? HELP! Oscar not eating, acting unwell, unsure what to do about shot

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Chloe007

Chloe007

Member Since 2019
So Oscar ran out of Prozinc on 2/20 during his PM cycle until 2/22 on his PM cycle (due to a Prozinc backorder that I posted about earlier in the week). So he went without insulin for 2 days. During this time I checked for ketones and made sure to only give him low carb food, he never had any ketones and was acting very chipper. Just like himself, if not even happier than normal. I checked a few times during the period he went without and was really really surprised when he wasn't super high. He was always in the 200's. After his 2 days without insulin he was only at 238, which is actually better than what his preshots normally are with insulin. He ate like normal during this time, but he did start drinking a lot more water again, and peeing a lot.

So confused by his numbers and worried about possible sensitivity after being off for 2 days, I lowered his next dose we gave him from 6u down to 3u to see how he would do. He went down into the blue like he normally would with his higher dose...weird. So I did the same this morning after he had what (for him) is a normal preshot.

Today was a pretty normal day for him, he seemed to be eating a little less (he's a grazer) but ate his actual preshot meals like normal. Then when I went to go get him for his preshot test, he was in a normal spot he likes to lay, but he looked really tired and didn't want to get up. When I picked him up, he cried out a little. I tested him like normal, he was at 250, and got him his food. He didn't want to eat. So I tried some higher carb food he normally loves, and he only would eat a couple licks at a time. Now he doesn't want to be up for long and keeps retreating back to one of his spots and wants to lay down, seems a little lethargic. His stomach area seems to be bothering him...

Because he's barely eating, I didn't give him any insulin yet. I'm worried he would drop too low if he decided to not eat and I'm not confident he will. I just saw him drinking water, but he was staring at the bowl for a little bit before he would drink. Considering how high Oscar's numbers can get, I find his numbers these past couple days to be unsually low for him (without insulin) and I'm not sure what to do or what to make of this.

I'm going to be calling his vet in the morning and bringing him in the afternoon, unfortunately the ER didn't feel like this was an emergency when I called and didn't want to treat a diabetic cat who is not their patient/ that they don't have history or records for.

He's purring, but seems to be in pain. I'm not sure what to do..... I'm wondering if this has something to do with him being off the insulin for 2 days, in which case I'm worried I could be making it worse by stalling even longer. But at the same time, he hasn't been above 300 since he stopped (when normally on insulin, well above 300 is normal for him at 6u). Are there any illness's that could cause a drop in BG? I always hear the opposite, and he had been eating normally before today.

I'm so confused and worried right now.
 
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Here is the primer on pancreatitis

It may be worth getting into the vet for a visit, they can run tests to determine if there is pancreatitis. They can run an inhouse SNAP fPL, which is like a yes/no test, and then send out blood for spec fPL test. If he is in pain, they can prescribe meds to help with that as well as appy stimulants if necessary.
 
Christie & Maverick said:
Here is the primer on pancreatitis

It may be worth getting into the vet for a visit, they can run tests to determine if there is pancreatitis. They can run an inhouse SNAP fPL, which is like a yes/no test, and then send out blood for spec fPL test. If he is in pain, they can prescribe meds to help with that as well as appy stimulants if necessary.
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Yeah we're definitely taking him tomorrow. Honestly I wanted to bring him to the ER tonight, but like I stated, they wouldn't take him without having his records since he's diabetic. I hate seeing him like this.
I do have both appetite stimulants and pain meds (both bupe and gaba) at home already...I assume it would probably be a bad idea to give him either before seeing his vet first though right?
 
Since you don't know what's going on, I would hold off on any meds for now, unless the situation gets worse. While he's not himself and seems to be in pain, does he look to be in any immediate danger? Is he dehydrated? Lying around not acting responsive? If you see anything like that, I would put him in the car and drive to the nearest emergency vet, even if they said they don't want to see him. If he seems to be hanging in there, your vet visit tomorrow is probably soon enough.
 
If you are not giving insulin tonight I would check for ketones again tonight to eliminate them.
I wouldn’t give an appetite stimulant without determining that he is not nauseated first.

if you are very concerned I would just go to the ER. If you can pay I would imagine they would have to see him. It’s ridiculous that they won’t treat him without his FD records.
 
