1/15 Blaze going to the vet today, possibly out of remission?

Hello everyone! It’s been a while, just wanted to get on here and post since there’s something going on with Blaze. I’ve been testing him here and there since being OTJ since June 2020 and all has been great, until yesterday. Wednesday he seemed fine, eating, drinking, using the litter box, acting normal. Thursday morning I’m not sure if he ate breakfast because I use auto feeders and the cats ate before I got up, so not sure if he ate or the other cats ate his breakfast. I got home from work and the other two cats were eating dinner, and Blaze was laying in the cat bed. I tried to hand feed him and it caused him to throw up, white and foamy looking vomit. He didn’t eat breakfast this morning, I got up at 5 am to see if he would eat. He’s drinking water and he used the litter box this morning. But he seems under the weather. Lethargic, not playful or active. He seems like he’s lost a little weight, not a ton like the first diabetes diagnosis. I tested him at 5 pm yesterday and he was 181, tested at 7pm 221 and tested at 5 am today and he’s 214. So definitely high BG. He goes to the vet today at 5pm, I’m sure she’ll say he needs to go back on insulin. Any thoughts on what could cause this? I’m so bummed that he’s only been in remission for 6 months, we worked so hard to get him there. We did everything the same, fed the same as when he was getting insulin, gave the same freeze dried chicken treats. We did get a puppy a month ago so I don’t know if the stress of that could cause him to come out of remission. He has no teeth so it’s not dental related. Just feeling really sad and stressed about all this

 

Hope it goes OK in the vet. I do not have a lot of experience but could the high sugar be caused by something else? With the white foamy throw up it could be that he ate something bad? or perhaps he is having a pancreatitis flare up (has he been diagnosef with it before?)?

 

Thank you! We’ll know more after his vet appointment this afternoon. I don’t think he ate something bad. He has no interest in food right now, like he’s nauseous maybe. I know high numbers can make them feel yucky, and since he’s been in normal numbers for quite some time, I’m sure the 200’s aren’t making him feel good. It could be pancreatitis flare up, he did have pancreatitis when he was initially diagnosed in august 2019, but hasn’t been an issue since. So it’s definitely a possibility. I’m assuming with these higher numbers, he’ll have to go back on insulin. Hopefully we’re able to get him regulated again and feeling better.

 

I hope the vet can give you an answer for what is going on with Blaze and get him eating again. It could be whatever is going on with him is making his numbers higher and they'll come back down once he gets over it. I wouldn't rush to restart insulin until you see what is going on. Sending prayers.

 

Thanks so much Carla! I was holding off on starting insulin again until we went to the vet, I didn’t want to jump to conclusions too soon. I just tested him at +3.5 and he’s at 246, got him to eat a tablespoon or so of Fancy Feast classic paté so that’s a good sign. Just hoping these numbers come down once we figure out what’s going on. Luckily, I still have everything we need if we have to start insulin again. Thank you for the prayers

 

Awww Sarah...I'm sorry to hear that! I sure hope the vet can find out what else might be going on with him first!

Stress and other issues can cause those BG's to go up...let's hope something turns up in the bloodwork/labs that can be addressed quickly. Sending prayers your way!

 

Hope the vet goes okay and you can get some answers I know it is a bummer to see that glucose rise but I've always thought it's an interesting indicator - good job getting spot checks through the last few months as you can be pretty sure when to the timing of whatever the issue is

 

Thank you Sue! I’m definitely going to ask for bloodwork before we jump back into giving insulin. Hopefully we get an idea of what’s causing him to not feel good and causing the BG to go up. Hope you and Ms. Luci are doing well!

 

Thank you! I definitely noticed he wasn’t feeling well yesterday but that high BG was a good indicator something is going on. I’m glad I’ve been keeping up on spot check testing for this very reason! Three more hours until his appointment, I’ll keep you guys updated on what the vet says.

 

Get them to run the test for Pancreatitis, some vets look at the amylase to gage pancreatitis, but it is not a useful indicator, it is not reliable.

https://vetspace.2ndchance.info/why-is-my-cat-or-dogs-blood-amylase-level-high/
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/pancreatitis-in-cats

How reliable is the fPLI test?
Studies have demonstrated that the fPLI test is highly reliable for diagnosing pancreatitis in cats with moderate to severe pancreatitis. Cats with mild disease are more difficult to diagnose reliably. However, fPLI out-performs all other blood tests and is currently considered the best blood test available for diagnosing pancreatitis in cats.

the foamy vomit may have been because he wasn't eating. I would make sure they run a full panel.

 

Thank you Gill, I will ask them to do the test for pancreatitis and a full panel as well. That should hopefully get us some answers. I was thinking the same about the white foamy vomit too. I’ve gotten him to eat about two tablespoons of fancy feast today so that’s progress from yesterday at least.

 

Just tested again and he’s 133 +9. That’s better than the tests from earlier today.

 

Sheba’s BG would go up in remission if she had a pancreatic flare. It would always go back to normal after about 24 to 48 hours and she was having the treatment for the pancreatitis. Then on one occasion she fell out of remission.
Coming back down is a good sign but definitely get the fPL as Gill suggested.

 

Thank you Bron! That is such a relief to hear, hoping for the same for Blaze. How do they typically treat pancreatitis flare ups?

 

Pain meds, subq fluids, antinausea meds.

 

At the vet now. They took him back for bloodwork. They’re giving an anti nausea shot tonight and subq fluids to start. Once bloodwork comes back, we’ll know more. She said his temp is normal and overall healthy but he’s lost a little weight.

 

Since tomorrow is Saturday, the vet told me that she won’t get bloodwork results until next week. So we go home and hope the antinausea injection and subq fluids start to help. He ate a couple times a day today and got a BG test of 133 so that makes me feel a little better. Thank you all so much. I’ll let you know when we got the bloodwork back I appreciate you all!

 

I hope Blaze feels better and will eat for you.

 

Thank you Carla! I got him to eat finally! Ate some snacks at lunch, ate dinner and ate a snack after the vet!

 

Did they give him anything for pain?

 

No they didn’t yet. I guess because they haven’t confirmed anything yet since we won’t have the bloodwork back until next week? They only did subq fluids and a shot of Cerenia he’s eating pretty good now though.

 

I’m glad he’s eating well again. Have you taken the BG again?

 

I didn’t last night because I figured him being a little stressed from the vet might make it higher. I’m going to test again here shortly, I want to make sure there’s been some time between him eating his breakfast and testing. I’ll post when I test.