Hi,
I want to tell you the story of my cat, Erin. I don't know how the story ends yet but in my heart I fear it's not going to be happy, which is why I want to share.
Erin is a domestic shorthair kitty who is about 15 years old. I adopted her in 2000 and she's been my best friend through a lot of things. She is the most affectionate cat I have ever known and she's also the shyest cat I've ever known. When I first brought her home it took weeks before she would trust me. But once I did earn her trust the rewards were amazing. I could never have asked for a kinder, sweeter, better behaved, more affectionate kitty cat.
About a month ago I noticed Erin was drinking more water. I was somewhat concerned because I knew it was a sign of renal failure and that at her age I had to begin to prepare for a decline in her health. Her water consumption increased to the point where I switched her bowl to a measuring cup so I could keep track. Other than this she was behaving normally.
Last Saturday evening Erin walked into the room where I was reading and I noticed something was wrong with her hind legs. I knew that neuropathy was a very bad sign and I could immediately see that she was having real trouble. It was too late to go to the local vet and I hesitated to take her to critical care because I was honestly scared that I was going to lose her. I was afraid and I acted selfishly. She was still mobile enough to where she could make it to her food and water, so I wanted to stay with her over the rest of the weekend and then take her to the vet on Monday.
By Sunday afternoon I couldn't take it any more. Her condition hadn't worsened but my heart was breaking. I took her to critical care. They diagnosed her with diabetes and possible renal failure. They gave her an IV, an appetite stimulant, did blood work, etc. After about 3 hours in critical care she seemed to be doing a lot better and I was able to take her home that night.
Monday morning I took her to the local vet. He examined her and agreed with the diagnosis of diabetes. He felt there was a good chance the kidney issues would clear up once the diabetes were under control. I brought her back on Wednesday so she could get a glucose curve. When I picked her up that evening the doctor said her diabetes was pretty serious and that she needed 5 units of insulin every 12 hours. At the time I had no comprehension of how big a dose that was. This is where I want others to learn from my failures. I took Erin home that evening with her syringes, insulin, and a diabetic formula food. I gave her her first injection on Thursday morning and she was a real trooper about it. No complaints, no struggles. She ate some of her new food and I supplemented it with some of her old food as well. Later that morning as I was getting ready for work Erin wandered into the bathroom as she often does. When she sat down I noticed her front legs were trembling a bit. I thought she was scared of being taken back to the vet, because she had been there for 4 out of the past 5 days, and each trip was preceded by my going through the ritual of getting ready.
Thursday evening I found Erin camped out under the kitchen cabinet. Not entirely unusual for her. Again, I thought this was because of all the recent changes. That she didn't want to be poked with a needle again. I was starting to hate myself for putting her through this. Friday morning was uneventful. Then Friday evening came and everything went off the rails. I came home to find Erin under the cabinet again. I checked and saw she had eaten some food, but not a whole lot. I gave her her evening injection. When I put her back down on the floor she collapsed. I stood her back up and she went right back down. Her hind legs were completely not working.
I called the vet's office to get their after hours # but the vet himself happened to still be there and he picked up the phone. I told him Erin's condition and then I rushed her over. He checked her glucose levels and determined she was hypoglycemic. She hadn't been eating enough to handle the amount of insulin I'd been giving her. I had no idea how serious this was. I knew she had to eat, but I thought even a little bit would be OK. I didn't know how big a dosage 5 units really was. The vet gave her some Supplical, which she promptly vomited back up. He then gave her an IV and an injection to suppress the vomiting. We gave her more Supplical as well as some maple syrup. I took Erin home with instructions to give her more of each every 20 minutes for the next several hours, until around 2AM. I did my best, but a lot of the times she would just drool out what I was giving her. But I kept at it. I fell asleep at 2 and woke up at 4. She was nearly comatose. I started feeding her again and she did respond a bit. She started looking around and she was fairly attentive, though not very mobile.
I've been continuing to give her both Karo and Supplical about once every 30 minutes. The vet opens at 10. But to be brutally honest my hopes are low. Erin's having problems with one of her front legs now, too. I'm doing everything I possibly can for her but she isn't eating. I am besides myself right now because I feel like this is all my fault. I know this is about her and not me but I feel awful. Like I had a hand in making her even sicker when all I wanted was for her to feel better.
I'm taking her to the vet in 20 minutes. I don't know how Erin's story is going to end, but I feel like it's not going to be happy. And I wish I had found this site a lot sooner. I came across it at about 5 this morning while trying to stay awake. I've already found so many things I wish I had known earlier. So much of this could have been avoided. More than anything else that makes me so sad. I just hope there's still a happy ending for Erin.
