Effys at emergency vet right now

Woke up this morning to tons of diarrhea in the dining room, few hours later he was vomiting a bunch of stomach fluids and bubbles. Wasn’t asking for food, drinking water, would take a few bites of his favorite food but couldn’t keep it down. I was scared of DKA so I took him to the Emergency vet down the street. His poop was a grey liquid before we left. Really worried. Keep us in your thoughts!!!!! I’ll keep you guys updated. Has anyone else seen these symptoms before?

 

Oh, no...I hope he is okay.

 

Oh, no!!!

Have them check for pancreatitis as well as (of course) ketones-- they can get an immediate yes/no with the SNAP fPL, or send out for the more detailed Spec fPL. Pancreatitis is very common in diabetic cats and often involves vomiting and diarrhea.

Glad he's at the vet where they can take care of him-- hope he's better soon!

 

@Djamila She posted this in the FB group. I recommended she reach out to you, and the other smarties on here.

Maybe you have some experience or knowledge?

@Critter Mom
@Rachel
@Kris & Teasel

 

Keeping you and Effy in my thoughts!

 

Sending prayers and healing thoughts for Effy.

 

Oh dear! I'm so sorry to hear this. It sounds like Effy is right where he needs to be...I'm not sure what it is, but I second the suggestion of checking for ketones and pancreatitis. Please let us know!

 

Oh goodness! Yes to checking for ketones, and p-titis. Also ask them to check for hydration if he hasn't been able to keep anything in - that would be a side effect, not a cause, but if he's low, fluids will help him feel better. Could also be gastritis - food poisoning if he got a bad batch of food, sudden onset, and no other symptoms. Since you're already at the vet, I'm sure they'll be the best source of information for you right now.

Please let us know what the vet says and what tests are run. Sending hugs to you and Effy both right now.

 

Horrible for you both.
I hope the ER vet sorts this out for you pronto.
Meanwhile here is a

 

I'm keeping fingers crossed they can sort this out ASAP. He's in the best place for monitoring and treatment. Keep us posted.

 

She has a good update. Well, not "good" but better than what was anticipated. I'll let her share the news though.

 

Hey everyone! Just got back from the emergency vet!! They checked his ketones and they came up as trace amounts. Not enough for him to want to keep him overnight but they did give me the option. Vet said in his opinion he would just take him home and watch closely and check back in with our normal vet in 48 hours. They did not check for pancreatitis since there were no signs of any abdominal pain that would suggest any obstructions or signs of pancreatitis. I wish I would have read this before we left though so I could have made them test for it regardless but we walked out with a bill that was just slightly under all the money I had on me at the time... They treated him for non specific gastroenteritis. He wasn't dehydrated but they still gave him some fluids while he was there anyway. We left with a script of metrodanizole, pepcid, and fortiflora. They gave him a shot of cerenia before we left as well. He can't eat or drink for another 12 hours though. How do you guys suggest I give him this tiny pill of pepcid?? I'm scared to shove it in his mouth if he can't get a drink afterwards! Poor guy is hungry but can't eat. He also missed his second dose of lantus for the day while we were there even though I brought it with us and offered it to them multiple times but since he wasn't keeping anything down it's probably best we didn't dose. So since he's got trace amount of ketones, I'm going to run to the store and grab some test strips for the time being. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to get them gone in the meantime? Not super familiar with ketones in general so I suppose tonight that is what i'm gunna be looking up! They suggest going to our normal vet in 48 hours but they pretty much wiped out what I had on my debit card tonight. I can try and come up with some vet money since I was not approved for care credit but you know how that goes. I'll be in the hole for a little bit. Glad he's home though, he's super glad he's home as well. Diarrhea is still in full effect, he let me know as soon as we got in the car lol! but anyway, thanks for the well wishes everyone!!!! I'm open to any and all advice at this point!

