Not sure what's going on with our buddy but we need some healing vines. He's been in remission with good follow up testing since May. No real diet change or anything out of the ordinary but suddenly this morning he would not eat (very out of the ordinary for him). Unfortunately I was already at work and my partner was not able to get a test in. I was able to get out for an early lunch and he tested at 241. Normally his midday numbers are between 65 and 75. He's lethargic and wouldn't even eat his testing treat. I'm worried sick. Unfortunately I had to go back to work for the remainder of the day. Vets office is able to get him in tonight, so I'll try to get another test before his 6.30p appointment. He's been doing so good so I'm not sure what could be going on. My partner thinks perhaps he got into something he shouldn't have, but I haven't been able to identify anything he might have gotten into and haven't found any weird barfs or poops. I'll update this thread as I know more but please send all the good vibes possible. I would give anything for this boy and hate to see him like this.
BG still at 240 upon my arrival home from work. Still reusing food and treats. Our appointment is in 30 minutes and I'm a bit of a wreck. Still very lethargic and grumpy. He hissed a little when I picked him up for his test.
Vet gave subq's and appetite stimulants. Sent us home with some a/d food which I wasn't super pleased with, but he's refusing that as well. Will have his bloodwork back in the morning. It's just so weird. Clinically he's been doing great. No bathroom troubles. Weight has been consistent and behaviorally he's been a real energetic and playful boy until today. I hate seeing him so unlike himself. Hoping for some answers in the morning.
Did the vet do a test for pancreatitis? Did they give you some antinausea meds such as cerenia or ondansetron? Appetite stimulants are not good to give if the cat is nauseated. I hope Gato feels better soon. Sending vines
Thank you Bron. They did administer Cerenia and gave us an rx for a transdermal stimulant, Mirataz. They applied this tonight as well. They anticipated a urinalysis and ketone test but struggled to get urine from him. I've not been able to watch his bathroom activities the past 24 hrs, but did check the box and everything looked business as usual. We have 3 boyos so it can be difficult to tell who did what. They're doing a full blood panel and fructosamine, though I suspect something more than diabetes is at play since his biweekly (or so) checks have been good. Vet did mention pancreas concerns so I'm assuming they will be looking for indicators of that in the panel. I'll be honest I was a bit of a blubbering mess and did not jot notes as I usually do. Depending on the bloodwork, vet mentioned an ultrasound may be warranted.
We all get upset when our furbabies are not well. The fPL test for pancreatitis is a specific test and not in with the normal panel of tests. Gato may require some oral cerenia tablets as well. please let us know how the results go and if he improves.
165 this morning. Still not eating but he seems slightly less lethargic. Did watch him use the litter box without issue (urination). Vets office opens in a little over an hour (8a), and the doc said he should have results on his desk first thing this morning.
Still waiting on vets call. I called this morning and his bloodwork wasin, but doc was in appointments all morning and had not been able to review yet. 122 on lunch today. He ate his testing treats! (Stella and Chewy freeze dried fish nuggets) he had about 4 of those and ate some warmed a/d food. Overall demeanor is improving but still a bit sluggish. He came to the sound of the testing strips being shaken and jumped up to the couch for his poke. Yesterday he would only come downstairs and had to be picked up, usually he comes RUNNING for tests and eagerly gets in position.
Michelle, you must be so worried and anxious. Keeping our fingers and paws crossed you get some news soon. p.s. Sorry to bring this up now. Please change your signature to remove the city you live in. Ok to have location type info in your user profile. But because of spammers and other nasty people, we suggest you do not even have your timezone or the country where you live in your signature. We no longer recommend that people give too much identifying info in the signature. Your first name is ok, not your last name. Ok to have that info in your user profile. Those are much more secure.
