? diabetic kitty vomitting liquids, drinking lots, won't eat today

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TequilaGA & Gracie Boy

TequilaGA & Gracie Boy

Member Since 2016
Grady is a new rescue that was dx'd as diabetic upon adoption vet check, age 8-10 yrs old per vet. Was on 1 unit Lantus/day for first 4 weeks and then vet increased to 2 units/day 4 weeks ago. Vet said not to worry impossible to get blood from his ear to test as his BG curve ranged from 200 to 561. Vet could not get blood sample from his ear either. Weight has dropped from 9.75lbs to 9.06lbs.
Today he does not want to eat and has vomited clear liquids and is hanging out by the water fountain this evening. Concerned can't check his BG or get to vet until Monday and does already have vet re-check apt this coming week. No fruity smell on his breath. Just giving him some IV fluids now to see if that perks him up. Any suggestions plse?
PS - had diabetic kitty before (Tequila GA) and never had problem home testing.
 
TequilaGA & Grady said:
No fruity smell on his breath
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That's no guarantee he's ketone-free. Get a urine test ASAP. Better still, get him to a vet ASAP to be assessed. With the possibility of DKA in the picture if it were my cat I would not risk waiting for Monday.

He's nauseated (hanging round by water fountain). He's losing weight so that points to his not being well-regulated. Also the dose increase from 1 to 2 units was too big an adjustment. If the current dose is too high it could have him running high and flat (conjecture, given the lack of BG data).

Either you or the vets could try getting a blood sample from his paw pad to check BG levels.

My two penn'orth.


Mogs
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I agree with Mogs. I would definitely try getting a BG test from his paw pad and a urine ketone test as well. Given that readings at the vet can be raised by 100 points due to stress, that 200 that the vet got could have been closer to 100 on a normal day - and his insulin dose has been doubled since then. There is the possibility that he's too low rather than too high - there's really no way to tell. If you can't test BG and ketones, do you have an ER vet you can take him to as it's the weekend? While he might just be having a 'not feeling good' day, in the absence of any real data I'd definitely err on the side of caution.
 
The hanging out at the water bowl on top of all the vomiting is a very worrying clinical sign and could point to ketosis. If it were my cat I'd want a vet to see her.


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Critter Mom said:
That's no guarantee he's ketone-free. Get a urine test ASAP. Better still, get him to a vet ASAP to be assessed. With the possibility of DKA in the picture if it were my cat I would not risk waiting for Monday.

He's nauseated (hanging round by water fountain). He's losing weight so that points to his not being well-regulated. Also the dose increase from 1 to 2 units was too big an adjustment. If the current dose is too high it could have him running high and flat (conjecture, given the lack of BG data).

Either you or the vets could try getting a blood sample from his paw pad to check BG levels.

My two penn'orth.


Mogs
.
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Critter Mom said:
That's no guarantee he's ketone-free. Get a urine test ASAP. Better still, get him to a vet ASAP to be assessed. With the possibility of DKA in the picture if it were my cat I would not risk waiting for Monday.

He's nauseated (hanging round by water fountain). He's losing weight so that points to his not being well-regulated. Also the dose increase from 1 to 2 units was too big an adjustment. If the current dose is too high it could have him running high and flat (conjecture, given the lack of BG data).

Either you or the vets could try getting a blood sample from his paw pad to check BG levels.

My two penn'o

Thank you, thank you for all your replies - I was worrying on ketones or pancreatitis. We have just spent the evening in next city where there was an emergency 24/7 vet hospital. Have him on anti-biotics and anti-nausea meds and giving him IV fluids at home right now. Wanted $2500 for overnight stay and monitoring + ultra sound in the morning, so had to bring home with meds etc. Will post lab results in the morning to see if any ideas, just home at 11am and have to feed rest of the kitties and get Gracie Boy doctored up and see if he will now take some food after his IV fluids. His BG was 380 at 8.15pm (3hrs after Lantus), temp normal but weight had dropped to 8.2lbs from 9.06lbs on 03/28. We are very worried but doing our best, will post more inf. on labs in the morning. Thanks again to you all.
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I'm so glad you were able to get him checked out by a vet. It sounds as though they're happy that he'll be fine until morning. :) Ouch on the overnight cost though - we've spent that much on one of our cats (twice) but that was for a 4-day hospitalization! If they wanted that much for one night, if it was something I could do at home even if it meant staying up all night, I'd bring the cat home and do fluids myself too!! His BG is a little high, but high is better than too low. Paws crossed that he'll eat something for you and be able to keep it down once he's had his fluids. :bighug:
 
Critter Mom said:
Very glad to hear that you got Grady to the vets. Did they check his ketone status?


