Vetsulin adjustment and force feeding advice urgently needed

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@Tanya and Ducia where are you located? Do you have an emergency vet clinic you could go to tonight if we could arrange for payment?

Please full out the application for assistance for Diabetic Cats In Need that Chris gave you.

I'm sending you a pm.
 
Vegetable (GA) said:
@Tanya and Ducia where are you located? Do you have an emergency vet clinic you could go to tonight if we could arrange for payment?

Please full out the application for assistance for Diabetic Cats In Need that Chris gave you.

I'm sending you a pm.
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Form was just filled.
Animal Urgent Care
2430 S Escondido Blvd a, Escondido, CA 92025
is near by.
You arrange payment for me?
 
@Tanya and Ducia I'll go look st your application right now.

A pm is a private message.

I'll be right back.

Oh & while I think of it, you could try syringe feeding some baby food. Just make sure it's the kind that does not have onions or garlic in it. We usually recommend the gerber brands & you can get the meat flavours just check the label to make sure no onions or garlic.
 
@Tanya and Ducia can you please givd me the phone number to the Urgent vet clinic?

I'm going to make some phone calls now.

How long has it been since Ducia has had insulin & a check of her blood sugar & how long ago was the last time she had some food?
 
JanetNJ said:
How much does she weigh? My cat (not the diabetic one, a different cat) who is 16 lbs had pancratitis a few months ago. He is normally a big eater so when he was barely nibbling for three days we brought him in. They did a snap test to diagnose. He was already on sub q's because he has kidney disease, but was still dehydrated so we went from 100 ml twice a week to every day for a few days. He also got cerenia for nausea and a plain killer as pancratitis is very painful. After a day in that he started eating more on his own. We were fortunate that he was basically fully recovered in a week. Some cats do need to be hospitalized.

The fluid bump is going down slower this time because she's not as dehydrated as she was yesterday.

The best thing is to keep getting as much food into her as possible. Really important.
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JanetNJ,

I am very sorry to hear that one of yours has pancreatitis. I fear that is what Ducia is having.


She lays on the bed motionless, looks as if taking a nap, sometimes moves to hiding places, refuses food and drink, resists force feeding, seems to be wanting to be left alone. She is extremely weak. Her gait is shaky. The water bump’s weight on her side almost tilts her to that side. Does it sound to you as a cat w/pancreatic pain? We have no experience with cat in pain and do not know what to look for. I have no meds, and vet’s office is closed until Monday. Any advice as to what we can do to help her?

We gave her another 150 ml of Rigers SC at about 11:30 pm. Will that help?

I also wanted to ask if anyone on the board heard of Diabetic Cats in Need organization? They just offered their help, very generously.
 
Ok don't give any more fluids now... It does sound like pancratitis but you can also over hydrate more is not always better. Stick with dosages prescribed. Can you post a copy of the lab work you had done?
 
The DCIN is amazing. If they can help let them. I would bring her to am emergency vet honestly. She sounds to be in poor shape. Do a quick blood test.
 
Hello again everyone and thank you for all your support. The links you sent are tremendous help, as I never dealt before with feline illnesses. Just over a month ago my precious Ducia was a happy cat. I apologize for posting hectically, it was our 1st day with diabetes +DKA+possibly pancreatitis and may be a fatty liver disease. And I never used board before.


I know now how wrong it was to take huge risk of giving her another shot – increased to 2 units instead of 1- after only 4 hours from the initial shot. Here is how her day went on:


12pm 1st shot – 1 unit Vetsulin

1:18 pm – BG 236

5pm – BG 253

5:12 pm – 2nd shot 2 units

7pm – BG 145 Two 10ml syringes friskie w/Pedialyte

8pm – BG 114 honey on the gums, two more 10 ml syringes with food

9pm – BG 146

10pm- BG 142

11pm- BG 156


Before the 2nd shot she was in hiding, lethargic, no food/water, no socializing. The BG was up.

After – she came out of hiding, used her litterbox. Later on she went to the box again for bigger business this time and that seemed an improvement because the last time she did it was 2 days ago. The BG kept at good numbers for the rest of the day.


That makes us think that we should give her 2 units – an increased dosage by us, not the vet – after 12 hours. It’s right after 5 am today. If any of you are early risers will see this post and think that 2 units is wrong please reply. We are in California so my shot due in at 5am is 8 am on the East coast.


