DK(A?) My kitty is sick :(

Hi all- new here and newly diagnosed (about 7 hours ago) and on edge. here is a copy of what I posted on a general cat forum on which I am a member. Now I have found this forum, so here is our tale by way of introduction:

My eldest kitty Jake (she's 8) has had a long odd history of random illness. She would lose weight, become lethargic and heat seek...and she had this weird black rim to her eyes (like she was wearing eye liner on the inside of her lower eye rim. I would take her to the vet and blood and urine tests would all be normal...they would prescribe an antibiotic and she'd recover and gain weight. On one occasion they even did exploratory surgery hoping to find something only to find nothing, give her abx and boom all better. This seemed to be pretty cyclical but always with a good outcome.

She started losing weight again in late December, but none of her other usual symptoms. The vet thought maybe the kittens we'd adopted had spread fleas to her (despite our religious use of preventative) and changed her flea med to one that would be novel and also treat worms if she'd gotten those from fleas. She had her first of the new med in January and actually seemed to perk up. Her weight didn't seem to go back on, despite a hearty appetite.

On Saturday night she was frisking about- chasing a ball around. She jumped up behind me on the counter when I turned my back for one moment and made my roast chicken hers with lots of nibbles. When I called all the kitties she was the first to come- and made sure the others knew SHE left the room first- all very usual for her.

On Sunday morning, she didn't come down for breakfast (canned food delight) and she is ALWAYS the first one there. She is always fed before the other kitties. I brought the food upstairs (we have 3 floors) and found her in the kitchen. I offered her food which she sniffed but did not eat. She did a little dry heaving and I thought she might have an upset tummy.

This morning she again did not come to eat. I pushed open the laundry room door as the dryer had just stopped- and she screamed. She was behind the door and I had crushed her. She was heat seeking. I put her in a cat cuddler and placed it on the counter. I put a small amount of pate on the roof of her mouth and she swallowed it. 15 minutes latter I put in a little water. I alternated food and water every 15 minutes for an hour and a half, then gave her time for it to settle. After a while I started again with the alternating items. After about 3 hours, she vomited everything. My vet was finally open and I took the first available for noon. By the time I put her in the crate I thought she was not ever coming home again. She was not even moving. In the lobby at the vet I reached in to touch her and she felt cold to the touch. They rushed us in and her temp was 97 degrees. She had lost 2 pounds (from 9 down to 7). She was dehydrated, constipated and vomiting. They squeezed urine out of her while examining her and put a test strip in the puddle- diabetic ketones in the urine. This vet told me treatment would be expensive and I should euthanize. I was horrified.

I asked him to make her stable enough to travel to the hospital that saved the kittens we found a year and half ago. He put her on a heating pad, and administered IV fluids. two hours later I was called to come get her for transport. Her bloodwork had shown some other problems that were hopefully complications from the dehydration.

I took her to the ER and they were waiting for us. They got a catheter in her and started some additional tests. She has to be there 3 to 5 days...if she makes it through the night. She will eventually get an insulin drip. They are hoping she does not have the acidosis part of the diabetic keto acidosis, and are doing a blood gas to test. They will do an ultrasound of her pancreas tomorrow to make sure she is not having any other issues with her pancreas. I had to leave a $7000 deposit (after paying the other vet almost $500) and they can't tell me if she even has a 50 50 shot.

They did talk about long term care and the cost- special food and insulin. It seems like a very inexact process for a cat. My parents are both type 1 diabetics and the management for humans seems so much more scientific. I worry about being successful in treating her if it is all so inexact. I worry about her declining fast like she did this time. I worry about managing her needs with the other kitties in the house having their own needs. Then I worry all this is for nothing as she may not make it through the night!

 

First of all welcome to FDMB. I'm so glad you found us but so sorry to hear you have had such a rough introduction to the world of diabetic cat parenting but rest assured, diabetes in cats is treatable and as long as your kitty gets through the current situation, she can live a healthy and happy life for years to come.

When your kitty is ready to come home, we can help you learn how to treat her and keep her safe. There are lots of kitties here who have been through episodes with ketones and DKA, so we can help you in the days to come.

There are lots of ways to keep the costs associated with a diabetic cat down so we can help you with that too.
In the meantime, we'll keep your kitty in our prayers. Please keep us posted.

 

Welcome to FDMB and I am so very sorry that you are going through this. Healing energies to Jake and fervent hopes that she does make it through the night and recovers.
We have members here who have cats that have survived DKA and will help you learn to care for her. The process is proper diet, insulin therapy and blood testing, and in her case checking for ketones, just like human diabetics. There are ways to save money on supplies, insulin and food. Please keep us updated and let know how Jake is doing. Hugs!!

 

If/When she comes home I think she will stay with my parents while they work to get the dose correct. As type one diabetics themselves I feel like they will recognize the signs before I would. They are also retired and can monitor her closely. I am at work and though my kids are teens and home after school, I feel like that is not enough. Once she is strong enough I will bring her home to me... at least that is my logical plan. My emotions want her home NOW. The other kitties seem to be looking for her...the kids are sad..and I am lost without her.

