Diabetic cat with pancreatitis

Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Popsugar

Member Since 2018
I hope I am posting in the right forum 12 year old cat been diabetic for over a year almost going in remission I dropped off last Thursday for glucose curve check when I picked her up she would not eat and she loves to eat I took her to the vet friday morning she said her abdomen and back was tender and her bloodwork said showed abnormal pancreas reading she had me wait while she gave her fluids and nausea medication when I took her home she was her perky self and ate well later on it was obvious she was not feeling well stayed in meatloaf position in front of the water Bowl not drinking water I took her back Saturday she stayed for the day fluids pain and nausea medication vet did not feed her lunch and said to only feed her half of what she normally gets and to reduce the insulin to one units twice a day she also said her bloodwork showed pancreas reading of 50 that was high it should be 25.This morning was not as perky but she started eating she ate very little drank very little a water and the same thing happened at her lunch feeding she ate very little she stayed in the meatloaf position all day by the water bowl. At dinner time she seemed interesting in eating did the same thing not eating much so I put low sodium chicken broth her food and she ate a lot more she is receiving her nausea and pain medication the vet said to feed her 3 times a day but is it better to give small meals throughout the day please give me any advice that you can thank u
 
Call an Animal Hospital that also besides the Texas fPLI can do an UCG onthe pancrea and have her on tube feed and IVfluids.
 
I answered you on the intro page.

I am concerned the vet said to halve the food intake and reduce the insulin. Doing those two things with the inflammation of the pancreatitis is a recipe for inviting ketones.
As I said on the other page I would not reduce the food intake, I would offer smaller more frequent meals.

I would also go out to Walmart or a pharmacy and buy a bottle of Ketostix so you can test for ketones. All you need to do is collect a urine sample from your kitty, dip the test strip in the urine and read the result against the colours on the side of the bottle. Anything above a trace of ketones needs vet attention. Ketones can lead to the dangerous DKA ( ketoacidosis) and it can be prevented by testing for ketones.

Are you home testing?. I would strongly advise you to think about doing it. It is far easier to manage the diabetes when home testing.
 
Just answering your questions from the intro page.
With feeding I would offer her small amounts of food frequently during both cycles.
If she will tolerate the broth in the food I would offer that as well or on its own.

You mention she is lethargic. That could be from being dehydrated.
Do you think she is dehydrated?
Are her gums slippery or tacky?
If you pull up her scruff does it fall back quickly or slowly?

I think it is important you get some Ketostix as I mentioned above if she is lethargic to test for ketones.

You said you leave the testing of the blood glucose to the vet. Would you consider thinking about home testing? It is probably one of the biggest things you can do now to help your kitty.

I am also concerned that the dose of insulin has been halved but without testing the BG levels I can’t advise what to do.
 
Last edited:
The vet cut the insulin because she said she was not eating as much food she wanted to eat again so I gave her some more food I have the s ketostix strips I will test her urine the next times she urinates she had fluids yesterday and drank a lot os water last night just not today she looks much better since she ate the food with the broth should I just feed her every time she wants to eat is that okay she seems hungry she will walk in the kitchen to let me know I have fed her twice because she wanted to eat thank u for helping me
 
I am going to learn to test her I have found a petsitter that is a vet tech and I am going to have her show me how is there any thing else I should do thx
 
Ann & Scatcats said:
Call an Animal Hospital that also besides the Texas fPLI can do an UCG onthe pancrea and have her on tube feed and IVfluids.
Click to expand...
Thank u she is eating and I just started putting broth on her food and that is helping a lot let me know if there is anything els I can do thx
 
Popsugar said:
The vet cut the insulin because she said she was not eating as much food she wanted to eat again so I gave her some more food I have the s ketostix strips I will test her urine the next times she urinates she had fluids yesterday and drank a lot os water last night just not today she looks much better since she ate the food with the broth should I just feed her every time she wants to eat is that okay she seems hungry she will walk in the kitchen to let me know I have fed her twice because she wanted to eat thank u for helping me
Click to expand...

That is great you have the Ketostix. Testing for the ketones and hopefullly getting a negative result will eliminate one problem.
I would test daily while she has the pancreatitis and is not eating normally and has a reduced dose of insulin.