Ducia’s condition is very bad regardless of BG is stable for the past 6 hours. She hides and avoids company. She resists the feeding violently although she is extremely weak. And keeps getting away from her bowl of food if we place it near her. This resistance makes her exhausted but we need to get food down into her. I am beginning to think that we are torturing her instead of helping. No appetite, no desire to eat or drink despite the BG improvement. And we have NO syringe feeding skills. We'll improve with practice but right now it feels as if we adding to her misery. She ate about 20 ml in the entire day. She looks devastated after each meal. It is very difficult.


I cannot talk to the vet until Monday. Does any of these signs familiar to you? What can we do if she is in pain?
 
JanetNJ said:
Ok don't give any more fluids now... It does sound like pancratitis but you can also over hydrate more is not always better. Stick with dosages prescribed. Can you post a copy of the lab work you had done?
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We already gave her another 150 SC water. She seems very dehydrated, her nose is almost brittle. I will post tests next thing.
 
Tanya and Ducia said:
It was 156 at 11:33 pm. I don't feel like waking her up and giving another test.
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Ok. Please skip the insulin dose this morning since she isn't eating properly.

How much does she weigh?

Does her breath sound labored?

Do you have an emergency clinic by you?
 
You can tell dehydration by if the gums are wet, or if they feel sticky. Also pull the scruff and see how long it snaps back. If it only takes 2-3 seconds she's hydrated, if it takes a while then dehydrated.


Please remember you can give too many. If she weighs 10 lbs you don't want to give more than 100 ml.
 
JanetNJ said:
Ok. Please skip the insulin dose this morning since she isn't eating properly.

How much does she weigh?

Does her breath sound labored?

Do you have an emergency clinic by you?
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She was 7.2on Thu, hasn't eaten
Breath is not labored.
Should we really skip the shot?
 
JanetNJ said:
You can tell dehydration by if the gums are wet, or if they feel sticky. Also pull the scruff and see how long it snaps back. If it only takes 2-3 seconds she's hydrated, if it takes a while then dehydrated.


Please remember you can give too many. If she weighs 10 lbs you don't want to give more than 100 ml.
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gums are wet, pale
 
Tanya and Ducia said:
Even if the BG is up? About 20 posters told how important to stick to the 12 hours schedule. I don't understand
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Let's see what the number is. If it's over 300 give a unit of its over 200 but under 300 I wouldn't give more than half a unit being that she isn't eating!! Yes you have to stick with a 12 hour schedule.... They were telling you that because you double dosed yesterday. But with vetsulin you want to make sure there's food on board. It's OK if her bg goes up a bit.... Better it too high for a while than too low. Her numbers have not been bad. Most newly diagnosed diabetic cats are in the 400- 600 range. The thing to focus on at the moment is getting her to eat. You need to get pain meds and an appetite stimulant for her, and possibly an antibiotic Today.
 
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JanetNJ said:
Let's see what the number is. If it's over 300 give a unit of its over 200 but under 300 I wouldn't give more than half a unit being that she isn't eating!! Yes you have to stick with a 12 hour schedule.... They were telling you that because you double dosed yesterday. But with vetsulin you want to make sure there's food on board. It's OK if her bg goes up a bit.... Better it too high for a while than too low. Her numbers have not been bad. Most newly diagnosed diabetic cats are in the 400- 600 range. The thing to focus on at the moment is getting her to eat. You need to get pain meds and an appetite stimulant for her, and possibly an antibiotic Today.
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JanetNJ said:
Do you have any labs you can post?


Did you contact the DCIN?

Is she anemic?
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No. But I am going to call them the anim urgent care now. Noone ever offered for me before
 
Tanya and Ducia said:
what's animic exactly/
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Low red blood cells. Makes then weak and one thing to look for is pale gums. If you have lab reports you would look to see that the hct (hemocrit) isn't low. The treatment would be b12 methylcobalamin supplements or b12 injections.
 
PumpkinsMom said:
Ducia is checked in at the vet's office and I have paid the deposit for 24 hours of care to start.

You all know how happy it makes me to be able to help in times of crisis. DCIN is a donation-funded organization and your continued support is sincerely appreciated.

