06/10/24 new member DKA

My cat Darcy is at the vet with a temperature of 105 and they can’t figure out why. His urine & bloodwork shows no signs of infection. He had DKA with loss of appetite & vomiting for the first time Friday night and went to the emergency vet on Saturday morning. They released him to his primary vet this morning who is keeping him until his bg regulates & his temperature returns to normal. What do I need to do for post DKA care when I bring him home.

 

I sm sorry you are going through this. I can’t answer right now but I will get back to you asap with what you need to do
Bron

 

Hi again and welcome to the forum.
While your kitty Darcy is in hospital there ae some things you can do to prepare for when he comes home.

• buy Ketostix for testing ketones. Can be bought from Walmart in the US or a pharmacy.
• Ask the vet for antinausea medication such as cerenia or ondansetron. Most post DKA kitties are nauseated for a time.
• He may also need an appetite stimulant…give the antinausea medication first before the appetite stimulant.
• Ask the vet about giving sub Q fluids at home
• Get a range of canned food for when they get home including some higher carb foods. He will probably be a bit fussy with food so have choices.
• Set up a spreadsheet and the signature before Darcy comes home
• By a human glucose meter for himetesting. They are cheaper than the pet meters (alphatrak meter).
• Get a copy of the path results from the ER when discharged so we can see them.

Once he comes home you will be busy for a couple of weeks while he recovers.
Here is a list of things to follow once he comes home.

• you need to give one and a half times as many calories as Darcy normally eats. Offer snacks every couple of hours during the day and evening as well as the 2 main meals. Food is like a medicine and helps keep ketones away. If Darcy won’t eat the low carb food, feed him whatever he will eat as eating any food is better than not eating,
• Don’t skip any doses of insulin as insulin helps keep ketones away. If the BG is not high enough to give the dose…stall, dont feed and test again in 20 minutes and post and ask for help.
• Test daily for ketones. Put the results of the tests into the remarks column of the SS so we can see. Please report any trace ketones at all.
• Give the antinausea medication if needed ….listed above.
• Give appetite stimulant if needed after the antinausea medication
• Give extra fluids. If Darcy will tolerate warm water in the food, put a teaspoon into each snack..
• Ask the vet about the subQ fluids and give as directed
• Hopefully you will have the spreadsheet set up and test the BG frequently
• Post daily with updates and ask for help as often as needed.

I am going to ask @Bandit's Mom to look in and help you with the spreadsheet
Here is a list of foods…carbs 10% or under carbs to choose from. Also get some higher carb ones for if the BGs drop low and make sure you have some honey or Karo in case of very low numbers
FOOD CHART

How to collect a urine sample

HOMETESTING HINTS AMD LINKS

HELP US HELP YOU

Please keep us updated with Darcy’s progress.
Bron

 

Thank you!!! Darcy had a check up today and his glucose was 313. The vet showed me how to check his glucose & I ordered a kit to check Darcy’s glucose at home. Do I need to order ketone test strips as well? He’s eating better but still not as well as before the DKA episode. The vet said give him a little more time to get his appetite back. The vet thought it was a good idea to test him at home in a less stressful environment.

 

Yes definitely.you need to be checking the ketones daily at the moment.

I would ask the vet for some cere is or better still some ondansetron for nausea. Nausea is very common in post DKA kitties and it can take time to resolve. It is very very important that Darcy is eating and eating well. I would not ‘give it time’, I would start some anti nausea meds now. It is food and insulin that will keep the ketones at bay.
Please keep posting with updates and questions.

 

Depending on how well your kitty is eating, an appetite stimulant may be helpful. In addition to eating, getting water into your cat is also helpful with managing ketones. Will Darcy eat if you add water to his food?