9/16 PMPS 405 Ear Infection Questions

[Donna & Doogle]

Good evening everyone! Sorry I have been on here but Doogle was doing so good for awhile didnt really need alot of help. But now Doogle has a bad ear infection and has obviously had one for awhile (just look at his numbers). Now Doogle has always been a bouncy kitty espeically at night but with this infection his numbers are horrible. Besides that he has been great (testing for ketones every chance we get, negative every time).

So my questions are:
1. How bad can I expect his BS to rise with the ear drops. He is on Otomax for 10 days, 1 drop in each ear twice a day plus cleaning with salicylic acid ear cleaner (Epi-Optic ). Should I get some Zymox to use along with the Otomax or wait and use it after it clears up.

2. We just upped his dose to 2.75u (had his 4th dose tonight). Should I go ahead and up it to 3 to try and keep the BS down with the infection or hold this dose for 2 more cycles.

3. Should I possibly look into using R in between shot times to try and keep things down and keep the dose he is at.

We arent sure how he even got the infection (he had no ear mites). I am wondering if he has allergies that effect him during certain times of the year (last time was Spring and this kinda started in July). I just want to make sure I keep his numbers down as much as possible to keep from having another DKA incident like we had last year (he is eating great and playful and been negative ever since).

So I just need some advice. As I am not home during the day anymore during the week, the DH takes care of him pretty much all week long while I work. He has gotten really good at listening to me about what to do so if we need to use R I can easily tell him how if someone gives me the info on what to do (Marje had told me once before how to use it).

I am going to be changing him to Levimer as soon as I am done with this last pen because after 2 years, although we are better, Doogle is such a bouncy kitty and I really think he will benefit from Levimer.

Thanks everyone and sorry I am away....but I am always reading and thinking about yall. I try and help out as much as I can on FB with Chris but still get way to busy to even do that during the week.

Love yall!!!!!!

 

[BJM]

Some cats are just prone to ear wax buildup, which provides a great breeding ground for bacteria and yeasts. The cleaning and treatment should help. Does the label indicate if there is a steroid in the drops? Some cats may show an increase in glucose levels with this, though not as much as oral meds would provoke.

 

[Donna & Doogle]

Yeah Otomax has a steroid and I know its probably going to raise his blood sugar. Which is why I asked should we up his dose to try and keep the numbers down or use like R to keep it down.

 

[BJM]

Because you are dealing with and treating infection, I would hesitate to raise the Lantus due to the carryover effects. They could last longer than it takes for the infection to resolve, and you could need to do a lot of steering if the glucose drops before the Lantus dose could be lowered. If someone can coach you on supplemental R during this treatment and recovery period, that might work better. I'm not on often enough to do that. The key points are to avoid overlapping nadirs, and start tiny - like drops or 0.25 units - and monitor hourly to figure out how it works in your cat, plus be prepared to steer numbers with medium/high carb food/syrup.

 

[Donna & Doogle]

Thank you BJ!!!! Hoping someone can guide me with this. If so I will pick some up Thursday when I get paid.

 

[BJM]

You might take a look at Ellie Kozak and how she is treating her cat to observe a way it works for 1 cat. Each cat is different, so your cat may need a different, customized schedule of dosing.