So Safie has been on Vetsulin since Late Febuary and her numbers have not changed. I started on PZI today. She has a visit with the vet today stating she needed to change her insulin right away do we did. She also rx’d Cerenia. When we got home I did a BS reading and gave her the 1st dose of PZI and prepared her dinner and she turned her nose up at it. Which is how we ended up at the vets this morning and led to yet another meltdown bc I thought she died on me on the way to the vets...its been a dramatic day. So since she wouldnt eat i gave her 1/2 a tablet of Cerenia and was not prepared for the dramatic foaming of the mouth. I remained calm and stayed with her and help clean her mouth. So my concern is as far as I know she has not eaten today and had a nausea incident at the vets. I dont think the Cerenia made it into her little body w all the foam that was produced. Any ideas on how to get her to eat w/o resorting to a few Temptations? If I had know Cerenia was a bitter pill I would have been better prepared.
tried giving her her fav wet food. Savory Salmon, even w/ syringe. turned up nose to Temptations too. No bowel movement either only Urine.
Hi Denice! So sorry I didn't even see this last night. If you ever get an emergency, remember you can post on Main too as there are usually more eyes there. What did the vet say? Did they give her any meds while she was there? Did they explain why she wasn't eating? Also do you test for ketones? That'd be my first thought. If she's still urinating, I'd get a ketone test ASAP. You can use the human ketone test strips from any pharmacy...just dip them in her urine and make sure to read them at EXACTLY the time listed on the bottle...it can get darker as time passes. As for eating...some cats love parmesan cheese sprinkled on food (sounds nuts but my cat will push me aside if there is parmesan for some reason). Also you can try heating the food up to make it a little smellier which sometimes works. Sprinkling crushed up treats on it will work sometimes. Another option is forti flora if you have any...my cats go NUTS for that! I get it from chewy.com I think...or amazon. Most cats love that. Also, do you mush it up some with water to help her easily lap it up? Do you leave it out so she can try to nibble at it in a bit? Did she eat anything on her own yet? If she still refuses, I'd probably contact the vet at least and let them know she still isn't eating and get some feedback from them.
She did urinate this AM before i woke up and a one inch bowel movement. She did go outside last night and chewed in some grass but as far as I can tell no food. When I took her to the vet the gave her fluids and they wanted to run more labs but that was as extra $300 on top of the $300 I paid for fluids, Cerecia shot and the new insulin. We know her FD is uncontrolled and so I didn't feel it would provide any really new Info so I passed on it. I tested her this morning and the AT just said “HI” that was concerning to me. I dont know if i should give her an insulin shot especially if she hasnt eaten.
Yes, give her the shot. Her BG is much too high if it's reading HI, and that can contribute to not wanting to eat. Also, did the vet run a ketone test? That is absolutely essential for a diabetic cat who isn't eating as ketones can progress so very quickly. We just lost a kitty to that this week. If you can't get one at home, the vet should be able to do it as an in-office test and give a result quickly.
Wait....she was on 3 units of vetsulin and the vet had you drop to 1u? That is dangerous. We recommend that you switch insulin at the same dose as the previous insulin, or just slightly lowers, so maybe 2.5 or 2.75. Please increase the dose for your next shot. 1u is not enough insulin for Sapphire.
Yes, I understand that. But the dosing recommendation is still to switch at close to the current dose. With a cat in very high numbers like this, lowering the dose so much puts them at risk of developing ketones. And adding to that the lack of appetite. DKA is caused by: too little insulin + too little calories + infection/inflammation. So right how he's set up for too little insulin by the large reduction, he's not eating, so he isn't getting enough calories. All he needs is a little gum inflammation or to start into a UTI and he could get into DKA quickly. If you are going to keep the dose this low, please, please get a ketone test at least once/day. And if he isn't eating by now (which I'm really hoping he is), then get him to a vet for a ketone test there.
Yes, the insulin is different, but we still like to switch at the same dose as before. Just because the insulin is different doesn't mean it wasn't doing any good, and since you had to go up to a higher dose on that insulin, it makes sense that you would still need a similar dose on a new insulin.
Thank you all for you advise. Despite the Mirataz and Cerenia she would not eat. I took her to the vet this AM to labwork and possibly hospitalizing her. The vet called me to tell me it looked like she had gone into Ketoacidosis and her gums were tacky. Overall prognosis did not look good. And attempt getting her thru this crisis. At that point I elected to let my baby go. She did not deserve to continue to suffer. She had gone thru so much in the past few months. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge this morning.
Based on her numbers and the rarity of it due to her age (only 2) I was in the back of my mind she had something more complex going on. She was diagnosed in February and declined VERY quickly and nothing helped. I think she had acromegaly to be honest. Something seen in older male cats. But I did get a chance to be with her one last time and I had a long talk with her. I told her how wonderful she was and she brought a lot of laughter and joy to my life. I told her to say hello to pets I have lost in the past and ppl to look out for (aunt and grandparents) I told her it was okay to go and that I would be okay and didn't want to see her suffer. How she changed my life, we did thing I never saw myself doing before all because of her. I have so many fond memories. SHe was a bright shooting star, lite up my life for a awesome streak and then she was gone. I will see you on the other side Safie. Momma loves you to pieces. Thank you for the support I added her final numbers to the SS
I am so sorry for your loss, I've only just seen this! You were very brave to have made that decision. I hope you're feeling better.
Thank you, I am at peace knowing I did everything in my power. I am also thankful to have had the wisdom that there is only so much you can do when things are trully beyond control AND knowing to let her go and not prolong her suffering. THe vet told me had she made it it was the first crisis and many. I couldnt imagine putting her thru that. She wouldnt understand it. Almost as soon as she was gone I started the hunt for another kitten. You see at this time last year I got her a little brother and playmate since she had so much energy and my 17 yo cat is well beyond wanting to play chase. lol Well with her gone her brother, Buster, needs a playmate. He (the little brother, named Donatello) came home yesterday, He is still a little too small for big cat play and is being slowly introduced . As heartbroken as I was I needed to keep Busters needs in mind too. Sapphire will alway have a special place in my heart and I learned a lot, some lessons were hard lessons. Now Busters and Donatello have health insurance and will both be on Dr Elseys clean protein food. Thanks again for reaching out.
yes, we cried with you too -- congratulations on the kitten -- you can never replace a cat but there is always room in your heart to love another
