Rocky is sick again - but what's the problem?

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Marlena

Marlena

Member Since 2015
Rocky's BG tonight is 18 (324) on AlphaTrak.
He has been off insulin recently, only yesterday morning I gave him a dose as I thought his BG was going up again.
I know that something is wrong with him but we can not find what.
This morning his BG was normal but he surprised me by drinking more water after a very watery meal, it keeps happening. He vomited his lunch.
He is VERY quiet but eager to eat, no other symptoms.
It is so frustrating that the tests he has had recently did not show anything.
Could it be pancreatitis? I can understand the flare up today but his elusive symptoms like drinking too much when BG is low for some time and jumping BG could indicate something.
I don't want to give him insulin in case I upset his system even more or he might vomit.
I just gave him buprenorphine for pain.
Any ideas what it might be and is there anything I should be doing?
 
I'm so sorry you have this ongoing worry with Rocky, Marlena. I'm sure other members will comment ref your suggestion of pancreatitis, I have no knowledge there. All I can think of off the top of my head is - is he getting out and getting into some food that's upsetting him, or has he ingested anything else he shouldn't? Maybe something that's causing some inflammation? The fact that he is keen to eat is a good sign, isn't it - it would be more worrying if he was disinterested.

I hope you get some more suggestions and some answers very soon.
Hugs
Diana
 
Dear Diana,
thank you.
I also thought he might have ingested something but his BG keeps jumping.
I gave him some turmeric powder with his lunch, maybe it was too much and it upset his stomach and he vomited and is not feeling great but BG of 18?
I hope he feels better tomorrow and I will get him to the vets for all the tests again plus tests for pancreatitis next week unless he is poorly then he will go on Thursday.
I just hate the thought of him suffering and the thought that we might be missing something which is treatable drives me nuts.
 
Hi Marlena,

I've read that turmeric can irritate the stomach lining/GI tract.

18 is one major BG spike. Any chance it might be dodgy strip? (Just throwing out ideas here.)

Is Rocky pooping OK? If you're worried about possible pancreatitis I'd recommend getting a SNAP fPL test done tomorrow if possible. Check to see if his abdomen is tender at all.

The excessive thirst is a concern. When were his last labs done?


Marlena said:
I just hate the thought of him suffering and the thought that we might be missing something which is treatable drives me nuts.
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Oh, how I feel for you, Marlena. Would that they could speak ...

:bighug::bighug::bighug:


Mogs
.
 
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Oh Mogs, you're such a rock!
Thank you so much.
No, the strips are good, his BG at +2 is 14.3.
FPL test was done quite a while ago but he recently has an abdominal scan which was absolutely clear.
Thanks for the info about turmeric, that could be a culprit but would it be possible to raise BG to this level? Probably nobody knows and also this AM his BG was normal but he was drinking water when I did not expect him to do so and it happened many times before.
We're going to the vet as soon as I can take him or if he is not well tomorrow he will go tomorrow.
Have a good night if you can, I hope you'll get some sleep my darling.
I'll keep you informed.
Rocky and I are sending lots of hugs to you. You can't even imagine how grateful we are for your help.:bighug:
 
No idea why the BG might be so high other than something upsetting Rocky in some form.

If at all possible I'd recommend you pop in to the vets with Rocky for a blood draw tomorrow to get more diagnostic info. It will take a few days to get the results back and if something is brewing the sooner you can address it the better.

Thanks to you both for the hugs. I'm going to take my sleep meds shortly. Wishing you a restful and restorative sleep, too.

Will keep an eye out for updates.

:bighug::bighug::bighug:


Mogs
.
 
Marlena said:
Rocky's BG tonight is 18 (324) on AlphaTrak.
He has been off insulin recently, only yesterday morning I gave him a dose as I thought his BG was going up again.
I know that something is wrong with him but we can not find what.
This morning his BG was normal but he surprised me by drinking more water after a very watery meal, it keeps happening. He vomited his lunch.
He is VERY quiet but eager to eat, no other symptoms.
It is so frustrating that the tests he has had recently did not show anything.
Could it be pancreatitis? I can understand the flare up today but his elusive symptoms like drinking too much when BG is low for some time and jumping BG could indicate something.
I don't want to give him insulin in case I upset his system even more or he might vomit.
I just gave him buprenorphine for pain.
Any ideas what it might be and is there anything I should be doing?
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Oh Marlena I am so sorry to hear about Rocky.

I can offer you no advice but it seems you are in good hands here.

I do hope you find out what is wrong and can get him better.

I was just wondering today how Rocky was and it was by pure chance I noticed your thread.

Sending hugs and healing vibes

xxxxxxx
 
Sometimes they'll drink more when they have a UTI (or maybe one brewing?)and I know you've dealt with this recently with Rocky. Has he been on an antibiotic recently? Those can make them feel unwell.
 
Marlena said:
BG normal this morning - 5.9!
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Very glad to hear that, Marlena. Is Rocky still drinking a lot? Are you going to take him to the vet today? If he seems better, then maybe yesterday was just a bad day, although that was certainly a BIG bg spike.
Paws crossed that things improve... Please keep us posted!
(((Marlena)))
 
Thank you girls.
I would not call what I'm observing with Rocky polydipsia as he does not drink a lot of water overall, the only thing I notice is he sometimes drinks a bit of water just after food which surprises me as his meal is so soupy! After reading what polydipsia is I have to say that it is not what Rocky is doing. I think I haven't been precise with the description of Rocky's behaviour. So Rocky sometimes (not always) drinks a little bit of water after his meal and I can't see him going back for more water. Is it normal?
I just thought that when he eats his food which has a lot of liquid in it he should not want to go for a drink but he certainly does not drink in excess. It is impossible for me to measure how much he drinks. I just thought that cats don't drink much water at all if they get wet food. What do you observe with your kitties?
Today Rocky seems to be well he is out and about in the garden hunting, brought a big frog in!) and his BG is 7.3. 2 hours after food his BG is 8.1.
It is better for me to take him to the vet's on Monday as I prefer them to do blood tests early in the week in case they need to send the sample away, I don't want them to store blood before it is tested in the laboratory and also I need to fit the vet's visit with my work schedule. It is a different approach if he is really ill. I also need to speak with my vet before that appointment to discuss what tests we need to do.
See what tomorrow brings, I'm at home so can watch him.
Keep your fingers crossed and any ideas are most appreciates.
Marlena:cat:
 
Marlena said:
I just thought that cats don't drink much water at all if they get wet food. What do you observe with your kitties?
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I guess that might depend on the cat, Marlena.

Neither Saoirse nor Lúnasa bothered with their water bowls since the switch to wet food.

Good to hear that Rocky's feeling well and busy doing cat stuff.

:bighug:


Mogs
.
 
Happy to see Rocky has had a better day, Marlena. Ref the water drinking - none of my furries have shown any interest at all in their water bowls if they were/are on an all-wet diet. My civvie Sapphire is fascinated by water and loves to watch me brushing my teeth - she perches on the bathroom basin and watches tne water going down the plughole, and stays there for ages after I've finished, still gazing down the plughole! But she doesn't drink water. I am slightly concerned but I reckon if she was thirsty she would make her way to her water bowl.

Rocky sounds good to me. He wouldn't be out hunting and bringing in frogs if he wasn't feeling well. It was probably a present for his mama!

Take care and keep us posted,

Diana
 
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