DKA

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Please re-test the ketones number. If it holds up, then yes, you need to take Cam to the vet. This is an emergency.

She may not be in DKA as yet, but that level of ketones is very dangerous.

I don't see any shots after 6/27 on your spreadsheet; have you been withholding insulin for some reason? That could be a contributing factor.
 
Understood. So, not an insulin issue, but she was probably not eating well with "her" humans gone. And now that she has some ketones going, that can make them feel yucky and not want to eat, making things worse.

Hopefully the vet can get her back on her feet quickly. Ketones can progress shockingly rapidly-- it's critical to get her to the vet asap.
 
Hi all, thank you so so much for your quick replies and advice. We took the little gal to the emergency vet, and they confirmed the high ketone numbers and acidosis. She also had cystitis so is getting antibiotics. They are keeping her for at least 24 hours (probably gonna be a few days) and giving her fluids to flush her system.

She did not want to eat this morning, so the morning shot was skipped. She has received all other usual shots. Feeling so guilty about going on vaca. :( :( :( :( But relieved she is in good hands now.
 
Camcat said:
Hi all, thank you so so much for your quick replies and advice. We took the little gal to the emergency vet, and they confirmed the high ketone numbers and acidosis. She also had cystitis so is getting antibiotics. They are keeping her for at least 24 hours (probably gonna be a few days) and giving her fluids to flush her system.

She did not want to eat this morning, so the morning shot was skipped. She has received all other usual shots. Feeling so guilty about going on vaca. :( :( :( :( But relieved she is in good hands now.
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Prayers for a speedy recovery for Cam
 
Nan & Amber (GA) said:
Please re-test the ketones number. If it holds up, then yes, you need to take Cam to the vet. This is an emergency.

She may not be in DKA as yet, but that level of ketones is very dangerous.

I don't see any shots after 6/27 on your spreadsheet; have you been withholding insulin for some reason? That could be a contributing factor.
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Retested and they were 5.7!! Took her to emergency vet, and she's there now. Thank you so much for your quick reply.
 
So glad you took her in quickly! DKA is treatable if you catch it early, it gets harder as time goes by.

Probably the cystitis was the trigger, just bad luck when it happened. Don't feel guilty about your vacation, you had her getting good care while you were away, these things just happen sometimes-- bad luck.

As Bron says, when she comes home she'll need some extra care. We can help with tips and suggestions when it is time.

Right now though, she's in the very best place she could be. From the sounds of it, this vet knows what they are doing and is on top of things, so that is good. Hopefully Cam will be back on her feet and feeling better soon!
 
Vacation is over and we are home. Symptoms of low appetite started yesterday morning. Didn’t think too much if it bc it happens from time to time. We got back last night, and although she greeted us and purred, but we could tell she didn’t feel well and would not eat at all (very unusual for her). Thought maybe it was a pancreatitis flare up (she had a bout in January). Tested for ketones just to be sure and was absolutely shocked by the reading.
 
Thank you, I’m trying.

re food, She used to have the Hill’s prescription diet (M/D) but I switched her onto fancy feast pate since I saw it was lower carb. In preparation for her return home, I will get some more of the prescription food since it’s higher carb and will look at Lisa’s food chart again today. Also going to get her something super tasty. Thanks again for all the help and insight.
 
Super tasty is good! You should also ask the vet for a couple cans of special "recovery" foods, like Hill's A/D and and Purina Proplan CN. They're calorie-dense, most cats find them pretty palatable, and (importantly), if you need to do some syringe-feeding they have a good texture for doing that.
 
Camcat said:
Thank you, I’m trying.

re food, She used to have the Hill’s prescription diet (M/D) but I switched her onto fancy feast pate since I saw it was lower carb. In preparation for her return home, I will get some more of the prescription food since it’s higher carb and will look at Lisa’s food chart again today. Also going to get her something super tasty. Thanks again for all the help and insight.
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Just wanted to check in and ask how is Cam doing today ?
 
Nan & Amber (GA) said:
Super tasty is good! You should also ask the vet for a couple cans of special "recovery" foods, like Hill's A/D and and Purina Proplan CN. They're calorie-dense, most cats find them pretty palatable, and (importantly), if you need to do some syringe-feeding they have a good texture for doing that.
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Will do! Thank you for the advice.
 
Hi all,

Here's a quick update. Yesterday vet said Cam was doing well, but potassium was very low and they wanted to keep her longer so they could monitor and supplement. She was not eating on her own, despite appetite stimulant so wanted to keep an eye on that, too.

The vet called this morning to say she is doing worse, and back to acidotic (sp) state. They suspect pancreatitis and are doing more tests to determine. I'm hoping she pulls through but am preparing for the worst.

Such a quick turn around --- she seemed to be playing and eating fine just the night before it all started.
 
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Oh no... :( :( :(

I am so sorry she has taken a turn for the worse. DKA is such a tricky and hard-to-tame thing. She's in the best place she can be right now to get it figured out.

Pancreatitis causes pain and nausea, so they don't want to eat-- it may be one of the things that sent her into DKA. If it is pancreatitis, they may be able to address those things with meds, and hopefully get her feeling better and able to battle the ketones back down.

