Willow update & check-in

Kate & Willow

Kate & Willow

Member Since 2024
It's been awhile since we've posted on here, but we have been chugging right along with Willow's care. For the most part, everything has been great. It was a wild year with the sudden death of my mother, and then our other cat, Carl, crossed the rainbow bridge in August 🌈💕

Willow had bloodwork in November, and for the most part everything was as expected. Her BUN level improved slightly, and her other kidney values were in normal range. Her renal tech prediction has come back positive for the past year. Her platelet count came back Low, but the vet said it was determined adequate upon further review. There was some protein in her urine, and the vet suggested a blood pressure test to rule out hypertension. However, I haven't done this yet. Willow had a blood pressure test a year ago and it was normal. Don't know if that's worth noting.

I'm making a post on here because I'm not sure what to do about her current dose. For the past week or two, her glucose seems to be "stuck" during her daytime cycles. I've been hesitant to increase her dose because when it has been "breaking through", she has hit some great green numbers. Of course I am also wondering about possible inflammation or infection as her pre-shots have been pretty high as well. She isn't showing any weird behaviors or outward signs of illness, and in general her mood is great, she's still playing, etc. Just sleeping a bit more than usual during the day when she's staying stuck in the 200s. Her vial is fairly new, so I don't think it's the ProZinc vial... curious if Suzanne might have any suggestions or thoughts based on recent bloodwork :) The values have been updated in the SS.

Sending love to everyone in this community! Happy New Year!
 
Hello, Kate! Happy New Year. It’s good to hear from you 🙂 2025 was not a good year for many of us. I knew about your mother passing away (for which I am extremely sorry) but I wasn’t aware that your cat, Carl, had died. That is very sad. I understand.

We lost two cats this past year, one at the September 22 and another October 24. Both were not old cats and progressed from being healthy to being gone in a very short period of time (one day for Delilah who died in September.) And we’ve been struggling along mightily with two other cats who are chronically ill — and another cat was hyperthyroid went for I-131 treatment in September and fortunately is now doing well. But enough about me. Let me send this message, give fluids to two of my cats and then get back to addressing your questions. :bighug:
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Hello, Kate! Happy New Year. It’s good to hear from you 🙂 2025 was not a good year for many of us. I knew about your mother passing away (for which I am extremely sorry) but I wasn’t aware that your cat, Carl, had died. That is very sad. I understand.

We lost two cats this past year, one at the September 22 and another October 24. Both were not old cats and progressed from being healthy to being gone in a very short period of time (one day for Delilah who died in September.) And we’ve been struggling along mightily with two other cats who are chronically ill — and another cat was hyperthyroid went for I-131 treatment in September and fortunately is now doing well. But enough about me. Let me send this message, give fluids to two of my cats and then get back to addressing your questions. :bighug:
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Aw, Suzanne! I'm so sorry about your two cats!! It's so hard when they turn quickly. The sudden grief on top of taking care of two other chronically ill cats... I can only imagine. I hope you are finding some moments of comfort and peace amongst the chaos.
Our late cat, Lorenzo, lived to be about 19 years old and also had that I-131 treatment- he did really well after that, so I'm glad to hear yours has responded to the treatment!
No rush on your response! I appreciate your time and energy, always.
I have noticed just in the past 30 minutes that Willow's eyes are starting to get really weepy... about a year ago this happened and she had conjunctivitis- I still have some Terramycin if you think it might be worth starting... I think her glucose was high during that time as well... It was end of December 2024.
 
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Kate & Willow said:
Aw, Suzanne! I'm so sorry about your two cats!! It's so hard when they turn quickly. The sudden grief on top of taking care of two other chronically ill cats... I can only imagine. I hope you are finding some moments of comfort and peace amongst the chaos.
Our late cat, Lorenzo, lived to be about 19 years old and also had that I-131 treatment- he did really well after that, so I'm glad to hear yours has responded to the treatment!
No rush on your response! I appreciate your time and energy, always.
I have noticed just in the past 30 minutes that Willow's eyes are starting to get really weepy... about a year ago this happened and she had conjunctivitis- I still have some Terramycin if you think it might be worth starting... I think her glucose was high during that time as well... It was end of December 2024.
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I kind of remember when this happened before with Willow’s eyes. I would start the Terramycin because it can’t hurt — it’s a very safe ointment and doesn’t have a steroid in it.
 
Kate & Willow said:
There was some protein in her urine, and the vet suggested a blood pressure test to rule out hypertension. However, I haven't done this yet. Willow had a blood pressure test a year ago and it was normal. Don't know if that's worth noting.
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Her labs look pretty good overall. It is worth getting her BP checked because it can change and it’s been a while since you’ve had it checked. It’s not an expensive thing to have checked. If she did have high BP it would be important to treat it before it damages her organs. I am doubting she has high BP, but I have had two cats now who had high blood pressure and they both had seizures as a result — only one of them had kidney disease.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I kind of remember when this happened before with Willow’s eyes. I would start the Terramycin because it can’t hurt — it’s a very safe ointment and doesn’t have a steroid in it.
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Just started with the first dose. I remember also, last time this happened, that the goopy eyes appeared very quickly, which seems to be what's happening right now.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Her labs look pretty good overall. It is worth getting her BP checked because it can change and it’s been a while since you’ve had it checked. It’s not an expensive thing to have checked. If she did have high BP it would be important to treat it before it damages her organs. I am doubting she has high BP, but I have had two cats now who had high blood pressure and they both had seizures as a result — only one of them had kidney disease.
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This is great advice. I will respond to the vet about getting that checked. Here is what she e-mailed about that specifically after her bloodwork results came in-

"Finally, Willow's urinalysis showed her urine to be well concentrated, which does not fit with significant kidney disease. It also had glucose as expected with her diabetes and had protein. A low amount of protein can be secondary to the high concentration, but in general protein should not be in the urine. If a patient is loosing a significant amount of protein through the kidneys it can lead to other problems. Ideally, I would recommend checking a blood pressure on Willow as hypertension can be a reason for increased protein as well as can be related to kidney disease. I would also consider an additional test called an urine protein creatinine ratio in order to quantify how much urine is being lost and determine if it is a significant amount. (If a significant amount is found then the treatment would be starting a medication.)."
 