Chloe, for future situations like this.
Get a copy of all the vet records from your current vet.
Hand written notes in Oscar's file, lab test results, anything else your vet may have.
Most vets will email them to you. Or you can get a copy printed out and pick them up at your vet clinic next time you are there.
Have a list of medications that Oscar is on, dosage, how much of each medication, frequency given.
Have a copy of your spreadsheet. On your phone, hard copy, email it to yourself. Whatever it takes.

With that information in hand, an emergency vet will have a better idea of what is going on. Background information.

Just like if a person needed emergency care, knowing their past medical history is important to the emergency room doctors.

Keeping our paws crossed for Oscar. Please keep us posted.:bighug::nailbiting::bighug:
 
Hey guys, Oscar is in the ER with DKA. This morning he went from doing sort of okay, to acting really off within a couple hours so our other cats vet agreed to get him in early. When he got there he had a fever of 106.7!!!
They ran all the diagnostics, looks like there's a bit of pancreatitis and a UTI going on and that's what triggered the dka....
So after bringing down his fever a bit, we got him to the ER now. We're looking at a 3 day stay, $3000....

****.
 
Judy and Freckles said:
Oh Chloe. We hope that Oscar gets feeling better. I didn't realize that ketones can form so quickly. Sending healing thoughts to you and Oscar!
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I didn't either, I mean I did..but not this quick and without any real warning. I also didn't realize they can become ketonic with low BG readings (he often runs high, but just before becoming sick and while sick he suddenly started to settle in the low 200's with no insulin). To give you an idea, he didn't have any ketones on Saturday. It happened very suddenly, he went from being completely fine to sick within hours...to really sick within a couple more. I knew something was wrong, but I honestly was not expecting dka.
 
Chloe007 said:
I also didn't realize they can become ketonic with low BG readings (he often runs high, but just before becoming sick and while sick he suddenly started to settle in the low 200's with no insulin).
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Even though it might not be common, yes, ketones and DKA can absolutely happen at “lower” BG ranges. I remember an old-timer (Hope and Baby) who had a cat prone to throwing ketones at lower BGs and she had to stay vigilant. Now that it has happened to Oscar, you’ll want to do the same.

Chloe007 said:
To give you an idea, he didn't have any ketones on Saturday. It happened very suddenly, he went from being completely fine to sick within hours...to really sick within a couple more.
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And that’s just how quickly how it can happen. Crazy, isn’t it? Hence the annoying ”harping” we sometimes do about getting ketone tests.

You really did do everything right, from getting a ketone test to monitoring carefully to calling the ER for advice. I’m really quite surprised the ER told you not to bring him in, especially over lack of diabetic records? By definition, most ERs deal with emergencies and most likely don’t have the luxury of having full records at their fingertips. Every ER I’ve consulted over the years has always had the attitude “bring ‘em in.”

I’m sorry you and poor Oscar are going through this. I’m sending many, many positive vibes your way.
 
Chloe007 said:
I didn't either, I mean I did..but not this quick and without any real warning. I also didn't realize they can become ketonic with low BG readings (he often runs high, but just before becoming sick and while sick he suddenly started to settle in the low 200's with no insulin). To give you an idea, he didn't have any ketones on Saturday. It happened very suddenly, he went from being completely fine to sick within hours...to really sick within a couple more. I knew something was wrong, but I honestly was not expecting dka.
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Wow! That is so scary! Oscar is very fortunate to have you looking after him!
 
Anyone here been through a DKA? Just starting to get a little worried. He spent the day yesterday at his daytime vets and we arrived at the ER at 6pm. He's been on all the meds since then. My last update from the ER was at 11pm (30 minutes ago) and he's not doing a whole lot better yet. His glucose is stabilized so that's good...but he's still running a 103.8 fever. He's not wanting to eat yet either, I'm hoping when I see him tomorrow that will encourage him a little bit.
They still hadn't done a ketone test yet (for reference his ketones were at 150 when admitted) so I'll know those results in the morning since I'm about to go to sleep now.

I just feel like much progress hasn't been made yet, is this normal for a DKA? Does it usually take over 24hrs to start seeing any progress?

