At the emerg overnight

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to touch base about Splunk. I woke up to him vomiting at 4am, and immediately noticed he was having trouble breathing. We went to the emerg, and they put him on oxygen immediately. X-rays show some minor amounts of inflammation in his lungs, so we're querying a lung infection (one of our other cats just had bronchitis). The vet wondered about very small amounts of fluid around his lungs, but she wasn't sure.

No ketones, but some leukocytes in his urine, so maybe an infection there. Red blood cell count is normal. He's had a bronchodilator, some Cerenia for nausea, and is on liquid doxycycline (0.6mg q 12 hrs) for the possible lung infection.

They suggested keeping him for observation, but (a) I was worried about the cost, and (b) I didn't want to leave him, and thought he would be more comfortable at home. I will watch him like a hawk today.

He's currently very lethargic, shaking intermittently, and breathing more nosily than usual (we think it's upper airway noise, and he often breathes in kind of a "snoring" way even when he's healthy). His respiratory rate was up to 40 (with mouth breathing) at one point, but it's down to about 25 now.

Just wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this, and if there's anything I should know about dosing him with insulin while he's sick. I'll check his BGL before dosing him, of course.

Many thanks from a cat mum who is worried sick, quite literally.

Jenn

 

I have no experience dealing with anything like this, but am sending prayers and healing vines for Splunk (and his Mom).

 

Aw, thanks so much. I really appreciate it. He's due for his shot now, but his sugar is 13.8 (248) and he's not eating, so I think I will hold off...

 

Sorry to hear you had rough night, Jenn . I hope you can get him to eat something today. Please keep us updated if they are calling you later with results. Sending lots of healing vibes

 

Thank you so much!

 

My diabetic cat was never sick like that, but I did care for a kitten with sever pneumonia. in addition to antibiotics we did nebulizer treatments on her. we would put her in a carrier, put a towel over the whole thing, and put the nebulizer tube through the front grate with her. I think it really helped loosen up the lunges and nasal passages. If you don't have access to a nebulizer, you could also put him in the bathroom and steam it up with the shower, and keep humidifiers/vaporizers going.

 

at 248 without eating it's ok to skip... or give a token small dose of like .25

 

Thanks so much. I've done the shower thing before... will keep that as a possibility. Right now, he's breathing a bit more easily, but he's so lethargic -- he's showing no interest in anything. He's normally such a young-seeming, playful cat... this is pretty terrifying. My paws are crossed that some rest will help. He did have a rough night, so I'm sure he's tired...

Thanks for your comments on the insulin. I'll check his sugar again in a bit to make sure it's not creeping up, but other than that, I'd prefer not to poke him too much... he has endured so much today.

 

Do you have a copy of his labs?

He probably needs a few days to rest. This might sound silly but whenever I have a cat recovering from something I go to YouTube and play music for healing for cats. Sometimes I find audio of cats purring. It seems to relax them.

 

I don't have a copy of his labs... should be able to get it tomorrow.
I love the YouTube idea... I will do that right now!
Thanks.

 

I hope Splunk starts feeling better soon. Do you have meat and broth baby food to try, maybe warmed up a little? You don't want to miss insulin shots if you can help it if he has another infection going on - that can be a recipe for the development of ketones. Do you have urine ketone tests strips?

 

We had a family with cardiomyopathy which is brutal but NONE of the symptoms you describe apply so one less awful thing to worry about. I've also taken cats home when they are so stressed about being locked in a metal cage it does more harm than good. Cats hate it much more than dogs. Keep an eye on him and gas in the car. Good luck Splunk.

 

If nothing else I find the music and purring relaxing! I also plug in feliway where the patient is. We do Some trap nueter release so we've had a lot of overnight "guests".

 

I'm hoping Splunk feels better soon.
Maybe I should try the meat and broth baby food for Smoky too. I'm glad your kitty is home with you again.

 

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that Splunk isn't feeling well! Please do keep us updated and know that we're thinking of you and sending healing vines.

