Do I have enough data from the last few days to help determine my no shoot number yet? I need to explain about 12/31 day though. He was to low for his AMPS, and I screwed up by losing track of time. I remember 5 hours after he was do for his AM dose. So that's why his number is 242. His numbers were low ( blue & greens ) almost the entire month of Nov, but started going up and I didn't know why until Friday when I woke up to blood everywhere. He had another UTI. Apparently skittles cant travel anymore. He had his 1st UTI four months after we had to leave to avoid a C5 hurricane BUT 7 hrs after we got to the safe zone ( 1.5 hrs away) The hurricane shifted so we had to leave again so we had to leave again, this time 2.5 hrs away. about a week later he was peeing blood. This time, he developed another one a couple weeks after another trip. I need to leave again, but im trying to teach my mom how to take care of him. Its been 2 days since I rushed him to the vet again , and 24 hrs after his last dose of meds and he is peeing blood again so in 5 hrs I will be taking him back in. so that's whats going on right now. At 7:00 AM ,it will be time for insulin but he is not eating very well. I was going to half his normal dose. I lowered him back to his normal dose (1.5 U ) today, but he only that dose at his AM dose. I lowered it because 2 U seemed to be holding past 12 hrs and Im trying to get him back on a 12/12 time frame since I need to go back to work. so my questions were #1. Is there enough data to determine his No shoot #yet? or reduced dose time #2. should I go back to 1.5 unit or stay at 2 U. I will be wake all night to keep a eye on him ( its already 4:30 AM ) all the vets in my area are closed, but I found one that's open in the morning only. I just moved & don't know all the vets around me. The place I took him to on Friday will be closed until Wednesday and I hope the vet I see tomorrow doesn't run 7 charge me for all the test we just had done on Friday. cost me almost $500 Friday and $650 four months ago and I TRYING to save money for a much needed tooth infection he has. Im just rambling right now to stay awake....
Did the vet test for a UTI, or just assume one given the blood? It's possible that it's not a UTI as idiopathic cystitis can cause bloody urine as well, and antibiotics doesn't help that. There are a variety of home remedies that can help, and pain management as well. As far as your no-shot number - there really isn't enough data to say. How you determine this is by giving insulin on the lower numbers, and collecting the data then. You've skipped the shot on the lower numbers, so we don't have any way to know if Skittles would have been okay with an injection or not. And the couple of times you have shot on a blue at night, there's no data so we don't know how it went. Not shooting is usually only advised if you are new and aren't confident testing, or if you can't be home to monitor and steer if needed. So the next time you get a number that is in the blues, try giving at least part of the dose and getting in some tests. Make sure you have some higher carb food handy just in case, but most likely since Skittles is a long term diabetic, he can probably handle shooting on the blues you've been seeing. Also, you can have the vet that ran the tests send them over to the new vet - no need to pay for the same tests again.
Re peeing blood: you're aware of that common affliction in kitties called idiopathic cystitis that can look like a bad UTI but isn't. Rather, it's bladder inflammation that comes and goes and is often stress related. If urine is tested it often shows no infection. I suggest you read up on it: https://icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/feline-idiopathic-cystitis-fic. For those of us who have experience with it we learn the signs and then use a variety of interventions until the flare passes. That can involve d-mannose supplementation, buprenorphine for pain, etc. @Rachel can advise. We don't necessarily take kitty to the vet unless there are distinct signs of not being able to pee. Re "no shot" number: I see that @Djamila has given you good advice.
