Newly diagnosed, overnight at the vets

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Smokey's mom

Smokey's mom

Member Since 2015
Hi there, I'm looking for some hope tonight. 13 year old male cat diagnosed yesterday with diabetes, had an insulin shot 6pm last night, and 6pm this morning, 2 units each. He is not eating/drinking, pupils were dilated and he can't walk today, just collapses. He's at the vet overnight for more fluids, there are ketones present. I'm worried and wondering what can I expect as a prognosis. The waiting is really hard for me.
 
Hi I'm so sorry your kitty is sick. What insulin is he on, and how long after his shot did he start showing symptoms?
 
Hi Sharon, thank you. he's on Lantus, 2 units/2x a day. He was ok during the evening, but very groggy, dilated pupils, weak and couldn't stand after the second dose this morning. Sugar was 250 today vs. 500 yesterday. He was showing signs of ketones, vet was going to give fluids tonight. I just feel terrible, and feel I failed him but not noticing sooner. He was eating fine, too but I took him in because of weight loss.
 
Don't blame yourself. Cats are very good at hiding symptoms of illness. Was the 250 at the vet, or are you home testing? What's your cats name?
 
I appreciate that, no home test, both readings were done at the vet. 500 yesterday, 250 today. His name is Smokey, I have his littermate too, female named Pogo.
 
He was pretty dehydrated yesterday, took him back today because I was concerned about him getting through the weekend if he wasn't eating or drinking.
 
The vet will call me in the morning, they open at nine am. We have an awesome vet hospital here, the best. I've been using them since 2002. Very low staff turnover, very compassionate too. There is no one on duty tonight, was tough to leave him today.
 
Thank you for the prayers, they will help! I hope so too, I'm not used to this sort of thing, my animals give me very little to worry about, the waiting is not my strong suit. I was wondering if anyone had experienced this before and how did it turn out for you and your cat?
 
It's good that you have a vet you feel you can trust. I haven't had that problem with my cat, Colin, so I can't give you any insight. But I will keep you and Smokey in my prayers.
 
@packerfan122 my car vegetable spent 3 days at the vet's office in August for ketones. She wasn't eating either but after a couple of days of fluids & of course her insulin she came home & I'm happy to report she is doing pretty good these days. I say pretty good only cause she's due for a slight increase in her dose this weekend.

while smokey is at the vet's office may I suggest you take some time to read up on feline diabetes & ask lots of questions. Also I suggest you get yourself some testing supplies so when smokey comes home you can check his blood sugar at home. Some vets don't tell you to home test but it is very very important to be home testing. Many people here say you would never give your child insulin without checking their blood sugar to make sure it's safe to shoot insulin so it's the same for your smokey. You can find lots of information about using lantus in the lantus & levemire support group side of the site. If you read all the stickies you will find lots of info & if you have questions everyone here is more then happy to answer your questions.

I hope smokey feels better soon!
 
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Here they are, Pogo is on the left, Tiger, Smokey is on the right, grey/white.
 
Hi There! So sorry Smokey is in the hospital but, that is the best place for him to get rehydrated and them to replace the electrolytes and get the ketones out of his system. Keeping good thoughts for Smokey and to you for peace of mind tonight. You are a good bean to act quickly and get him attention. Hugs! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Vegetable said:
@packerfan122 my car vegetable spent 3 days at the vet's office in August for ketones. She wasn't eating either but after a couple of days of fluids & of course her insulin she came home & I'm happy to report she is doing pretty good these days. I say pretty good only cause she's due for a slight increase in her dose this weekend.

while smokey is at the vet's office may I suggest you take some time to read up on feline diabetes & ask lots of questions. Also I suggest you get yourself some testing supplies so when smokey comes home you can check his blood sugar at home. Some vets don't tell you to home test but it is very very important to be home testing. Many people here say you would never give your child insulin without checking their blood sugar to make sure it's safe to shoot insulin so it's the same for your smokey. You can find lots of information about using lantus in the lantus & levemire support group side of the site. If you read all the stickies you will find lots of info & if you have questions everyone here is more then happy to answer your questions.

