2:30am Emergency w/Jake - Help/advice please!

K

KittyCatJake

Member Since 2019
Hi, Jake's not doing well from his cancer and likely only has days left. He had chemo today and I gave him his 1 unit at 7pm today.....just woke and tested him and he is at 4.6. I put some honey in his mouth but wasn't sure how much to give him and don't have time or energy to read the files given the time of day here. I'm syringing him some a/d food right now but he isn't swallowing much. What next? When do I test again? Do I set alarm to test again in an hour, give him more honey, or if it gets to a certain number from this lot of honey can I safely go back to sleep again? TIA
 
If your cat is testing in low numbers and you are not getting a quick response to your post, there are several things you need to do. (Low numbers are under 50mg/dL or 2.8 mmol/L.)
  • Depending on how carbohydrate sensitive your cat is, feed approximately a teaspoon or less of gravy from high carb food or high carb food only. (If you have a cat with GI issues, using a couple of drops of syrup plus low carb food is an alternative.)
  • Test again in 15 – 20 min. Depending on the numbers, give more HC food.
  • Repeat the above steps every 15 – 20 min. until your cat tests in the 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) or above range for 2 consecutive tests. Continue to feed in small amounts to keep numbers in a safe range.
  • Test in 30 - 40 min. and repeat the test and feed process until there are 2 consecutive tests where numbers are stable or rising.
  • Test in an hour and follow the same steps.
 
at the top right of your page above your first post are the words THREAD TOOLS. click the down arrow, click EDIT TITLE. Your thread title will pop up and if you hover over or click on NO PREFIX, a drop down menu will appear . CLICK on the RED 911. Then SAVE CHANGES
 
Do you have a high carb wet food? Not sure where you are in the cycle as far as if his #s are going to continue to drop, so a high carb wet or dry (wet better than dry if you want the effects to clear the system faster, but if thats not an issue, its an option).

Low numbers (2.2-3.3) WITHOUT symptoms, give food or treats until BG rises to an acceptable level. If he won't eat, you can syringe feed or administer a small amount of syrup.

Low numbers WITH MILD SYMPTOMS-feed first OR give the syrup or honey followed by food until the BG rises to acceptable level & symptoms disappear. The syrup can be mixed with wet food or poured over dry if the cat will eat the mixture. If won't eat-syringe feed. Again, you have the option of the higher carb wet or you can use the dry but the dry will take longer to clear the system.
 
Jerry dutchboy said:
Ok, what was your last test number and how long ago was it? I'm not that familiar with MMOL numbers so had to print out a conversion chart before I answered.
If my conversion chart is correct a 4mmol/l is 72 mg/dl which is a nice safe number so no need to panic just yet. how long has it been since shot time?
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Thats correct Jerry :)!
 
Just tested again....he's at 4.1 so the honey doesn't seem to be making much difference? Will do an a/d mix now w/honey?
 
But if you already fed, don't worry about it. No worries...obviously you just want to know he's safe given the health circumstances involved which complicate things.
 
Thank u so so so much everyone. I have put Jake back on the bed and left the room to have a quick cigarette and to update. Now 3:35am here. Just gave him a/d with about 1/2 teaspoon (or perhaps more) of honey mixed in....he dribbled a lot if it out but I think he got a fair bit in. My worry is that he will drop dangerously low while I'm sleeping.
 
Amy47 said:
Totally understandable. Feed him to get him where you need him to be to be safe...especially given the circumstances. You both deserve peace at this time. I'm so sorry to hear about Jake's cancer & thats he's going to pass. My thoughts & prayers are with you.
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Thank u so much. The vet today suggested it might be time to say goodbye. I decided to try chemo one last time. It's been a super sad day here. He's struggling but I don't feel he's told me he's ready to go quite yet, but I do know that day will be coming very soon.
 
Now 3:46am....if I test again now and he's still above 4, will I likely be safe to go back to sleep til 7am, or should I set the alarm for every hour to keep testing?
 
I'm tearful & so sorry for your news today. I will continue to send thoughts & prayers your way. You know your Jake well so you will know when its time. Until then, peace & love & purrs.
 