I paid for 3 days in the hospital (or until Thursday night), cost me 3.6k...i really don't know how many extra days I can continue to afford if things don't start looking up soon :/
 
Hi Chloe, I'm sorry Oscar has DKA. It sounds as if you responded to it early so that is good.
It is very common for them not to want to eat in the beginning.
When you bring him Home make sure they give you some antinausea medication such as cerenia and ondansetron (both preferably), because he may be nauseated and may be reluctant to eat.
Are they treating the fever with antibiotics? It is really important that the infection is being treated.
I'd also ask about ketone test results every time you ring.
We can help you once you bring him home with the care. There is a lot you can do to help him.
Here is a link to Ayra who is recovering from DKA and hepatic lipidosis at the moment. It will give you an idea of the progress. Most of her care is for the DKA. For the HL she just had to eat. Read back through her previous posts to the first one which gives a lot of details
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...-neg-ketones-post-dka-hl.226173/#post-2533476

@Tina and Salem and @AliceMeowliss&Cassandra have both had DKA kitties
I hope Oscar starts to improve soon:bighug:
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
@Mimis mom is another caregiver who has had a DKA kitty
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First of all I am so sorry your baby is going through this!! I went through it with Mimi and it was the scariest thing I’ve ever had to deal with regarding her (and anything I love so much)
Mimi didn’t start improving until day 3- which was abnormal to them but the biggest thing was she wasn’t eating.
I asked them what they were feeding her and they said friskies and baby food. I asked if I could bring her some turkey slices because I know she loves thst and the vet even suggested sardines. Eating for her was the most Important thing at that point. They even thought she may have had a stroke of some kind because she didn’t pass neuro testing. I went there that night, promised her lots of things to make her little kitty life even better if she got better, and encouraged her to eat some turkey which she nervously did!!! The sardines too! She spent an extra 3 days in there, vet said she did not have a stroke from testing again, and the new bill was 7800$.. I managed to charge it to care credit and I thought I could not have Mimi and a 4000$ bill (that’s where it was at when they thought she wouldn’t make it). Or have Mimi and a 7800$ bill.
Anyway, my biggest takeaway from that was she she wasn’t getting better because she wasn’t eating.
(obviously the infection, and uncontrolled diabetes were the initial causes) but the “not eating” is what I believe was really hurting her.

is there anything Oscar loves that you can coax him into eating??

update- I responded quickly to only the last few paragraphs in order to get a quicker response, but now I’ve read everything and know better what is going on.
When he went from no ketones to ketones - how long had it been since he had eaten? (Just curious)

Hang in there, he will get better!!! I’ll be sending positive thoughts his way!!!
 
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Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
If you are not giving insulin tonight I would check for ketones again tonight to eliminate them.
I wouldn’t give an appetite stimulant without determining that he is not nauseated first.

if you are very concerned I would just go to the ER. If you can pay I would imagine they would have to see him. It’s ridiculous that they won’t treat him without his FD records.
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I can’t believe they would refuse him- they are an ER CLINIC... even being diabetic, what do they need to know that can’t be provided by the caretaker!???
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Chloe, I'm sorry Oscar has DKA. It sounds as if you responded to it early so that is good.
It is very common for them not to want to eat in the beginning.
When you bring him Home make sure they give you some antinausea medication such as cerenia and ondansetron (both preferably), because he may be nauseated and may be reluctant to eat.
Are they treating the fever with antibiotics? It is really important that the infection is being treated.
I'd also ask about ketone test results every time you ring.
We can help you once you bring him home with the care. There is a lot you can do to help him.
Here is a link to Ayra who is recovering from DKA and hepatic lipidosis at the moment. It will give you an idea of the progress. Most of her care is for the DKA. For the HL she just had to eat. Read back through her previous posts to the first one which gives a lot of details
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...-neg-ketones-post-dka-hl.226173/#post-2533476

@Tina and Salem and @AliceMeowliss&Cassandra have both had DKA kitties
I hope Oscar starts to improve soon:bighug:
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Yeah they have him hooked up to antibiotics, they're trying appetite stimulants now, currently syringe feeding him though.
They wanted us today to take him to a specialist to get an ultrasound because they did one at the ER and it showed (possible) fluid in the abdomen...but they aren't sure if there's something there or not. If there's something there (bad) then we could make the decision to PTS, if there isn't, then we could continue treating him for as long as he needs knowing there isn't something bigger going on. It's all getting very expensive though, and I'm confused as to whether I should take him to the specialist or not. As of right now, were giving him another day to see if any improvement is made and then go from there.
 
