Also newly diagnosed

I am so glad I found this forum a few days ago. I've been so overwhelmed. I'm trying to handle this alone and deal with my other sick elderly kitties (kidney failure). I've been lucky in the past to never have this disease. The diagnosis came out of no where. That was last Thursday.

This kitty had been diagnosed with the beginning of kidney failure about six months ago, her numbers were not bad. I've been dealing with that in other cats, so I know what to expect, drinking and peeing excessively is expected.

About 3 months ago, she stopped eating completely and I waited until the next day to go to the vet, not sure what was going on. They couldn't find anything and the kidney values had actually improved slightly. No blood in the urine and her glucose was a little higher than normal, and the vet attributed that to her being blind and scared of people. She was sent home with Clavamox. It took 5 days on the antibiotic until she started feeling better, then she was fine.

Well, last Wednesday she was normal, acting and eating normal. Suddenly, on Thursday she was refusing to eat and seemed miserable, here we go again. This time I called the vet and got an appointment that day. Ran blood and urine tests again. This time the urine test had glucose of 468 and white blood cells were found. Then I'm told we have to start her on insulin the next day. leaving me in shock.

The vet kept her all day Friday doing the curve using Prozinc. At the time, she asked if I wanted to do home testing, I said I didn't know. So she had me practice injections on a stuffed animal, shapped like a cat, then sent me home to do the first shot at 9:00 pm. I am to give her 2 units AM and PM and bring her back in 10 days so they can test her. Well, I got through the Friday night and Saturday, but by Sunday she was barely eating and still miserable and hiding. I had no way to test her to see if it was the glucose or the infection and bad things always happen on Sunday when the vet is closed. I finally went to the emergency clinic and they checked her out, her glucose was 344 and she needed fluids and anti nausea medicine. Got her home and gave her the insulin. She was feeling quite a bit better. The emergency vet suggested fluids a few times per week until we get her stabilized because she just can't drink enough water to satisfy both kidney failure and diabetes. I am surprised this was not done at my regular vet. I was determined to get a testing kit Monday morning.

Monday morning I messed up the injection because I could feel something wet on her neck, although I was pretty sure the needle had gone in. I had done a ton of reading in two days so I knew not to try again and possibly over dose her. I stopped at the vet and got a testing kit, but now I'm having a problem pricking her ear. My first attempt was nothing, I finally dialed up the number on the needle to 4, the second try I got a tiny bit of blood but it was on the other side of the ear and smeared so not enough to test. The poor cat was getting upset and I hadn't given her insulin yet, so I let it go until next time.

I could use some tips on pricking the ear and also if other people have dealt with both kidney failure and diabetes in a cat. Also, if anyone has dealt with pancreatitis, because I'm guessing that might be the source of the infection. Also, if the infection is pancreatitis, when that clears up, would it cause the glucose number to drop dramatically?

 

Wow have you got a lot on your plate right now.

Squeaker was diabetic and also CRF. Fortunately we got him into remission so the diabetes was diet controlled.

First, you can test from the paw pad on the foot. The large one in the center. This method may be a little easier to start with until you get a handle on this. Wrap kitty in a towel (think burrito) lay her on her back on your lap leaving one back foot accessible. Warm the foot with a sock filled with rice that has been microwaved about 30 seconds (test this on your wrist before applying to the foot don't want to cause a burn) then lance and test. Wrapping a cat in a towel will make them very compliant; takes the fight right out of them.

Second, I am not aware that pancreatitis causes infection. Could it be a urinary infection. Cats in kidney failure do experience frequent bouts of pancreatitis. The standard of treatment for pancreatitis is: fluids, anti-nausea meds, antacid (1/4 of a 10 mg famotidine), pain meds if necessary. Here is a link to read more about it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/a-primer-on-pancreatitis.83108/

Also, for help with kidney failure go to felinecrf.org. It is an invaluable resource.

 

Welcome to FDMB, Debbie, although I'm so sorry your kitty has diabetes. You've come to a great place to get help. The wonderful people here helped me get my cat, Jersey, into remission after just a few short months on insulin. We're just one of the many success stories here.

It looks like you have several questions, and there are many experienced members here who are dealing with some of the same issues you're facing. This is really just a "welcome" board where you've posted. If you will post your questions on the Feline Health/Main Board, there are many more members who visit there. You'll get a lot more responses to your questions about pancreatitis, kidney failure, home testing, insulin, etc.

This board can be a bit confusing in the beginning, so if you have questions about it, don't hesitate to ask.


Shelly

 

Anita, I am so hoping for the same with my kitty, that she will go into remission. I just now finally got a good test with sufficient blood, it was 193, which was kind of a shock. She was diagnosed on Thursday with 468 and it was 344 on Sunday (also at night when she was due for insulin. I am afraid to give her insulin with that number, so I called the emergency vet and they told me to skip the insulin and call my regular vet in the morning. I don't know if I'm going to survive this stress !!!