11/9 Reuben AMPS 126

[Alexa and Reuben]

Yesterday

Reuben, being the kind of crazy meezer cat he is, decided to eat as soon as the feeding tube was working. Not the food I had been offering him, and then syringe feeding, (which he may have an aversion to now) but livers and chicken and lots of chicken broth. He is eating the right amount of calories even so far. At this point just the fact that he is eating is cause for joy.

I have not been checking is bg except for pre shot recently to reduce stress on him, but I will get a nadir-ish reading today.

I have a question: The vet is saying the the excessive thirst is the diabetes. Could this be even possible at this point?

Thank you so much Marje for sending Karrie to us. We are now signed up on the FAF site and awaiting her files and info there.

We have the Ultra Sound today at +9, and I will try to be in the room asking questions (if at all possible) like you suggested Leslie.

I am going to contact his former vet on the phone as soon as the is ready, thank you Sienne for the encouragement on that.

I will ask for another blood draw for the potassium tonight, insist on it, sheeeeesh!

Love and vines to all the kitties and beans facing challenges, and all who aren`t! cat_pet_icon

Ongoing Medications:
Ondansetron .83mg BID
Pepcid 2.5mg bid
Bupe 0.1ml as needed

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

Good to hear he wants food. That's a big plus.

I would think that Reuben qualifies as being regulated now... his numbers are all in the good zone so the thirst shouldn't be because of
the diabetes. But that's just my opinion.... as soon as Shadow got in good numbers, she quit drinking water....

But in investigating my daughter's issues, where her "flattened villi" affect absorbtion of nutrients....
Maybe the "intestinal tumors" they are seeing on him ( and today's ultrasound may bring more answers/questions) is affecting his ability to absorb the nutrition/even hydration.....

Still praying for you guys and hope this is something easier and treatable....

 

[Alexa and Reuben]

thank you rhiannon --

i just talked to his previous vet where we lived before, the one that saved his life a year ago december. he said that what they are detecting in his intestine could very well be rueben's propensity to build up hairballs in the intestine. he said that they were so bad a year ago when we came to him, that he had to surgically remove them. he thinks that everything going on right now could very well be the same problem of reuben`s chronic intestinal infection. he said to send him a copy of the ultra sound we get tonight, and we will go from there. we are back in his capable hands and i am terrifically relieved.

oh, and he was Thrilled about Roo's bg being regulated. :razz: I told him about the group, and the protocol, and he was so impressed.

Thank you LL :YMHUG:

 

[Leslie and Jasper]

Hi Alexa, Glad you were able to reach your former vet, what a relief! His recall of Reuben's hairball habit is impressive, and something should be straightforward to address. When Reuben was vomiting, did you notice any hairballs? We get hairball barf a lot here, much more since feeding to only wet food, and I dont know what to do about it, I guess you would tell me throw up is better than build up inside. I give Jasper pumpkin which seems to help him some, the other cats wont touch it :roll: . This week our vet suggested adding fiber such as Metamucil to the food, we will try that sometime soon when we can be around to see how it goes. Glad Reuben is eating on his own, maybe he realizes his new feeding tube shows you are seriously not going to let him starve no matter what. And amidst everything, Reuben is still getting good numbers on this tiny dose, go Reuben! Good boy Paws crossed the ultrasound tonight with the pro gives you good answers and its not something serious. BTW, Jasper says hello, well he yawned and rolled over, probably means the same thing :lol: .

 

[Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA)]

Hi Alexa,
Do you think Reuben's thirst could be caused by the great quantities of chicken broth he is eating? If you are using chicken broth from a carton or a can, it will be very high in sodium (unless you use one that specifies that it is "low sodium"). Of course, if you are making the broth yourself, this would not be an issue. Sometimes we don't even think of the obvious!

I'm glad that you are going back to the vet you know and trust. Rusty is prone to hairballs and we use NaturVet hairball remedy (gel), which seems to help move them along. This formula is not high in sugars (other brands are):
http://www.naturvet.com/index.php?p...category_id=15&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=8

You can order it through Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001JNJQVG/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20


Hope you will have a good weekend and that Reuben will continue to improve.

Ella & Rusty

 

[MelanieAndRacci]

Hi Alexa!

What good news about Reuben eating! I agree that Reuben must be thirsty for a cause other than the diabetes now. He's probably a little more thirsty than average because of diabetes but not much. Being dehydrated will make you thirsty as well and so does infection. There are any number of things that make you thirsty. I wouldn't worry that much about it if she becomes hydrated. Racci loves water and always drinks a lot but she's not dehydrated.

I hope the news is good from the tests and your old doctor is right about the cause. TTYL.

Hugs,
Melanie & Racci

 

[Ann & Maggie11 (GA)]

Alexa, what great news that Reuben is eating. That is great you got in touch with the Vet who saved Reuben. Sounds like he has other thoughts on Reuben. Sending vines and hugs.

 

[Alexa and Reuben]

oh thank you so much leslie, melanie, ann and ella :YMHUG: omigosh, yes, of course the water obsession goes hand in hand with the dehydration!!.... the chicken broth is home made, just the broth that the livers and chicken were boiled in, and he loves it. he isn`t eating quite enough so i started syringing in the tube this afternoon.

about the hair ball situation...yes leslie.. up until a while ago he was throwing up with hair, and then that stopped... so it makes sense that it would have impacted again in the intestine. This alone could be causing so much of his symptomology right now. thank you for the link to good hairball remedy gel ella, i will check it out... and, i hadn`t thought of pumpkin or metamucil for this! i`m going to copy all these suggestions into our notebook... :razz:

i consider our vet to be the long distance vet from now on. he made it clear that he is concerned and involved, and considers reuben to be his patient again. i have to come away from the ultra sound tonight with an image to send to him, either overnight express or through the computer if it is possible.

thank you all so much for your concern and insights. i am so grateful to you... :YMHUG: we are off to the ultra sound now :razz:

 

[Deborah & Shasta]

You're such a good mama bean, Alexa! Give sweet Reuben some scritches from Shasta and me because he's being such a trooper. Many blessings and sweet dreams!

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Alexa

I tried to post in your condo last night but the board went down and I finally gave up and went to bed.

On the hairballs, the remedy Ella linked has sorbitol in it which is a sugar alcohol. I've been using Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil and it's worked great. It is FD friendly...no sugar in it. You can also order it through Amazon, I believe. I started with .25 ml bid and slowly increased to 1ml bid. Gracie licks it off her plate...she loves it. The boys like it but I syringe it to them slowly and they lick the syringe. They won't get every drop off their plates. You can also add it to food. I would NOT put it in his tube...it leaves an oily residue.

I'm glad he's eating and I hope you will soon be able to get the tube out. Karrie is amazing and I'm so glad she popped in.