I hope they are giving him an snti nausea med first, if they are giving him an appetite stimulant. I’m sorry you have all this worry. It can take time for them to respond so don’t lose hope.
Are they commenting how his blood work is?
And what about ketones? Are they under control yet?
I think I’d give him another day to see if he improves as well before deciding on more ultrasounds. please keep us updated.
sending many vines
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I hope they are giving him an snti nausea med first, if they are giving him an appetite stimulant. I’m sorry you have all this worry. It can take time for them to respond so don’t lose hope.
Are they commenting how his blood work is?
And what about ketones? Are they under control yet?
I think I’d give him another day to see if he improves as well before deciding on more ultrasounds. please keep us updated.
sending many vines
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Ketones still aren't under control, he's not doing much better. His blood work is looking better...but with ketones idk how much that helps. I can't really afford to keep him hospitalized any longer, so they told me we can try sending him home. Idk what else to do. What all do I need to ask for so I can try to help him beat this?
 
Sometimes, you have to choose your battles. If it were me, I'd work on getting the ketones under control before considering more expensive tests. How are they treating the ketones? Are they giving fluids under the skin? That's something they can teach you how to do so you can do it at home. He'd also be much less stressed at home, which could help his recovery. Tell the vet you are willing to do whatever it takes to treat him at home, and see what they advise.
 
How many days has Oscar been at the vet clinic now Chloe?
Have the ketones come down at all?

Fluids, SubQ fluids. I know those are important to keep Oscar hydrated and to flush out the ketones.
Getting him to eat. Assist feed, or force feed. Give a higher calorie food like the Hill's Recovery A/d food.
Feeding tube?

Syringe water into him too. Small amounts, regularly. Into cheek pouch is best, and little bits at a time so he doesn't aspirate the water.

Give the insulin shot in a spot as far away from the SubQ fluids as you can manage. The fluids can interfere with the absorption of the insulin.

Plenty of test strips. Both glucose test strips for your regular monitor. And a blood ketone meter would be good to have. It takes longer for ketones to show up in the urine.

Intensive round the clock management of Oscar. Do you have someone that can help you at home?

I'm sure there is more, but I don't know what it would be.

Tagging @Bron and Sheba (GA)
@Wendy&Neko
 
You may need a shorter acting insulin than Prozinc.
You may need to dose the insulin more frequently.

How are his potassium and phosphorus levels?
Did they ever find the cause for the ketosis?
 
Deb & Wink said:
How many days has Oscar been at the vet clinic now Chloe?
Have the ketones come down at all?

Fluids, SubQ fluids. I know those are important to keep Oscar hydrated and to flush out the ketones.
Getting him to eat. Assist feed, or force feed. Give a higher calorie food like the Hill's Recovery A/d food.
Feeding tube?

Syringe water into him too. Small amounts, regularly. Into cheek pouch is best, and little bits at a time so he doesn't aspirate the water.

Give the insulin shot in a spot as far away from the SubQ fluids as you can manage. The fluids can interfere with the absorption of the insulin.

Plenty of test strips. Both glucose test strips for your regular monitor. And a blood ketone meter would be good to have. It takes longer for ketones to show up in the urine.

Intensive round the clock management of Oscar. Do you have someone that can help you at home?

I'm sure there is more, but I don't know what it would be.

Tagging @Bron and Sheba (GA)
@Wendy&Neko
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He's been there 3 days today once it hits 6 o clock here, so by the time we pick him up tonight it will have been 3 days.

I told them I would need sub q fluids, anti nausea meds, appetite stimulants, recovery food (I've had to syringe that to a cat before, I know it's an easier one to do)...wondering if there's anything I'm forgetting. They are hoping he might just need a couple more days, and he may do better at home. I hope so too. It's kind of up in the air right now if he will make it or not.

No feeding tube just yet. He had been handling his syringe feedings well up until today...it depends on if he eats well tonight if they will do a feeding tube or not. He'll have to be sedated for that, so if it's not necessary they don't want to do it.

I have ketostix, will try to go find a meter.
They have him hooked up to a freestyle libre, I get to keep it for 2 weeks. But I have strips too just in case.

I will be home non stop with Oscar, already took off from work and school. But I do have additional help when I need it. Thank you for the info, I'm trying to be prepared as possible.
 
