Fitzgibbons
Member Since 2018
Hi everyone,
New here! And I am in dire need of help, unfortunately.
Some background:
My cat is a 10 year-old female, recently diagnosed (month and a half ago.) Her name is Bootsie. Initial bg was really high at 520. She's currently on 1 unit of ProZinc twice daily.
I don't test her bg at home. The vet said it was unnecessary for me right now, and that I could look into it when Bootsie starts to show signs of good regulation. After perusing this forum today, I see that's probably bad advice, but I can't go back in time.
She's had a few vet visits since her diagnosis. The first was good and showed a lot of progress from her diet change (wet only, friskies pate) and starting insulin. Bg was 250 at the vet. The second not so good, her bg was elevated (320) and fructosamine showed fair to poor control (420.) It's been a bit of a rollercoaster for me, but I was happy because through it all, Bootsie was still showing signs of great improvement (way less drinking and urination, more energy.)
In the last couple of days, however, Bootsie's condition has really taken a (random and sudden) turn. Two days ago she suddenly lost her appetite and stopped drinking water. She became very lethargic and listless.
I took her to the vet immediately the next morning and they discovered that she had an infection of some sort and was running a fairly high fever (104.4.) Her bg was also high at 300, and she was of course dehydrated from not drinking. The most disturbing news was that her urine showed ketones.
The vet gave her subcutaneous fluids and a shot of penicillin and B-12. She also instructed me to give her her insulin ASAP. For the ketones, she said that I could leave her for hospitalization, or monitor her at home and bring her in tomorrow for hospitalization if her condition doesn't improve quickly. They also planned to run a urinalysis later in the day (never heard back on that.)
The problem is that Bootsie's condition has not really improved at home. She's still acting lethargic and will hardly eat or drink. She's just been mostly laying around, though she did walk a bit and jump on the couch and bed a few times to get some attention from me. I managed over the course of the entire day to get her to eat about a quarter can of tuna, but that's it, even after presenting her with three other flavors of food she likes, and even mixing them with hot water and adding Parmesan cheese. And she hasn't been drinking at all.
What should I do? I know that to help her, I'll have to take her back to the vet tomorrow. But I truly and honestly cannot afford to hospitalize her there. It would cost me $5-600, and that's in addition to the $200 I already paid for her visit today. And I cannot afford to take on any more personal debt via care credit or other financing. And my vet doesn't offer a payment plan option. They just recommend care credit.
What should I do? I'm really scared for Bootsie. She's been my little buddy for ten years now, I've had her since she was just a tiny kitten. I don't want to put her down, but I can't afford to treat this. And I know she's at risk for DKA now, which I definitely can't afford to treat if it gets to that point.
I could afford and manage the regular diabetes treatments, but I didn't think something this big or bad would happen so soon. Any ideas on why she would so suddenly have a catastrophic incident like this? What could be causing her infection? The vet seemed to have no idea, except maybe UTI.
I hate that money is a consideration here. If I had limitless funds, I'd of course do every test, every treatment available to get Bootsie healthy again. To the bitter end. But I don't, and it makes me feel like a totally inadequate and unloving caregiver to my cat, and she doesn't deserve this. I feel like a horrible human being for causing her to suffer and not get the treatment she needs.
New here! And I am in dire need of help, unfortunately.
Some background:
My cat is a 10 year-old female, recently diagnosed (month and a half ago.) Her name is Bootsie. Initial bg was really high at 520. She's currently on 1 unit of ProZinc twice daily.
I don't test her bg at home. The vet said it was unnecessary for me right now, and that I could look into it when Bootsie starts to show signs of good regulation. After perusing this forum today, I see that's probably bad advice, but I can't go back in time.
She's had a few vet visits since her diagnosis. The first was good and showed a lot of progress from her diet change (wet only, friskies pate) and starting insulin. Bg was 250 at the vet. The second not so good, her bg was elevated (320) and fructosamine showed fair to poor control (420.) It's been a bit of a rollercoaster for me, but I was happy because through it all, Bootsie was still showing signs of great improvement (way less drinking and urination, more energy.)
In the last couple of days, however, Bootsie's condition has really taken a (random and sudden) turn. Two days ago she suddenly lost her appetite and stopped drinking water. She became very lethargic and listless.
I took her to the vet immediately the next morning and they discovered that she had an infection of some sort and was running a fairly high fever (104.4.) Her bg was also high at 300, and she was of course dehydrated from not drinking. The most disturbing news was that her urine showed ketones.
The vet gave her subcutaneous fluids and a shot of penicillin and B-12. She also instructed me to give her her insulin ASAP. For the ketones, she said that I could leave her for hospitalization, or monitor her at home and bring her in tomorrow for hospitalization if her condition doesn't improve quickly. They also planned to run a urinalysis later in the day (never heard back on that.)
The problem is that Bootsie's condition has not really improved at home. She's still acting lethargic and will hardly eat or drink. She's just been mostly laying around, though she did walk a bit and jump on the couch and bed a few times to get some attention from me. I managed over the course of the entire day to get her to eat about a quarter can of tuna, but that's it, even after presenting her with three other flavors of food she likes, and even mixing them with hot water and adding Parmesan cheese. And she hasn't been drinking at all.
What should I do? I know that to help her, I'll have to take her back to the vet tomorrow. But I truly and honestly cannot afford to hospitalize her there. It would cost me $5-600, and that's in addition to the $200 I already paid for her visit today. And I cannot afford to take on any more personal debt via care credit or other financing. And my vet doesn't offer a payment plan option. They just recommend care credit.
What should I do? I'm really scared for Bootsie. She's been my little buddy for ten years now, I've had her since she was just a tiny kitten. I don't want to put her down, but I can't afford to treat this. And I know she's at risk for DKA now, which I definitely can't afford to treat if it gets to that point.
I could afford and manage the regular diabetes treatments, but I didn't think something this big or bad would happen so soon. Any ideas on why she would so suddenly have a catastrophic incident like this? What could be causing her infection? The vet seemed to have no idea, except maybe UTI.
I hate that money is a consideration here. If I had limitless funds, I'd of course do every test, every treatment available to get Bootsie healthy again. To the bitter end. But I don't, and it makes me feel like a totally inadequate and unloving caregiver to my cat, and she doesn't deserve this. I feel like a horrible human being for causing her to suffer and not get the treatment she needs.
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I wouldn't even have had time to apply for care credit if I wanted to.
