Brianna & Xander
Very Active Member
Previous post: 9/27/25
Thank you so, so much to everyone for your thoughts, wishes and encouragement/comfort yesterday as we were at the emergency vet!
As a recap: He wouldn't eat, beyond the usual level of difficulty we have with him. Just nothing, not even things he normally loves. He was incredibly lethargic and when I would get him up to try to eat, he would just shake slightly and twitch a bit. To me personally, he just seemed to be in immense pain. He had 8 teeth extracted on Monday and only 3 days of Onsior, so he ran out of that on Thursday. That combined with having had insulin and our vet's office being closed on weekends, I decided it might be time for the emergency vet.
Upon arrival and initial exam they drew some blood, and AFAIK the only notable result was his WBC being elevated. (I don't have copies of any of the labs, but when his urine they sent out comes back later I'll request copies). Initially they wanted to hospitalize him for 48 hours and seemingly mainly find out if he had a UTI or other GI issue going on. This was going to be about $8k which isn't something we can do. They offered to get a quote for a 24 hour hospitalization, but that was still more than half and what if it didn't work anyway?
Meanwhile I was just thinking that I was so sure that the problem was mouth pain. The likelihood that he's in intense pain after running out of his few mild pain meds less than a week after major dental seems more likely than that he suddenly developed something GI-related that was this dramatic 3 days after they looked and saw only a mild intestinal thickening. I felt like the hospitalization was too broad/focused on the possible UTI, and was afraid that we were going to end up having to put him down because we couldn't afford that, when the problem was probably the obvious one: his mouth. So I did what was very hard for me and advocated for focus on the mouth. The doctor then said she'd be comfortable sending him home with pain meds to see how he fares (since if it's his mouth, that will probably make him eat again), and if he didn't eat by morning, to come back in. Since it's possible he has an infection (either his mouth or the UTI), I suggested maybe starting the antibiotics they had wanted to start during hospitalization anyway and they agreed that was a good idea; they'll just tell me to discontinue if his urinalysis comes back negative.
When they checked his BG there he was only in the 200s which is surprisingly not bad for the stress he was in. Libre later showed he was in the 50s-60s through the middle stretch (probably when he was being left alone in the kennel, it went up before and after when he was being handled). If he was capable of being that low at the vet where he skyrockets, that really shows that insulin working, especially with his not eating!
So before we left he got subcutaneous fluids (as far from his Libre as possible, thanks to the reminder from @Staci & Ivy !
), an injection of Cerenia and the first dose of the antibiotic. We were sent home with all liquid meds (since he won't reliably eat food, we can't crush pills into it): Gabapentin, Buprenorphine and ClavaMox. Vet tech showed us how to administer them (even she said he resists more than expected and is difficult) by doing the first dose.
When we got home he was immediately awake and restless, talkative and cuddly. The same super high reaction to the bupe. We were fully expecting to have to be up all night biting our nails waiting to see if he'd eat anything, but he was very excited about food and ate right away.
It's possible the Cerenia injection helped, but I really think just not having his mouth hurt is what made the difference. I fully think my gut was right. We gave Cerenia, ondansetron and Mirataz yesterday to literally no effect (and they said the injection wasn't necessarily any stronger, just faster).
This morning we gave him all 3 liquid meds ourselves and yeah, it's hard. Never seen him hate anything so much, it takes 2 of us and it was very difficult. Also hate having to stick our fingers in his poor sore mouth!
SO, that leads me to the unfortunate note that we're just gonna have to pause insulin until stuff calms down. If we try to do all that while he's getting these oral meds twice/day he'll never let us near him again. We're all traumatized, especially him. Also, just feel like it's too much to have to manage all those meds and how high they make him on top of managing insulin when it's not positive yet that he will consistently eat.
So... so far so good. I am so, so happy that he's here with me, cuddling and purring and with a full belly instead of in a cold metal kennel wondering why we'd abandoned him. If I'd had to (and could afford it) I would have done it, but I just couldn't stand the idea of him being so sad and afraid and alone.
Thank you all again for your support yesterday. I read each and every comment, even if I didn't end up being able to respond to it.
Pic is from the night before all this happened, but it's cute.
Thank you so, so much to everyone for your thoughts, wishes and encouragement/comfort yesterday as we were at the emergency vet!
