SusanandOwen
Member Since 2013
As some of you know, my darling cat Owen has had a rough week. He's been on IV fluids since last Sunday, with the exception of the night before last, when the vet allowed us to try bringing him home and doing subQ fluids instead. He was comfortable overnight but the following morning, his appetite was poor and we ended up taking him back to the vet, who told us his BUN had gone up 20 pts (it was already high) and he needed to get back on the IV.
He therefore has been spending his nights at the emergency clinic so his IV can be monitored, and then goes back to the regular vet in the morning to spend the day. Prior to the night he briefly came home, he was doing pretty well with his BG; it was staying between 80-220 on 1u. Since yesterday, the swings have been bigger - up to around 440, which I attribute to us feeding him whatever he will tolerate, but we are still able to get him down around 80 with a reasonable dose (1.5u)
Our big problem at the moment is the BUN value (150 last night, so sky high.) Our regular vet says that explains why he stopped eating. (He *was* eating OK at 120, which is apparently very unusual, and encouraging to the vet - which is one reason they let us try taking him home. We did syringe feed him when he stopped eating voluntarily, but it probably cut his calories by a quarter or maybe even a third. As of this morning, after being on the IV all night at the e-clinic, he scarfed down a pretty decent amount of breakfast and looked much brighter, so the drip is clearly helping a lot.
The vet feels that he can get that BUN back down, slowly but surely, by keeping him on that IV drip. That's great, of course, and I am grateful... but it means that he spends the entire day at the vet's and then at the e-clinic all night so someone can monitor the drip. As much as I hate to even consider the cost... it is becoming really difficult financially. We are over $6k in charges at this point with no end in sight, and I am wondering if there is any possibility of being able to keep him on the IV at home overnight, instead of incurring those fees on a daily basis. It's not like they are doing a lot of intervention nor even running labs overnight, and I am very comfortable testing his BG. I think he would rest better at home than in the e-clinic, too. They are a busy emergency service so the lights are on all night & there is lots of activity; doesn't seem like that would be ideal for my poor exhausted kitty IF it's possible to make sure he stays hydrated at home. The subQ fluids didn't get the job done adequately, so I don't think that's an option right now.
Has anyone managed a cat on an IV at home? Is it reasonable to ask the vet to reconsider it?
He therefore has been spending his nights at the emergency clinic so his IV can be monitored, and then goes back to the regular vet in the morning to spend the day. Prior to the night he briefly came home, he was doing pretty well with his BG; it was staying between 80-220 on 1u. Since yesterday, the swings have been bigger - up to around 440, which I attribute to us feeding him whatever he will tolerate, but we are still able to get him down around 80 with a reasonable dose (1.5u)
Our big problem at the moment is the BUN value (150 last night, so sky high.) Our regular vet says that explains why he stopped eating. (He *was* eating OK at 120, which is apparently very unusual, and encouraging to the vet - which is one reason they let us try taking him home. We did syringe feed him when he stopped eating voluntarily, but it probably cut his calories by a quarter or maybe even a third. As of this morning, after being on the IV all night at the e-clinic, he scarfed down a pretty decent amount of breakfast and looked much brighter, so the drip is clearly helping a lot.
The vet feels that he can get that BUN back down, slowly but surely, by keeping him on that IV drip. That's great, of course, and I am grateful... but it means that he spends the entire day at the vet's and then at the e-clinic all night so someone can monitor the drip. As much as I hate to even consider the cost... it is becoming really difficult financially. We are over $6k in charges at this point with no end in sight, and I am wondering if there is any possibility of being able to keep him on the IV at home overnight, instead of incurring those fees on a daily basis. It's not like they are doing a lot of intervention nor even running labs overnight, and I am very comfortable testing his BG. I think he would rest better at home than in the e-clinic, too. They are a busy emergency service so the lights are on all night & there is lots of activity; doesn't seem like that would be ideal for my poor exhausted kitty IF it's possible to make sure he stays hydrated at home. The subQ fluids didn't get the job done adequately, so I don't think that's an option right now.
Has anyone managed a cat on an IV at home? Is it reasonable to ask the vet to reconsider it?
