I need suggestions

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Susan S

Member Since 2021
I joined here about a year ago when my cat Bean was diagnosed as diabetic. He also has had problems with crystals in his urine so was on special diet food for that, and hated the the wet so was eating dry. I got him on a mainly low-carb wet food diet and he progressed so he didn't need insulin any longer.

All was fine until last week when he crashed and wouldn't eat or come out from under the bed. We thought it might be a bladder blockage and as my mobile vet was unable to come, we went to the emergency vet. His sugar was over 400 and he had trace ketones in his urine and a UTI and was also severely dehydrated. He stayed there nearly 3 full days and they cleared the UTI, and the ketones disappeared and they got his sugars down to the 100s. He was quite stressed while there and wouldn't eat or use the litter box. So he came home with instructions to give 1 unit, 1x daily. He seemed back in the same place a few days later. My vet came and his sugar was 398. He had no urine so couldn't test ketones and after consulting with the ER vet, we took him back there. No UTI, no ketones. They gave him fluids and sent him home with instructions to give 1 unit, 2 x daily.

The next day he wasn't much better. He had eaten when he got back from the ER but back under the bed after that. (I also have 2 other cats, including a 10 mos. old, so I understand wanting space). I got some treats in him, and gave him insulin and kept consulting with my vet and ER vet. My vet came at lunch time and his sugar was 285 and no ketones, so not as bad.

Since then, I have been getting him to eat and doing his insulin. But he seems spacey and still hiding a lot. I know it takes time to feel better, but the ER vet was concerned maybe something else going on as well. We might do an ultrasound of his stomach and also get a glimpse of the pancreas. Due to the pandemic, the vet situation here is dire. This ER vet now closes Saturday evening through Monday morning. To see one of their internists is over a 1 month wait, so we would have to do all this through the ER. I would like to talk to my mobile vet, but I know this is a bad weekend for her personally and is unavailable. Might call up to ER vet and hope that one of the docs that saw him last week are there.

I welcome any suggestions anyone has.

Thanks.
 
I just don't get it. If I wear the right mask the right way (this idea seems to elude a lot of people) I can get into either of my clinics today.
That's all I've got Susan. :bighug:
 
Well, they have had staffing issues due to COVID. Seems to be a common issue these days.

He now appears to be sleeping comfortably so this morning's insulin must be kicking in. Maybe I am expecting too much too soon. We were going to wait a bit to put the libre on but maybe we should do it sooner than later. I am also diabetic, so would have no issue doing readings on him but would need a calibrated meter for him, which I will likely get eventually.
 
This ER vet now closes Saturday evening through Monday morning.
That's interesting. The ER vet I normally go to used to be open only when regular vets are normally closed, so all nights, weekends, and holidays, thus the term emergency vet. Now, all the ER vets around here are open 24/7/365.

Testing his blood glucose at home, yourself, will help you both.
 
We have 3 ER vets here... my preferred one is the one that closes for half the weekend... but they also have specialists there that see patients. The next one I would use must have had a recent issue and locked down. They may be open now. The have a bunch of specialists within the complex, but they are separate. I had taken my cat with cancer to the holistic vet in the complex. The third one is corporate owned, very expensive and I really dislike them, but would go there in an emergency.

I spoke with one of the docs that had been at my preferred place for many years and she was very upset that they had to close for a period and said they were working on solutions as it was very upsetting to her they had to turn people away. When I picked up my cat last Saturday, she gave me her cell number. They are very good at speaking with me and want to keep me from having to bring him in.
 
What insulin are you using? The insulin can make a difference depending on whether it's faster or longer acting. Also, one shot a day is not appropriate for a cat. Pretty much all insulin needs to be dosed twice a day due to a cat's fast metabolism.
 
I am using prozinc... we are doing 1 unit twice a day now... we started at once a day when he first came back from the ER vet last week but upped it a couple days ago. At first they thought twice a day would dip his sugars too much
 
thus the term emergency
Not to belabor the point but emergency implies 24/7/365. There has to be a gas leak, fire or shooting for a valid excuse not to be open.
If you took your child to a hospital emergency room and it wasn't convenient for them to be there what would you think?
Either change the sign or the dictionary.
 
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