Popsugar said:
I am going to learn to test her I have found a petsitter that is a vet tech and I am going to have her show me how is there any thing else I should do thx
Click to expand...

I am so glad you are going to test the blood slucose levels. It will be so much better for your kitty than having to go to the vets for a curve. Most cats don't like vet visits....and it will be cheaper.
I would buy a human meter. The test strips for the human meters are much cheaper than the strips for the pet meters. If you are in the US Walmart has a ReliOn meter which is suitable.
While you are waiting to get started with the testing, pick a spot where you think you might think is suitable to do the testing.
Always use the same spot.
Take your kitty there and rub his ears then give him a treat. This will get him used to it and he will learn to associate it with a treat..
Here is the link to how to test. It usually takes a few days for you and kitty to get used to it all, but it will come together!

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/
 
I will my concern now is even though she ate well earlier went I got up to give her pain medication she ate very little is just sitting on the rug in that meatloaf position she has not slept for days she urinated twice very well I can tell because she did this on a puppy pad and seems a little constipated she seems to be trying to sleep now but at what point does she need go back to the vet or is it better just to try to treat this at home thank u for your help
 
Popsugar said:
I will my concern now is even though she ate well earlier went I got up to give her pain medication she ate very little is just sitting on the rug in that meatloaf position she has not slept for days she urinated twice very well I can tell because she did this on a puppy pad and seems a little constipated she seems to be trying to sleep now but at what point does she need go back to the vet or is it better just to try to treat this at home thank u for your help
Click to expand...

Have you managed to get a ketone test yet?

If her pain meds were due she may feel better once they kick in and might eat then.

I think as long as she doesn't have ketones in the urine, is eating some food and is not dehydrated she should be ok at home.
If she gets more lethargic or goes backwards, is not eating, gets ketones in the urine or gets dehydrated I would go back to the vet.

Can you tell us her name please? And a photo of her in the avatar would be grea.
 
I am sorry her name is Shelby I will try to figure how to post a photo tomorrow I am not good at that sort of thing I was so tired when I woke up to give her the pain meds I forgot to test and I would rather use a fresh urine sample I am exhausted because I am worried about her I just wish she would fall asleep she has not been drinking water but she is getting the liquids in the broth but her nose is very dry she is back to her meatloaf position on the rug she just seems uncomfortable when she try’s to lay down thank u again
 
Popsugar said:
I am sorry her name is Shelby I will try to figure how to post a photo tomorrow I am not good at that sort of thing I was so tired when I woke up to give her the pain meds I forgot to test and I would rather use a fresh urine sample I am exhausted because I am worried about her I just wish she would fall asleep she has not been drinking water but she is getting the liquids in the broth but her nose is very dry she is back to her meatloaf position on the rug she just seems uncomfortable when she try’s to lay down thank u again
Click to expand...
Shelby is a lovely name. I'm looking forward to seeing a photo of her.
I'm sure you are exhausted. It is such a worry when they are sick and can't tell us how they feel.
Sometimes they need more than one lot of sub Q fluids and pain meds at the vet to get over the pancreatitis.
I hope she is feeling a bit better in the morning.
 
so Do u think it is better to to try to treat this at home or take her to the vet for treatment she is sleeping now the sitter I have is a vet tech maybe she can come over and give her some fluids I am worried about the stress she will have at the vet thank u
 
I can't see Shelby so I can't really tell you what you should do.... you know her best.
But I agree a lot of cats get very stressed going to the vet. But every cat is different

I always managed the pancreatitis at home after the initial visit to the vet for fluids, pain killers and antinausea meds. A lot of us also keep those meds at home in case of a flare up.
Certainly a lot of us give the SubQ fluids at home ourselves but you would need to get a clearance from the vet first time, just to check that there is no reason why she shouldn't have SubQ fluids. Some cats with heart conditions can't tolerate extra fluids.