If he’s still not eating, please ask for some oral cerenia or ondansetron as it is very important he eats otherwise it will create other problems. If the vet did not test specifically for pancreatitis with a fPL test, please ask him to do so as it is sounding as if it could possibly be pancreatitis to me and it’s very treatable. Mainly supportive care. please keep us updated. hugs
We will be picking up some oral cerenia and more a/d food in the morning, as by the time the vet got to me today I couldn't wriggle out of work in time to get there before they closed. He said the bloodwork all looked normal apart from his neutrophils (white blood cell count) whech were at 14,000. As of now our game plan is to try again for a urine sample (not enough in his bladder yesterday), an fPL test, and ultrasound. I'm at a loss as to why they didn't complete the fPL yesterday, and kind of kicking myself for it having not been on my radar. Had it been, we could have had a result by now. Doc was over the moon about the fructosamine (299), but this result was not a surprise to me. Waiting on a call tomorrow for the ultrasound scheduling as imaging is only available certain days and they'll have to confirm the internists schedule. If they can't get us in for the ultrasound this week I'll get the rest of the diagnostics taken care of tomorrow. Before leaving work I requested they email me the bloodwork results for my edification, so once I have those I'll post as well. I'm hopeful that he'll eat a little more tonight, given he had a bit more of an appetite midday.
When you get the copies of the labwork, there is a tab on the SS where you can put them. You'll need to add columns to the right of the "names for various tests" column you see. That first added column is for the reference ranges that particular lab uses (IDEXX, IDEXX inhouse, ANTECH,etc). Then your lab results go to the right of those reference ranges. You won't have values to enter for all the various tests, only the ones you had done.
Fructosamine of 299 is "within normal range for non-diabetic cat". Or a tightly controlled cat like some on the message board. Reference Ranges for Fructosamine Test
114 tonight and he ate a good bit of food! He's brighter eyed tonight and a bit more like himself. Snuggling on the couch now which is a welcomed change. Yesterday he hid in his cubby all day.
I've updated our labs in spreadsheet as well as parsed out 2019 and 2020 in tabs which I had been meaning to do. His BG is stabilizing a bit more back into his normal range, but I'll be keeping a sharper eye on it for a while. We had a failed test yesterday midday as we had company and Gato was a little restless, trying to prematurely steal his testing treats. I'll be getting some midday data today. His ultrasound was relatively positive so they proceeded with an antibiotic for whatever infection/ inflammation has his WBC through the roof, as well as a B12 shot at the recommendation of the internalist. We plan to have a recheck of bloodwork, as well as a blood pressure test, in a few months. Vet says that the ultrasound results paired with UA and bloodwork suggest Gato is in very early stages of CRF, so we will need to be very mindful of his kidney function and watch that. I'm reassessing our diet habits as a few of our mainstays are a bit high in phosphorous. Clinically, he's in much better spirits than earlier this week. He is back to his normal eating habits, in a good mood, playful, and his happy snuggly self.
Good news. Sometimes knowing what may be going on is a real stress reliever. More healing vines for Gato, but from your description, he is already feeling a bit better. Gato, we have our eyes on you and will hope for more updates from your mom on how you are doing. Go snuggle with your mom a bit more Gato. Maybe she'll even take a nap with you. IRIS Stage 1. Have you seen this? (2016) ISFM Consensus Guidelines: Diagnosis & Management of Feline Chronic Kidney Disease
I have not, but I will check it out! I'm ashamed to say that kidney issues hadn't really been on my radar just yet. Mixture of naivete and denial. I have a lot more reading and research to do!
MamaMug, Please remove the country and time zone from your signature. I mistakenly had you add it and it should not be there. Thanks. Sorry for the bit of extra work.
Hi, I simply wanted to make you aware of this. Just in case Gato ever needs insulin again. All the "Sticky" or pinned posts in the Prozinc forum have been updated and there are a couple of new ones. Highly recommend that everyone using Prozinc or helping those using Prozinc read them thoroughly. I'll be doing that myself. Been expecting this for some time. Came about a week before I thought it would. Thanks Marje, and Robert, and especially Djamila for the Modified Prozinc Method. You folks are FANTASTIC!