My diabetic cat won't eat after diagnosis. What can I do for her?

It is very important for diabetics to eat a consistent diet each day in order to match insulin prescription to energy intake and demand. You should discuss your concerns with your vet as a new diet may require adjustment of her insulin requirement but if they will not eat the diabetic food then an acceptable, tasty alternative (preferably high protein and low carbohydrate) should be found as soon as possible!

Hello, thank you for your question about Jacob. If Jacob is not not eating well I would recommend having him rechecked by your veterinarian. It is possible that his kidney disease is leading to nausea and decreased appetite. Continuing to give insulin in the face of a decreased appetite can actually lead to hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. If your veterinarian has no other concerns about his examination they can discuss prescribing an appetite stimulant. Hope this helps, good luck!

Hi, I think you should check his blood glucose, which I think it’s going to be high. If you can’t because your vet is closed and you don’t have an emergency clinic nearby, I would give him half dose of insulin. Please get in touch if there is anything else we can do for you. Hope this helps.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is concerning as it may be an indication that his diabetes is not well-controlled at the moment. I would highly recommend that you check in with a veterinarian as soon as possible to check for this possibility. If this is the case, they can work in getting him to feel better and then possibly focusing in controlling his diabetes better. Best of luck!

I would recommend to cut them very gradually over two or three weeks time and do the same with food. This will allow his organism to adapt and maintain appetite (so you can give insulin).In the long term Metabolic food (Hills) (low carbohydrates and higher protein content) should be preferred. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

As I'm sure you are aware, it's very important for diabetic dogs to eat. If May is just eating dry dog food, you can try to get her to eat by mixing in canned dog food with her dry food. Make sure that her dry food is completely coated with the canned food. You can also put some boiled and shredded white meat chicken (no bones) or scrambled eggs (no seasoning, milk, cheese, salt, pepper, just the eggs) in with her food. You can also add a tablespoon of low sodium chicken broth in with her dry food and mix it together. If she still refuses to eat, you will need to take her into the vet as there may be a diabetic related complication causing her to not eat.

Diabetes is a serious disease in cats. Prednisone is not commonly prescribed in diabetic cats as it can cause issues with regulating their insulin needs. If Boo Boo is newly diagnosed with diabetes, then he may need further testing to see if he is also ketoacidotic (diagnosed with a urine or blood sample). If he is, he will require aggressive hospitalization to overcome this problem and to get him home so you can continue with insulin treatment for the diabetes. Fatty liver disease is a very serious issue in cats. Most cats diagnosed with this disease will require aggressive hospitalization and treatment, including IV fluids and feeding tubes. The only hope of getting over this particular disease is to start eating. Many time appetite stimulants can aid in getting the cat to eat. I recommend that Boo Boo be hospitalized, preferably at a care center that offers 24 hours service, as he will likely need 24-hour monitoring and adjustments to his medications. It sounds like he has a few serious hurdles to jump in the next few days, and hospitalization will give him the best odds of recovering and returning to health.