KittyCatJake said:
Now 3:46am....if I test again now and he's still above 4, will I likely be safe to go back to sleep til 7am, or should I set the alarm for every hour to keep testing?
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I would keep testing unless you know he's not going to drop. The concern/question I have but I can't answer (maybe you know) is how, if at all, the cancer is effecting his diabetes
 
To Amy47 -- Should he have just food now? no more honey?

Jakes's mom -- A few nights ago my cat went hypo and I had to test for 2 hours beyond his last food ingestion. I went every half hour and then hourly until he was safe. If his numbers fell again and I had to feed, then the 2 hours began again once he reached safe numbers. There are instructions in that first post I made here too -- time intervals. Also in the sticky.
 
I would like to see at least one test without food/honey influence to see where he is going. I still think he's at a safe number but kitty cats can be sneaky. Was the 4.1 the last reading you got? That was 30 mins ago. Get another test and see where he's at. No more food for a while.
 
KittyCatJake said:
Now 3:46am....if I test again now and he's still above 4, will I likely be safe to go back to sleep til 7am, or should I set the alarm for every hour to keep testing?
Click to expand...
you may need to stay up a bit...
take a test and hold on honey unless he below 4. Give some food instead and recheck in 45 min.
There is chance that honey will wear off and he will drop
 
Dandelion said:
To Amy47 -- Should he have just food now? no more honey?

Jakes's mom -- A few nights ago my cat went hypo and I had to test for 2 hours beyond his last food ingestion. I went every half hour and then hourly until he was safe. If his numbers fell again and I had to feed, then the 2 hours began again once he reached safe numbers. There are instructions in that first post I made here too -- time intervals. Also in the sticky.
Click to expand...

I agree with Jerry--he's in a good place. Get a # & then go from there. Hopefully its increasing, but need to see that without the food/honey influence
 
Going to set alarm for 5am and test again? I hope I don't sleep through it! Will answer everyone's questions when I've had some sleep. I've been off work since Tuesday with a bad virus and though I was feeling much better today, unfortunately I don't have the energy to pull an all nighter without some naps. Can't thank you all enough for your help! Will post his next test result in about an hour.
Edited to add - have set 2 alarms so hopefully there is no chance I sleep through them!
 
@Amy47 I am so sorry but this tag just came in a few moments ago. I’m sorry I didn’t get it earlier today.

I also agree with Sienne. There is no reason to give insulin at this point and then have to worry about somehow keeping the numbers up.

I’m so sorry about your sweet boy. When it is his time, I hope he crosses in peace.
 
I can't thank you all enough for your kind assistance and support last night! Update is, that at 7 this morning Jake was at 14.9, so rather than giving him the full unit, I gave him a half unit. Tested him a short while ago before 7pm shot and he was at 11.9 so I've decided to skip tonight. I have to be out for work tomorrow, so unless his numbers are really high, I will likely skip that shot too as I don't want to have to worry about his numbers dropping too low while I'm away. In fact, I think that the right thing to do may be to stop it altogether given his recent relatively low numbers (compared to last week which were quite high) and because as some are pointing out, I should probably focus on quality time with him and this constant poking and prodding etc is not something he enjoys. He has coped well with yesterday's chemo and seems relatively comfortable today, but it certainly hasn't resulted in any sort of miraculous improvement sadly. I will intermittently probably continue to check him to make sure he hasn't gone seriously high again, but it's looking like that is not going to happen at this stage. Hence, this may be my last post before he passes. Again, thank u so so so much everyone....I so appreciate you helping me through this.
 
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I am so sorry the Jake is so ill and you must be heartbroken. Spend the time together rather than poke and prod and spoil the little guy. Give Jake an extra scritch from me:bighug:
 
I will continue to send thoughts, prayers & love your way. May the final days you & Jake have be as peaceful as possible. Know that I & others who read this will be thinking about you during this difficult time & the days ahead. Please post back if you need anything or just would like some support from people who are able to relate to your situation. I believe there is a grief link on the main forum page. Again, thoughts, prayers & love to you & Jake.
 
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