I am glad she is sleeping now.
The things you need to look out for is dehydration and I mentioned above how to look for that;
Also to make sure she is eating
And testing for the ketones
And giving the insulin.
She may take several days to get over this.
As long as she is not getting worse and you are monitoring all these things, she should be able to stay home.
But if she seems worse I would go back to the vet or at least ring him.
Try and get some sleep if you can
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I always managed the pancreatitis at home after the initial visit to the vet for fluids, pain killers and antinausea meds. A lot of us also keep those meds at home in case of a flare up.
Certainly a lot of us give the SubQ fluids at home ourselves but you would need to get a clearance from the vet first time, just to check that there is no reason why she shouldn't have SubQ fluids. Some cats with heart conditions can't tolerate extra fluids.
Click to expand...

I'm picking up FA from the hospital in a couple hours after 3 days of hospitalization. He was DKA for the second time in just 3 months due to a pancreatitis flare up. Talked to the internal med vet over the phone who he has seen before and asked about how to try to manage the pancreatitis better in the future and he didn't mention anything about administering SubQ fluids at home. He really didn't say much other than remain consistent with the insulin and adjust dose as necessary as pancreatitis flare ups can be caused by many different things. Not only do we want FA to remain healthy but we cannot be spending thousands of dollars every few months for hospitalization. This past incident seemed to occur very quickly, he was fine in the morning when we left for work and when we got home he was clearly sick - vomiting and only eating a very little. Any advice on how we can better manage in the future?
 
Popsugar said:
I am sorry her name is Shelby I will try to figure how to post a photo tomorrow I am not good at that sort of thing I was so tired when I woke up to give her the pain meds I forgot to test and I would rather use a fresh urine sample I am exhausted because I am worried about her I just wish she would fall asleep she has not been drinking water but she is getting the liquids in the broth but her nose is very dry she is back to her meatloaf position on the rug she just seems uncomfortable when she try’s to lay down thank u again
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this, we went through something like this on Thursday last week and previously went through this in August as well. Shelby's symptoms sound very similar to FA's - we originally thought he ate something funny but it really was a pancreatitis flare up that caused DKA. It happened very quickly and we ended up hospitalizing him for 3 days both times. The mistake we made the first time was that we brought him to our regular vet 3 times before we ended up hospitalizing, this time we took him straight to the ER so it saved a considerable amount of time and money. I have never managed pancreatitis at home myself yet but hope to be able to do so in the future. Please keep up updated on how she is doing!
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I answered you on the intro page.

I am concerned the vet said to halve the food intake and reduce the insulin. Doing those two things with the inflammation of the pancreatitis is a recipe for inviting ketones.
As I said on the other page I would not reduce the food intake, I would offer smaller more frequent meals.

I would also go out to Walmart or a pharmacy and buy a bottle of Ketostix so you can test for ketones. All you need to do is collect a urine sample from your kitty, dip the test strip in the urine and read the result against the colours on the side of the bottle. Anything above a trace of ketones needs vet attention. Ketones can lead to the dangerous DKA ( ketoacidosis) and it can be prevented by testing for ketones.

Are you home testing?. I would strongly advise you to think about doing it. It is far easier to manage the diabetes when home testing.
Click to expand...
 
I am at the ER vet right now she was worse this morning I think my vet should have sent her there right off I am so scared I do not know if she is going to make it
 
Marc & Jen said:
I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this, we went through something like this on Thursday last week and previously went through this in August as well. Shelby's symptoms sound very similar to FA's - we originally thought he ate something funny but it really was a pancreatitis flare up that caused DKA. It happened very quickly and we ended up hospitalizing him for 3 days both times. The mistake we made the first time was that we brought him to our regular vet 3 times before we ended up hospitalizing, this time we took him straight to the ER so it saved a considerable amount of time and money. I have never managed pancreatitis at home myself yet but hope to be able to do so in the future. Please keep up updated on how she is doing!
Click to expand...
That is what my vet did she should have hospitalized right off she is in bad shape so worried I want to thank everyone for responding I will keep u
 
She is er vet right sorry my post r screwed up trying to do this on the phone I think she will be hear for a few days I hope she survives this thank everyone for listening to me
 
Popsugar said:
I am at the ER vet right now she was worse this morning I think my vet should have sent her there right off I am so scared I do not know if she is going to make it
Click to expand...
Thinking of you! It is definitely a learning experience but you are doing the right thing - she will be in the best hands at the ER as they have all the resources that she needs right now.
 
