Good kitten food for senior cat, Junior, now off insulin
Good kitten food for senior cat, Junior, now off insulin
Hi. Junior, who I've written about a lot before had 2 days of blood glucose testing lately. First, he went in for a BGC and teeth cleaning. He also had complete bloodwork and fructosomine testing, which all came back normal. He returned home with clavamox, which apparently upset his stomach because he stopped eating and was losing weight within 2 days. I took him back to the vet who kept him overnight for a second time last week and again monitored his sugar. He began eating, and his sugar was within normal range. The vet said to stop insulin. She gave him a shot of antibiotic. He had previously been on one unit of Humilin N twice a day. Then, about a week later, he started throwing up. I took him to the vet again, and she examined him and took an xray and said he was constipated. He also had a touch of asthma. She gave him an enema, and sent me home with laxatone and meds for the asthma. She told me in order to have a chance of keeping him off insulin permanently, I might want to feed him canned kitten food. He does not eat much if I put out Purina DM. I am looking for a high quality kitten food. I bought Iams and he seems to like it, and also a can of Wellness. which I haven't tried yet. I just want to make sure he is getting the best food I can give him , but also will eat it on a consistent basis. Right now, he seems to be doing well...no vomiting, he is eating, active, etc. Thank you.
Re: Good kitten food for senior cat, Junior, now off insulin
Iams canned Kitten food, or Hill's Science Diet Growth Kitten food.
A "touch" of asthma? Um, cats either have asthma or they don't. How exactly did she diagnose this? What did she prescribe for this?
Why was he constipated, what were you feeding at the time he developed constipation, and when the enema was given, what was the stool consistency when removed?
A "touch" of asthma? Um, cats either have asthma or they don't. How exactly did she diagnose this? What did she prescribe for this?
Why was he constipated, what were you feeding at the time he developed constipation, and when the enema was given, what was the stool consistency when removed?
..........Traci
Re: Good kitten food for senior cat, Junior, now off insulin
Thanks for the quick reply. He seems to like the Iams, so I'll stay with that. Right now, I am introducing it slowly. I forgot to mention to the vet that we were painting, and that may have caused his asthma attack. She gave me Theophylline ER for the asthma. I asked why he was constipated, and she said, probably his age. His stools are usually a little hard, but he gets them out. He is kind of private about the litter box, and I rarely see him going. He was eating his regular food, which has been Fancy Feast, which worked because he would eat it, and I needed to know he ate before I administered the insulin. I had a very hard time with the DM. I have given him laxatone for 3 days (on his paw...he hates it and I feel terrible) and will continue with it twice a week. Glad to know about the kitten food. Junior has to go back in less than a month for fructosomine, so everything can be checked then.
By the way, his littermate, Chester had extensive bloodwork because he is on prednisolone for his lymphoma. The vet said he is stable, and must stay on wet food too because of elevated sugar, but no insulin is needed yet. She said to bring him back again in 3 mos. (2 mos. from now) Thanks for telling me about testing his blood more often. I feel more under control about his treatment.
By the way, his littermate, Chester had extensive bloodwork because he is on prednisolone for his lymphoma. The vet said he is stable, and must stay on wet food too because of elevated sugar, but no insulin is needed yet. She said to bring him back again in 3 mos. (2 mos. from now) Thanks for telling me about testing his blood more often. I feel more under control about his treatment.
Re: Good kitten food for senior cat, Junior, now off insulin
After the enema, his stool was lose.....we waited at the vet, but he wouldn't go, and then went as soon as he was in the car. I don't know how she diagnosed the asthma....we left him there for a few hours. He was uncooperative with the xray, and they had to sedate him a bit. I did hear noises in his breathing when he was sleeping at home.
Re: Good kitten food for senior cat, Junior, now off insulin
Your vet needs to rule out inflammatory conditions. The congestion could be from an inflammatory condition or something else altogether. Simply saying asthma based only on an xray isn't confirmative. She should followup on this in a couple weeks with a new xray and ruling out other inflammatory condtions, as well as heart and lung conditions. How old is Junor? Constipation is not "normal" in cats "due to age", is this a very competent vet?
Hard stools are also not normal, so you and your vet should be working hard on addressing his diet, and keeping it consistent, she MUST address ruling out inflammatory conditions. Also ensure he is getting plenty of normal water intake, because if he isn't, this will cause dehydration, which will also mess with the glucose, as well as abnormal stools. Please start keeping watch on his litterbox usage and monitoring the consistency of his stools, if he's straining, etc.
What does she mean, "elevated sugar" regarding Chester? Did she take into account stress-glucose can elevate because of stress at time of blood draw, or did she in fact test BOTH urine and blood glucose on him? This is the only way to determine what the glucose level is doing.
When painting and when there are fumes like this, ALWAYS keep all pets in a seperate room, and ALWAYS properly ventillate the room being painted. Paint fumes can cause significant mucous membrane sensitivity and nausea/vomiting in cats, but this may not be the sole cause of Junior's vomiting. Again, the vet needs to rule out inflammatory conditions.
Lastly, rule out the possibility of tracheal infection as a result of intubation during the teeth cleaning, this is imperative, since he might have an infection from the tracheal tube, particularly if this occured directly after the dental!
Hard stools are also not normal, so you and your vet should be working hard on addressing his diet, and keeping it consistent, she MUST address ruling out inflammatory conditions. Also ensure he is getting plenty of normal water intake, because if he isn't, this will cause dehydration, which will also mess with the glucose, as well as abnormal stools. Please start keeping watch on his litterbox usage and monitoring the consistency of his stools, if he's straining, etc.
What does she mean, "elevated sugar" regarding Chester? Did she take into account stress-glucose can elevate because of stress at time of blood draw, or did she in fact test BOTH urine and blood glucose on him? This is the only way to determine what the glucose level is doing.
When painting and when there are fumes like this, ALWAYS keep all pets in a seperate room, and ALWAYS properly ventillate the room being painted. Paint fumes can cause significant mucous membrane sensitivity and nausea/vomiting in cats, but this may not be the sole cause of Junior's vomiting. Again, the vet needs to rule out inflammatory conditions.
Lastly, rule out the possibility of tracheal infection as a result of intubation during the teeth cleaning, this is imperative, since he might have an infection from the tracheal tube, particularly if this occured directly after the dental!
..........Traci