You want anti nausea meds, possibly some feeding syringes if not feeding tube. Did they find any infection? A system stress like infection/inflammatipn woiuld have contributed to the DKA. That would mean antibiotics. Or if they are sure it was pancreatitis, you want a pain med like buprenorphine. Get at least a week's worth of that plus antinausea (ondansetron or Cerenia). Get them to give a Cerenia shot before he goes home. From: : Ketones, Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), and Blood Ketone Meters
The basic recipe for developing DKA = an insufficient supply of insulin + inappetance + infection OR other systemic stresses.

Going forward, he will need insulin regardless of appetite until this is well past. It doesn't matter the carbs level at this point. What you really want is calories in him. Insulin does more in the body than counter the carbs in food.
 
Deb & Wink said:
You may need a shorter acting insulin than Prozinc.
You may need to dose the insulin more frequently.

How are his potassium and phosphorus levels?
Did they ever find the cause for the ketosis?
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I asked them about a shorter acting insulin, they didn't want to do it. They said his levels have actually been pretty good anyways (surprisingly they've been pretty good this whole time) but for so many reasons they don't think I should do a shorter acting insulin. I don't remember exactly why, maybe I'll bring it back up again later when we pick him up.

Yes, we have a good idea why the ketones happened. He has/had both pancreatitis and a UTI. Poor boy was just hit with everything at once. There's some question right now as to whether there's something bigger going on..which is why they want the ultrasound. Like cancer. But maybe not. His blood work is looking a lot better so that's at least positive. His WBC actually went from really low, to pretty high (maybe he's fighting the infection now?) Only worrisome thing was his RBC dropped a bit low last night, but it came back up today.
 
Chloe007 said:
Ketones still aren't under control, he's not doing much better. His blood work is looking better...but with ketones idk how much that helps. I can't really afford to keep him hospitalized any longer, so they told me we can try sending him home. Idk what else to do. What all do I need to ask for so I can try to help him beat this?
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Hi Chloe, I'm sorry Oscar is not doing much better.
When you bring him home, you will need to be able to be with him most of the time for the first little while....depending on how he responds.
Before you leave the hospital I would ask them to put in a feeding tube, if he is not eating, as that is much easier on you and Oscar than syringe feeding. If you have to end up syringe feeding then so be it.

I would also ask them to teach you how to give SubQ fluids as he is going to need extra fluids to flush out the ketones. Don't be afraid of doing them. They are no harder than giving an injection. You just need to be shown what's to do. And we can help you with it.

You will also need to ask them for some oral cerenia and ondansetron tablets for nausea. He is most likely nauseated and will need antinausea tablets to want to eat.
They will probably give you an appetite stimulant ......that is only good if they also give you the antinausea meds too.
Also ask for a copy of all his blood test results and post them for us to see.

Make sure you have some higher carb Hills recovery food a/d and other higher carb foods as well as the normal lower carb food. We may need to give him higher carb foods in the beginning so that we can increase the insulin dose to combat the ketones.

Also make sure you have plenty of test strips and Ketostix to test the urine. You will need to be testing the urine twice a day in the beginning.

The recipe for DKA is not enough insulin, not enough food and an infection/inflammation in the body.
So we have to address those things to get rid of the ketones.

To do that we have to make sure he is getting enough insulin.
We also have to make sure he is getting more than he would normally eat...that is why a feeding tube would be ideal if possible.
And we need to make sure the infection/inflammation is being treated.....do you know if he is on antibiotics?
And the SubQ fluids will help flush out the ketones.

You can do this! We are here to support you:bighug:
 
Did the ER vet have any suggestions about Prozinc dose? He was on 5.75 units of Prozinc until very recently. We have also seen cats on all yellow numbers get ketones.
 
Chloe007 said:
I asked them about a shorter acting insulin, they didn't want to do it. They said his levels have actually been pretty good anyways (surprisingly they've been pretty good this whole time) but for so many reasons they don't think I should do a shorter acting insulin. I don't remember exactly why, maybe I'll bring it back up again later when we pick him up.

