Emo, 9 Years Old, Diagnosed 9/19/10

Emo is my baby. We have been together for almost 9 years now, when he adopted me before a bad storm hit our neighborhood and I snuck him into the house, much to my mom's temporary chagrin. He is a large cat, always has been, and was completely healthy until a blockage in his urinary tract about 2 1/2 years ago. I got him to the vet about six hours before he would have died from toxins building up in his blood and his bladder bursting. The vets gave him under 50% odds of survival, at which point I got his paw print tattooed on my shoulder. I spent every spare minute I had at the vet keeping him company, and he pulled through. Things have been wonderful since his recovery, until about two weeks ago. I had put Emo on a diet because his weight was starting to get a little on the too-big side, and he was slowly losing weight. Then it started to come off quicker. I started having to change the cats' water bottle/bowl contraption much more frequently. Then late last week he started peeing on things. At first I thought he was just getting back at my husband for a recent spat, but then he started peeing everywhere. And it was a lot of pee, not the dribble that had happened during his blockage. I knew something was up, but figured it could wait until Monday for a trip to the vet. Sunday morning I woke up to bloody diarrhea throughout the house and Emo not wanting to move. We took him to the emergency vet and got the diagnosis of DKA and diabetes, along with an infection. He spent a day and the night there, then went to the vet Monday, home for the night, back to the vet Tuesday, and home since.

I have insulin and food under control. I've already gotten good at giving him his shots. His appetite is back (he wasn't eating at the vet unless I was there), but I am scared stiff. It's normal for them to be completely exhausted after that much time at the vet and that much time being sick right? I keep reading about hypoglycemia and worrying every time he lays down to sleep. My husband and I take turns freaking out and then reminding the other that Emo isn't exactly a race-around-the-house kind of cat even when he's feeling normal. Our other cat, Audrey, won't stop hissing at him, which she didn't do the last time he spent time at the vet. Sigh. I guess my main question right now is, how long did it take for things to feel normal again? Including the shots and the new routine as normal is fine, but I mean, when will I stop worrying that he is sleeping because of another issue instead of just being tired? When will Audrey stop acting like she's never seen her male mama cat before? When will I sleep through the night without feeling like I need to check on him?

 

awwww, what a cute kitty.

in general i'd say things seem more normal within a week or two in some cases, in others a bit longer. to be honest, yours is a bit further from normal because of the DKA complication. that is a serious serious complication and in all honesty, most kitties are at the vet more than just a couple few days because of it so i can't help but ask if they are certain that the ketones are completely gone? continued existence of ketones can make them feel crappy but don't panic just yet. just what he's been thru in the last several days will take a bit longer to recoup from.

now, as far as some of your questions like about the worrying, checking on him etc.....the best answer i have for that is when you go get a glucose meter and can test him yourself, whenever you want, day or night, once or twenty times. being able to see what his glucose levels are at a moment's notice will provide you so much relief you can't even imagine. now normally i would say to be economical and get walmart's relion micro or confirm meter as it is one of the most economical but there is a meter also available at walmart that tests not only glucose levels but also for presence of ketones soooooo, given that he's had them already once, if you can swing the additional costs for that meter, i'd get that one instead.

it's called the Precision Xtra and there are two sets of test strips for it, one set that only tests glucose levels and those aren't too expensive and that's what you'd use most of the time. and then it has separate strips that test for ketones and those are the pricey strips but you won't be using too many of those. maybe one a day here in the beginning because the sooner he gets vet care when ketones pop up, the lesser chance of full on DKA.

as far as the other kitty being upset, others have had the same thing happen amongst their cats. it can be because the illness makes them smell uncommon or it could be that he still has some vet smell on him. any chance of wiping them with a kitty wipe or something of that nature to make them both smell the same? i do that anytime i bring one home from the vet because it cuts down on the animosity in the house by several hours

 

Hi and welcome!

Cindy gave you some great advice on getting the glucometer to test the glucose and the ketones. This will give you so much peace of mind.

What insulin are you using and at what dose? I know you said you have that under control with the food, but it's helpful to folks to know this. What are you feeding?

So glad you came here.

 

gorgous kitty!
you should be testing his bg's before every shot.
here's what you need.
i would mail them to you but perhaps you want to get started right away, let me know.

a glucometer
matching strips
lancets
cotton ball for freehand poking
and the keto-stix

if you want i could sent them out to you...but in my most honest opinion i think you should start testing right away. i am going to link you to a u tube show of one of our members doing the pokey.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8

take a look at this.

 

Well, about 30 minutes after I posted this, I noticed Emo staggering and acting drunk. Rubbed some honey on his gums and took him in immediately. My husband was driving as fast as he could and I didn't think we would make it in time. Shallow, short breathing mixed with a gasp every now and then, and his body was almost completely limp. He started convulsing even. His blood sugar was at 12. To answer the previous question, his dose had been at 4 units every 12 hours - he's on NPH. Which was apparently way too much for him. They gave him some glucose and he went from being seemingly lifeless to perky and eating tons of food very quickly. It was such a relief to see him sitting up and feel him marking my nose again. My husband is taking him from the emergency clinic to the vet tomorrow and we will get everything sorted out. I am angry that his insulin dose was that high but I don't know if that is reasonable or not.