Even though she was checked in late November, she could have something going on. I’ve had cats with urinary tract infections, for example, who have had no symptoms. No frequent urination, no straining, etc. Or maybe it’s her eyes? What did it end up being in 2024 when she became ill and her numbers were high?

The last time you saw green during the day was December 21, so I expect something is going on. Looking at her numbers. I would try increasing to 2.6 and if her PMPS (or AMPS) are yellow, I would drop the dose back to 2.4 because she has even had a little green during the evening cycles when she had a yellow PMPS. What do you think about this plan?
It does look like
 
Kate & Willow said:
This is great advice. I will respond to the vet about getting that checked. Here is what she e-mailed about that specifically after her bloodwork results came in-

"Finally, Willow's urinalysis showed her urine to be well concentrated, which does not fit with significant kidney disease. It also had glucose as expected with her diabetes and had protein. A low amount of protein can be secondary to the high concentration, but in general protein should not be in the urine. If a patient is loosing a significant amount of protein through the kidneys it can lead to other problems. Ideally, I would recommend checking a blood pressure on Willow as hypertension can be a reason for increased protein as well as can be related to kidney disease. I would also consider an additional test called an urine protein creatinine ratio in order to quantify how much urine is being lost and determine if it is a significant amount. (If a significant amount is found then the treatment would be starting a medication.)."
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Yes. I noticed her USG was very good so her kidneys seem to be concentrating urine well. Her Creatinine is also in a good place. Unless she was dehydrated at the time the blood and urine were taken, I also doubt she has kidney impairment because her CREA number was low and that number is not influenced by hydration status although it can go down with muscle loss/weight loss. I see that Willow has gained weight!
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I just looked through your old threads quickly and see it was December 2024 when she had the eye problem.
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Yep- end of December '24. She had two back-to-back days at the urgent care vet. The first visit was because she was not eating & nauseous, and then the second day the infected eyes popped up. Might be a repeat of that exact scenario because her appetite was down a bit overnight... the Terramycin worked wonderfully for her then. So fingers crossed this is all it is this time, too! The expiration date on the Terramycin says 12-29-25... so just a few days ago.
I'm in the process of researching other veterinarians for her. We haven't been super happy at our current vet lately. We've been going there for around 15 years, but they were recently purchased by Thrive, and the care (& prices) have changed... They also always question/judge why I use a human meter and not the AlphaTrak, and that I've adjusted doses without their approval. Every visit seems to be overtaken by them questioning the spreadsheet and telling me that the numbers "mean nothing to them" since I don't use a pet meter... I have to explain it every time I'm there and it's exhausting because it feels shame-y coming from them. I think they're all solid veterinarians but the way they've judged me for taking care of Willow's diabetes is weird. They've always encouraged home testing so I was surprised when they couldn't understand wrap their heads around the fact that I use a human meter. Hopefully we will find someone that wants to work *with* me to understand the spreadsheet :)
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Yes. I noticed her USG was very good so her kidneys seem to be concentrating urine well. Her Creatinine is also in a good place. Unless she was dehydrated at the time the blood and urine were taken, I also doubt she has kidney impairment because her CREA number was low and that number is not influenced by hydration status although it can go down with muscle loss/weight loss. I see that Willow has gained weight!
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Yes, she's back to her pre-diabetes weight! She looks very healthy, and people are always shocked that she's over 16 y/o :)
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Even though she was checked in late November, she could have something going on. I’ve had cats with urinary tract infections, for example, who have had no symptoms. No frequent urination, no straining, etc. Or maybe it’s her eyes? What did it end up being in 2024 when she became ill and her numbers were high?
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I'm hoping it's conjunctivitis again, and that the ointment will clear up the infection and her numbers go back to her usual ranges... in December '24 that's exactly what it was. She was treated with the Terramycin, fluids, and Zofran for nausea (which I've used periodically throughout the year when she's had bouts of nausea).

Suzanne & Darcy said:
The last time you saw green during the day was December 21, so I expect something is going on. Looking at her numbers. I would try increasing to 2.6 and if her PMPS (or AMPS) are yellow, I would drop the dose back to 2.4 because she has even had a little green during the evening cycles when she had a yellow PMPS. What do you think about this plan?
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I think this sounds like a good plan! 2.4u seems to be the right dose usually- I'll try 2.6u tomorrow morning so I can monitor and then go back down to her usual 2.4u if her PMPS is yellow.
 
Kate & Willow said:
the numbers "mean nothing to them" since I don't use a pet meter... I have to explain it every time I'm there and it's exhausting because it feels shame-y coming from them
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They’re smart enough to get through vet school, but they can’t understand a human meter’s readings. Ha. I don’t like the sound of that. Human meters were in use by vets for many years before pet meters were invented. I guess they’ve gone corporate. That’s a shame — especially since you’ve been going there for such a long time. I probably wouldn’t mention her diabetes to them or maybe just not show them the spreadsheet. You could just say something like she’s doing well —and give them a rough idea of her nadirs. If they want they can check her fructosamine although that would cost more. Have you told them that the Alpha Trak strips are too expensive? Or you could just run a curve one day and use the AT meter and give them the numbers/times. Maybe that would help? You hopefully can find a vet who is not part of a corporate group.
 
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