easier to give. Have you tried giving Bexacat in a pill pocket? Make sure you start by giving him a few blank pill pockets without medication in them.
I don’t know how big the pill is but I have to give my boy a thyroid pill and it’s fairly small so I don’t crush it. I just bury it in a chunk of his food and he eats it like he would a pill pocket. I’m wondering if by crushing it, he can smell it more? If you think that won’t work, have you tried wrapping the pill in cheese or covering it in butter?
I've tried it in all these foods + more than I can list: churro type treats, chicken, scrambled eggs, wet food (more brands and flavors than I can list), butter, pill pockets (both flavors), tuna. Sardines. Ice cream. Kitten formula. Cat sip milk. Cream cheese. Bacon. Hamburger. Raw cat food. Costco canned chicken. Homemade unsweetened whipped cream. Yogurt. Homemade chicken stock. I will ask the vet about Senveglo! Never heard of it. I have buried it in his wet food (whole and 2 halves). Yesterday I finally just stuck it in his mouth. His spit it out. So the backstory is: he can't be picked up or I should say doesn't allow it. He'll fight you! He doesn't like touch. He will let you know now and then if he wants a pet but his tolerance with touch is low. Only having him 7 months and he has a whole 14 years of his life with a diff. family, I don't know how he was treated. I know he was surrendered because he wasn't having the young kids. I am trying anything I can think of. Vet is calling me today.
UPDATE: Vet said discontinue giving him the Bexacat. Take his food down to as low carbs as possible (which I'm always mindful of anyhow but was trying higher carb items to get him to eat the med). We will test his blood in 3 weeks. I'm hoping I can get him into remission with no carbs.
If you are going to stop treating the diabetes, please test him regularly for ketones. It's a risk factor for cats on Bexacat, even more so for cats not on insulin. Lots more information in this post: Ketones, Ketoacidosis, and Diabetic Cats: A Primer on Ketones Going to low carb food will help, but he may need more than that. Good luck and keep us posted.
I agree with Wendy. Also, is it possible for your vet to put a continuous glucose monitor on him so you can see what his BG is? Honestly, I would be very concerned about the advice your vet is giving about waiting three weeks to test him. I would be concerned about him developing DKA in the interim if the switch to LC food doesn’t resolve it. Yes, we have seen that help but we’ve also seen many cats that have become diabetic due to dry food not go into remission just by switching to LC canned food.
UPDATE: Because Ninja doesn't allow to be picked up or touched much (allowed to pat him on the head and rump for a few seconds before you get a swat or bite) there wasn't much I could do beyond Bexacat. And he simply would not eat it (per my msg above). Took him to the vet last Monday and his sugar has continued to rise. It was 472. Now he was constipated (dehydrated) and vomited a couple times. His wellbeing is my top priority. It's tough to manage an unwilling cat. He was euthanized Thursday, March 28 at 9:00 am PST. Heartbroken. I only had him 7 months. Shame on his previous family of 14 years for owner surrender to the shelter with diabetes. I am so incredibly sad. Can't stop thinking about him. I will join the grief section. Thank you all for your advice.
I'm so sorry. It's hard to make the decision, I know, but you gave him 7 good months. I'm sure he knew you cared.
Ninja was horrible about being touched. For me to even check the continue monitor may have been sketchy. There's no way I could have given him injections. He was a scratcher and biter. It was his way or the highway. Even though I only had him 7 months, I took him to his vet he saw for years prior to me. (his vet info was on his owner surrender info with shelter). So we made the best decision we could for his healthcare.
