Home care after chocolate ingestion

[MorningForest]

Note: he has already been to the ER!

Hey everyone Sunday evening my eldest cat ingested an unknown amount of chocolate syrup after I stupidly left an empty bowl of icecream where he could reach he vomited multiple times and became lethargic, and the next morning (Monday) I took him to the er. They gave him fluids and a cerenia and famotidine (antiacid) injection. They offered bloodwork but that was going to be close to $400 in addition. I do think he's considerably improved since then, but he's still on the mend. He seems pretty tired but he's purring when pet (and not as if he's in pain) and walking around (albeit slowly).

I haven't been able to monitor his food intake since after the er. He did take a churu tube this evening, but declined catnip temptations and watered down canned food*. I can only imagine he isn't eating dry food. He is drinking some water, though not as much as I'd like. I ordered a cat fountain (on Amazon) that is running late, so that it arrives tomorrow.

I just turned on the instant pot so I could make some cooked chicken breasts. Obviously no seasoning, just water. I'm hoping he'll eat that at least. I'm really worried about him. He's fairly old (unsure, maybe 15-18yrs?) and he's got the classic elderly wasting. All of them are on purina sensitive stomach dry, as that is what he was eating before we got him (he was my late maternal grandmother's cat, taken in by my maternal aunt for a few years. We got him around end of 2021). I hate that food honestly, and I want to switch them to something more age appropriate (8y/o and 10y/o) by a much better brand. Noting that my eldest is having weight issues, and price is always a concern.

Is there something I could add to his current food that could boost it? Like, adding real meat? I don't know how the micro and macro nutrients would change bc of that though.

The er vet that saw him said that chocolate does not cause kidney or liver issues, only GI issues. I always thought it did, and thought I've heard from multiple sources that it did. But now I don't know. Have y'all heard similar? She also said he may have hyperthyroidism, based on the fact that he's generally very food motivated yet really underweight. With our last elderly cat having hyperthyroidism and muscle wasting, is it basically one and the same? Or are there instances where they are in fact separate?

Note, I do not have a primary vet. We never got one after we moved to GA. I moved out as well in March, to the opposite side of the city, and I haven't been able to find a good vet yet. I want to do labwork, but er vets cost insane amounts that I just don't have.





*All 3 of them declined the wet food at first, so it may be something to do with that? I added temptations, so maybe it's a texture thing. My youngest ate some after the temptations softened quite a bit

 

[Alldara]

So Purina is the only brand with a longitudinal study for cats. Specifically, their Purina Pro Plan Prime Plus, though they have changed their other formulas to match. I think if you can move your senior on to that formula, you'd be set and no price increase.

Muscle wasting - can be separate from hyperthyroid as many different diseases can cause it. But, it's most commonly seen with hyperthyroidism alongside increased hunger.

however hyperthyroid is present in a LOT of cats over the age of 10. Studies have not yet concluded why though there are some potential risk factors aside from genetics. High salt diets and fish are the potential risk factors but there are no conclusive studies yet.

I'd seriously see if you can get a vet in the area to handle the hyperthyroidism bloodwork. Perhaps just call around and see where it's least expensive for now and worry about the quality of the vet afterwards. The VCA has a panflit that says how treatment should be monitored. Hyperthyroidism in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. I also think you need to get blood work done on your cat. He is a senior and while maybe the syrup is usually a GI problem, it doesn't mean that it didn't make another problem you didn't know about like hyperthyroidism or kidney disease worse. There is no point in just doing the thyroid test because it usually is about the same cost as doing a senior panel, which will include many tests for liver, kidney function as well as a complete blood count.

Is there anything else he could have got into besides the syrup? Any plants in the house? Any human topical medications?
Chocolate toxicity can cause more than GI issues because the actual toxic part is the caffeine and theobromine. It can cause seizures, heart issues, death.
The older the cat, the more chance that he will have a worse reaction.