I want to tell you the story of my cat, Erin. I don't know how the story ends yet but in my heart I fear it's not going to be happy, which is why I want to share.
Erin is a domestic shorthair kitty who is about 15 years old. I adopted her in 2000 and she's been my best friend through a lot of things. She is the most affectionate cat I have ever known and she's also the shyest cat I've ever known. When I first brought her home it took weeks before she would trust me. But once I did earn her trust the rewards were amazing. I could never have asked for a kinder, sweeter, better behaved, more affectionate kitty cat.
About a month ago I noticed Erin was drinking more water. I was somewhat concerned because I knew it was a sign of renal failure and that at her age I had to begin to prepare for a decline in her health. Her water consumption increased to the point where I switched her bowl to a measuring cup so I could keep track. Other than this she was behaving normally.
Last Saturday evening Erin walked into the room where I was reading and I noticed something was wrong with her hind legs. I knew that neuropathy was a very bad sign and I could immediately see that she was having real trouble. It was too late to go to the local vet and I hesitated to take her to critical care because I was honestly scared that I was going to lose her. I was afraid and I acted selfishly. She was still mobile enough to where she could make it to her food and water, so I wanted to stay with her over the rest of the weekend and then take her to the vet on Monday.
By Sunday afternoon I couldn't take it any more. Her condition hadn't worsened but my heart was breaking. I took her to critical care. They diagnosed her with diabetes and possible renal failure. They gave her an IV, an appetite stimulant, did blood work, etc. After about 3 hours in critical care she seemed to be doing a lot better and I was able to take her home that night.
Monday morning I took her to the local vet. He examined her and agreed with the diagnosis of diabetes. He felt there was a good chance the kidney issues would clear up once the diabetes were under control. I brought her back on Wednesday so she could get a glucose curve. When I picked her up that evening the doctor said her diabetes was pretty serious and that she needed 5 units of insulin every 12 hours. At the time I had no comprehension of how big a dose that was. This is where I want others to learn from my failures. I took Erin home that evening with her syringes, insulin, and a diabetic formula food. I gave her her first injection on Thursday morning and she was a real trooper about it. No complaints, no struggles. She ate some of her new food and I supplemented it with some of her old food as well. Later that morning as I was getting ready for work Erin wandered into the bathroom as she often does. When she sat down I noticed her front legs were trembling a bit. I thought she was scared of being taken back to the vet, because she had been there for 4 out of the past 5 days, and each trip was preceded by my going through the ritual of getting ready.
Thursday evening I found Erin camped out under the kitchen cabinet. Not entirely unusual for her. Again, I thought this was because of all the recent changes. That she didn't want to be poked with a needle again. I was starting to hate myself for putting her through this. Friday morning was uneventful. Then Friday evening came and everything went off the rails. I came home to find Erin under the cabinet again. I checked and saw she had eaten some food, but not a whole lot. I gave her her evening injection. When I put her back down on the floor she collapsed. I stood her back up and she went right back down. Her hind legs were completely not working.
I called the vet's office to get their after hours # but the vet himself happened to still be there and he picked up the phone. I told him Erin's condition and then I rushed her over. He checked her glucose levels and determined she was hypoglycemic. She hadn't been eating enough to handle the amount of insulin I'd been giving her. I had no idea how serious this was. I knew she had to eat, but I thought even a little bit would be OK. I didn't know how big a dosage 5 units really was. The vet gave her some Supplical, which she promptly vomited back up. He then gave her an IV and an injection to suppress the vomiting. We gave her more Supplical as well as some maple syrup. I took Erin home with instructions to give her more of each every 20 minutes for the next several hours, until around 2AM. I did my best, but a lot of the times she would just drool out what I was giving her. But I kept at it. I fell asleep at 2 and woke up at 4. She was nearly comatose. I started feeding her again and she did respond a bit. She started looking around and she was fairly attentive, though not very mobile.
I've been continuing to give her both Karo and Supplical about once every 30 minutes. The vet opens at 10. But to be brutally honest my hopes are low. Erin's having problems with one of her front legs now, too. I'm doing everything I possibly can for her but she isn't eating. I am besides myself right now because I feel like this is all my fault. I know this is about her and not me but I feel awful. Like I had a hand in making her even sicker when all I wanted was for her to feel better.
I'm taking her to the vet in 20 minutes. I don't know how Erin's story is going to end, but I feel like it's not going to be happy. And I wish I had found this site a lot sooner. I came across it at about 5 this morning while trying to stay awake. I've already found so many things I wish I had known earlier. So much of this could have been avoided. More than anything else that makes me so sad. I just hope there's still a happy ending for Erin.