-Jenna
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OMG I'm so relieved. I spent a few sleepless hours last night worrying about this kitty. This is really an amazing gift for her and Tanya.
 
PumpkinsMom said:
Ducia is checked in at the vet's office and I have paid the deposit for 24 hours of care to start.

You all know how happy it makes me to be able to help in times of crisis. DCIN is a donation-funded organization and your continued support is sincerely appreciated.

-Jenna
Click to expand...
Do you take donations from Canadians?
 
Hello,

I just wanted to post on update for Ducia. She is the hospital for 24 hours stabilization. She was admitted around 4 am and by 7 am the admitting doctor commented that she seemed better a bit. There are good news:

4am test BG 313

8 am test BG 307

12pm test BG 89

She is currently under short-acting insulin.

Her urine ketones at the time of check in at 4 am test was 2000units but at 12 pm test was down to 500units.

Bad news: refuses food, unwilling to swallow, was syringe fed at noon, no appetite regardless of antinausea injection, lethargic, very weak. Not much difference from what it was like at home. There is a big concern with her liver damage, most likely it is lipidosis , or fatty liver, so it is crucial to make her eat. She got antibiotic for liver as well.

They gave her pain killer for pancreatitis.

Thank you all so very much for your advice and support. This message board and the DCIN are the God sent. We all here were so exhausted last night that I even began having bad thoughts. I feel that we may have a hope again. We would not be here without you. Thank you!
 
Thank you for the update. Praying for her liver to get better. I'm glad her ketones are coming down. Sending eating vines and healing vines.
 
Tanya and Ducia said:
Hello,

I just wanted to post on update for Ducia. She is the hospital for 24 hours stabilization. She was admitted around 4 am and by 7 am the admitting doctor commented that she seemed better a bit. There are good news:

4am test BG 313

8 am test BG 307

12pm test BG 89

She is currently under short-acting insulin.

Her urine ketones at the time of check in at 4 am test was 2000units but at 12 pm test was down to 500units.

Bad news: refuses food, unwilling to swallow, was syringe fed at noon, no appetite regardless of antinausea injection, lethargic, very weak. Not much difference from what it was like at home. There is a big concern with her liver damage, most likely it is lipidosis , or fatty liver, so it is crucial to make her eat. She got antibiotic for liver as well.

They gave her pain killer for pancreatitis.

Thank you all so very much for your advice and support. This message board and the DCIN are the God sent. We all here were so exhausted last night that I even began having bad thoughts. I feel that we may have a hope again. We would not be here without you. Thank you!
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thank you for updating. we are all relieved she's getting the care she needs. :D as I said, I was more concerned with the liver and not eating than the bg. I'm glad she's got the pain killer and hopefully will start eating on her own soon.
 
So glad she's seeing some positive movement on BG and ketones, and that she's got some pain meds on board for the pancreatitis. Hopefully that will help her start to feel better enough to start eating again.

Will they let you bring her something, like an old shirt with your scent on it? Sometimes that also helps-- a vet hospital is a scary place with unfamiliar smells, it might help her relax a little bit. Poor Ducia-- feel better soon, sweet kitty!
 
Nan & Amber said:
So glad she's seeing some positive movement on BG and ketones, and that she's got some pain meds on board for the pancreatitis. Hopefully that will help her start to feel better enough to start eating again.

Will they let you bring her something, like an old shirt with your scent on it? Sometimes that also helps-- a vet hospital is a scary place with unfamiliar smells, it might help her relax a little bit. Poor Ducia-- feel better soon, sweet kitty!
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She has her favorite blanket with her, the admitting nurse said to wrap her up with it. The staff was amazing.
 
JanetNJ said:
thank you for updating. we are all relieved she's getting the care she needs. :D as I said, I was more concerned with the liver and not eating than the bg. I'm glad she's got the pain killer and hopefully will start eating on her own soon.
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Thank you JanetNJ, so far she's been refusing/unwilling to swallow. A possibility of fitting her feeding tubes that would send food down esophagus directly is under consideration now. Fingers crossed.
 
Tanya and Ducia said:
Thank you JanetNJ, so far she's been refusing/unwilling to swallow. A possibility of fitting her feeding tubes that would send food down esophagus directly is under consideration now. Fingers crossed.
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Most cats seem to do well with feeding tubes. Ducia and you are in my prayers.
 
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