How much total syrup did you put on your ice cream? Not here to judge, just trying to get an approximate. I will link a chocolate toxicity calculator below.

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=07d16b9b5fd131b6JmltdHM9MTY5Mjc0ODgwMCZpZ3VpZD0wMDUzNzM5MC0wYmU5LTYwMDctMTkxMS02MmNlMGZlOTY2ODImaW5zaWQ9NTQyMA&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=00537390-0be9-6007-1911-62ce0fe96682&psq=chocolate+toxicity+cats&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21uaWNhbGN1bGF0b3IuY29tL2Jpb2xvZ3kvY2F0LWNob2NvbGF0ZS10b3hpY2l0eQ&ntb=1

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=7a06ee8d89b470b5JmltdHM9MTY5Mjc0ODgwMCZpZ3VpZD0wMDUzNzM5MC0wYmU5LTYwMDctMTkxMS02MmNlMGZlOTY2ODImaW5zaWQ9NTM4NQ&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=00537390-0be9-6007-1911-62ce0fe96682&psq=chocolate+toxicity+cats&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubWVyY2t2ZXRtYW51YWwuY29tL211bHRpbWVkaWEvY2xpbmljYWwtY2FsY3VsYXRvci9jaG9jb2xhdGUtdG94aWNpdHktY2FsY3VsYXRvcg&ntb=1

 

[MorningForest]

I checked out the link and I've learned quite a bit of new stuff I'm also going to make some calls today and see what I can find. I asked NextDoor also, but there wasn't much response.
Thank you!!

 

[MorningForest]

I do have succulents and some of them are toxic, but I keep all of the plants (toxic or not) high up and make sure nothing falls or drops. All of my medications are hidden away. Anything that isn't is properly sealed. He's not the one to chew on random things either, and there wasn't any evidence of bite marks on anything. He also started vomiting shortly after I discovered that someone licked the bowl.
It was cookies and cream with maybe 3-4 tablespoons of Hershey's syrup? The bowl was empty tho, except for some residual melted icecream and syrup. If i had to guess, he probably consumed about 1 - 1.5 teaspoons total? Complete guess tho, again. I'll definitely check out the calculator tho, and see what it comes up with. Thank you!!

 

[MorningForest]

Update: so he turned up his nose at the chicken that I made in the instant pot. They all did, actually. I ordered some gerber baby food and I'll mix that in with it and see how they react.

The only interest he's shown for food is the churu tube that I gave him last night. He doesn't seem interested in anything else. Hoping the baby food works . I will email the ER vet today and let them know what's going on. They'll likely say to bring him in again, but I'm going to try to find a primary that can see him early Saturday morning.

To clarify: only my eldest is having muscle wasting. 8y/o is at a healthy weight and my 10y/o is actually chonky. She's more of an indoor/outdoor cat but I haven't let her free roam since we moved to GA in June 2021, and that contributes to her weight gain. I'm concerned that a senior diet will make her gain more weight, but Im still going to switch regardless, for my eldest.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. If he is hyperthyroid, it really doesn’t matter what you feed him if the thyroid isn’t controlled. You have to think of it as if your metabolism was speeded way up, you could eat anything and still lose weight. That’s why the bloodwork is important.

He also may have some kidney disease going on, which can cause muscle wasting.

I am or saying this is what is going on with him, just that you need the bloodwork checked.If you are going to check blood work, don’t test one thing. Check a senior panel. Often times one test costs just as much as an entire panel.

For diet information, I like
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats.
It is written by a vet. It’s an older site, but I think the info is very good still. I don’t agree with everything. I don’t like raw diets, salmonella is bad. And I am not going to cook for my cats. But, the info on canned diets is really good.

 

[silent meowlook]

So, a tablespoon is about half an ounce. Just to help with the toxicity calculations

 

[Alldara]

A senior diet may actually help balance your chonky cat out. It's more easily absorbed so she may feel less hungry and eat a bit less.