I'm just catching up. So sorry you are going through this. Shelby is where she should be right now. Give it a day or two to see consistent improvement. It will be up and down and touch and go for awhile. It's a roller coaster. YOU need to take care of yourself also. Keep resting when you can. When Shelby comes home it will be stressful for you. A lot of us have and/or continue to battle p'titis. When it gets closer to coming hone, check-in here, we can offer tips of what you might need at home so you can ask for supplies from vet. Good luck, keep us posted.
 
She is at a good pleace the girl that used to work,at my vets office is there a and she bonded with her she is helping out with her there I just do not understand why my vet did not send me there to begin with They said she has fluid in her abdomen because of the inflammation she is in ICU and they will know more later she has had no vomiting and was trying to eat the pain meds the vet gave me wasnnot working do u think she has a chance of making it I did everything I can
 
I am so sorry to hear Shelby is in the ER. It is the best place for her if her was getting worse.
Poor little thing must have been in pain if the pain meds were not working.
Sending all best wishes for a steady improvement and a full recovery to Shelby.
I know how worried you must feel. It gs good she it’s trying to eat
Please keep us updated. :bighug:
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I can't see Shelby so I can't really tell you what you should do.... you know her best.
But I agree a lot of cats get very stressed going to the vet. But every cat is different

I always managed the pancreatitis at home after the initial visit to the vet for fluids, pain killers and antinausea meds. A lot of us also keep those meds at home in case of a flare up.
Certainly a lot of us give the SubQ fluids at home ourselves but you would need to get a clearance from the vet first time, just to check that there is no reason why she shouldn't have SubQ fluids. Some cats with heart conditions can't tolerate extra fluids.

I am glad she is sleeping now.
The things you need to look out for is dehydration and I mentioned above how to look for that;
Also to make sure she is eating
And testing for the ketones
And giving the insulin.
She may take several days to get over this.
As long as she is not getting worse and you are monitoring all these things, she should be able to stay home.
But if she seems worse I would go back to the vet or at least ring him.
Try and get some sleep if you can
Click to expand...
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I am so sorry to hear Shelby is in the ER. It is the best place for her if her was getting worse.
Poor little thing must have been in pain if the pain meds were not working.
Sending all best wishes for a steady improvement and a full recovery to Shelby.
I know how worried you must feel. It gs good she it’s trying to eat
Please keep us updated. :bighug:
Click to expand...
thank u
 
Marc & Jen said:
I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this, we went through something like this on Thursday last week and previously went through this in August as well. Shelby's symptoms sound very similar to FA's - we originally thought he ate something funny but it really was a pancreatitis flare up that caused DKA. It happened very quickly and we ended up hospitalizing him for 3 days both times. The mistake we made the first time was that we brought him to our regular vet 3 times before we ended up hospitalizing, this time we took him straight to the ER so it saved a considerable amount of time and money. I have never managed pancreatitis at home myself yet but hope to be able to do so in the future. Please keep up updated on how she is doing!
Click to expand...
I will thx u
 
Popsugar said:
Thank u do u think she will make it
Click to expand...
I hope so but I don’t really know her condition as I am not there. You need to be guided by the vets.
We had a kitty here a few months ago who was extremely ill from pancreatitis and he pulled through and is fine now.

If she is showing interest in food that is good. What do the vets say?
Are you allowed to visit?
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I am so sorry to hear Shelby is in the ER. It is the best place for her if her was getting worse.
Poor little thing must have been in pain if the pain meds were not working.
Sending all best wishes for a steady improvement and a full recovery to Shelby.
I know how worried you must feel. It gs good she it’s trying to eat
Please keep us updated. :bighug:
Click to expand...
Thank u. I am waiting to hear from the vet just dropped her off this morning she does have fluid in her abdomen they wanted to do more tests thank for asking will update
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I hope so but I don’t really know her condition as I am not there. You need to be guided by the vets.
We had a kitty here a few months ago who was extremely ill from pancreatitis and he pulled through and is fine now.