Yes, we have a good idea why the ketones happened. He has/had both pancreatitis and a UTI. Poor boy was just hit with everything at once. There's some question right now as to whether there's something bigger going on..which is why they want the ultrasound. Like cancer. But maybe not. His blood work is looking a lot better so that's at least positive. His WBC actually went from really low, to pretty high (maybe he's fighting the infection now?) Only worrisome thing was his RBC dropped a bit low last night, but it came back up today.
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That's good that his blood work is mostly better.
I wouldn't worry about the shorter acting insulin at this point if they said the BGs were pretty good. Wendy can guide you with that decision if needed and I think you can get it over the counter if it was decided it was needed.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Did the ER vet have any suggestions about Prozinc dose? He was on 5.75 units of Prozinc until very recently. We have also seen cats on all yellow numbers get ketones.
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So when I asked them if he would be on the same dose of insulin she said no, probably not. She said in his condition his glucose has been easier to manage (he's been staying in lower numbers with less insulin than in the past). So basically what's going on right now; we just went to see him, talked with his doctors and are now at home waiting until 8 o clock to call and see if he's taking his feedings well; if he is, he's for sure coming home. If not, he will likely get a feeding tube before coming home and possibly one more night stay. They plan to start with 4u tonight (they normally start with half in the hospital, but there was some confusion on his paperwork and they thought he was on 8u, so they started with 4u and that's been working well in the hospital). They will monitor him in the hospital and see how his numbers do and then give us the final say when we pick him up as to what dose we should start with.
 
Chloe007 said:
I have ketostix, will try to go find a meter.
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Mostly I'm just chiming in to say I'm keeping you and Oscar in my happy thoughts. I got a Precision Xtra blood glucose and ketone meter through Amazon. You have to get the ketone strips for it, they are different than the glucose ones. They run about a dollar a strip, but we only use this meter for ketones and it worked great.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Chloe, I'm sorry Oscar is not doing much better.
When you bring him home, you will need to be able to be with him most of the time for the first little while....depending on how he responds.
Before you leave the hospital I would ask them to put in a feeding tube, if he is not eating, as that is much easier on you and Oscar than syringe feeding. If you have to end up syringe feeding then so be it.

I would also ask them to teach you how to give SubQ fluids as he is going to need extra fluids to flush out the ketones. Don't be afraid of doing them. They are no harder than giving an injection. You just need to be shown what's to do. And we can help you with it.

You will also need to ask them for some oral cerenia and ondansetron tablets for nausea. He is most likely nauseated and will need antinausea tablets to want to eat.
They will probably give you an appetite stimulant ......that is only good if they also give you the antinausea meds too.
Also ask for a copy of all his blood test results and post them for us to see.

Make sure you have some higher carb Hills recovery food a/d and other higher carb foods as well as the normal lower carb food. We may need to give him higher carb foods in the beginning so that we can increase the insulin dose to combat the ketones.

Also make sure you have plenty of test strips and Ketostix to test the urine. You will need to be testing the urine twice a day in the beginning.

The recipe for DKA is not enough insulin, not enough food and an infection/inflammation in the body.
So we have to address those things to get rid of the ketones.

To do that we have to make sure he is getting enough insulin.
We also have to make sure he is getting more than he would normally eat...that is why a feeding tube would be ideal if possible.
And we need to make sure the infection/inflammation is being treated.....do you know if he is on antibiotics?
And the SubQ fluids will help flush out the ketones.

You can do this! We are here to support you:bighug:
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When at the hospital talking to the doctors earlier I told them I would need anti nausea meds, appetite stimulant, subq fluids, recovery food (I know that's easyish to syringe)...not sure if I'm missing anything.

Feeding tube is up in the air right now, up until this morning he had been taking his syringe feedings well, but he was fighting them this morning. They plan to see how he does tonight and if he takes the food, he comes home as is. If not, he gets the feeding tube. They say they need to sedate him for the tube, and in his condition, they would like to avoid that. But if he doesn't eat, then feeding tube it is.
 
Juls and Billy said:
Mostly I'm just chiming in to say I'm keeping you and Oscar in my happy thoughts. I got a Precision Xtra blood glucose and ketone meter through Amazon. You have to get the ketone strips for it, they are different than the glucose ones. They run about a dollar a strip, but we only use this meter for ketones and it worked great.
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Thank you, I'll look into that :) After spending 4k at this ER, $1 strips seem like a drop in the bucket haha.
 
Chloe007 said:
I told them I would need anti nausea meds, appetite stimulant, subq fluids, recovery food (I know that's easyish to syringe)...not sure if I'm missing anything.
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Pain meds, in case the pancreatitis is still flaring. Buprenophine is a good one. Don't forget to ask for the BG test values while he was in the hospital. And how often they gave insulin.