 

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your kind words and thoughts -- I've been on an emotional knife's edge all day, and all your kindness has brought me to tears! Splunk, I will guardedly say, seems a bit better, though I know he's not out of the woods. He's less short of breath, and while still very lethargic, seems a bit more alert, and actually ate some Fancy Feast about an hour ago, and has kept it down so far. He's purring once more (this cat purrs all the time, so when he stopped, I knew he was feeling really awful).

I just checked his sugar, and it was 15.1 with the AT2 strips, and 16.9 with the new FreeStyle strips I'm trying out (they're half the cost, so I thought I'd give them a go). Not as close as I'd like, but I've had readings that different using two AT2 strips within seconds of each other. Given that he's not eating well, I'll probably give him 0.5u at his usual time tonight (in a couple of hours) as long as his sugar is still up like it is now.

Kris, I do have ketone test strips. He's pretty dehydrated right now, so I'm unlikely to be able to use one this evening, but I'll test them out when I see him pee next. If he's still dehydrated later tonight, I'll probably give him some SC fluids, but I don't want to overdo it, in case he does have any fluid in his lungs.

And Janet, Splunk and my other cats (and the dogs too!) loved the relaxing cat music. They all just flopped out and had a nap. Thanks so much for that. Feliway is a good idea too, though I'm down to my last diffuser and my stressy cat is using it right now. I'll ask him if he minds sharing.

Thanks again, everyone!

 

Yeah, HCM can be pretty awful. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Splunk does have a very mild case, but he had a cardiac ultrasound less than two weeks ago, so it's not very likely that this is the cause. It could explain fluid in his lungs, though. But I don't think that's it. I think he probably has a lung infection, and I think there's a decent chance there's something else going on we haven't identified yet -- either in addition to or as a result of his diabetes. (I'm not sure what that would be... he's had every test under the sun.) But paws crossed it's just a bit of a lung infection, and will clear up with the abx. Maybe if we can get his sugar levels sorted out, we'll stop having these crises...

 

So glad he's showing improvement! Glad all the fur babies got a relaxing nap in. I will sometimes plug in a tablet and just put a "song" on repeat. A good sleep will let Splunk heal. Best wishes and lots of purrs.

 

hoping he makes a quick recovery, I had 2 cats with hcm. Very different outcomes as my boy was diagnosed too late. My girl was diagnosed at 11 and I had her for another 7 years, she nearly made 19. She was on fortekor.
Thinking of you and Splunk xx

 

Don't know if this is a vet's myth but here goes. Visit a dog at the vet and they're always happy to see you and will stay happy for a while afterwards. When Noah's brother Andrew was in for a few nights our vet (a great vet whose father was a vet) said cats sometimes go into a real funk if you visit and then leave. They think "Oh great, you're leaving me here again!" Another possible myth, dogs will always try to eat but a really sick cat will starve themselves to death. I know this is all Hocus Pocus but our vet has seen this happen. What I'm trying to say Jennifer is that no one wants to be in the hospital and sometimes going home can change your cat's mental health so much it can only be good. Vets perform miracles but so can Mom. Andrew lived through that and was so happy to be home it was like it never happened.

 

Hope Splunk is doing better. Smokey had asthma on top of hcm and chf. His asthma was the worse of the other two. His breathing was noisy and rapid and he would cough. Anytime xrays were done it was always asthma, occasionally a small amount of fluid. He responded to an inhaler very well. It's something to ask your vet about.

 

Not hocus-pocus at all. The 2nd time Gizmo was hospitalized with pancreatitis, after being there for four days and still not eating, my vet gave him evening home passes. They left his IV shunt in place and I picked him up after work and took him back in the morning where they would hook him back up to fluid, pain meds and antibiotics. He started eating on his own the 2nd night home (day 6) and came home two days later (day 8)/Friday night.

 

That is a great doctor. So many won't break the rules.

 

Thank you. I'm so sorry about your boy, but happy to hear the meds helped and your girl had such a long life.