I hope smokey feels better soon!
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Good advice Jennifer!
 
Vegetable, thank you. I've been reading so much over the past two days, believe me, I can't even see straight! Was your cat walking when you took her in? Your post has given me hope, I'm happy you're both doing well! I'm a big believer in the home testing, levels are so important. Smokey/Pogo have been free feeders. I'm a home health aide who works 22/24 hour shifts, so things are going to have to change here for the cats, and me. This is the first time I've ever signed up for a forum, nice to know I'm not alone in this.
 
Bobbie and Bubba, I never noticed that before! Thanks for the new insight and postive thoughts, I will be back tomorrow with good news, I hope!
 
Vegetable was walking but she just did not look or act well along with some vomitting & she had her head in the water bowl allot.

Veg was also a free feeder before she was diagnosed along with my other cats. We adapted & changed our routine to manage vegetables special requirements.

Can you tell us a little about you? Where are you from & what's your name?
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
Hi There! So sorry Smokey is in the hospital but, that is the best place for him to get rehydrated and them to replace the electrolytes and get the ketones out of his system. Keeping good thoughts for Smokey and to you for peace of mind tonight. You are a good bean to act quickly and get him attention. Hugs! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Thank you, I only hope I was fast enough, he was very dehydrated and couldn't even stand when I took him in, he only wanted to lie down......
 
Vegetable said:
Vegetable was walking but she just did not look or act well along with some vomitting & she had her head in the water bowl allot.

Veg was also a free feeder before she was diagnosed along with my other cats. We adapted & changed our routine to manage vegetables special requirements.

Can you tell us a little about you? Where are you from & what's your name?
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Yes, I live in Maine, been here 24 years, grew up in WI. My name is Meredith. I have the two cats, have owned and showed two horses as a young girl, and had a Black Lab who was put down in 2013, just shy of his 14th birthday. Love hiking, swimming, anything outdoors.
 
Hi Meredith! Maine BRR! I live in South MS, it was in the 50's today and I was cold:oops:. I know I'm a wuss! When I saw packer fan, I thought there might be a WI connection. I showed horses too. What did you show in?
 
Sharon14 said:
Hi Meredith! Maine BRR! I live in South MS, it was in the 50's today and I was cold:oops:. I know I'm a wuss! When I saw packer fan, I thought there might be a WI connection. I showed horses too. What did you show in?
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Yes, I definitely like four seasons! 50's is considered tropical here! :) I showed hunter/jumper, B Circuit in WI from 1981 to 1990. Came to Maine in '91 for two weeks, and never left. What did you show in?
 
I showed Quarter Horses in Western Pleasure, Halter and a little bit of Hunter. Still have 5 horses of my own and board 4 others. Was out today fixing fences....my sister was just in Maine and she loved it. The pics she sent were beautiful. I need to go to Maine in the summer. It's too hot here then.
 
Sharon14 said:
I showed Quarter Horses in Western Pleasure, Halter and a little bit of Hunter. Still have 5 horses of my own and board 4 others. Was out today fixing fences....my sister was just in Maine and she loved it. The pics she sent were beautiful. I need to go to Maine in the summer. It's too hot here then.
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So nice you have horses still! What area did your sister visit? Maine is nice in the summer, some people say the coldest winter they spent was a summer in Maine! Quarter horses are great, worked with a lot of them when I taught horseback riding at a summer camp.
 
Hi Meredith, now that we know your name & where your from we can give you a little more information about testing supplies.

Since you live in the U.S. You can go to any Walmart & pick up a human meter called relion. Most people use the relion micro or confirm model, the prime is cheaper per strip but some people report having error messages with them & end up wasting strips but pretty much any meter is ok. Don't waste your money on the pet specific meter called the alphatrak. The human meters work just fine & the strips are allot more affordable then the alphatrak test strips.

As for insulin, since smokey is on lantus you can order it from Marks Marine pharmacy in Canada cheaper then you can get it at your local pharmacy. You will also need to pick up some U100 syringes, I'm not sure where the cheapest place to get them in the U.S. is but for me I get them at Costco for $33 a box (I'm in Canada).

