Sub-Q Question... (Might Need to Give More?)

The new vet who saw Todd on Tuesday for possible Pancreatitis, said I should give him 150ml Lactated Ringers Sub-Q, once a day. She said he is pretty dehydrated and he absorbs the fluid pretty dang fast. Within an hour, the fluid pouch is gone and I don't see that it has moved anywhere else on his body.

He got the 150ml today (Wed. 8/4) around 1 in the afternoon. Later on in the day, I noticed that when I lifted his skin, it stayed up a bit, which from what I understand, means he is dehydrated. (?)

Should I be giving more than 150ml? I mean, I'm going to call and ask the vet tomorrow morning. Splitting the fluids up where he gets some in the morning, and some in the evening is a great idea, which was suggested to me earlier. But I wonder if he might need more than the 150ml? I don't know how much is too much for a 12lb cat with possible Pancreatitis.

The last few days I had noticed he was drinking more, but since I have him staying in our bedroom now (as of Tues), it appears he is drinking less than he was two days ago. I think this could be because he hates being forced to stay in one room and I am sure the syringe feedings, along with all of the meds I have to force down his throat are making him rather cranky. He is not a fan of having things put into his mouth. I'm trying to find a comfortable way of doing the syringe feedings as well. He tends to get a lot on his chin, rather than in his mouth. (Suggestions?)


Thanks!

 

i always worry about overtaxing the heart if you give too much fluid at once. so once every 12 hrs is a good idea (split it up into two doses of 75mls each or 100 mls each if he still seems dehydrated. i probably wouldn't feel safe giving more than that.)

if you're giving insulin, give the fluids at least 4 hrs before or after the insulin so they're not given so close together.

did you get injectible Pepcid AC and pain meds (like buprenex) to give, too? they can help a lot with pancreatitis. my cat cleo has really bad chronic pancreatitis so we've been thru this a lot. a partial syringe (no needle) of bupe is usually administered near the gums or cheek (so they don't swallow it directly--it permeates the skin tissue instead). if you don't have injectible pepcid AC, you can get the pills at the pharmacy and give 1/4 pill a day, followed by a syringeful of water. the bupe would be every 8 hrs while pancreatitis symptoms persist.

i don't know anything about syringe feeding, so i'll leave that to others...

hope this is helpful.

 

Thank you!

Yeah, I wasn't sure if you could cause more harm than good by giving extra fluids. I didn't want to do it until I got some advice.

I was given pain meds, as well as a bunch of other stuff. No Pepcid was given, but she did give him a shot of anti-nausea meds before we left her office on Tuesday.

The meds I was given are as follows:

Lactated Ringers Sub-Q 150ml once a day

Buprenorphine 0.25 to 0.3 every 12 hours (up from the 0.2 our original vet gave him)

Metronidazole One capsule (62.5mg) once a day. (Giving in the AM)

Baytril 22.7mg Once a day (I've been giving in the PM to space out his meds a bit)

Mirtazapine 1/4 tab every 72 hours (due today 8/5)

Tumil-K Gel 3ml twice a day

Lantus 1/2 unit in the PM if BG levels are in the 200's in the afternoon.

0.25 of B12 once a week (Will start today 8/5)

I've only been up for a few minutes, but he already seems a bit perkier today. He's talking more, which he hasn't done in a few days. and he was soooo happy getting brushed last night. purring and rolling all over the bed. of course, that could have just been the pain meds talking. heh

 

cats hide pain so well that i didn't give pain meds when cleo first started getting pancreatitis attacks. but i've learned bupe makes a huge difference for her. my understanding is that it doesn't last longer than about 8 hrs tho so it might be better to give the original dose but every 8 hrs while kitty seems to be having a pancreatitis flareup. sometimes i just give half the dose if i don't think she needs the whole thing.

some cats get more fluids but the 75 mls twice a day should help a ton.

re the B12, i actually put it in a regular U100 insulin syringe. using a 3/10 cc U100 insulin syringe the weekly B12 dose is around 30 units. i like it coz the needles are skinnier (i use a 31 gauge).