 

You guys are so right -- I'm really strongly in favour of bringing my pets home from the hospital if at all possible. Splunk is very social and does better than most in foreign environments, but it would still have been very hard on him, and I hate leaving my critters in the care of other people when I can't keep an eye on how they're treating them (I trust no one!). I'm SO picky about my vets, and this is one of my "must-haves" -- they have to be willing to let me do treatments and supportive care at home. I think the value of being at home (as with most other holistic approaches) is hugely underrated in veterinary medicine.

Anyway, leaving the soapbox... Splunk is doing quite a bit better, so thank you all so much for your thoughts! He's breathing normally now, and starting to eat again. Unfortunately, he's lost 0.5 kg since early March (and he was already down 2kg at that point), so I *really* need to get his sugar levels under control in order to stop the weight loss and this other cascade of effects. It's hard to know how much insulin to give him right now, because he's a little depressed and not eating completely normally. Ugh.

 

Thanks for this. Splunk had Salbutamol at the emerg vet the other night, and it seemed to help. If this becomes a chronic thing, I will definitely ask about keeping some on hand at home. I'm sorry you had to deal with asthma... that must have been very stressful. I hate respiratory problems in cats... they're so much harder to assess than people.

 

It'll take time but we can help you get Splunk on track. Your immediate concern was this respiratory issue and it seems to be improving. As long as he's eating consistently, even if it's a little less in quantity, you can work on the Lantus dosing. It's a slow onset insulin so there isn't the same need to have a full meal on board before injecting.

 

One of my non-sugar babies might have HCM, Vet is doing an echo cardio graph on Friday. Meanwhile I made an oxygen chamber and he spends one hour each morning in it. He has actually been doing much better since we started the oxygen treatment. Something like that might help your fur baby.
I used clear packing tape on front so can see out and left space at the bottom for CO2 egress. inside is an aquarium bubbler in a large dish of water to filter and moisten the welding oxygen I am using.

 

I have extra salbutamol for humans if you want some and it's the same as what you need. I can ship it to you free of charge in Canada.

 

Oh wow, this is fantastic. I don't think he needs something like this yet, but I love that you did this, and love the design -- thanks so much for sharing. I'll keep this in mind for the future, definitely. I'm glad to hear your baby is doing better with it.

Question for you: I notice from your signature that you live in BC and are feeding YA food... how are you getting it? Are you going across the border to pick it up yourself? I've been trying to figure out how to get some without paying the insane shipping fees.

 

Wow, you are amazing, thanks so much. As with the O2 chamber, I don't think I need it quite yet, but will keep you in mind if his problem gets worse. His breathing is actually quite a bit better now, so I suspect it may have been some kind of lung infection. Unfortunately, the antibiotics he's on have given him diarrhea, so I'm stopping them today, and am waiting to hear from the vet whether we can stop altogether, or whether we should switch to a different kind. Thanks again -- I really appreciate your help!

 

Many people here give a probiotic when their kitty is on AB. You could post to ask which one. Putting a little plain (not the pie mix) canned pumpkin in the food can help with diarrhea too.

 

Thanks Kris. I've had bad experiences with probiotics in the past (I have a whole box of Fortiflora sitting here not being used), but I guess I could try again. I'll definitely see if he likes pumpkin.

 

Yes I live half an hour from the border, not so sure that's a good thing!, so I have deliveries made to a company in the states that charges me a flat $4.50 for every parcel they hold for me. Unfortunately every time I go through I have a different customs agent and the last one said I can't bring back cat food without having a cat with me. He let me through but I don't know what that means for the future.
I am looking into Dr. Elsley's low carb, clean protein food because that is available here in Canada.

 

Is the company Kinek? Someone else here suggested that. I was wondering if they're reliable.
You can't bring back cat food without having a cat with you?? That's insane. Ok, I'll just adopt a cat every time I go to pick up the food.
I might try Orijen cat and kitten... I think that's not too far off the YA. Haven't heard of Dr. Elsley's... will look it up!

 

Dr. Elsey's is fairly new . I *think* it's around the same carb content as EVO, roughly 8%
https://www.drelseys.com/clean-protein/