Difficult to regulate elderly cat - $10,000 vet stay recommended

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Rose L

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Hi,
I am looking for help- at my wit's end here.

My rescue cat (probably about 14 or 15 yrs old) was diagnosed with diabetes AND chronic pancreatitis 2 years ago.

At the time his blood sugar was all over the place, which the vet said was a result of pancreatitis coming and going...and I was told best we could do is to do a reasonable dose of insulin (1 unit ) daily and sort of hope for the best ....he was on the libre monitor a few times...

Fast forward to now, I don't think he has EVER been properly regulated. I have been giving him prozinc twice a day but after another round of Libre monitoring, his glucose is ALL over the place. I upped his dose, but he was having crashes to below 3 blood glucose, then up to 28 all morning and evening.

On top of this, he just had a UTI treated with injectable antibiotics. He also isn't eating properly. He has been slowly losing weight for the past 2 years, which has accelerated now to muscle wasting.

Took him back to the emergency vet today, as his UTI symptoms hadn't resolved, and he also just seems sick/ still losing weight. She said the UTI would have been cured by the antibiotic injection he had, so other symptoms are just related to his uncontrolled diabetes.

Anyway...she thinks he is in or near ketoacidosis.
She recommended a 10,000 dollar emergency vet stay!!! He would board for 3 nights and get the following treatment:
- IV fluids
- nasogastric tube feeding
- insulin infusion and BG monitoring
- transfer to specialist for continued case workup and management - abdominal ultrasound - chest x-rays - monitoring bloodwork - medications

OR euthanasia!

I love my cat too much to just euthanize him, but spending 10 grand when she couldn't even say if there was a good chance this would really turn things around seems crazy.

We are in Ontario, Canada.

Can anyone offer advice...am I able to turn things around at home ? Or should I spend the 10 grand for all this treatment (it would be hard for us right now, but I am willing to do it if I had confidence it would really help him).

I am very limited in how I could alter his diet, because he is SO SO picky eating (and doesn't eat enough)
. Tried all diabetic food and he would NOT eat at all. Right now he is on non-diabetic wet food such as Weruva, cats in the kitchen, etc. And he is on diabetic Purina dry food.
 
Hello and welcome. Sorry for the delay in answer but this is a better forum to start off in. How is kitty (name) today? Just to let you know, we have had kitty's here survive DKA and go on to live healthy lives, but you can't wait too long to start treatment.

Are you home testing him for ketones? You can use Ketostix, from any pharmacy to test his urine. This is how to do it: Tips to catch and test a urine sample

Are you home testing your kitty's blood sugar? If so, and we can see his blood sugar data, we can get him to a better insulin dose that will help regulate him. We typically make insulin dose changes by 0.25 units at a time. That means using 1/2 unit marked syringes and eyeballing (BD Ultrafine II in Canada, purple and yellow box are what I used). If not home testing with a hand held blood glucose (BG) meter, could you get a Libre on him again? A good hand held meter in Canada is the Freestyle Lite, it needs the smallest blood drop size which makes it easier to use.

Weruva is a pretty good food for diabetic cats, depending which one, though the cats in the kitchen are a little high in carbs. We like to use 10% and below carbs. Weruva has the carbs listed on their website. The "diabetic" dry food is way too high in carbs for a diabetic, plus expensive.

Rose L said:
She said the UTI would have been cured by the antibiotic injection he had,
Click to expand...
Possibly not true. The injection would be Convenia, which is an antibiotic for skin conditions. Was a urine culture done to see what type of bacteria was causing the UTI? You need a antibiotic designed to fight the type of bacteria he has.
 
Rose L said:
Hi,
I am looking for help- at my wit's end here.

My rescue cat (probably about 14 or 15 yrs old) was diagnosed with diabetes AND chronic pancreatitis 2 years ago.

At the time his blood sugar was all over the place, which the vet said was a result of pancreatitis coming and going...and I was told best we could do is to do a reasonable dose of insulin (1 unit ) daily and sort of hope for the best ....he was on the libre monitor a few times...

