Fredo Update

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misskitty007

misskitty007

Member Since 2015
First of all I want to thank everybody who reached out and helped me here over the last month. I think you literally saved my life, if not Fredo's. Fredo has been OTJ for 6 days and seems to have either (paws crossed!) "resolved" or gone into remission. My vet feels this may have been a pancreatitis episode that made it hard for Fredo to produce insulin for awhile, though his pancreatitis test came back negative, they are often inconclusive. He is pooping healthy poops again, and is definitely more his old self. That said, I'm not sure I feel like we're out of the woods, or not missing something. His appetite with all the low carb wet foods remains day to day and he still wants home cooked chicken breast. His neuropathy is still bad, though I have now been giving him the Zobaline for 6 days. He still seems "off" at times, lethargic...His BG was never crazy high except in the beginning, so it's hard for me to imagine he's still feeling repercussions. Am I being paranoid? Am I just impatient? Crazy cat mama? Would love thoughts if you have any.
 
Hi

Sorry no one has replied yet.

That's great news, keep taking his readings just to check all is going well still.

With regards his weakness I would ask the vet to check his blood for low potassium. This is what remi got and it seemed to get worse after his blood glucose got better. I now just give a daily supplement and he is back to full strength. I wouldn't leave it as if it is low potassium levels it can hasten kidney problems.
 
If it is neuropathy, it can take a while to go away or improve significantly even though he is no longer on insulin.
 
Hi,
As Carl said, if it is neuropathy then it can take time to resolve (Bertie was on Zobaline for about 6 weeks, as I recall (though he had totally rubbish numbers at the time, not at all like Fredo's beautiful greens!))

Nerve damage is slow to heal, but the methylcobalamin will certainly help. Exercise helps also. I realise that Fredo seems lethargic at times, but could he be tempted by some gentle interactive play? Would he chase the end of a piece of rope, or the dot from a laser toy? Or does he like catnip? If that's the case then a large catnip toy (you can improvise one using a couple of old socks, one inside the other, and catnip inside also) may encourage him to kick with his back legs.

It may not be neuropathy though, or it may not only be neuropathy.
As Sarah said, low potassium can produce neuropathy-like symptoms. And is Fredo old enough to have any arthritis?

Or could he be a bit depressed?
I've sometimes found that adding a little extra taurine to a cat's diet can perk them up when they've been unwell. It is thought to lift mood, and help with depression and lethargy, and in my experience with my own cats that does seem to have been the case. It has no taste and you can just dissolve a pinch in a little water and add it to the food. It's considered a safe substance to use as any excess is excreted.

It's great that Fredo has had no insulin for 6 days (7 maybe, by the time you read this). And when he's been without insulin for 14 days you can consider him officially OTJ. Will be cheering Fredo on from across the pond in the UK!

Eliz
 
Is he still urinating a lot? Potassium is excreted through the renal system. Renal issues and aldosterone issues affect potassium excretion. If there is a lot of urine, please check with the vet.
 
Nope, peeing normally and pooping normally. And definitely not depressed anymore. He jumped up on (my very high) bed several times this morning to wake me up to eat, and just for attention (I have steps to the bed for him, and he takes them down, but prefers to jump up). But he is definitely walking on both his hocks, and even his front paws bend to the 'wrists', and he tucks them more than he used to, when seated. I am hopeful about the Zobaline, but since his numbers were relatively low and then normal on a diabetic scale, I don't know if that's it. The vet doesn't think it is, because of his front paws, which is uncommon for neuropathy I guess. But all this started at the same time, so I don't think it's arthritis. The vet has suggested seeing a neurologist if I want to pursue, but we had not discussed low potassium. I will definitely ask about this, tho I must admit after a month of just about daily phone calls, they're a little tired of me at the vet. Still, I did ask about whether to keep Fredo on this high protein diet now, as he has some very, very early renal numbers and the vet wants us to stay high protein, low carb for sure.
 
I think the potassium is worth checking out. As I said before remi's weakness got bad once he started to get better which I found very strange. My vet hadn't included it in the last couple of blood tests and so we hadn't picked up on it. It wasn't even that low, just under the normal range but as soon as the supplement kicked in he was walking and jumping much better.
 
Glad to hear how well Fredo's doing! If he's able to jump that's encouraging. :) I remember the first time Saoirse jumped up to the windowsill after she started getting treatment. I really felt like she was turning the corner back to wellness then.
 