 

Does anyone know why they would want me to wait 12 hours no vomiting before letting him eat or drink? I feel bad because he's pacing the house for food right now

 

Glad he's doing ok! Just FYI my cat wasn't (sometimes isn't) eating, and had no abdominal pain. Pancreatitis is hard to judge. He had a test and it came back positive. He's taking pepcid too. I noticed he needs to be on a good week for it to really work. 2 times I took him off and it was not good. So keep on going. I also made the mistake of crushing it up and putting it in his food. Also not a good idea. He took a couple nibbles and will not ever eat that flavor of food again. I heard it's really bitter. I just throw it down his mouth. Another option depending how long he needs it is to have it compounded into a liquid. My cat tolerates pills and hates having liquid squirted in hos mouth so that's why I haven't gone down that road.

 

Also, fortiflora isn't pretty expensive. About $1 per pack. I use https://www.youngagainpetfood.com/immune---digestive-support-supplement.html and have had good results. Really firms up his stool and much less expensive!

 

No idea, I've never heard of that, it's perplexing. Do you know if they gave him any medications other than the cerenia?

I hope someone with more knowledge than I have can answer this. I feel like he should be allowed to eat, but I'm not basing this on any expertise/knowledge so I don't want to contradict the vet just in case there's a good reason.

 

Can you call the vet back to get some clarification on this? Especially given that he skipped a shot, I wouldn't want to withhold food for a long time with a diabetic cat.

 

@Djamila
@Critter Mom @Kris & Teasel @Rachel

 

Glad he's home! Hope he starts feeling better

 

Well I googled why they would tell me not to feed him, all I got were articles on dogs but it makes sense. Here's a part of it:

"A very large proportion of calls are for gastrointestinal problems. If your dog starts to vomit, but is still acting totally normal, and WANTS to eat or drink, I’m usually less concerned. As a matter of fact, though these dogs want to eat or drink, it is best not to let them. Often, once that stomach goes through the rigors and smooth muscular contractions associated with vomiting, not to mention the potential irritation to the stomach wall itself, it is primed for more vomiting. So, anything that goes into that stomach, even something as benign as water, which will stretch that stomach wall, and can easily induce more vomiting. Simply said, vomiting breeds vomiting. What we recommend is to keep these dogs without food for at least 12 hours, and instead of allowing them access to water, place a few ice cubes or ice chips in his or her water bowl in order to minimize the amount of water that can be ingested at one time. This will prevent the stomach from stretching. Now, if the vomiting continues despite all of this, or your dog seems to be becoming more depressed or listless, begins to dry-heave frequently, or you note his or her abdomen beginning to expand and tighten up, then it is definitely time to call your veterinarian or a local emergency hospital."

Either way, it is way too long in my opinion not to feed him, especially taking into consideration he hasn't really ate since his morning shot at like 550am... he snacked before the vet around 2pm but threw it all up. Around like half an hour ago I gave him a few dehydrated chicken bits to see if he would keep it down and he did.. So i went ahead and gave him the pepcid and sprinkled the fortiflora on half a can of ff classics and he's going to town right now. Lets hope he keeps it down!

 

Whew!

I was just writing another message before I logged off for the night, because I was so concerned about Effy. The "recipe" for ketones is not enough insulin + not enough food + infection or other systemic stressor, so I was quite worried about withholding food from a diabetic cat who had missed an insulin shot.

Very glad you fed, and I hope he keeps it down-- it does sound like he's feeling a bit better, at least!

 

I only decided to go ahead and feed because thinking back on it, he didn't throw up his preshot food.. He only started to throw up from between atleast 11am to 2pm, and it was mostly spit besides the food he threw up after that. I think they treated it as him violently throwing up everything he touched but in reality he wasn't not able to keep his water down or anything, he just randomly threw up the food I tried to give him in the afternoon but by then he seemed very nauseous and probably just couldn't keep it down. Hopefully since he's got the cerenia in his system and the metrodanizole and pepcid PLUS the dang fortiflora he can keep this food down. He just nonchalantly walked into our bedroom after he ate to go lay down, he seems pretty back to normal just quieter than usual. Lord knows my sleep schedule is messed up enough to keep a close eye on him tonight lol

 

I'm glad you opted for the emergency vet. You never know how serious it is until you get some experts handling it. Glad to hear that Effy is kind of okay.