I feel like I failed her. I had no idea she was diabetic. She wasn't overweight. She wasn't drinking more than usual. She has a high quality kibble (free fed) and high quality canned food that she ate fully 2x a day (small portions). She has fresh cat grass to nibble. She has lots f comfy beds. She has cat trees..toys...lots of human attention. I thought we were giving her a good life- but I missed this. I feel I somehow neglected the most important thing- her health. I thought the vet suggesting worms/fleas sounded reasonable. I thought all these years of getting sick and then better were just infections that hit her hard because of her poor start in life (and what I figured was a consequently poor immune system). I missed this...and now she is suffering

 

You haven't failed her and you have given her a very good life. Most of us had no idea that we might be remiss in some way and set up the conditions for diabetes. And, some cats have a genetic predisposition for the disease, just like humans. What's important is NOW, you are taking every step you know to keep her safe and get her healthy. A proper diet, and testing are going to be critical parts of the treatment, with the insulin therapy. So, learn everything you can, be prepared and educated. The kibble is not good for her, and some of the high quality canned foods are very high in carbs.
I know your head is spinning and you are worried. But, when you can, start reading the Getting Started and Education sections on the Home page, and the FAQs forum here. There is specific information available here for DKA kitties also. But one step at a time, ok?
You are not going to be alone, this is a very supportive community and there are members here that are very knowledgeable and experienced. So, take heart, prepare and hope for the best.

 

Please stop beating yourself up. There are plenty of us here, myself included, who have missed the early signs of a problem. Our kitties are masters at hiding illness and we humans don't always pick up on those very subtle signs that might have clued us in earlier. As they say, hind sight is 20/20. I myself thought my efforts to get my girl to lose a bit of weight were paying off. I also assumed the extra large pee deposits in the litter box belonged to my geriatric guy. I didn't put 2 and 2 together until I picked up my middle fur kid and my extra sweet girl in succession to do nail trims and come to realize she weighed less than her brother. The lights came on quite suddenly but weeks after symptoms were evident.

In short, if your vet didn't pick up on this, there is no reason to think you should have. It may be that there were other issues that were dealt with and none of this is related.

You are doing everything you can to help Jake now so please don't feel you failed her. You didn't. She just wasn't giving you clear signs that you could interpret earlier. If only our kitties could talk, things would be so much easier.

 

I called the ICU this morning and only the tech was available to talk. He reported her blood sugar was down to 120(they never told me her original reading) with a continuous glucose drip. He said her potassium continues to be very low so they increased that. He also said she was moving a bit more than when he first took on her care last night, so I assume this is good. They seemed pleased yesterday when I left her that she had gone from prone only to sitting up before I left- so I guess all this is progress. I really just want her home. I wish I could give her the treatment here so she felt safe and warm with her family.

I also wish they would tell me what it will be like when she comes home- so I can start to prepare..buy what she needs. I am afraid their silence is because they are not sure she will come home

 

Sorry you’re going through this, but I’m glad she’s doing better. Several people here have had DKA kitties and can give you some aftercare help. Start a post on the Main Health Forum and be sure to put DKA in the title.

 

That report is encouraging so don't lose hope. You could ask them if you can bring in a piece of worn clothing to give Jake something from home for comfort. Some hospitals won't allow it but it never hurts to ask. While it would be nice to be able to treat her at home, she needs intensive care right now that just isn't possible at home. They will get her stabilized but she will still need extra care when she comes home, so your focus right now should be trying to get some rest (I know easier said than done when we are worrying about our furkids) and charge up your batteries so you are in good shape when she comes home.

Most of what you will need when she comes home will be sent with her likely including some meds such as an anti-nausea med, an appetite stimulant and possibly an antibiotic if she has an infection. They may also send her home with fluids to keep her hydrated which the hospital will supply and show you how to administer. You might need some higher carb food, maybe some plain meat baby food (without onions or garlic) and a feeding syringe in case you need to assist feed her but otherwise it will be mostly TLC and monitoring her BG and giving insulin.

I would highly recommend you get a glucometer so you can monitor Jake's BG at home. Home monitoring is the best tool we have to keep our kitties safe. The vet hospital may suggest bringing her back for curves or they may suggest a pet glucometer but this is not necessary and expensive to use. A human glucometer will work just fine. Monitoring at home will give you far more accurate BG readings and again keep costs down. Best to get one that requires a tiny sample of blood and has inexpensive strips. Walmart has some good options in their Relion brand if you are in the US. Also, there is no need for special veterinary food as many regular retail varieties are perfectly good options for our diabetic cats (Fancy Feast classic pates, Friskies pates etc.) and certainly far more economical. That said, the hospital may recommend a special high calorie food when Jake is discharged but this would be a temporary requirement.

Please keep us posted. We are sending healing thoughts for you and Jake.

 

I think it would be a good idea to continue this conversation on the thread in Health HERE. This is just the welcome mat. Going forward we will no doubt be discussing more specific medical issues so best to move this to Health now so more folks become familiar with Jake and are able to offer assistance going forward.