Thanks so much, all of you. You have been a godsend. We are doing so much better here, but you know you never feel like you're really out of the woods! I hate that we may have to have yet ANOTHER vet appt (stress-wise and $-wise) to get more blood work done, but it does sound like it could be a valuable and possibly missing piece of this puzzle. And yes, when Fredo got up to the windowsill, and then on top of the dresser (his bird watching spot) I started to cry.
 
Ha! yeah, so not flush right now. I had knee replacement surgery right before Fredo got sick. so the funds are not exactly flowing.
And we have done so much blood work in the last 6 months my vet feels like it's a waste (testing for kidney, pancreas...) but if i bring up this specific issue maybe it would make more sense.
 
Nerve damage is slow to heal, but the methylcobalamin will certainly help. Exercise helps also. I realise that Fredo seems lethargic at times, but could he be tempted by some gentle interactive play? Would he chase the end of a piece of rope, or the dot from a laser toy? Or does he like catnip? If that's the case then a large catnip toy (you can improvise one using a couple of old socks, one inside the other, and catnip inside also) may encourage him to kick with his back legs.

He was running around (tho slipping on his hind paws) like crazy cat this morning! <3

It's great that Fredo has had no insulin for 6 days (7 maybe, by the time you read this). And when he's been without insulin for 14 days you can consider him officially OTJ. Will be cheering Fredo on from across the pond in the UK!

Thanks! That means a lot! Day 8 today!

Eliz[/QUOTE]
 
Even if he had his potassium levels checked just prior to his diagnosis I would still get it checked again as the insulin can apparently effect it in some way.
 
Hi misskitty,

I just wanted to say how really happy I am that Fredo (and you) are doing so much better. Lolly finished her OTJ trial two weeks ago, and she is still improving-- mood, energy level, and her face is looking better. Of course you still need to get the potassium checked, but it does seem to take them some time to really get over it. And from what I read, you and Fredo had quite a miserable time of it:(. I'm so relieved things are going better. :bighug:
 
Hi All! a special hello to @Critter Mom, @phlika29, @Carl & Polly & Bob (GA) @Elizabeth and Bertie @BJM

Over two weeks now OTJ. Fredo seems to be in full on remission, great BG #'s, but because he is still drinking and peeing a lot and still has pretty intense neuropathy, I took him in for yet another round of blood and urine testing last week to rule out everything we could (Potassium, phosphorous, kidney...) We did full workup and everything came back negative. One kidney # was a little higher than the norm, but my vet is certain that's because of Fredo's protein diet. The rest of his kidney #'s (creatinine etc...) were all well within normal. SO what's left? I guess ultrasound, if I want to go that route. But beside the $, which as you all know gets to be an issue, I'm not sure what else it can/would tell me. Or to be honest, if it's anything I want to know. He has great days, jumps up and down off the bed, plays with a ball when I roll it to him. But he is also still lethargic at times and both front and back paws are compromised. And yes, the drinking and peeing. I'm just not sure what to 'just live with' at this point. Or if I go that last mile with ultrasound. thanks, hope you all are well!
 
Did the vet test aldosterone? It is a hormone which affects water balance.
 
I just attended the MidWest Veterinary Conference and heard a session on other more rare conditions. Hyperaldosteronism was one of them.
Once you rule out horses, you look for zebras.
When you don't find those either, you look for Pegasus.
 
Hi Miss Kitty,

I'm delighted to read that Fredo is doing so well. Bearing in mind how things were a few short weeks ago, I'm so pleased to hear you sounding much happier too. :)

Did your vet do a Spec fPL test at all?
 
Not a vet, just one of those folks whose minds remember things. Half the battle is knowing where to look things up. I like the Merck Veterinary Manual Online or the Merck Pet Owners Manual (worth getting a copy for home - its in English, not vet-speak!)
Also, lots of things are similar in humans, though not identical, so if you can find it for humans, it is possible it may exist for cats, though not guaranteed.
 
What was the actual level of his potassium. Remi's was just at the bottom end of the Normal range and even so he responded really well to a supplement.

In Tayna's CKD page on potassium she talks about supplementing if below 4 which is within the normal UK range. Remi was about 3.5
http://www.felinecrf.org/potassium.htm
 
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