CONCERNED - Small Gag, Minor Puke

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KellieH

KellieH

Member Since 2020
Since Mr. Bigs' diagnosis on Sunday, I have followed the vet's instructions to the T, which really included change nothing in his eating routine until I can establish a vet locally. And administer his 2U shot 12hrs apart.

They were both fed 4-5 small meals per day since I'm retired and could. My current routine is at 6:45am I feed him 1/2 can (approx. 2.5oz) of his Friskies Chicken Shreds in gravy. Then administer the shot at 7am and observe him for the next couple of hours.

He then gets his lunch around 11:30am - today it was a 3oz can of FF Classic Chicken and I have always added water as he prefers "gravy."

He then gets his mid-afternoon snack around 3-3:30pm - today is was another 2.5oz of Friskies Chicken Shreds in gravy.

We are now at 2.5hrs after that meal and he just used the box, walked into the living room and slightly gagged and puked up maybe a 1/2-dollar size of that meal.

Should he still get his dinner and another shot at 7pm?

I'm just highly concerned since I've seen so many threads here with their cats thowing up after the shot.

Just wringing my hands now and hope someone can chime in.

Thank you!
 
I agree without testing it’s tricky. You’re saying that he only vomited a small amount and not the entire meal he ate?

Has he eaten since? Does he seem nauseated or do you think he’ll eat? I think if he eats his dinner it should be okay. You may want to consider home testing so in a situation like this you can monitor his bg levels after the shot :)
 
Here are some videos and tips. You are not hurting your cat. There are not as many nerve endings in the cat's ear as you think. Their ears do take a beating during cat fights.

You want to aim for the sweet spot.

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Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
I agree without testing it’s tricky. You’re saying that he only vomited a small amount and not the entire meal he ate?

Has he eaten since? Does he seem nauseated or do you think he’ll eat? I think if he eats his dinner it should be okay. You may want to consider home testing so in a situation like this you can monitor his bg levels after the shot :)
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Yes, he just randomly vomited a very small amount of the 3:15pm meal. I did offer him another 2 tablespoons and he had it. And I will try again at my normal time of 6:45pm.
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Here are some videos and tips. You are not hurting your cat. There are not as many nerve endings in the cat's ear as you think. Their ears do take a beating during cat fights.

You want to aim for the sweet spot.

View attachment 57446 View attachment 57447
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Thank you. I have been reviewing those diagrams of where the sweet spot is and purchased some high value treats so we can sit and let me handle his ears more. I will learn how to help him.
 
Important reasons to test:

1. Two units is a high starting dose for most cats
2. You have started lowering the carb content (switching from high carb to low carb can lower blood glucose numbers overall by up to 100 points).

Edited to add:

3. Lantus is a depot insulin. The depot can take up to 5 days to fill by which time you will start to see a better response and hopefully, much lower numbers (which is why testing is important).
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Important reasons to test:

1. Two units is a high starting dose for most cats
2. You have started lowering the carb content (switching from high carb to low carb can lower blood glucose numbers overall by up to 100 points).

Edited to add:

3. Lantus is a depot insulin. The depot can take up to 5 days to fill by which time you will start to see a better response and hopefully, much lower numbers (which is why testing is important).
Click to expand...

Thank you. I didn't know, until finding this forum, how high that dose might be and believe that's why the ER vet said to just stay the course - food wise - with that shot amount until I could get established with vet in my area. I have been running on fumes into the wee hours trying to educate myself here. He is still eating his "bad for him" heavy gravy Friskies mostly. I've only reintroduced the FF Classic today in one meal. We're definitely going to try, first thing in the morning, to do the BG test before I feed him.
 
And since I can observe their little box habits peeking out of the 2nd bathroom door into a spare bedroom -- add 2 small squirts of diarrhea to the mix. Post shot. Ugh.
 
Oh what a sweet avatar pic!!

no change in food you said right? The diarrhea could be related to the so maybe his tummy is out of sorts today, but keep an eye out to see if he vomits again. A great probiotic to maintain healthy stool that a lot of us here use is S. Boulardii. It comes in capsules and you mix 1/4 capsule twice a day with food. It’s amazing how great it works!
 
KellieH said:
I just purchased all the recommended ReliOn stuff today, but have not had a chance to try the test yet. Was trying to learn how to use it all and honestly, get the guts to stick him. I will, but its unnerving.
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It is I know it. It’s been months for me and I still dislike doing it. I get nervous about whether or not I’m going to get enough blood... I find that singing helps to calm me down a bit and then she gets calmer too. Just one mor tip for you. And warming up the ears does make a big difference :cat:
 
Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
Oh what a sweet avatar pic!!

no change in food you said right? The diarrhea could be related to the so maybe his tummy is out of sorts today, but keep an eye out to see if he vomits again. A great probiotic to maintain healthy stool that a lot of us here use is S. Boulardii. It comes in capsules and you mix 1/4 capsule twice a day with food. It’s amazing how great it works!
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The only minor change was reintroducing the FF classic chicken. And they have both had, and loved, that food in the past with no issues. I have heard of that probiotic so I will keep it in mind.
 
Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
It is I know it. It’s been months for me and I still dislike doing it. I get nervous about whether or not I’m going to get enough blood... I find that singing helps to calm me down a bit and then she gets calmer too. Just one mor tip for you. And warming up the ears does make a big difference :cat:
Click to expand...

He keeps looking at me like a freak while I'm using a mini flash light on his ears, looking and looking at all those veins and learning what the sweet spot looks like.
 
