10/24 Simon AMPS 351

Alexandra & Simon

Alexandra & Simon

Member Since 2026
Hello! My boy is recently diagnosed and all seemed to be going well this week until around midnight - 1am last night he started having diarrhea. At least 4 instances and then he also vomited this morning around 6am. We tested at 1am and it was 323 and then just now it is 351. He was a bit sluggish to eat breakfast this morning but he did get a full can down. We just gave his regular 1 unit of Lantus per the recommendation from the emergency vet that I called but worried about him with the GI symptoms coming up out of nowhere throughout the early morning hours.
 
Last edited:
I don’t have anything currently but I’m going to go see if I can pick one up at Walmart today. The vet tested him last Friday and said his ketones were normal.
 
Last edited:
Ketones can increase in a matter of hours.
Ketones are caused by a combination of not enough insulin + not enough food + another stress on the system.
I always have the urine ketone test strips on hand, but that you need urine for.
You might want to invest in a blood ketone meter that can get at the minute test results.

Did you give him his insulin last night? The units column is empty for PM last night.
 
Dyana said:
Ketones can increase in a matter of hours.
Ketones are caused by a combination of not enough insulin + not enough food + another stress on the system.
I always have the urine ketone test strips on hand, but that you need urine for.
You might want to invest in a blood ketone meter that can get at the minute test results.

Did you give him his insulin last night? The units column is empty for PM last night.
Click to expand...
Yes. He got his usual 1 unit last night at 7:30 and his BG was 324 at the time of testing. He has been eating without a problem so I don’t think not enough food is the problem.

He just doesn’t seem to be himself. Not purring as much for pets but I’m not sure if I’m just being overly anxious or if we maybe need to take him to go get his ketones checked.
 
Dyana said:
Thanks. I'm glad he is eating. I just read in your notes that said he didn't eat at 10:30 yesterday.
I don't want to scare you. I just want to make you aware. When my kitty J.D. had DKA way back when, he was vomiting fluid and was off.
Click to expand...
He just had another 1/2 can of food and no more diarrhea or vomiting in the last 7ish hours. I tried to do a manual check but couldn't get a stick on him so will try again in a bit. He still seems tired overall and has been sleeping this morning.
 
I couldn't find anywhere near me that sells ketone monitors and I am worried about DKA. They tested him 3 times last week at my usual vet when we were confirming diagnosis. They tested him Monday and blood ketones were high. Went back Wednesday to start insulin and his blood ketones had gotten higher but no ketones in the urine and then back again Friday to recheck his ketones at which point his vet told me they were "normal" but didn't tell me what they were.
 
Alexandra & Simon said:
Yes. He got his usual 1 unit last night at 7:30 and his BG was 324 at the time of testing. He has been eating without a problem so I don’t think not enough food is the problem.

He just doesn’t seem to be himself. Not purring as much for pets but I’m not sure if I’m just being overly anxious or if we maybe need to take him to go get his ketones checked.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear Simon is not himself today but good his glucose came down a bit. Hope he will feel better soon.

I know it it not as accurate as a ketone test withy blood but very easy to test, when Regs has high numbers I test ketones in the urine. It might be easier than stressing him to go to the vet. Just know that the ketones in the urine show up delayed to the ones in the blood. But I always use it as a good indicator and seeing a negative test calms me down a little
 
Britta and Regs said:
Sorry to hear that, sometimes they are tricky to find. Are you located anywhere where you could order a meter and strips?
Click to expand...
I just ordered some but they won't be here until Thursday. So I'm just nervous. He just ate a little more but I haven't seen him drink since around 8am and he has just been sleeping a lot. I don't want to unnecessarily stress him out by going to the emergency vet but I know DKA needs to be treated quickly if that is what is happening.
 
Alexandra & Simon said:
I just ordered some but they won't be here until Thursday. So I'm just nervous. He just ate a little more but I haven't seen him drink since around 8am and he has just been sleeping a lot. I don't want to unnecessarily stress him out by going to the emergency vet but I know DKA needs to be treated quickly if that is what is happening.
Click to expand...
Not seeing him drink as much could be because of his lower glucose numbers. You are like me I also monitor Regs water intake closely and worry when he is not drinking for a couple of hours. So far for us it was always false alert and I just had a sleepy cat.

