jonesy77
New Member
I'm not sure what happened to my original account, but I've had to create a new one. To give background:
At just over 6 years old, Jackson (a male DSH) was diagnosed with diabetes last September. He had lost approximately 4lbs of his 15lbs. We started him on 2u of Lantus 2x per day (with breakfast and dinner). By his next visit in December, his BG was 170 at +6 in the vet's office and he had gained back 2.5lbs. All pointing in the direction of remission in the futue. And he dropped his insulin to 1.5u 2x per day with the understanding that I would monitor him closely and could bump back to 2u if I felt it necessary. We'd follow-up with his annual physical in February. All good.
Thanks to the blizzards that socked DC and a number of other factors, he's two weeks overdue for his annual physical. Bad human. As we neared the original vet appointment at the end of February, I noticed that Jackson had once again lost weight - by my best guess about 2.5lbs. I attributed it to the stress of moving (which we did after both storms). He was eating normal, drinking normal, litter box use was normal. No keotone smells in the litter box or on his breath.
This morning, Jackson was hiding when I woke up and came out to my computer (normal he's underfoot screaming "feed me!"). I had to lift him up to the counter becuase he was just staring at me. He refused two different kinds of food. I still didn't think much of it...he's still getting used to the new place and today was the added sound of the trash collectors out back...I figured he was spooked. I left the food out and went to work. I came home early to find him lounging near the door. But he didn't really look up and he really didn't seem interested in moving. He hadn't touched his food. I decided to take him to the hospital.
There's the background. Here's where I need you.
He's overnight at the Vet Hospital here in DC for, at minimum, tonight. He is ketoacidic and has a UTI. His BG (his last insulin shot was last night) was 270. He'd lost 2.5lbs. The vet and I agreed that we'd start all treatments and wait for the full lab results and see where we were tomorrow.
Already I've put down $1100 as a deposit for the treatment through tomorrow afternoon. It's $1100 that I have, but I don't have. I'm scared that if this is REALLY bad, that number could double. Financially, I don't know that I have that much available. I'm already playing with fire with $1100. I guess my question is: at what point do you call a stop? I realize that the actual stop figure is a personal judgement call, but I wonder what others have done in my situation? If you can't give your cat the best possible care, is it better to put them down?
The apartment's empty tonight and I'm wallowing in self-pity because I not only missed all of the tell-tale signs of DKA, but I'm also contemplating a pricetag on my cat's life - a cat I've had since he turned 8 weeks old. I'm desperately searching for answers, guidance, and advice of any kind.
-Derrick (&Jackson)
At just over 6 years old, Jackson (a male DSH) was diagnosed with diabetes last September. He had lost approximately 4lbs of his 15lbs. We started him on 2u of Lantus 2x per day (with breakfast and dinner). By his next visit in December, his BG was 170 at +6 in the vet's office and he had gained back 2.5lbs. All pointing in the direction of remission in the futue. And he dropped his insulin to 1.5u 2x per day with the understanding that I would monitor him closely and could bump back to 2u if I felt it necessary. We'd follow-up with his annual physical in February. All good.
Thanks to the blizzards that socked DC and a number of other factors, he's two weeks overdue for his annual physical. Bad human. As we neared the original vet appointment at the end of February, I noticed that Jackson had once again lost weight - by my best guess about 2.5lbs. I attributed it to the stress of moving (which we did after both storms). He was eating normal, drinking normal, litter box use was normal. No keotone smells in the litter box or on his breath.
This morning, Jackson was hiding when I woke up and came out to my computer (normal he's underfoot screaming "feed me!"). I had to lift him up to the counter becuase he was just staring at me. He refused two different kinds of food. I still didn't think much of it...he's still getting used to the new place and today was the added sound of the trash collectors out back...I figured he was spooked. I left the food out and went to work. I came home early to find him lounging near the door. But he didn't really look up and he really didn't seem interested in moving. He hadn't touched his food. I decided to take him to the hospital.
There's the background. Here's where I need you.
He's overnight at the Vet Hospital here in DC for, at minimum, tonight. He is ketoacidic and has a UTI. His BG (his last insulin shot was last night) was 270. He'd lost 2.5lbs. The vet and I agreed that we'd start all treatments and wait for the full lab results and see where we were tomorrow.
Already I've put down $1100 as a deposit for the treatment through tomorrow afternoon. It's $1100 that I have, but I don't have. I'm scared that if this is REALLY bad, that number could double. Financially, I don't know that I have that much available. I'm already playing with fire with $1100. I guess my question is: at what point do you call a stop? I realize that the actual stop figure is a personal judgement call, but I wonder what others have done in my situation? If you can't give your cat the best possible care, is it better to put them down?
The apartment's empty tonight and I'm wallowing in self-pity because I not only missed all of the tell-tale signs of DKA, but I'm also contemplating a pricetag on my cat's life - a cat I've had since he turned 8 weeks old. I'm desperately searching for answers, guidance, and advice of any kind.
-Derrick (&Jackson)