ETA: One of my husband's coworkers gave us a testing machine. I thought we could wait until his vet appointment Saturday to get the strips, but apparently not. Getting them first thing tomorrow morning.

 

OMG, like you caught it not a minute to soon.

 

So happy everything turned out well! This is exactly why hometesting is so so important. As soon as you noticed the first signs, you could have tested or you probably would have been testing anyway. I'm telling you that testing will give you peace of mind like you won't believe once you get started.

I didn't use that insulin. However, with few exceptions, starting doses for all insulins are usually no more than 1 unit twice a day, with testing to determine how that dose works and whether you need to go up and down. Testing and recording the results gives you a history to look at and it helps so much. Start low and go slow is the predominant suggestion here, with testing glucose and ketones if the numbers warrant. You can always raise the insulin dose as you collect data on how the kitty is reacting to the insulin and change of food, if that's happening as well.

SO, SO happy you got to the ER in time. I've been checking this thread all night to find out!

 

UGH, my first thought when seeing that 12BG and the dose of 4units BID.
OMG, that dose is just TOO high.

One thing to mention is that after any cat has such a hypo, they are usually more sensitive to insulin.
I have no idea what to say in the way of a suggestion but the others here can help you. I would say no shot at all till testing and even then maybe 1u or less.

But that's if no ketones are involved. The ketones make a big difference so see what the others have to say here because you don't want the ketones so you may need to give some insulin.

Wow, you are so lucky you made it to the ER in time; what a gorgeous kitty, I hope he recovers quickly.

 

I just wanted to stop by and say that your kitty is adorable! Mine was just diagnosed on the 20th, so I really have no advice to offer. I just did my first successful home test (after several unsuccessful) this morning. Everyone says that it will get easier, I have to believe them!!! We are sending lots of good thoughts your way!

 

gives me chills to read that. sounds like you got him to the doc just in time, thank god!

 

What a GORGEOUS kitty!! You're to be commended for keeping such a close, loving eye on Emo.

We all know how you feel -- your heart is in your throat right now. But, you'll be the best "vet" for Emo. You'll watch him each day, you'll test him at home, you'll put him on wet food and gradually this will be a part of your regular routine. When the Ketone issues are settled, you may find that the diabetes part is not that bad.

You've been given some wonderful advice (the same given to me back in January) from the veterans on this site. PLEASE follow their suggestions. In a month or so, you'll be so glad you did.

Hugs to you both!!

Kathleen & Fred
Diagnosed 12/24/09

 

Thanks for the support everyone. I told the vet on Friday that I didn't want Emo's dose to be any higher than 1 1/2 units and that we were going to be testing at home so we would know if that needed to change. He responded very well to the treatment and we got to bring him home yesterday evening. He got his new dose after eating a whole can of Fancy Feast off the approved list, and then the same this morning when he ate another can. We took him in to the vet at 11:30 to see what the difference was between the reading on the glucometer and his actual BG level so we would know how to track it at home, and his BG was at 158! I was so happy. I am still watching him like a hawk and paranoid that something might go wrong, but at least we have the ability to test at home now. I'm going to go watch that testing at home video now so I can brush up on my ear-poking skills.

 

Okay, got home, tested on his paw, and his BG was HIGH - around 430. Per the vet's instructions, I gave him 2 units instead of 1 1/2. Emo seems to like the foot poke better than the ear, especially since I picked up some treats and lancets. I tried one out on my finger and was not pleased with the sensation. Back to Emo, just gave him 2 units and I'm going to have him sleep in bed with me tonight. Everyone cross your fingers that we can get his dose figured out and leveled out soon. I can't imagine what his body must feel like going from one end to the other and back again over and over. :sad:

 

Found out last night that my husband is infinitely better at poking than me. Emo does this awful deep groaning meow when I try to do it, but he lets me hold him still for my husband, who is also a lot less timid and gets enough blood to do a test. Numbers have been around 250-300 since Sunday morning, and he is eating well. Doing 1 1/2 units of insulin twice a day and he seems to be doing good.

 

canat, i'm not getting a good feel of what we're working with here. it might be easier on emo to test on his ear. did you see the video?
also the way your posting your #'s is very unclear for us to understand.
if your still on line would you send me your phone or ask for mine?
i'm to tired to type it all out but can explain in no time on the phone.

 

I'm so glad Emo is doing better after his hypo. He is a good-looking kitty! Good luck with everything!

 

Emo has been doing great the last week. His numbers have been getting better and better, and there was a day and a half where I didn't give insulin at all because his numbers were completely normal and I didn't want him to go into hypoglycemia again. Today we took him into the vet, and his BG was at 98 mg/d, after eating and without insulin. We're going to keep checking it twice a day to keep track but I am very optimistic about keeping it controlled and at a healthy level for him. Thanks for everyone's help over the last two weeks. It really does get easier to deal with as time passes.

 

whoo hoo!!! love to hear news like that!