I hate to say it but the high carb food is probably what is keeping Mr Bigs from hypoing. 2 units is a high dose for a newly diagnosed cat. Did the vet say anything about ketones in Mr's urine?
I would get thee to a drug store and pick up some ketone strips. You find them in the diabetic section (plain ol human strips)

WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY :bighug:

I think maybe you should read here and get acquainted on how this work around here
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

jeanne
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
I hate to say it but the high carb food is probably what is keeping Mr Bigs from hypoing. 2 units is a high dose for a newly diagnosed cat. Did the vet say anything about ketones in Mr's urine?
I would get thee to a drug store and pick up some ketone strips. You find them in the diabetic section (plain ol human strips)

WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY :bighug:

I think maybe you should read here and get acquainted on how this work around here
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

jeanne
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I think, because he presented at the ER vet at 589 when tested, they gave him the 2U to try to start bringing it down. There were no ketones in his urine when he pulled a sterile sample, only a reading of 1028 of glucose in it.

I can't second guess the Vet but I think that he believed I could get a local vet appt sooner than a week later and let that Vet take over the testing and management. Unfortunately I could not get in sooner as a new patient. I just finalized my move in with my fiance a week or so ago now and had not yet established a local vet for my boys.

I did pick up the ketone test strips yesterday as well. I'm about to saran wrap their litter box after my coffee and wait.
 
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KellieH said:
I think, because he presented at the ER vet at 589 when tested, they gave him the 2U to try to start bringing it down. There were no ketones in his urine when he pulled a sterile sample, only a reading of 1028 of glucose in it.

I can't second guess the Vet but I think that he believed I could get a local vet appt sooner than a week later and let that Vet take over the testing and management. Unfortunately I could not get in sooner as a new patient. I just finalized my move in with my fiance a week or so ago now and had not yet established a local vet for my boys.

I did pick up the ketone test strips yesterday as well. I'm about to saran wrap their litter box after my coffee and wait.
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:D
 
KellieH said:
I think, because he presented at the ER vet at 589 when tested, they gave him the 2U to try to start bringing it down. There were no ketones in his urine when he pulled a sterile sample, only a reading of 1028 of glucose in it.

I can't second guess the Vet but I think that he believed I could get a local vet appt sooner than a week later and let that Vet take over the testing and management. Unfortunately I could not get in sooner as a new patient. I just finalized my move in with my fiance a week or so ago now and had not yet established a local vet for my boys.

I did pick up the ketone test strips yesterday as well. I'm about to saran wrap their litter box after my coffee and wait.
Click to expand...
I’m sorry to say this, but just keep in mind given how little most vets know about feline diabetes that second guessing them is our job when it comes to caring for our cats. If something doesn’t feel right, do question it. They very rarely connect the food with diabetes and as JT said it’s usually the main source of it. It is in humans why should it be any different in animals. Once you start home testing and transition to low carb food, we’ll know for sure :)
 
Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
I’m sorry to say this, but just keep in mind given how little most vets know about feline diabetes that second guessing them is our job when it comes to caring for our cats. If something doesn’t feel right, do question it. They very rarely connect the food with diabetes and as JT said it’s usually the main source of it. It is in humans why should it be any different in animals. Once you start home testing and transition to low carb food, we’ll know for sure :)
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No worries. I'm a crazy cat Mom who will always question any Vet or procedure I don't feel comfortable with. To put that statement in proper context - I didn't question the dose that brought him down to 187 at the time I brought him home. His prescription actually stated "2U for the rest of his life, unless other determinations were made." So he intended me (I believe) to get in sooner with the local vet he recommended me to where, in turn, they would be able to start testing him and potentially adjust the dosage downward.

Thats my big fear right now is that it's still too high of a dose based on learning how to read everyone's spreadsheets. We are going to try to test him today ourselves for the first time. Fingers crossed!
 
KellieH said:
No worries. I'm a crazy cat Mom who will always question any Vet or procedure I don't feel comfortable with. To put that statement in proper context - I didn't question the dose that brought him down to 187 at the time I brought him home. His prescription actually stated "2U for the rest of his life, unless other determinations were made." So he intended me (I believe) to get in sooner with the local vet he recommended me to where, in turn, they would be able to start testing him and potentially adjust the dosage downward.

Thats my big fear right now is that it's still too high of a dose based on learning how to read everyone's spreadsheets. We are going to try to test him today ourselves for the first time. Fingers crossed!
Click to expand...
Good luck!! Let us know how it goes. Practice makes it perfect ;)
 
Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
Good luck!! Let us know how it goes. Practice makes it perfect ;)
Click to expand...


Well, late reply as things have been quite busy in our household the past couple of days, but the lancet device clicking in his ear scared him, I got scratched pretty good with him trying to get off the table we had him on and the rest of the afternoon/evening he was either trying to hide or would physical bolt from the room if I squatted down to just get him to come for pettings :(

But the good news is we'll keep trying and try freehand without that device. Being a few days in now of his shots he is not acting as hungry as he was and he's drinking what I would consider normal amounts of water. He is also actively picking toy balls to play with. He never stopped playing with his string toys or chasing his brother around but he had not really used the kicking toys or balls for a couple of months. Don't know if he was just bored of them or he's just feeling better now that he's getting the insulin. Either way. That's the current update.
 
That’s great news about his behavior! :bighug::bighug::bighug:

I’ve never tried the lancet device. I like having control of the pressure I’m using doing it free hand. I’d try that. I know the clicking sound can spook them and a lot of folks here will get the cat used to the sound first before testing with the device.
 
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