Mist Has Inappetance

which is a fancy way of saying she's not eating much at all and I'm worried.

To recap: On October 5 the vet drew blood to check her thyroid, liver, glucose values. Thyroid & liver "a little high" but O.K. for a 14.5 year old kitty. Her glucose was 191 and we (me and vet) decided to put her back on glipizide which had worked excellently well when she was first diagnosed with diabetes. She's been off glipizide since November 2009.

Started 2.5 mg of glipizide on October 6, at dinner time with food which is when she also gets cosequin for osteoarthritis.

She threw up once each night on Oct 22, Oct 23, Oct 24. Called vet on Oct 25 as she was off her feed - walks over to dish, starts to eat, takes a mouthful or two and walks away. Vet suggested dosing with glipizide midday. That was yesterday. She ate maybe a half of a 3.5 ounce can and usually consumes two cans in 4 servings, with gusto.

No vomiting, but still not eating much. Tried fresh can of food, lacing with tuna juice, tuna right from the can - eats a mouthful and walks away.

As per vet today she's now off glipizide. Watch and call in tomorrow or Thursday.

Half-life of glipizide, according to one on-line site, is 17 hours. So her system should be pretty well clear of it. She looks O.K., seems somewhat subdued, is drinking water - paddling in her water bowl in fact, she loves to splash around.

I'm worried and upset and just don't know what's wrong or what to do. I'm kicking myself that maybe her glucose was higher because A) she was at the vet and B) everything that was going on with Fog and I should have just left well enough alone.

Please send good health wishes to my little girl.

for your Mist. Maybe she's "off" because she's missing her Fog? I hope that's all this is and that soon she'll be her old self. My boy, Sven, has days when he practically eats nothing at all and I worry my heart out about him (he's got kidney disease), then he'll come right back and be himself again. He also goes thru those days when he throws up for several days in a row, then stops. It's so worrisome, but for you, especially since you just lost Fog, I know it's worse. for you.

She ate nothing yesterday, nothing at all. I warmed her food, tried to tempt her with tuna & tuna juice, cooked a bit of chicken breast, scrambled free-range farm fresh local egg. Wouldn't eat a thing.

Today she has been eating tiny amounts of her regular food at frequent intervals.

I think she's turned the corner.

I, on the other hand, am aging rapidly.

Please keep us posted. I, for one, here, is "involved" with your remaining weather twin.

Hoping she is on the mend. I bet she is mourning Fog. Poor dear.

I'll tell my "Fog Ghost" to send her good vibes your way.


Robin

Thanks for you kind words mrsgreenjeans and Robin.

I don't think she is mourning for Fog. If anything, she's appreciating being an only cat. He was the dominant one of the pair, and she was retiring. He was confident that the whole world adored him and she hid / hides from strangers. They never napped together. In fact, sometimes he would chase her in a very less than playful manner and she'd growl in protest before hiding somewhere.

Now she's up on the bed with us at night - as if, before, a queen size bed had no room for two people and two cats.

I am reasonably sure her inappetance is a less common side effect of the glipizide, all the more frustrating and upsetting as she had no problem when on it previously. Who knows, everyone changes and she's a year older. Will see if she will eat more at each serving tomorrow - less than a teaspoon every 60 to 90 minutes does get fatiguing - for me, that is. I'm sure Mist thinks it is just fine.

As I type this she's curled up in a round furry ball on the table to my right, as you can see in the image I took just now. catnapping, indeed.

Well I hope she is continuing to do better. She may not be missing Fog, exactly, but he is gone and that is change, and change can cause stress.

It does sound more like nausea though, has your vet mentioned trying her on pepcid ac? (famotidine) usual does is 1/4 of a 10 mg tablet daily. Not sure about interactions with the other medicine, your vet will know.

Keep us posted on the little beauty.

As an example - while I was getting dressed this morning Mist was wandering around my ankles and meowing. That's what she usually does to hurry me up and go downstairs to feed her.

She's not yet polishing off half of a small can at a serving but does eat a good part of it, then goes back and eats the rest later.

I was out this morning and she "told" my husband that she needed a mid-morning snack. Which of course he gave her.

Happy, happy and relieved that she's eating so much better now..

Otto, if it was stress-related / acerbated by Fog's loss would it have taken so long to show up? His neuopathy was apparent on Oct 5. She started on glipizide on Oct 6. He was euthanized on Oct 11. She started nightly vomiting and losing her appetite somewhere about Oct 22 /23. Just seems like too much of a gap. I'm interested in what you have to say.

Whew! Glad she is back to eating .

Originally Posted by Catapault

Otto, if it was stress-related / acerbated by Fog's loss would it have taken so long to show up? His neuopathy was apparent on Oct 5. She started on glipizide on Oct 6. He was euthanized on Oct 11. She started nightly vomiting and losing her appetite somewhere about Oct 22 /23. Just seems like too much of a gap. I'm interested in what you have to say.

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My thoughts on this are IF Mist's troubles stemmed from Fog disappearing from her life, that 11 days is not too long for trouble to show up. It may have taken her that long to realize he's not coming back.

And now, it could be she's recovering from that loss.

But it's all speculation on my part of course. I've seen what happens to a grieving cat, but every case is different.

I am glad to know she's doing better!

How is Mist doing?

As far a grieving, I think cats do it. I've had cats who didn't seem to get along, AT ALL!!!! But when one died, the other's behavior changed for a long time and seemed off - unexplained crying and general malaise for example. Most cats don't take change well.

Neither do I. I lost my dear, sweet Sherman over 7 months ago and just this morning I got choked up over him. And now days will go by and I don't think of him. But below the surface, the pain of his loss is still there.

Animals relationships can be nearly as complicated as human ones. Mist was used to Fog. He was part of her "normal." His being gone is not normal. It's bound to take it's toll on her mentally and physically.

I often wish cats would adjust to things faster. I have a new one, for 5.5 weeks, and she still won't come out of the guest room. Sigh. They are such sensitive creatures. Which is one reason we love them. But it can be difficult.


Robin

Mist is doing just fine. She's again eating well. May not finish a meal all at one go, but later returns to her dish and cleans it up. She used to slink over to Fog's dish after polishing off her food (he was a very casual eater, some days ate everything, other days not) to see what was available. I'd hiss at her, and then she'd turn around and scuttle back to her bowl. My take on her current behavior - not always eating everything up at once - is that there's no competition so she sees it as O.K. to take her time.

It doesn't seem to me that she misses Fog - that's for me and my husband. She wasn't wandering around the house crying for him or anything. Before, she never slept in bed with us before. Fog did. Now she happily comes upstairs, under the covers with me, circles a bit and then plops down on her side and purrs.

It is difficult to say - this loss of appetite was due to a reaction to the glipizide, no this is a reaction to losing Fog. But she did recover her appetite within a couple of days of stopping the medication. Perhaps it was some of both.

I'm just glad she's back to her sweet purr-y self.

I'm just glad she's back to her sweet purr-y self.

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Me too!