Adobe has crossed...:`(

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Betty & Adobe

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Hi all,

My name is Betty and I have a 16.5 year old diabetic kitty named Adobe. She was diagnosed in 2001 and has been doing quite well up until about a few weeks ago. She had been on Humulin L up until the point that they stopped making it and since then has been on Levemir twice daily, 12 hours apart. She currently takes 1 unit per shot but when she was diagnosed with diabetes, she was taking 7 units per shot so that shows how far she has come.

I've been very worried about her the last week or so. She has gradually declined and while I know she is getting old and has done pretty well for a diabetic kitty, it breaks my heart to see her deteriorate like this. I'm simply beside myself and don't know what to do. She has not been eating or drinking very much, especially in the last few days. I had to force her to drink water through a syringe today and tonight I will be doing the same with some watered down food. I think she is dehydrated as her nose is no longer wet. Her coat is very greasy and dandruffy and she has pretty much stopped grooming herself. I have been trying to wipe her down and keep brushing her hair but it is still not in great condition. I've been thinking of going out and getting those pet wipes to help clean her up.

Her weight currently stands at 11 lbs which is in the neighbourhood of what it has usually been but I'm afraid that won't last long if she keeps eating like a bird. We had a vet appointment for Wednesday but I'm thinking we should take her in on Monday...

Seeing how it is Saturday night and we would like to avoid taking her to emerg if at all possible, can any of you suggest things that we can do to help make her comfortable until she can be seen by a vet? I believe her blood sugars are still okay but will be doing another curve tomorrow.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance from the bottom of my heart,
Betty :`(
 
Re: Caring for an elderly diabetic kitty

Hi so very sorry Betty about your kitty.Its very important to get her to eat.Try maybe some parmasen cheese sprinkle on her food and water it down so she will get more water. Also put ADVICE in your subject line to get more eyes on you. I am sending you Angels and Healing green light to help your girl. Sorry I can`t be of more help.This is the best place to help your girl and yes a trip to the vet before Wed maybe needed. I hope things turn our good. Bless you Kath
 
Re: Caring for an elderly diabetic kitty

You can also put some food in a blender, add some water and blend it up so you can syringe it to her. She needs both food and water.

Please get her in to a vet as soon as possible. These may be signs of pancreatitis or renal or other issues, for which there are things the vet and you can do to make her more comfortable. I am not diagnosing, just mentioning issues we have seen with our own kitties when they've stopped eating.

She has been diabetic for a long time! You have cared for her very well. Hopefully you can find the cause and help her eat again.
 
Re: Caring for an elderly diabetic kitty

Are you currently hometesting?

My little man has been FD for over 5 years and is about 18 yrs young, not really sure, he was right before his dx and the vet thought about 13, but it's hard to say.

I'd go for bloodwork sooner to make sure something else is going on.
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

I hope I am posting this correctly...I'm kind of confused on how or if you can reply to each person individually but since I can't figure it out, I hope this reaches all of you!

Thank you for all your replies! We ended up taking Adobe to emerg and they did ketone testing on her...nothing there but her blood sugar was through the roof! They are keeping her overnight and doing all the bloodwork on her so hopefully we will find out what is going on with her by the morning. They did mention she seemed very sensitive in the kidney area when they palpated her abdomen.

And thank you all for keeping her in your thoughts! I can't even tell you how much that is appreciated!

Betty
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Betty, when you hit Post a reply, the message comes up on the thread so everyone can see it.

So very glad you took her into ER. She'll get the help she needs and maybe you'll get some info on what may be wrong, if anything, besides high bg numbers. Please post back tomorrow when you know how she is doing and let us all know. Sending prayers that your girl will be just fine.
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Edited to add I'm so glad you took your kitty to the ER. Hoping for a speedy recovery.


In November, Anne & French Fry posted this recipe for getting a cat to eat -- it is really important that your kitty eat as he can quickly develop liver issues -- and so I stashed it in a file in case it was ever needed. Perhaps it can help you now. Please get your kitty to a vet very soon.

THE '~LIVER SHAKE~' FOR SICK CATS

This liquid food is appropriate for cats suffering from conditions where they are eating very little or not at all such as anemias, leukemias, deficiency states with symptoms of lethargy, listlessness, and weakness.