Mogs
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Was long expensive evening at ER vets, vet thinks s.t. other than diabetes issues. When we adopted/rescued him he was in a bad way and 88yr old owner was ill herself and not picked up on him being sick/diabetic issues, so unsure as to how long this has been going on. Vet could not check urine- wanted him in overnight at cost of $2000-2500 to then check and it had to be sent away so no instant result...I was thinking ketodiastix? I stressed concerns over ketones but vet thinks s.t. else going on and suggested ultra-sound this morning. We are retired/low income so can't afford to go back to ER vet today and will drop him off at local vet for monitoring etc. tomorrow. He is on anti-nausea meds and antibiotics and will try sub-q fluids again soon (just up!). He is looking a little brighter this morning but not come out into living room yet.

WBC (18.83); Neu (17.72); EOS (0.04); low ranges on blood gas/electrolyte analizer likely due to dehydration yesterday but mostly high ranges on chemistry values BUN (45.6), Cret (0.9); Phos (6.1); ALT (137); Cholesterol (352); Globulin (5.8); Total Protein (9.2).

We are still worried and hope for some improvement today, will plod on with the tlc regime, just don't know what else to do. Thanks for all the input everyone! Jean
 
Ketodiastix do work for cats and it would definitely be worth you getting some in this case. As you're not able to check his BG at home at the moment, those will give you an idea of his glucose levels as well as testing for ketones. And they're a whole lot cheaper than a second ER vet visit! :) I would like to hear what your regular vet thinks tomorrow - it may just be down to dehydration but those higher values could also be pointing to something else going on. Whether or not it's something that's linked to his diabetes is a different matter. I really hope he's starting to feel better and that today's sub-q fluids help him even more. :bighug: :bighug: :bighug:
 
Hi Jean,

I'm glad to hear that Grady seems brighter in himself this morning. I hope he'll eat OK today. I see April beat me to it with the Keto-diastix info. :)

Sending special hydrating, appetite stimulating vibes to Grady and some :bighug:s for his beans.


Mogs
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manxcat419 said:
Ketodiastix do work for cats and it would definitely be worth you getting some in this case. As you're not able to check his BG at home at the moment, those will give you an idea of his glucose levels as well as testing for ketones. And they're a whole lot cheaper than a second ER vet visit! :) I would like to hear what your regular vet thinks tomorrow - it may just be down to dehydration but those higher values could also be pointing to something else going on. Whether or not it's something that's linked to his diabetes is a different matter. I really hope he's starting to feel better and that today's sub-q fluids help him even more. :bighug: :bighug: :bighug:
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Thanks Manxcat on the ketodiastix inf. ER vet was wanting to do ultra-sound today, then said he could be bleeding internally, could be in renal failure and other such scary possibilities...it was all very overwhelming, esp coming from vet had never met before. I trust our local vet and will let you know what she thinks after his stay there tomorrow. Currently he is hiding under bed where we can't get to him and give him more torture with needles!
 
It sounds as though the ER vet gave you the worst possible scenarios. Even if he was starting with some kidney issues, those can be handled, although with a creatinine of 0.9 which, on the labs I get from our vet is the low end of normal, I don't see kidney issues as being the most likely reason. BUN is a touch high, but that can simply be down to a high protein diabetes diet. And although you didn't post a hematocrit reading, if it was low enough to become a concern over the weekend from internal bleeding, they would have emphasized that for sure! I'd be thinking more along the lines of an infection somewhere with the high globulin and total protein. I'm glad you can trust your regular vet - I'm sure they will be able to give you a good idea of what the likely cause really is. If he's feeling well enough to hide from his treatment, then I think he'll be just fine until your vet can see him.
 