I absolutely understand not wanting to stress him out with a trip to the ER, especially when you're already worried about him. It's so hard to know what the right thing to do is sometimes. But if you're worried about DKA, I personally would rather go once too often than not go when it's needed.
I'm definitely not the most experienced person here though, so I really hope someone with more experience can chime in and give you better advice.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything is okay and he's just having a sleepy day. Sending hugs to both of you ❤️
 
Britta and Regs said:
Not seeing him drink as much could be because of his lower glucose numbers. You are like me I also monitor Regs water intake closely and worry when he is not drinking for a couple of hours. So far for us it was always false alert and I just had a sleepy cat.

I absolutely understand not wanting to stress him out with a trip to the ER, especially when you're already worried about him. It's so hard to know what the right thing to do is sometimes. But if you're worried about DKA, I personally would rather go once too often than not go when it's needed.
I'm definitely not the most experienced person here though, so I really hope someone with more experience can chime in and give you better advice.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything is okay and he's just having a sleepy day. Sending hugs to both of you ❤️
Click to expand...
I’ve bought these at my local Walgreens. Walmart also sells a similar one. Are they close by?
https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-ketone-test-strips/ID=prod6000723-product
 
Update: I ended up taking him to the emergency vet yesterday to check his ketones since I was nervous and while he was still eating it was less than his normal appetite and I was worried he wouldn't be able to eat a full meal for his evening shot.

His blood ketones were high so they admitted him to put him on an insulin drip. Just got the morning update from the vet who said he is doing well and ate a full meal some time in the night. His glucose is still low 300s - high 200s so they're going to try and get it down a little lower but they said I caught it very early and that he didn't have ketones in his urine and his blood acid was negative (so not in DKA!) His urinalysis was negative for any signs of a UTI so still trying to determine the root cause for his ketones being high and they're going to check his potassium today and continue to check his electrolytes.

I bought urine test strips and a blood ketone monitor that should get here this week so that I can check it at home moving forward.

So I guess moral of my story is to trust your gut and anxiety that you know your pet!
 
Last edited:
Alexandra & Simon said:
Update: I ended up taking him the emergency vet yesterday to check his ketones since I was nervous and while he was still eating it was less than his normal appetite and I was worried he wouldn't be able to eat a full meal for his evening shot.

His blood ketones were high so they admitted him to put him on an insulin drip. Just got the morning update from the vet who said he is doing well and ate a full meal some time in the night. His glucose is still low 300s - high 200s so they're going to try and get it down a little lower but they said I caught it very early and that he didn't have ketones in his urine and his blood acid was negative (so not in DKA!) His urinalysis was negative for any signs of a UTI so still trying to determine the root cause for his ketones being high and they're going to check his potassium today and continue to check his electrolytes.

I bought urine test strips and a blood ketone monitor that should get here this week so that I can check it at home moving forward.

So I guess moral of my story is to trust your gut and anxiety that you know your pet!
Click to expand...
Sending you and Simon healing wishes for a quick recovery ❤️‍🩹 🙏❤️‍🩹🍀🍃🍀🍃🍀🍃🍀🍃
 
Alexandra & Simon said:
Update: I ended up taking him to the emergency vet yesterday to check his ketones since I was nervous and while he was still eating it was less than his normal appetite and I was worried he wouldn't be able to eat a full meal for his evening shot.

His blood ketones were high so they admitted him to put him on an insulin drip. Just got the morning update from the vet who said he is doing well and ate a full meal some time in the night. His glucose is still low 300s - high 200s so they're going to try and get it down a little lower but they said I caught it very early and that he didn't have ketones in his urine and his blood acid was negative (so not in DKA!) His urinalysis was negative for any signs of a UTI so still trying to determine the root cause for his ketones being high and they're going to check his potassium today and continue to check his electrolytes.

I bought urine test strips and a blood ketone monitor that should get here this week so that I can check it at home moving forward.

So I guess moral of my story is to trust your gut and anxiety that you know your pet!
Click to expand...
Oh my goodness, that must have been so scary! I'm so glad you trusted your instincts and took Simon to the ER when you did. What a relief that you caught it so early and that he wasn't in DKA! I'm also happy to hear that he's doing a bit and even ate a full meal overnight. I really hope he continues to improve and gets to come home soon. Sending lots of hugs to you both!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top