5/17 Norris - BG 500+ Diagnosed last week

N

Norristhecat

Member Since 2026
I am setting up the spreadsheet as we speak. Norris was discharged from a Vet ER last Tuesday after 5 days ICU with DKA.

He was discharged with a esophageal feeding tube and has not been able to eat or drink on his own. He is on 1u of Lantis every 12 hours.

He has a follow up with a specialist on Tuesday, I was told that checking his BG was not necessary until then and he will get a continuous BG monitor placed then. He hasn't been improving so I picked up a human BG meter yesterday and had a hard time getting enough blood from his ear.

Yesterday his BG was 547 three hours after his first insulin.

Today about the same time it was too high to read (>600). Then 580 an hour later.

We finally got the vet to call us back and they said to take him somewhere to be seen. I literally have no money or credit left, they have drained me of $18,500, I don't know what to do.
 
Norristhecat said:
I am setting up the spreadsheet as we speak. Norris was discharged from a Vet ER last Tuesday after 5 days ICU with DKA.

He was discharged with a esophageal feeding tube and has not been able to eat or drink on his own. He is on 1u of Lantis every 12 hours.

He has a follow up with a specialist on Tuesday, I was told that checking his BG was not necessary until then and he will get a continuous BG monitor placed then. He hasn't been improving so I picked up a human BG meter yesterday and had a hard time getting enough blood from his ear.

Yesterday his BG was 547 three hours after his first insulin.

Today about the same time it was too high to read (>600). Then 580 an hour later.

We finally got the vet to call us back and they said to take him somewhere to be seen. I literally have no money or credit left, they have drained me of $18,500, I don't know what to do.
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Welcome to FDMB. I moved your post here as all new members are required to start in Main Health. I also took off the emergency prefix as we save that for hypos and immediate life-threatening emergencies.

I’m very sorry to hear your kitty has been ill with DKA. First, you need to be testing him. I’m glad you got the supplies to do so. Here is a post on testing that might help you a little bit as there is a learning curve and there is a specific place you want to poke the ear. Please read the first post within that as I have put photos, etc that will help. The first YouTube video is the one we used to learn how to hometest.

Please do not wait to test him until you see the specialist. We rely heavily on data and if we can’t see what he’s doing, it makes it difficult for us to help just based on a few numbers. While some of our members use the CGM, it has issues reading too high at high numbers and too low at low ones so the best and most accurate way to test if he will let you is by handheld meter and you poking his ear. Please do not allow a vet to talk you into buying a pet meter; it is not necessary and the human meter you purchased is perfectly fine.

If you need help doing the spreadsheet, please send me a private message (click on my user name to the left and “send direct message” and I can do it for you quickly.

A few questions:
--what kind of food do you have him on with the feeding tube?
--usually DKA is due to an infection + not enough calories/fluid + not enough insulin; did they find the source of any infection?
--was the DKA resolved and his ketones down when they released him?
--did they release him with you being able to give him subq fluids at home for a short time?
--are you testing ketones (you can buy a ketone meter on Amazon but, for right now, even buying urine ketostix and checking his urine will help. We need to know if the ketones are coming down
--how is his demeanor? Is he just lethargic or is he moving around some?

When we help members with DKA, we advise the caregiver (CG) to be sure you are feeding him 1.5x his normal calories and lots of extra liquid. Of course, you have to be careful with a feeding tube and that’s why giving subq fluids at home can help. You will need a prescription to get subq fluids but you can order them from Chewy’s once you have a prescription.

We do have dosing methods to increase the insulin a bit faster, safely, so you can start seeing some improvement there which will help with the DKA. I can’t believe they put him on 1u and said just to leave him on it until you could see the specialist.

Insofar as taking him somewhere now, only you can decide that. We do have alot of experience with treating DKA cats once they are released from the clinic but only you know how bad it is. It is typically better for them to be there until the ketones are way down and then we can help keep them from another episode.

This post will help you get started here. We do need info requested in the signature block but I can also help you with that if you have your hands full. Just let me know.
 
A few questions:
--what kind of food do you have him on with the feeding tube?

A slurry of fancy feast chicken pate and ensure, 200 kcal per day over 3 meals. Initially the wet food in the slurry was Royal Canin digestive but they didn't give us enough and havent gotten around to approving the prescription.

--usually DKA is due to an infection + not enough calories/fluid + not enough insulin; did they find the source of any infection?

The labs indicated no UTI,there is liver and pancreas inflammation. He's on two different antibiotics for that.

--was the DKA resolved and his ketones down when they released him?

They were down, by how much I do not know, I'm trying to get the records from them now

--did they release him with you being able to give him subq fluids at home for a short time?

No, just the feeding tube.

--are you testing ketones (you can buy a ketone meter on Amazon but, for right now, even buying urine ketostix and checking his urine will help. We need to know if the ketones are coming down

I have strips and the last reading showed some ketones like 1.5. he's peeing constantly.

--how is his demeanor? Is he just lethargic or is he moving around some?

He's miserable. He gags if I offer him food and he wants to drink water but falls into it. He's been crying/growling today like he's in pain. He's having trouble walking like he can't feel his feet.



Thank you so much for the help. We called a different ER and are going to take him there, they seem more willing to work with us than the other places. I'm going to bring up the subq fluids. You have already helped so much.

 
Norristhecat said:
A few questions:
--what kind of food do you have him on with the feeding tube?