1 cup RAW LIVER (BEEF, or CHICKEN)
1 cup FRESH CARROT JUICE or V-8, or Tomatoe Juice
1/4 cup *FRESH FILTERED WATER
1 RAW EGG YOLK
1 tsp.KELP POWDER OR SPIRULINA


COMBINE AND MIX IN A BLENDER UNTIL LIQUEFIED. (Note: it will be frothy)

Dosage:

Administer 10cc daily 3-6 times a day. (6Occ per day max)

Some cats will need to be force-fed with a syringe, while others will drink it out of a bowl.

This food has a sweet and salty taste, and the energetic properties of tonifying (energy boosting), warming and stimulating and supports the kidneys, spleen, liver and stomach.

This drink is a complete dinner for a sick cat until they feel good enough to eat by themselves again.

*Substitute rice water if the cat has diarrhea. Rice water
is made by boiling white rice (2 Tbsp) with water (1cup) for 30 minutes.
This liquid aids digestion and assimilation and inhibits the symptoms of diarrhea.

Deborah C. Mallu,DVM
Holistic Veterinary Care
215 Disney lane
Sedona, AZ 86336
Tel 520-282-5651
Fax 520-282-3586
Email canyonct@sedona.net


FYI -Dr. Mallu was asked about forwarding the Liver Shake recipe on to allo vets, and she said to credit it to Dr. Ihor Basko in Kauai, Hawaii
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Your baby has been extra sweet for a long time and you must have taken such good care of her to keep her going so long. My Dude is on Lev. also - and is 16.

I'm glad you took her to ER - it's so important to keep them eating if possible. I hope that they're able to find the problem and get her back to feeling good again - and get those numbers back down where they should be.

Will be watching for your post - and sending many healing vibes your way.

Emmy & Dude (& Mittsi too)
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Just got a call from emerg...my head is swimming with numbers and I couldn't even follow most of the values she mentioned. Basically all her renal values are through the roof but her white blood cell count was normal. She said that Adobe is either having a kidney infection or going into renal failure. She is going to treat her as though she has an infection and give her antibiotics to see if she gets better. If not, I'm afraid that it may be the latter and our choice on what to do next will be made for us.

I've been a mess all day over this and now I am just in disbelief. I truly hope that this isn't going to be it for her but if it is, that she goes quickly.

Will update when I find out more.

Betty :`(
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

I'm so sorry that your kitty is in emerg, but it sounds like the right place for her right now. This link it to a post that just went up with all sorts of info about CRF and FD. You might want to read up a bit so that you are prepared to talk to the vet about possible treatments for Adobe.

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=33485
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Betty & Adobe said:
Just got a call from emerg...my head is swimming with numbers and I couldn't even follow most of the values she mentioned. Basically all her renal values are through the roof but her white blood cell count was normal. She said that Adobe is either having a kidney infection or going into renal failure. She is going to treat her as though she has an infection and give her antibiotics to see if she gets better. If not, I'm afraid that it may be the latter and our choice on what to do next will be made for us.
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Did they put her on IV fluids? Were x-rays done to rule out kidney/bladder stones?

Can you get hold of the bloodwork and urinalysis, and post her renal values here?

I don't want to raise false hope - much depends on how bad her values are, and how she responds to IV fluids and the antibiotics - but some cats (not all) have managed to stabilize or improve after treatment. http://felinecrf.org/success_stories.htm
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

I'm really happy to report that things have turned around for Adobe. Not completely but it is a start. She is feeling better and is eating again. I'll be seeing her this afternoon during visiting hours and the vet said that he may have some new data for us by then. My hubby talked to him so right now I'm not sure if we're dealing with an infection or kidney disease.

Here are the lab values from Saturday and then I will follow them up with Sunday's. I am only posting the ones that are abnormal unless any of you need the other data. Also, I live in Canada so I am assuming the units will be different than those used in the US but I can give you the reference ranges as a comparison and hopefully it will make sense!

Last night approximately 11:00 pm
Saturday Hematology:
Test / Results / Reference Range
%LYMPHS / 12.8% / 20.0 - 55.0
%MONOS / 6.9% / 1.0 - 3.0

Saturday Chemistry:
Test / Results / Reference Range
TP / 88 g/L / 54 - 82
Potassium / 3.6 mmol/L / 3.7 - 5.8
AMYL / 2273 U/L / 300 - 1100
BUN/UREA / >64.3 mmol/L / 3.6 - 10.7
CREA / 957 umol/L / 27 - 186
GLU / 21.0 mmol/L / 3.9 - 8.3
PHOS / 6.17 mmol/L / 1.10 - 2.74