As a recap: He wouldn't eat, beyond the usual level of difficulty we have with him. Just nothing, not even things he normally loves. He was incredibly lethargic and when I would get him up to try to eat, he would just shake slightly and twitch a bit. To me personally, he just seemed to be in immense pain. He had 8 teeth extracted on Monday and only 3 days of Onsior, so he ran out of that on Thursday. That combined with having had insulin and our vet's office being closed on weekends, I decided it might be time for the emergency vet.
Upon arrival and initial exam they drew some blood, and AFAIK the only notable result was his WBC being elevated. (I don't have copies of any of the labs, but when his urine they sent out comes back later I'll request copies). Initially they wanted to hospitalize him for 48 hours and seemingly mainly find out if he had a UTI or other GI issue going on. This was going to be about $8k which isn't something we can do. They offered to get a quote for a 24 hour hospitalization, but that was still more than half and what if it didn't work anyway?
Meanwhile I was just thinking that I was so sure that the problem was mouth pain. The likelihood that he's in intense pain after running out of his few mild pain meds less than a week after major dental seems more likely than that he suddenly developed something GI-related that was this dramatic 3 days after they looked and saw only a mild intestinal thickening. I felt like the hospitalization was too broad/focused on the possible UTI, and was afraid that we were going to end up having to put him down because we couldn't afford that, when the problem was probably the obvious one: his mouth. So I did what was very hard for me and advocated for focus on the mouth. The doctor then said she'd be comfortable sending him home with pain meds to see how he fares (since if it's his mouth, that will probably make him eat again), and if he didn't eat by morning, to come back in. Since it's possible he has an infection (either his mouth or the UTI), I suggested maybe starting the antibiotics they had wanted to start during hospitalization anyway and they agreed that was a good idea; they'll just tell me to discontinue if his urinalysis comes back negative.
When they checked his BG there he was only in the 200s which is surprisingly not bad for the stress he was in. Libre later showed he was in the 50s-60s through the middle stretch (probably when he was being left alone in the kennel, it went up before and after when he was being handled). If he was capable of being that low at the vet where he skyrockets, that really shows that insulin working, especially with his not eating!
So before we left he got subcutaneous fluids (as far from his Libre as possible, thanks to the reminder from @Staci & Ivy !
), an injection of Cerenia and the first dose of the antibiotic. We were sent home with all liquid meds (since he won't reliably eat food, we can't crush pills into it): Gabapentin, Buprenorphine and ClavaMox. Vet tech showed us how to administer them (even she said he resists more than expected and is difficult) by doing the first dose.When we got home he was immediately awake and restless, talkative and cuddly. The same super high reaction to the bupe. We were fully expecting to have to be up all night biting our nails waiting to see if he'd eat anything, but he was very excited about food and ate right away.
It's possible the Cerenia injection helped, but I really think just not having his mouth hurt is what made the difference. I fully think my gut was right. We gave Cerenia, ondansetron and Mirataz yesterday to literally no effect (and they said the injection wasn't necessarily any stronger, just faster).This morning we gave him all 3 liquid meds ourselves and yeah, it's hard. Never seen him hate anything so much, it takes 2 of us and it was very difficult. Also hate having to stick our fingers in his poor sore mouth!
SO, that leads me to the unfortunate note that we're just gonna have to pause insulin until stuff calms down. If we try to do all that while he's getting these oral meds twice/day he'll never let us near him again. We're all traumatized, especially him. Also, just feel like it's too much to have to manage all those meds and how high they make him on top of managing insulin when it's not positive yet that he will consistently eat.
So... so far so good. I am so, so happy that he's here with me, cuddling and purring and with a full belly instead of in a cold metal kennel wondering why we'd abandoned him. If I'd had to (and could afford it) I would have done it, but I just couldn't stand the idea of him being so sad and afraid and alone.
Thank you all again for your support yesterday. I read each and every comment, even if I didn't end up being able to respond to it.
Pic is from the night before all this happened, but it's cute.
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He deserved to be advocated for.
️
. Second AB type I chose pills which were way tinier. Routine was give a freeze dried treat, then another one, then a pill in tiny piece of pill pocket, followed immediately by another freeze dried treat. The lesson I learned, make giving meds more than just about giving meds. Distractions help.