A slurry of fancy feast chicken pate and ensure, 200 kcal per day over 3 meals. Initially the wet food in the slurry was Royal Canin digestive but they didn't give us enough and havent gotten around to approving the prescription.

--usually DKA is due to an infection + not enough calories/fluid + not enough insulin; did they find the source of any infection?

The labs indicated no UTI,there is liver and pancreas inflammation. He's on two different antibiotics for that.

--was the DKA resolved and his ketones down when they released him?

They were down, by how much I do not know, I'm trying to get the records from them now

--did they release him with you being able to give him subq fluids at home for a short time?

No, just the feeding tube.

--are you testing ketones (you can buy a ketone meter on Amazon but, for right now, even buying urine ketostix and checking his urine will help. We need to know if the ketones are coming down

I have strips and the last reading showed some ketones like 1.5. he's peeing constantly.

--how is his demeanor? Is he just lethargic or is he moving around some?

He's miserable. He gags if I offer him food and he wants to drink water but falls into it. He's been crying/growling today like he's in pain. He's having trouble walking like he can't feel his feet.



Thank you so much for the help. We called a different ER and are going to take him there, they seem more willing to work with us than the other places. I'm going to bring up the subq fluids. You have already helped so much.
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Please be sure you ask for medications for nausea: cerenia AND ondansetron. You need both. Cerenia is best for vomiting but also has anti-nausea properties so both meds work nausea from different modalities. That will help battle the nausea he is feeling which is making him gag. Also, antibiotics make them nauseous. I’m just glad they have him on some.

You might also talk to them about pain meds like buprenorphine. They can give it to you in the form where you can use a needless syringe to put it on his gums. It has a wide range of dosing and I always start on the lower end and see if it helps. Quite often, if you give what they feel is a “normal” dose, it’s too much. So ask them about the dosing range for a cat his size.

He definitely needs more calories than that. I’m not sure what his weight is but 200 calories isn’t much. I believe it’s usually 20-25 calories per pound and you need to feed 1.5x that. If you can get Royal Canin Recovery or Hills a/d, they are both very high in calories so you don’t have to feed as much for the calories. Recovery is much lower in carbs than the a/d but, our goal is not so much to worry about carbs as it is to get calories in him. Did they teach you how to clean his feeding tube?

I’m going to tag @Bron and Sheba (GA) as she is always a huge help for our members with DKA kitties. She might remember how you purge that feeding tube and how often. IF she doesn’t, I can search back through past posts and see what I can find.

On the ketones, 1.5 is trace so that’s ok. We can work with that.

Please keep us updated.
 
I agree with everything Marje has said.
Definitely ask for some antinausea medications. Most DKA kitties are nauseated for a time, while recovering from DKA and need the help of either cerenia and/ or ondansetron.
To ensure the feeding tube remains patent, before and after each feed, run through 5 mls of warm water.
If you go to the emergency, you can ask them to check the tube while you are there.
The Hills a/d or the Royal Canin Recovery Food is already thinned and can be put straight into the tube without having to make it into a slurry.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I agree with everything Marje has said.
Definitely ask for some antinausea medications. Most DKA kitties are nauseated for a time, while recovering from DKA and need the help of either cerenia and/ or ondansetron.
To ensure the feeding tube remains patent, before and after each feed, run through 5 mls of warm water.
If you go to the emergency, you can ask them to check the tube while you are there.
The Hills a/d or the Royal Canin Recovery Food is already thinned and can be put straight into the tube without having to make it into a slurry.
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Thank you, Bron. You’re the best. In the “old days” ;), I remember the experienced tube feeding people said to flush it with cola.

@Norristhecat You might want to get Norris a Kitty Kollar if you don’t already have one.
 
Thank you so much everyone. He is being admitted, they checked his BG and it's over 700 and his body temp is 91F. Trace ketones similar to how it tested at home. Blood pressure is very low and they are having trouble getting a pulse it's so low.

They will work on stabilizing him, getting his body temp up, getting his BG under control. Tomorrow I'm going to talk to them about transitioning him w/ home administered subq fluids. I hope they can get him into better shape.
 
Norristhecat said:
Thank you so much everyone. He is being admitted, they checked his BG and it's over 700 and his body temp is 91F. Trace ketones similar to how it tested at home. Blood pressure is very low and they are having trouble getting a pulse it's so low.

They will work on stabilizing him, getting his body temp up, getting his BG under control. Tomorrow I'm going to talk to them about transitioning him w/ home administered subq fluids. I hope they can get him into better shape.
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I’m so sorry his vitals are so poor. Keeping him in our prayers. Please keep us posted and let us know how we can help.
 
Thank you for your kind help today. Norris passed at the vet, he stopped breathing and I authorized euthanasia. His WBC count was over 60k, he was turning yellow, he just didn't have a chance at this point.
 
Norristhecat said:
Thank you for your kind help today. Norris passed at the vet, he stopped breathing and I authorized euthanasia. His WBC count was over 60k, he was turning yellow, he just didn't have a chance at this point.
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I am so very, very sorry. Something was going on with that sweet boy beyond FD. If he was yellow, his liver was affected.

I don’t know if this will bring you peace in any way but we have a Grief page which lists many ways to honor and memorialize your baby as well as perhaps help you.

Gentle journey, sweet Norris 🌈🌈🌈
 
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