CRI is Regular insulin (continuous rate infusion). Here's an article of it being used for DKA kitties. You'll need their suggestion for Prozinc dose. R (regular) action is quite different from Prozinc. I'm off reading the article to see what they say about transition to long term insulin.
 
We just got word from the ER that Oscar's last ketone test shows that they are starting to finally come down! He also tolerated his syringe feeding tonight, so we're on our way to pick him up now. I have all my notes, will make sure I have everything I need, I'll check in soon enough when I'm home with him because I'm sure I'll have 1000 questions.
 
We're home now. Oscar had a couple spurts of energy upon realizing he was home, still pretty lethargic for the most part though. He went to his litter box once when we got home, and he was jumping around a bit last night but besides moving room to room, he's really kinda out of it today.
He did good with his feeding this morning, I think I got about 1/2 a can of recovery food into him. He sniffs his food on his own, but won't eat it. He's drinking water on his own, although he seems to get it up his nose a bit. I tried to give him a little more food every 2 hours since then, he takes some, spits some out. How often should I be trying to feed him? They told me at the hospital just before his shots, but I know food is important so I've been doing a little bit like every 2 hours...am I over doing it?
I haven't been able to catch him for a ketone test yet. Even though he went in his box when we got home, I suspect he's not making it everytime. I should probably go check for pee spots..
We were told to give 100ml of fluids every other day and they have him 50ml last night. Does this seem right?
He got an appetite stimulant this morning, along with his antibiotic and insulin (4u) and he's getting his antacid right now.
They gave him 3u yesterday but he was at 330 this morning (and through the night) so we upped to 4u. +2 was about the same, +3 288 +4 245.
What else can I be doing right now? I just feel like I'm not doing enough
 
Oh and they didn't give him any pain meds, they were on the fence with it but felt that he seemed mostly comfortable most of the time and didn't want to mask his moods/ they want to be able to know when he's getting better since in the hospital they had him acting really loopy.
I do have some leftover gabapentin and a small amount of bupe from my other cat though if it starts to be too much...
 
I think feeding him as often as you can is important.
Every 2 hours sounds good to me.
Food and fluids help to keep the ketones at bay.

Maybe some crinkled up plastic wrap in the litter box to catch some of the urine?
Or take him over there, to his litter box to pee, a little bit after you have fed him?

Maybe move a litter box to the area where Oscar is hanging out?
So he doesn't have to go far to use the litter box.

Chloe007 said:
I just feel like I'm not doing enough
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But you are Chloe, you are hon.:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Chloe007 said:
He sniffs his food on his own, but won't eat it.
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Classic anti nausea symptom. Did you get either Cerenia or ondansetron for him? Antacid won't do it. Did the vet suggest how many calories a day he should get? When I had to assist feed a hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) foster, I had to give 1 can a day of Recovery. I tried feeding every couple hours. More than 1/6 or 1/8th of the can at once and we were both done.

How much does Oscar weight? Fluids amount seems OK, but depends on size.

Most important, take a break for you today too, even if it is just to cuddle with Oscar and do nothing med or food related at that time.
 
Chloe007 said:
I asked them about a shorter acting insulin, they didn't want to do it. They said his levels have actually been pretty good anyways (surprisingly they've been pretty good this whole time) but for so many reasons they don't think I should do a shorter acting insulin. I don't remember exactly why, maybe I'll bring it back up again later when we pick him up.

Yes, we have a good idea why the ketones happened. He has/had both pancreatitis and a UTI. Poor boy was just hit with everything at once. There's some question right now as to whether there's something bigger going on..which is why they want the ultrasound. Like cancer. But maybe not. His blood work is looking a lot better so that's at least positive. His WBC actually went from really low, to pretty high (maybe he's fighting the infection now?) Only worrisome thing was his RBC dropped a bit low last night, but it came back up today.
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When Mimi was in the hospital for DKA they gave her short acting insulin- it was not an option I guess? What’s his BG been??
 
Deb & Wink said:
I think feeding him as often as you can is important.
Every 2 hours sounds good to me.
Food and fluids help to keep the ketones at bay.

Maybe some crinkled up plastic wrap in the litter box to catch some of the urine?
Or take him over there, to his litter box to pee, a little bit after you have fed him?

Maybe move a litter box to the area where Oscar is hanging out?
So he doesn't have to go far to use the litter box.


But you are Chloe, you are hon.:bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Yes FOOD is so important
 
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