Greetings from Danielle and Charlie

[DaniCoz]

We are new here, and just wanted to give you a quick introduction. :smile:

I adopted Charlie about 4 1/2 years ago. Although I don't think he had regular visits to the vet, he was healthy (and slightly overweight). I think he's about 10 years old now, and has had no real health problems with me until recently. It started during Veteran's Day weekend, when I was home sick with the stomach flu. He was lethargic and didn't eat much that weekend, but of course I was too sick to leave the house and take him to the vet. By Monday he was acting fine again so I figured it was nothing, until it happened again and I noticed he was losing weight. Fast forward several visits to the vet and multiple blood tests, and the the only thing unusual was the weight loss and moderately elevated blood glucose (which was taken about 30 minutes after he ate). So a few days later he went back to the vet for a fasting BG and then went downhill fast. After being at the vet for two days I took him to the "kitty ICU" where both my regular vet and ICU vet agreed he had a 50/50 chance of surviving. In a week he had lost a pound, become dehydrated, developed DKA, liver failure, anemia... you name it. As sick as he was, I couldn't take that 50% chance away from him. Luckily, he got a little better every day. After a 5 night stay in the hospital, an ultrasound, insulin CRI, IV fluids and antibiotics, 2 blood transfusions, and placement of an e-tube, we were able to bring him home. It was the best Christmas present I could hope for!

Charlie is now 100% back to his old self with the help of 2 units of Lantus twice daily. As feisty as he is, he doesn't even mind the injections!

 

[tuckers mom]

Wow, what a story. I'm so sorry, but thankfully you got through the hardest part.

With his history it would be very important to hometest his blood sugar. You really want to avoid that happening again. Also testing for ketones using urine sticks would be a huge help. Do you want to learn more about doing both of those?

What's his diet now and did it change since the diagnosis?

 

[DaniCoz]

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, I plan to do home testing. I ordered the free meter kit for now since I need to save as much as possible to pay off the hospital bills. As soon as that comes I'm going to start daily testing. I would also like to get that fancy litter box that collects the urine to help with ketone testing, but that will have to come later. I would love some advice on how to do that without the special box!

As far as his diet, he was getting Hills a/d through the tube. Now we are going through a transition process: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=60108

 

[tuckers mom]

When I want to test for ketones I place some plastic wrap over the litter. Kiki usually moves the wrap around but I do get a drop or two on the wrap. I've seen others who are great at using a soup ladle and catching mid stream, but Kiki squats to low and she'd probably hit me

I've also read where someone used clean aquarium gravel in the litter box so the urine was not absorbed.

Either way try to catch the urine quickly, while it's still fresh.

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

What litter box are you talking about? I use the Breeze litter box with the tray that makes it easy to collect urine: http://www.breezeforcats.com/. It's not very expensive--it's about $30-$35 at PetSmart or Walmart--and PetSmart seems have it on sale every few months or so. I love mine--and it's less than what I was spending on regular clumping litter. They had a $10 off coupon on their web site, but it looks like it's gone now.

However, there are all sorts of tricks to catching urine samples with regular boxes, too. Some people use a ladle to catch the sample midstream, others use saran wrap or fish rocks.

 

[DaniCoz]

I use the Breeze litter box with the tray that makes it easy to collect urine

How does the Breeze work for odor? The only thing that helps with Charlie's urine odor is Fresh Step. I don't like how dusty it is, but we live in a small condo and the smell can be unbearable at times, even if the litter box is clean. I was considering the Smartbox which we can dump every 4-5 hours between my husband and I even on the days we both work. Plus we can make sure that we are only getting Charlie's urine. Our other cat usually doesn't use the same box, but you never know what she might do!

Also, how often does everyone check for ketones? Just when your kitty seems sick or on a schedule?

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

I use the Breeze litter box with the tray that makes it easy to collect urine

How does the Breeze work for odor? The only thing that helps with Charlie's urine odor is Fresh Step. I don't like how dusty it is, but we live in a small condo and the smell can be unbearable at times, even if the litter box is clean. I was considering the Smartbox which we can dump every 4-5 hours between my husband and I even on the days we both work. Plus we can make sure that we are only getting Charlie's urine. Our other cat usually doesn't use the same box, but you never know what she might do!

Also, how often does everyone check for ketones? Just when your kitty seems sick or on a schedule?

There's no noticeable urine odor with the Breeze that I've experienced, except for maybe a faint smell a day or two before the pad needs to be changed. Of course, if it bothers you a lot you could always just change the pad early. And Bandit has pretty smelly urine.

Before Bandit was regulated, I used to test for ketones about twice a week, or whenever his numbers seemed pretty high. Once he was regulated I stopped testing for them.

However, Bandit never experienced DKA. Because your cat is prone to ketones, I think you'll need to test more frequently than I did. I hope someone with more experience with DKA will chime in for you...