As of this morning, approximately 12 hours later...
Sunday Hematology:
Test / Results / Reference Range
LYMPHS / 0.97 10^9/l / 1.5 - 7.00
%LYMPHS / 9.6% / 20.0 - 55.0
%MONOS / 5.9% / 1.0 - 3.0
%NEUT / 84.2% / 35.0 - 80.0

Sunday Chemistry:
Test / Results / Reference Range
Potassium / 3.4 mmol/L / 3.7 - 5.8
AMYL / 1734 U/L / 300 - 1100
BUN/UREA / > 64.3 mmol/L / 3.6 - 10.7
Ca / 3.04 mmol/L / 2.00 - 2.95
CREA / 875 umol/L / 27 - 186
GLU / 19.0 mmol/L / 3.9 - 8.3
PHOS / 4.28 mmol/L / 1.10 - 2.74

So that is where we're sitting right now. The vet said he was going to run some more labs today and hopes to have the results by the time we come for visiting hours. From what I can tell, the values are looking better but still not great and Adobe will need to stay in the hospital for at least another day or two.

If any of you can make sense of these numbers, I would very much appreciate it! I am feeling so overwhelmed but ready to nurse my baby back to health!

Thank you so much for all the support...it means so much, I cannot express that enough for all the time that all of you take to respond.

Betty
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

The following high values:
BUN/UREA / > 64.3 mmol/L / 3.6 - 10.7
CREA / 875 umol/L / 27 - 186
PHOS / 4.28 mmol/L / 1.10 - 2.74
suggest to me kidney problems. Did the vet say anything in that regard?
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

All he mentioned was that she has an infection and that she has kidney disease. Unfortunately I was not on the phone with him...my husband was but he's not great at relaying information. I will be able to get more information this afternoon when I go visit Adobe in a few hours and talk to the vet at the same time.
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

it is too early to tell for sure, but it looks like he may be responding to treatment, so that's positive. ask if they got a USG (urine specific gravity). he's on IV fluids?
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Betty I am praying for your little Adobe.Sounds like maybe she is feeling a little better Sending Angels and tons of Healing green light to Adobe. Hugs to you and hubby too Kath
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Just got back from seeing Adobe...she seems to be looking and feeling better but still in rough shape. I think the next lab results will tell us a lot more as to whether she is going to turn the corner or not. The vet seems hopeful and said that her creatinine really improved from Saturday to Sunday so that was promising. She is on IV fluids and aggressive antibiotics. Her USG was 1.019 (not sure of the units) and water is 1.000 so it is very dilute. I thought he said that normal was 10.35 or was it 1.035? In any case, the number is not good. All the numbers together indicate severe renal failure. The vet said that he has seen cats come in with numbers just as bad or worse but each case is different and of course, Adobe's age is working against her as well...

He did mention the option of humanely letting her go...not as something I should do but that if it was something I wanted due to expenses or whatnot, he said he would be supportive of that decision. However, when he heard that I wanted her to stay at least another day to see where her labs go, he said that if Adobe was his cat, that's what he would do. He also asked us if we wanted to do an ultrasound. He said that she more than likely has pyelonephritis, which the ultrasound would confirm, but it also would show them if there's something else that they can't detect such as cancer or a tumor. However, they would still continue to treat her with the same meds regardless of whether there is an ultrasound or not.

Would you go ahead with an ultrasound? I'm not quite at my limit (yet) expense-wise, however, depending on how many more days she needs to stay, we will need to stop at some point. The U/S is $400-500. My husband and I already agreed that we would try to do everything we can to help her now but if it doesn't work, we can't financially continue to do this if she goes downhill after she comes home.
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

I am glad to hear she is a little better.

I will continue to keep you and Adobe in my prayers.

Normal USG is around 1.040
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Betty & Adobe said:
Her USG was 1.019 (not sure of the units) and water is 1.000 so it is very dilute. I thought he said that normal was 10.35 or was it 1.035? In any case, the number is not good. All the numbers together indicate severe renal failure. The vet said that he has seen cats come in with numbers just as bad or worse but each case is different and of course, Adobe's age is working against her as well...
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1.019 isn't great, but it could be much worse. And USG can fluctuate. (The USG was before intensive IV fluids started, right?) What it does indicate is that there is indeed kidney insufficiency. Meowzi's USG in Sept. 2009, more than a year ago, was 1.013. But her renal values were not as elevated as Adobe; then again, she was not dealing with pyelonephritis.

Normal USG that we like to see is probably above 1.040. It's read "ten-forty." 1.035 is read "ten-thirty-five."