Fast forward to now, I don't think he has EVER been properly regulated. I have been giving him prozinc twice a day but after another round of Libre monitoring, his glucose is ALL over the place. I upped his dose, but he was having crashes to below 3 blood glucose, then up to 28 all morning and evening.

On top of this, he just had a UTI treated with injectable antibiotics. He also isn't eating properly. He has been slowly losing weight for the past 2 years, which has accelerated now to muscle wasting.

Took him back to the emergency vet today, as his UTI symptoms hadn't resolved, and he also just seems sick/ still losing weight. She said the UTI would have been cured by the antibiotic injection he had, so other symptoms are just related to his uncontrolled diabetes.

Anyway...she thinks he is in or near ketoacidosis.
She recommended a 10,000 dollar emergency vet stay!!! He would board for 3 nights and get the following treatment:
- IV fluids
- nasogastric tube feeding
- insulin infusion and BG monitoring
- transfer to specialist for continued case workup and management - abdominal ultrasound - chest x-rays - monitoring bloodwork - medications

OR euthanasia!

I love my cat too much to just euthanize him, but spending 10 grand when she couldn't even say if there was a good chance this would really turn things around seems crazy.

We are in Ontario, Canada.

Can anyone offer advice...am I able to turn things around at home ? Or should I spend the 10 grand for all this treatment (it would be hard for us right now, but I am willing to do it if I had confidence it would really help him).

I am very limited in how I could alter his diet, because he is SO SO picky eating (and doesn't eat enough)
. Tried all diabetic food and he would NOT eat at all. Right now he is on non-diabetic wet food such as Weruva, cats in the kitchen, etc. And he is on diabetic Purina dry food.
Click to expand...
Hi Welcome you are in the right place, with you're we can help you regulate your baby's diabetes, however there is more information we need from you about him, is horrible how Vets take advantage of the love we have for our fur babies, as well that it is unfortunately, they are not very familiar with Feline diabetes, so they treat the diabetes with the teachings they have with dogs, for starters the first thing I noticed is the food you are feeding, dry Kibbles is the worst enemy for a diabetic cat they contain between 20-30% carbs, diabetic cats need to eat a wet can diet of 0-10% carbs to regulate the BG, you are using the Libre, is also unfortunately that they are not reliable, with the reading, they fall off, they tend to read low Bg, so wrong, we recommend a human glucose monitor such the
ReliOn Premier monitor and strips, or any human monitor, you are in Canada so I do not know what is available for you, it is important to always test before dosing, before increasing or decreasing doses, you should know that it takes a few cycles before taking full effect in their system, you did not mention what insulin you are using most members use either Lantus or ProZinc it a 12 hour lasting insulin and easy on them, below you'll have a couple of links one to get all the information needed in order to help us help you, and a Dr's Food list, the third column will have the % of carbs for the food you choose. I know you are using prescribed food on account that he has other digestive issues, including UTI, the dry food kibbles, because of the dyes in the food can contribute to UTI's , it will be great that you make your signature in the Forum and create a Spreadsheet that will monitor his tests, we are here for you and I know how it feels pocket wise, my Corky was hospitalized 8 days and $8,000, later, I am blessed he has no other aliments just the diabetes, so my Corky has not stepped paws in a Vets office after finding this Forum, I trust the experts here blindly, for dosing, advise and care, It seems like a lot of money, and perhaps the inconsistency in dosing could have a reason for your baby's reactions, open the links as soon as you can and follow directions, so we can help you as soon as possible, :bighug::cat::cat:
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
 
found this posted by a member about U-100 syringes with half unit markings from Canada
Check out your local pharmacy for the BD Ultrafine II syringes (purple and yellow box). Those are U100 syringes. If you have a Costco near you, check them out. Or Safeway pharmacy
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upload_2024-10-3_17-9-54.jpeg

I saw some members also check on eBay for the test strips because they may be cheaper. But also check your pharmacy's
 

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