Took my appx. 13 year old guy to the vet the other day because he hadn't eaten for about 3 days (his diet has been mainly 6 oz. canned food with maybe a tablespoon of dry food each day). He was dehydrated and constipated, so the vet kept him overnight. When the blood came back the next morning it turned out to be DKA, so I rushed him right to the hospital where he has been for 3 days. They tell me he has done really well and should be ready to come home tomorrow. (His last checkup was 6 mos ago and there was no sign of diabetes, and up until last week he had been acting perfectly normally).
I am a bit worried because I don't quite know what to expect. I have had him for 4 years and he has always been a bit unusual. He will skip a meal entirely, not touch his dinner for hours but then eat it all in the middle of the night, ignore water for a day but then stand at the sink and meow until I turn the faucet on for him, be completely lazy for a day or two at a time but then get energetic... So it's really hard to discern when he is acting strangely or when he is just being himself (ie, him not eating didn't set off any alarms for me until the 3rd day because he has often gone for 2 days just picking at his food).
Long story short, from what I have been reading it seems like a regular eating schedule is important to proper insulin administration, but that has just never been his way. Unfortunately I work long hours so giving him a shot every 12 hours will be difficult but doable. But if I give him a shot at 8am and then come home at 8 to give him another, what happens if he won't eat his dinner? I'm also wondering how you really know how much water a cat drinks when you aren't home (to know when he might be drinking more than normal).
Also, blood testing. How often should this be done? (Some things I read say every day or twice a day, other things say every few days...).
Sorry if these are really basic questions but I'm trying to calm myself down before the doctor goes through everything with me as part of the discharge process.
I am a bit worried because I don't quite know what to expect. I have had him for 4 years and he has always been a bit unusual. He will skip a meal entirely, not touch his dinner for hours but then eat it all in the middle of the night, ignore water for a day but then stand at the sink and meow until I turn the faucet on for him, be completely lazy for a day or two at a time but then get energetic... So it's really hard to discern when he is acting strangely or when he is just being himself (ie, him not eating didn't set off any alarms for me until the 3rd day because he has often gone for 2 days just picking at his food).
Long story short, from what I have been reading it seems like a regular eating schedule is important to proper insulin administration, but that has just never been his way. Unfortunately I work long hours so giving him a shot every 12 hours will be difficult but doable. But if I give him a shot at 8am and then come home at 8 to give him another, what happens if he won't eat his dinner? I'm also wondering how you really know how much water a cat drinks when you aren't home (to know when he might be drinking more than normal).
Also, blood testing. How often should this be done? (Some things I read say every day or twice a day, other things say every few days...).
Sorry if these are really basic questions but I'm trying to calm myself down before the doctor goes through everything with me as part of the discharge process.