Crossing fingers, toes, everything, for your little girl to beat this. :bighug: :bighug: :bighug:
 
Nan & Amber (GA) said:
Oh no... :( :( :(

I am so sorry she has taken a turn for the worse. DKA is such a tricky and hard-to-tame thing. She's in the best place she can be right now to get it figured out.

Pancreatitis causes pain and nausea, so they don't want to eat-- it may be one of the things that sent her into DKA. If it is pancreatitis, they may be able to address those things with meds, and hopefully get her feeling better and able to battle the ketones back down.

Crossing fingers, toes, everything, for your little girl to beat this. :bighug: :bighug: :bighug:
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Thank you :( me too.
 
It's difficult because of Covid, we can't see her. I'm going to see if they will allow us to send a care package (a t-shirt that smells like me, maybe some of her fav. treats, and a toy). Maybe it will lift her spirits a little bit.
 
Get well soon, Cam! It’s sad they won’t let you see her. She probably misses you which doesn’t help things. My vet just starting allowing clients inside as long as we stay a distance and wear a mask.
 
She started purring as soon as she saw us, and continued to purr for the whole visit (about 20 mins). We could tell that she was nervous at the vet, and not feeling well, but very happy to see us. Later on, the vet called with an update and said she even purred for him this evening.

The vet also said that the ultrasound did show some pancreatitis and also some gastroparesis. He said her PH is rising, and her potassium is improving. He gave Cam some medicine (I did not catch what it was) to try and relieve the gastroparesis, and that they were considering a feeding tube and some steroids. He is thinking about the steroids as a last resort (if nothing else improves), as he is aware that it is not good to use them in diabetic cats. He does not want to give her pain medication just yet, as it may interfere with her stomach. Gastroparesis and not eating seem to be the biggest issues at the moment. We are going to visit her again tomorrow.

He is recommending switching from ProZinc to Glargine so I'm going to be researching that a little later on (I know there are great resources about the different types of insulin on this site)
 
Are they giving antinausea drugs such as cerenia?
Also the feeding tube is a good idea if she won’t eat because eating is really really important to getting rid of ketones and preventing ketones coming back.

Also I would not swap to glargine while Cam has DKA or is recovering from it because glargine (which is a great insulin for cats normally) is a depot insulin which means it takes 5 to 7 days for the depot to fill and the full effect of the dose to be felt, whereas Prozinc is an in and out insulin and works fully with each dose from the beginning. Does that make sense? with DKA and ketones it is really important that the dose of insulin is maintained to prevent ketones forming again.

Once it’s behind you then it would be fine to swap over to glargine.

I’m so glad there is some improvement.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Are they giving antinausea drugs such as cerenia?
Also the feeding tube is a good idea if she won’t eat because eating is really really important to getting rid of ketones and preventing ketones coming back.

Also I would not swap to glargine while Cam has DKA or is recovering from it because glargine (which is a great insulin for cats normally) is a depot insulin which means it takes 5 to 7 days for the depot to fill and the full effect of the dose to be felt, whereas Prozinc is an in and out insulin and works fully with each dose from the beginning. Does that make sense? with DKA and ketones it is really important that the dose of insulin is maintained to prevent ketones forming again.

Once it’s behind you then it would be fine to swap over to glargine.

I’m so glad there is some improvement.
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Thank you for the advice. I will ask about the anti-nausea drug tomorrow. Makes total sense about not switching. Will wait until sometime in the future when this is behind us.

Side note - is this thread getting too long? Should I start a new one?
 
Camcat said:
Thank you for the advice. I will ask about the anti-nausea drug tomorrow. Makes total sense about not switching. Will wait until sometime in the future when this is behind us.

Side note - is this thread getting too long? Should I start a new one?
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Not too long yet but if you would like to start a new one that’s fine. Just make sure you link this thread to it for continuity.
 
Vet called this morning with an update. He said that she has taken a turn for the worse again. Glucose and potassium are very low again this morning. They are going to aggressively try to treat it. If they are able to turn things around, they will give her a nasal feeding tube, as he's not comfortable giving her an anesthesia for an esophageal tube - she is very fragile he said. He asked about resuscitation if her heart stops. He said that the chance of survival would be low if we resuscitate. Does anyone have any experience with this? Does this sound right? I don't think we are ready yet to tell them not to resuscitate.
 
Hi - update. Just spoke to the vet, and she's doing really well today!! She even had a few nibbles of food this afternoon!!!!!! The vet is going to do another scan of her stomach this afternoon and will let us know how it's looking (gastroparesis and pancreatitis). We are going to see her again this evening. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I am so relieved I could cry.
 
Camcat said:
Hi - update. Just spoke to the vet, and she's doing really well today!! She even had a few nibbles of food this afternoon!!!!!! The vet is going to do another scan of her stomach this afternoon and will let us know how it's looking (gastroparesis and pancreatitis). We are going to see her again this evening. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I am so relieved I could cry.
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Great news! So glad you’re able to see her tonight. Keep healing, Cam!
 
Camcat said:
Hi - update. Just spoke to the vet, and she's doing really well today!! She even had a few nibbles of food this afternoon!!!!!! The vet is going to do another scan of her stomach this afternoon and will let us know how it's looking (gastroparesis and pancreatitis). We are going to see her again this evening. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I am so relieved I could cry.
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So Happy you get to see Cam . Cam Praying over here for you . Speedy recovery Cam Kitty
 
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