 

Randi, you and Effy have had quite a day! I hope you both get some sleep soon. For ketones, you need to help her be as hydrated as possible, so it's good that they gave her fluids at the vet. In addition, mix in at least 2T for each can of FF you give her, and if she'll accept it with even more water than that, go for it! The more she gets the better.

Fortiflora is an amazing flavor enhancer for cats. Many cats will eat anything if you sprinkle some of that on top first. You may want to break up each can of Fancy Feast into smaller meals/snacks and help her to pace herself. Since the fortiflora makes it so enticing, sometimes they will overeat which isn't good for a kitty who has been nauseous. Going forward, you might consider using s. boulardii as the probiotic since fortiflora isn't really that effective and has some questionable ingredients. I use it just to make the food taste better when one of my kitties doesn't want to eat, so one packet will last like a week - I just sprinkle a tiny bit on top. Then I use the s. boulardii to keep his intestines happy. It's more effective in that regard. Don't worry about that now, just something to consider in the future.

Metronidazole is amazing. For my cat it tends to work fairly quickly. A day or two and he's back to normal. It's important to give all of the doses, just like any antibiotic, even if Effy is feeling all better. It does have a horrible taste, so if you can wrap it in a teeny bit of a pill pocket, some cheese, etc. to help get it down without her having to taste it, that will help. Is she easy to pill? Let us know if you need any hints on doing that.

It's so good you got the ketone sticks. Hopefully she'll make it easy for you to get the tests done so you can keep an eye on things. Make sure to check it at the right amount of time and in bright light. If you let it sit too long the results won't be accurate. The timing is really important on those.

Finally, looking at your spreadsheet, I think she needs some dosing adjustments both to keep the ketones at bay, and also because high BG can make belly issues worse. Which insulin are you using? We have groups for each type of insulin, and if you post in one of those groups, the folks who know your insulin will be more than happy to help guide you to adjust the dose and hopefully get Effy into some better numbers.

I know that's a lot, and you've already been through a ton today, so please get some rest and just snuggle with your kitty and take care of yourself. We are here when you have questions!

 

Metronidazole is something they give humans--so interesting that they prescribe that to our felines for GI upset.

Anyway, this is my inner nurse coming out. Be sure Effy stays away from the alcohol while taking this. The interactions aren't very pleasant.

Hope you get a good nights sleep...you too Effy!

 

Flagyl. The liquid stuff tastes positively vile - they say it tastes like chicken, HA! Not even remotely. It's very bitter, and makes my cats foam at the mouth, when I can actually get any of it in them.

 

Started Lantus on Dec 19th, 2017

@Randi & Effy ....it will help if you'll add some information to your signature like you see under our comments. We like to see basic stuff like;

Your name/Cats name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food you're feeding, any other health problems? and a general location and then put the spreadsheet link in too of course.

That was if there's a crisis, we can get most of our "first questions" answered just by reading your signature.

 

Hope your baby is feeling better soon! Our fur baby is also at our ED vet but improving. Sending healing hugs to your little one.

 

Wedgwood Pet Pharmacy makes a tiny tab for Metronidazole that's about as big as a tic tac. It's coated and so much easier to get down the throat. My cat doesn't even know he's swallowed anything when I give it to him. I hope Effy is ok. Dealing with vomiting and diarrhea in our cats is so stressful.

 

I try to stick with the theory of--If I wouldn't take it then why the heck would I force me feline to?!
I'm personally not big on pills or liquid of any sort. If I absolutely need an antibiotic I generally request a Rocephin Inj. One and done.

I've tasted doxycycline once. The capsule melted in my mouth. I will NEVER forget the taste. Even thinking about it makes me gag. It was awful.