He did mention the option of humanely letting her go...not as something I should do but that if it was something I wanted due to expenses or whatnot, he said he would be supportive of that decision. However, when he heard that I wanted her to stay at least another day to see where her labs go, he said that if Adobe was his cat, that's what he would do.
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It may take more than a day for her labs to improve further, if they do. Please read this link You may even continue to see further improvement (or not) after Adobe returns home, as Thomas did at the linked site.

He also asked us if we wanted to do an ultrasound. He said that she more than likely has pyelonephritis, which the ultrasound would confirm, but it also would show them if there's something else that they can't detect such as cancer or a tumor. However, they would still continue to treat her with the same meds regardless of whether there is an ultrasound or not.

Would you go ahead with an ultrasound? I'm not quite at my limit (yet) expense-wise, however, depending on how many more days she needs to stay, we will need to stop at some point. The U/S is $400-500. My husband and I already agreed that we would try to do everything we can to help her now but if it doesn't work, we can't financially continue to do this if she goes downhill after she comes home.
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That's a difficult question. If it won't change her treatment, maybe the money can be better spent on another day of IV fluids (I've lost count how many days it's been) if the vet recommends it, or/as well as on supportive care for her when she returns home. If she stabilizes, or improves, which is the best case scenario, you may be looking at long-term home care that may include phosphorus binders to add to her food, meds, supplements, SQ fluids, and follow-up vet visits and tests. All but the last are usually not exorbitantly expensive, but they will add up over time. If resources are finite (and they usually are), the funds may be better reserved for these. In my opinion anyway; you may see different responses from others.
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

We got a call from the vet this morning to let us know that Adobe is doing even better than yesterday. She is brighter and more responsive and her vitals are stable. Her labs are getting better but she still needs to stay at the hospital for another day or two (at least). The vet said it would be best to have her stay there until her numbers either stop changing or start to bounce back up at which point we will know what kind of kidney function we have to work with.

Her abnormal lab results from today are as follows:
Chemistry on Monday, January 10:
Test / Results / Reference Range
Sodium / 159 mmol/L / 145-158
AMYL / 1950 U/L / 100 - 1200
BUN/UREA / 57.1 mmol/L / 5.0 - 12.9
Ca / 2.74 mmol/L / 2.05 - 2.70
CREA / 681 umol/L / 53 - 212
PHOS / 2.75 mmol/L / 0.77 - 2.65

Hematology on Monday, January 10:
Test / Results / Reference Range
HCT / 24% / 29 - 48
LYMPHS / 16% / 20 - 45
NEUT SEG / 79% / 35 - 75
RBC / 5.0 10^12/L / 5.9 - 9.9
ABS LYMPHS / 1.12 10^9/L / 1.20 - 8.00
HEMOGLOBIN / 80 g/L / 93 - 159

Unfortunately I couldn't go see her tonight as my three year old son was complaining of a possible bladder infection so we wound up in the ER at the Children's Hospital! I have definitely had my share of ERs in the past few days...:P! But thanks so much to all of you for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers!
 
Re: ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Sending Angels Prayers and tons of healing green light for Adobe and your son ,you and hubby. Good health for all Blessings all coming to your house Kath
 
Oh, Betty, I am so sorry to hear Adobe is gone. Heartbreaking that she seemed to be doing better. I hope it will help to know that you gave her a wonderful, love-filled life and were the best kitty mommy you could be when she got sick.
 
Just wanted to let all of you know that Adobe took a turn for the worse this morning and ended up having a stroke. We made the heartbreaking decision to let her go and just got back from the hospital. I am so incredibly sad yet at peace with the decision even though I was feeling absolutely tortured by it earlier today.

I want to give all of you a heartfelt thank you for all the help you have given us over the past few days. Everyone on this board is so selfless and supportive...Adobe and I and my family thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Betty :`(
 
(((((Betty and family))))) I am so sorry for your loss. You certainly gave your dear one all you could, and not just the past few days. Fly free, sweet Adobe. wings_cat
 
So very very sorry Betty but you gave her the gift of love no more pain for her . Bless you and your family ....Hugsssssss to all Kath
 
Aw, Betty, my heart goes out to you. What a wonderful caregiver you were for all those years of diabetes and you did all you could for her these last few days. You and DH have my deepest and most heartfelt sympathy on the loss of your precious Adobe wings_cat
 
I'm so sorry.... You did the right thing even though it's heartbreaking. Many hugs to you ((((Betty))))

Fly free sweet Adobe, joining the other sugarcats that have gone ahead
 
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