If she is showing interest in food that is good. What do the vets say?
Are you allowed to visit?
Click to expand...
I am waiting to hear from the vet they needed to run more tests she does want to eat but can only eat a small amount she does have fluid on her abdomen I will update
 
Popsugar said:
Thank u. I am waiting to hear from the vet just dropped her off this morning she does have fluid in her abdomen they wanted to do more tests thank for asking will update
Click to expand...
Hopefully they will do blood tests.
Vets are often pessimistic with prognosis I have found, reading posts on the forum.
I would just keep her getting treatment and hopefully she will be ok.
If they suggest something you are not comfortable with, post here to get some feedback.
Really positive she wants to eat.
Sending more get better vines to Shelby. .
 
    • They are doing a lot of tests I will let u know what they say thx
      Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
      I hope so but I don’t really know her condition as I am not there. You need to be guided by the vets.
      Click to expand...
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
We had a kitty here a few months ago who was extremely ill from pancreatitis and he pulled through and is fine now.

If she is showing interest in food that is good. What do the vets say?
Are you allowed to visit?
Click to expand...

Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I am so sorry to hear Shelby is in the ER. It is the best place for her if her was getting worse.
Click to expand...
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Poor little thing must have been in pain if the pain meds were not working.
Sending all best wishes for a steady improvement and a full recovery to Shelby.
I know how worried you must feel. It gs good she it’s trying to eat
Please keep us updated. :bighug:
Click to expand...
Thank u
 
Popsugar said:
The vet called they said it could be cancer a abscess or a cyst they have to draw out fluid from her abdomen and will know more tomorrow please share any thoughts thanks
Click to expand...

I suppose they are thinking that because there is fluid in the abdominal cavity.
Did they do an ultrasound?

Blood tests should tell if it is an abscess because the white cells would be high.
Do they have her on a drip and giving her pain meds and antinausea meds still?

I think all you can do at this point is wait for the results of the fluid drawn from her abdomen.
I know you must be very worried. :bighug:
Keeping you in my thoughts.
 
​
They did a ultrasound and something is on her pancreas they have to draw fluid to find out she is on fluids pain meds they said it could be cancer a abscess or a cyst her belly is swollen and painful her bloodwork is good please share any thoughts thx said:
    • They are doing a lot of tests I will let u know what they say thx


Thank u
Click to expand...
The vet called there is a area on her abdomen they have to draw out fluid it could be cancer a abscess or a cyst they gave to draw fluids from her abdomen they will let me know please share any thoughts it’s going to be a long night for me this
 
Yes I’m sure it’s going to be a long night for you. I am so sorry you are having to deal with this.
They look as if they are doing all the right things which is good.
:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Can anyone tell me if they think it is cancer can it come on that quick please share thoughts her blood work is good thx
 
My internet service is very bad at the moment. Mostly not working after a severe storm.
If I am not answering your post it is because I can’t get online.
I hope you get some better news in the morning about Shelby.
 
Me to I just think it may be cancer And I am going to lose her I have worked so hard to keep her and she was headed for remission how can she be fine on Thursday morning and get this sick starting Thursday evening has anyone experienced this please let me know I a trying to prepare myself any information would help thank u
 
I just want to thank everyone for praying for shelby I got good news the fluid in her abdomen showed no cancer cells they r going to do periodic scans to keep a eye on the area of her pancreas she is eating well getting perky and the fluid they feel is from the inflammation from her pancreas I really appreciate all your help god bless u I will keep u updated on her progress I will pick her up tomorrow night
 
We are all glad to hear she’s doing better and they see no sign of cancer.

Bron lost her internet connection due to bad weather and asked me to check on you all. She will be very happy for your news.
 
A someone said be prepared for ups and downs last night there were setbacks she developed a fever of 106 now down to103.6 her belly is still swollen and painful they changed pain meds because that could be causing the fever her blood sugar when last checked was 70 they think she has neurological problems because she was wobbly and her head was to one side or it could be low blood sugar they are testing her for a bladder infection because of the fever on the positive side eating well no vomiting or diarrhea give me your thoughts please
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top