What kind of food does smokey eat? You want to get him on a wet food only diet. Don't waste your money on prescription food. You can buy fancy feast pate for much less & it is lower carb then the prescription food.

Keeo us posted when you get an update from the vet & hopefully smokey will come home happy & healthy tomorrow.
 
packerfan122 said:
So nice you have horses still! What area did your sister visit? Maine is nice in the summer, some people say the coldest winter they spent was a summer in Maine! Quarter horses are great, worked with a lot of them when I taught horseback riding at a summer camp.
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Can't remember the town, but it was along the coast. Was beautiful!
 
Vegetable said:
Hi Meredith, now that we know your name & where your from we can give you a little more information about testing supplies.

Since you live in the U.S. You can go to any Walmart & pick up a human meter called relion. Most people use the relion micro or confirm model, the prime is cheaper per strip but some people report having error messages with them & end up wasting strips but pretty much any meter is ok. Don't waste your money on the pet specific meter called the alphatrak. The human meters work just fine & the strips are allot more affordable then the alphatrak test strips.

As for insulin, since smokey is on lantus you can order it from Marks Marine pharmacy in Canada cheaper then you can get it at your local pharmacy. You will also need to pick up some U100 syringes, I'm not sure where the cheapest place to get them in the U.S. is but for me I get them at Costco for $33 a box (I'm in Canada).

What kind of food does smokey eat? You want to get him on a wet food only diet. Don't waste your money on prescription food. You can buy fancy feast pate for much less & it is lower carb then the prescription food.

Keeo us posted when you get an update from the vet & hopefully smokey will come home happy & healthy tomorrow.
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Hi there, you are awesome! Smokey is on Fancy Feast wet food and has been for awhile, the pate. Thank you for the tip on the relion too. I am so grateful for your posts. I intend to update as soon as I have news about Smokey. Thank you for your concern :)
 
Thank you all for your caring support last night. Smokey passed in the night, vet checked on him late in the night, but this morning he was gone. I am glad I could reach out to you all and you answered.
 
Dear Meredith - so sad reading your update. Please hug Pogo tightly today and may she give you comfort Very, very sorry for the loss of sweet Smokey massive hugs to you
 
I'm struggling today with the "what ifs". What if I had taken him in sooner? I regret now, knowing he is gone, should I have put him down instead of admitting him? I am so sad he passed without me there to hold him, and I'm kicking myself for not having left an article of my clothing for him, a familiar scent for him during his stay. I just didn't think. Things will look brighter soon. I am wondering how he would have fared with treatment, he was a low maintenance cat, always, and I am struggling with if he had gone through the shots twice a day, testing, for him, would that have been more for him or me?
 
packerfan122 said:
I'm struggling today with the "what ifs". What if I had taken him in sooner? I regret now, knowing he is gone, should I have put him down instead of admitting him? I am so sad he passed without me there to hold him, and I'm kicking myself for not having left an article of my clothing for him, a familiar scent for him during his stay. I just didn't think. Things will look brighter soon. I am wondering how he would have fared with treatment, he was a low maintenance cat, always, and I am struggling with if he had gone through the shots twice a day, testing, for him, would that have been more for him or me?
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Sweetie, it will serve no purpose for you to "what if" as you will torture yourself. And as I type that, I remember doing the same thing with my Sug, who crossed. Give yourself time to adjust to the loss and don't beat yourself. Wishing you peace. :bighug::bighug:
 
Meredith, it's so obvious how much you loved Smokey. Please don't beat yourself up over what ifs. You did the best you could for your sweet baby, and that's all any of us can do. Know that he is at peace now and I truly believe you will see each other again.:bighug:
 
Meredith, I'm so sorry. I just saw you first post. And wanted to say you are so not alone in this. Cats are masters at hiding illness. I have a Smokey also. I'm familiar with Sebago Lake although it's been years since I've been there. Spent summers there as my grandparents had a house on the lake.

Take care and again so sorry.
 
Don't beat yourself up. You did the best you could for him and it's obvious you loved him very much. Hold on to the memories and know he's not in any pain or sick and is whole and healthy again. Sending prayers. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
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