12/19 Squamee

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judy and squamee(GA)

judy and squamee(GA)

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AMPS 243 1U
Just spoke with very nice covering vet. we discussed it and decided to shoot 1U even though she has not eaten since yesterday morning. She explained to me that high ketones can effect neck muscles and that could be why she is hanging her head over the water. (don't you think the other 2 schmucks could have told me that?!) She agreed that I could give subQ fluids daily. She agreed to give an injection of pain killer , so I will be bringing her there shortly.
 
Saw the vet (who is very pregnant!) and she gave Squamee a shot of Butorphanol , an opiate, in case she is in pain.

Her ketones are still high, and the vet thinks that could account for the hanging over the water bowl. She said there is an electrolight imbalance with potassium that effects the muscles and this water thing is commonly found in cats with renal issues and diabetics.
It seems that her ketones are high because she is not eating. So when there is no food, the body breaks down fat, and ketones are a byproduct of the fat being broken down. So when we check for ketones we are using that as a marker to tell us that the body is breaking down fat.

She suggested I try syringe feeding her, which I am reluctant to do, but I guess I am going to have to give it a try. SHe said if we could get her eating, that might reverse this process --for now, anyway. She said they could also hospitalize her , give IV fluids and try to get this under control, but I am not willing to do that. Too iffy, she hates it there, and the money is just pouring out.

I guess it all comes down to what made her stop eating, and if that can be reversed, and for how long. Problem is, might take days to do that, the outcome is unkown, and I don't think I can bare putting her through this for too many days and nights.


Robin, thanks so much for reminding me to ask about enteritis. She thought that was very unlikely.
 
I'm glad that the vet finally had a good explanation for what may be causing her strange water-bowl behavior. Hopefully you can get this under control and get rid of those ketones.
 
Good glad to hear about the trip to the vet and that the keytones are being addressed. I just posted in your other topic about the keytones. That I think was my last rolling around in bed at 5am thought for you that I forgot to put down. Then saw she was meatloafed etc and was like :shock: sounds like keytones maybe.

Yes, this not eating/reduced appetite/weight loss is so bad for cats. If we can get past that instinct not to eat [or perhaps reduce the vomiting if any etc], then we hopefully have breathing room to treat. If not, they can just waste away faster than a blink.

The other option are feeding tubes. But they are generally for short term fixes and are a lot of work - they require 3-5 feedings per day. I seriously considered it with H at the end, but I decided against it. That is a choice I made that I am very comfortable with. We thought about it for F and were very close to doing it for him but we were able to pull him though just barely with appetite stimulants and physically getting him off his duff and to his bowl [day and night which continues currently] and weighing him frequently to know how were we doing.

And as for the appetite stimulants - a cat that really doesn't want to eat will not eat even with the full dose of appetite stimulants. So that route is not fool proof either.
 
I am trying, not too successfully, to syringe feed her. Mostly she seems to spit it out. Hard to know what she is getting. I will not put in a feeding tube.If none of this changes by tomorrow morning, I think we have reached the end. I will discuss it with the regular vet, who was much more reluctant to call it quits, but I don't think I am going to be swayed--it seems too cruel to let her live days on end with her head just above her water bowl.
 
Judy, my thoughts are with you and Squamee and your DH. I'm sending S my good vibes and hopes that she'll come around. I'm with you on any decisions you make.
 
My heartfelt thanks for your support and good wishes.
The vet said to give her 1 Unit of insulin if she remained the same and 1.5 if she went up. I will check with you later. Is 9:30 my time too late for you? If so, I can do it earlier. It doesn't seem particularly important right now.
 
Hard to say 1.5u makes me a little nailbite_smile but 1u seems like it got little traction today. She hasn't seen a blue in a while. I would hope you could increase if her numbers go up. I just don't know how much would be right in this case. She's not eating but that seems to making little difference in her numbers currently. And whatever is going on I think it's important to give her an adequate amount of insulin in light of the keytones.

You could shoot something that might ordinarily be a little more nailbite_smile and maybe test at +3 as a check just to make sure she is not plummeting. Kind of like you did last night.

1.2u did make a appropriate dent last night. No promises it would work again tonight.

If she was up over 300 then maybe even above 1.2u?

I don't have any good answers.
 
(((((((Judy))))))) Sending vibes your way for peacefulness for you & Squamee. I hope you can spend some nice snuggly time with her tonight, and of course I hope she starts eating! :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG:

I can tell you for Bix I am not worrying too much anymore about getting the dose exactly right & stuff - I know his days are numbered, so I am trying to keep him in safe #s and not worry about it beyond that, and do a minimum of ear tests. Of course it is different b/c he does not have ketones, but I guess I'm trying to say that if your instinct is that her time is limited, I would focus on QOL and snuggle time, and let the medicines & such take a back seat. If she is keeping food down better it might make sense to stay more on top of the insulin, as with eating & insulin she may be able to fend off the ketones. But if she isn't eating or keeping food down, I'm not sure how much I would worry about getting the insulin dose to be anything beyond a maintenance dose to help keep her comfortable. Just my POV.

Anyhow, sending good wishes & sending up prayers right now!
 
Thanks, Joanna. Makes a lot of sense. Think I will probably shoot 1.2 so I don't have to worry about any added complications tonight. (or 1, if she hasn't gone up much) Hard to know what feels comfortable to her. Hope you are having time to enjoy Bix. Give him a few head bumps for me!.
 
Bix has been super-snuggly the past few days, and is hanging strong! I'll give him some scritches & tell him to send Squamee a psychic kitty message to start eating!!!
 
PMPS 207!!! I never discussed with the vet what if she went down. I know I have to reduce the dose, but I am unsure how much. .6? All I want is to get her through to the morning in relative comfort.
 
.8 maybe - that might be backing off too far - so hard to balance this thing with the unknown eating sitch and the keytones. I hope Robin pops in for her vote. And she hada currious curve today to which is kind of confused_cat
 
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