I still can't believe the ER vet charged you that much money and could not tell what was wrong!
I forgot to say infections can happen when there diabetic and that could be happening to.
When I went to the ER vet the first estimate they gave me was $1200.00 and up and wanted to keep the cat for 4 days. I looked at the lady and said please come back in here when you have a reasonable amount because I will not be paying that kind of money. She came back ten min later and said 600.00 you can wait three hours in the waiting area and then take him home and some meds but he probably wont make it. It was Easter weekend so I had to wait until Monday for my vet to open. When I showed up at my vet with the bill in hand from the ER vet and the meds he looked at it and said to me don't ever go there again. The meds they gave you are the wrong ones! My vet then set me up with how to do subq fluids at home for 9 days etc.
 
manxcat419 said:
It sounds as though the ER vet gave you the worst possible scenarios. Even if he was starting with some kidney issues, those can be handled, although with a creatinine of 0.9 which, on the labs I get from our vet is the low end of normal, I don't see kidney issues as being the most likely reason. BUN is a touch high, but that can simply be down to a high protein diabetes diet. And although you didn't post a hematocrit reading, if it was low enough to become a concern over the weekend from internal bleeding, they would have emphasized that for sure! I'd be thinking more along the lines of an infection somewhere with the high globulin and total protein. I'm glad you can trust your regular vet - I'm sure they will be able to give you a good idea of what the likely cause really is. If he's feeling well enough to hide from his treatment, then I think he'll be just fine until your vet can see him.
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manxcat419 said:
It sounds as though the ER vet gave you the worst possible scenarios. Even if he was starting with some kidney issues, those can be handled, although with a creatinine of 0.9 which, on the labs I get from our vet is the low end of normal, I don't see kidney issues as being the most likely reason. BUN is a touch high, but that can simply be down to a high protein diabetes diet. And although you didn't post a hematocrit reading, if it was low enough to become a concern over the weekend from internal bleeding, they would have emphasized that for sure! I'd be thinking more along the lines of an infection somewhere with the high globulin and total protein. I'm glad you can trust your regular vet - I'm sure they will be able to give you a good idea of what the likely cause really is. If he's feeling well enough to hide from his treatment, then I think he'll be just fine until your vet can see him.
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hi Manxcat - just to let you know after Mon/Tues at our vets he is doing heaps better....have him home again and he has started to eat. Our vet switched him to Vetsulin - 2 units twice a day and he goes back for re-check next Tuesday. Am having trouble navigating the new FDMB format so I hope this second attempt to update you finds you! Thanks again Jean
 
I'm so glad to hear he is doing better now. :) It's always great to hear when a cat starts to improve and eat. :) Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! :bighug:
 
Hi Jean,

Really glad to hear that Grady's feeling so much better! Wonderful to hear that he's eating again; long may this continue!! :)

Were the vets able to give you any idea why he wasn't feeling well?


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
Hi Jean,

Really glad to hear that Grady's feeling so much better! Wonderful to hear that he's eating again; long may this continue!! :)

Were the vets able to give you any idea why he wasn't feeling well?


Mogs
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Hi there "Mogs"......Our local vet said "some" ketones, gave him anti-biotics shot and anti-nausea shot + lots of IV fluids. X-rays showed nothing obvious to be causing him to throw up. Vet said could be that Lantus - 2 units once a day not agreeing with him and caused overall decline. As with people, some meds just don't suit everybody scenario. He is now on Vetsulin - 2 units BID and doing heaps better and wanting to eat again...even been into the garden with us for a walk checking everywhere out. Back to vet in one week to re-check. So far, so good - YAY! Jean
 
TequilaGA & Grady said:
Hi there "Mogs"......Our local vet said "some" ketones, gave him anti-biotics shot and anti-nausea shot + lots of IV fluids. X-rays showed nothing obvious to be causing him to throw up. Vet said could be that Lantus - 2 units once a day not agreeing with him and caused overall decline. As with people, some meds just don't suit everybody scenario. He is now on Vetsulin - 2 units BID and doing heaps better and wanting to eat again...even been into the garden with us for a walk checking everywhere out. Back to vet in one week to re-check. So far, so good - YAY! Jean
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Well done chasing away the nassssty ketones.

It's really interesting to hear about a kitty that may be happier on Vetsulin than on Lantus. (With my girl it was the other way round; Vetsulin absolutely hammered her system and she was miserable on it, but she does great on Lantus.) I hope you'll keep us updated with Grady's progress: I'm very interested in how he fares on his new insulin. Fingers and paws crossed that he'll do famously on it! :)

It's lovely to hear you sounding happier too, Jean! :)

:bighug:


Mogs
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:cat:hi Mogs - will keep you posted how Grady does on the Vetsulin. Yes am feeling happier - Monday was stressful with us having 7 medical apts that day plus he was at the vet Mon and Tues. Still trying to figure out the new FDMB and get to work on spreadsheet etc., been about 10 yrs since I was last here - or maybe just that I am 10 years older and more befuddled...lol. Jean
 
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