The vet on Friday ran test, she said he has idiopathic cystitis , most likely because of all the stress from having to travel. At 5:30 AM he peed normal, and at 6:30 passed a little blood. Seems he will continue to sit where he is peeing until a clot is passed then he walks away. I fell asleep for about a hour. But so far he seems normal and I’m waiting for him to pee again so I can see it and catch a sample . He has a appt at 11:00. I’m going to read the link and see what I can do if this happens again. I still need to drive back and pack , but now I don’t know what to do about him. Hopefully this vet will not charge me to do all the test again , but I don’t have his detail records. I always get copies of all my pets info and keep them in a binder BUT I didn’t do that on Friday and of course I need them. The vet we went to Friday is closed. I will get more data for my SS & hopefully we can get everything figured out. He was in remission for almost 2 but has been back on the juice for a year now
Oh Sherri. I know the stress of waking up to a bunch of blood...it's awful. The way you've described it sounds a LOT like cystitis rather than a UTI. I'm not saying it can't be a UTI, but the way it shows up right after a stressful event is pretty standard for cystitis kitties. 2 of my girls have it (because it's never fun with just 1). This time of year is rampant for cystitis kitties due to the holidays. We don't do anything here and we still had 2 flare ups. Did your vet say for sure bacteria was found? How was the urine collected for a sample? It's best if collected by a needle through cystocentesis (it sounds awful but my vet did it right in front of me and my cat was totally chill through it...and she's not a chill cat). Then it's best to have it sent out for a culture and sensitivity. That sends it to another lab where they grow the bacteria for a few days and then try different ABs on it until they find the one that works best. If it's truly a UTI that helps because you know you're getting the right AB to start with. Every time I've had it sent out they called to tell me there was no growth meaning it wasn't a UTI. It took me years to figure out my cats recurring UTIs were never actually UTIs but just cystitis. If there WAS bacteria, the vet should have given you more ABs than 2 days (ours were 7 or 14 days) and I would have specifically requested pain meds too. To give you a fast rundown of how I treat when a flare up occurs: I have a prescription on file at the vet for buprenorphrine. I give that as soon as I notice the symptoms, even if they don't seem to be in pain. I'll give it off and on as they symptoms recur throughout a flare, but I usually only give it 3-4 times per flare. You can definitely give more or less based on the cat. I immediately start with my supplements. I give 7 drops of corn silk extract for inflammation 4 times a day at first. As the flare lessens, I go to 3x, then 2x, then stick to 4 drops at 2x a day for awhile. I give 1/4 tsp D Mannose for inflammation 1x a day. I give Cantharis 30C 3-4x a day. It's a homeopathic remedy for urinary pain. I wrap it in a bit of pill pocket and give it to them. You don't have to use this with bupe, though I usually do because why not. I usually give this for a week or so during a flare, just slowly tapering down the number of times per day. I figure it might help to reduce pain enough even if they aren't showing signs of pain that they won't need bupe. I'll also give this if they are acting funny and I THINK a flare might be coming...and I give it now and then around a stressful event. CBD Oil. I use the Charlottes Web but there are plenty of places to buy from and if you're in a state where it's legal, I'd probably go local. I give that to one of my girls daily and another one just during flares. It's good for stress, inflammation, and pain so it's great for us. I think that's about it. There are other supplements I don't use because we found what works for us so far. I included links above but you can get most of those other places too...Whole Foods and the Vitamin Shoppe have some. I know it looks like a lot, but it's worth it and it's really not as time consuming as it seems. I think it took longer to type out than to do it!
How often does your cat have a flare up? Do you know what caused his FLUTD? Skittles cant get X-rays until next week because she is booked up. If both are neg. she is pretty sure he has developed FLUTD. She said she can tell that he has a lot of anxiety. He took his last Prazosin anti-inflammation pill Friday. Now I have 3 days worth on hand if this happens again. I also have 2 doses of buprenorphine left but I'm going to ask if I can get more to keep on hand. I also have 6 doses of Onsior pain med and about 1/2 bag of Ringers left. Have you tried feliway? I'm thinking of ordering some. CBD oil is legal here and I was thinking of getting some for myself since I suffer from Fibro., stress, anxiety , and bad back pain. But now I want to get it for him too. Where do you get all the stuff you use ( besides the buprenorphine ) and how do you know when to give it? Do you know how much a 15 lb. should take? I NEVER want for him ( and me) to go through this again. Also what kind of food do you feed? I will be feeding 2 cats . His BG has been better today. I did a mini curve today, I'm trying to find out his " No shoot" number is.
