Ugh

Status
Not open for further replies.
yellowdaisies

yellowdaisies

New Member
I applied Advantage last night and now Jake isn't eating. Because I couldn't apply it directly on the back of the neck due to his extreme hair loss he did lick a little of it. He ran, foamed a little and now he isn't eating and I'm sure that's due to the nasty taste is his mouth. My poor boy just sits in front of his bowl and cries. I'm freaking out because I read online that some woman applied Advantage, the cat licked it and 2 days latter he died. My vet doesn't have emergency after hours and Bayer Animal Health is closed. I have to work 10 long hours today so I can he home with him. Any input?

BTW, within a day of starting Prozinc Jake didn't use the litter box at all for days and has rarely peed or pooped since. After almost 4 weeks or arguing with the vet (i insisted it was the insulin, vet insisted he's just going somewhere else) he said to skip a few days and see what happens. Guess what? I was right.

Also coinciding with the start of insulin injections is extreme scratching and hair loss on his head, neck and between his shoulders. Vet SWEARS it's from fleas (it's not. he hasn't had a damn flea in years), hence the application of Advantage. His stomach is pretty much hairless and he's getting scabs from gnawing on himself. Vet says this hair loss is from an allergy, yet it started about the time he starting drinking alot. I've been feeding him Fancy Feast Classic, and giving him Chromium and Vitamin E supplements and well as a antihistamine. Nothing is helping. I take Jake to the vet on Wednesday for a bg curve and after that I'm switching vets.

Input? Reassurance? Anything?

Thanks,

Lexi and Jake
 
Wondering if he is on insulin or not? Do you hometest?

I have no idea if these two incidents have anything in common but this poster recently had a cat who quit eating after a flea treatment (different product) and after a bath, is doing better. viewtopic.php?f=28&t=39201

Any chance the scratching could be food allergies? What do you feed? Did you recently change flavors?
 
I've been feeding him Fancy Feast Classic and The Goodlife recipe dry food forever. Haven't changed flavors at all cause my boy is way picky. He has been off insulin for 2 full days. Vet said home testing wasn't necessary because he was on such a low dose (2 units am/1pm).

I think I may give him an oatmeal bath to try and give him some relief from scratching, after of course I stop freaking out because of the stupid Advantage.
 
I think the bath is a good idea. But I have to disagree with your vet. 2 units is not a low dose and testing is essential. We have cats here (read MomtoValla's post this am) who were doing fine, in normal numbers and suddenly threw a non shootable number. MomtoValla suddenly got a number in the 80s after days in the 100-200 range. If she had shot her normal dose, her kitty would have hypoed. And as you have probably read, we feel dry food raises bg levels. When we switched Oliver from dry to wet, he came down 100 points overnight. If you are willing, losing the dry and testing may help you get your kitty regulated or into remission.

Let us know how the bath works. If you would like to know more about our protocol of wet lo carb and testing, just ask.
 
As you have already made it clear that your vet can make mistakes, this is another one. Home testing is crucial when giving insulin. It is the only way to know if Jake needs insulin and how he is responding to the insulin. And most recommend starting at 1 unit- not 2. If you have a meter, please test him anyway, even though he is not currently on insulin to see what his numbers are. It may be related to the not eating. Of course so might the Advantage. Please keep us posted!
 
I don't have a meter for home testing. The link for the Newbie Kits wasn't working. Any suggestions on what meter to get?

I can certainly stop feeding him dry food and yes, please, I'd like to know the protocol for feeding and testing.

Thanks so very much for our replies. I'll keep you posted.

Lexi and Jake
 
You might try the Newbie kit link again. It worked for me this am. But if you want to get this started (the kit will take several days to arrive) you can get the supplies for under $40 at Walmart. Here is a shopping list:


A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 25-28 gauge is good. Any brand will work. Just be sure they matches the lancet device.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats

We all have tricks that helped us. And it doesn't always work the first time. It is like the ears learn to bleed. We spent an entire weekend poking poor Oliver before we got a drop. What helped us was really getting the ear warm with the rice sack.

So glad you are going to test. As a vet who posts here once said, "Shooting without hometesting is like driving down the freeway with a bag over your head." I have always loved the analogy. Testing gives you such a sense of control over this disease and is the only way to keep your kitty safe.
 
If you have a Walmart near you, I personally use their Relion Micro meter, as it is easy to use,takes a very small drop of blood and both the meter and the test strips are ultra cheap whole thing meter and 50 test strips ran me under $35.

Some other things you will need to test at home besides the meter and test strips:

Rice sock for warming the ears, just take a small fairly thinnest cotton sock, (baby socks work great), fill it about 2 /3 full of plain uncooked white rice (not instant). and knot. Pop this in the microwave for a few seconds until very warm but not hot. I usually check it against my neck.

Ketostix to test urine ffor ketones. These will be right there with the rest of the diabetic supplies and are the same ones that human diabetics use.

Lancets and a lancet pen (or you can just use the lancets freehand).

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top