Hello,
I'm new here (unfortunately). On Tuesday I got up and saw my cat to the kitchen table as I usually do. She sits on the bench to wait and see what she can scrounge from me while I get breakfast ready. First of all, I was headed for coffee. I poured a cup, put it in the microwave and hit the timer. I heard my cat's paws hit the floor in excitement and the little pats as she scurried over to me as usual.
But today was different. I turned around with my cheesy smile only to my horror to find her stumbling sideways into the stove. I rushed to her aid (she's 15 after all) figuring she must have just got some leg cramps but that wasn't it at all. Her eyes were darting around her head and she even began rolling about five times on her left side. I honestly didn't know what to do. I pulled her out to the middle of the floor and comforted her gently while repeating her name. She seemed completely out of it still, my only thought was, "I'm going to lose her". Her muscles didn't tighten up and her legs didn't stretch out to their full extent so I didn't think it was a seizure, most likely a stroke. Then she lost control of her bladder (pee) and I thought for sure it was the end. Then it all just stopped. Her tail was flopping around but she lay still while staring forward. I put some mashed potatoes from the night before in front of her nose and she began again.
Her body rolled about five times, she breathed heavy and all other things I said previously. Finally she once again snapped out of it. The first hour and a half she wouldn't eat. She took a few sips of water and that was it. But she came back. She still seemed a bit strange but she was still alive. To be honest, it felt like Pet Semetery; like she was alive but she wasn't herself. She wasn't acting crazy or anything, just the thought I couldn't shake as she stared empty at me.
Finally I got her to eat. I have been feeding her dry cat food all of her life. I put a bowl of that down and she ate some small bites. She eventually stopped, her neck tucked in, head began tilting to one side and she got those big, dazed eyes again. I picked her up and took her outside for some fresh air while repeating her name again. When she snapped out of it, I brought her back in, finely chopped up some steak and fed it to her. She seemed to do well for the most part here but throughout the night began the whole fiasco over again.
I wanted to take her to the vet that day but problem is they closed at 5, my car isn't running, I live in the middle of nowhere and have been basically secluding myself from the world the past year. I made an appointment the next day to have her checked out. She got a blood test, and honestly I don't know what the rest means:
CBC/CHEM/LYTES
THYROID
FRUCTOSAMINE
I mentioned that she might have hyperthyroid problems from what I've read online. She began getting skinny for the past year, always anxious, rapid heartbeat constant, labored breathing, felt like a lump in her left side.. A lot of what the doctor told me honestly I just couldn't focus as hard as I tried to. I just wanted her to be fine and patting me on the shoulder as she always did to notify me she wanted up, just everything back to normal.
He assured me on many things but nothing felt right. He said that he was thinking she may be diabetic. He also informed me that we would need a urine sample and possibly chest x-rays. Now from what I read, I expected all of these tests in the beginning but didn't think about how to acquire urine for a test. Of course this should be easy for me to get, just put a cup under her while she squats. Problem is getting back to the vet during a 4-5 hour period from getting the sample. I'm going to have to plan it out. I don't exactly have any sort of Uber where I'm at or anything like that so I have to rely on family which, well.. There are issues there as well with transportation. But needless to say, it can be done.
Sorry for the life story here, I'll try to speed things up here. So anyway, the doctor told me it's highly plausible she may have diabetes and maybe even kidney problems. He said they could keep her over night for examination and maybe even put her on Insulin. I was a bit panicked inside at the time having just gone through all of this and took to his suggestion of trying food instead since at the beginning of the day he told me it could be very bad for her to give Insulin without her needing it and just his demeanor didn't seem all that trustworthy. I mean, I'm sure it was but I just had that feeling. You know, like "they don't care about her, they just want your money" sort of thing. She also has never been fixed but due to her age the receptionist said it wouldn't be the best idea to do it now. I read elsewhere this shouldn't be the case. I'm getting mixed messages everywhere and found this forum had been recommended in a few different places.
So yeah, I decided to take her home and try the diet idea. I learned things high in carbs were bad, too much protein isn't good either. But I can do this. My plan relied on a new bag of cat food I have yet to have tried with her and I would read up where to go from there. She seemed fine at this point and things were looking up. But I really had no plan besides getting back to him with a urine sample. Only I haven't had a chance to go back and didn't take the weekend hours into account. So my whole thing is I have many, many questions now. A lot of the things he said come back whenever the problem arises. Such as a drop in sugar levels- I should get something such as honey and rub it on her tongue to make her relax.
I tried the dry food and she didn't even touch it so I looked around online for diet ideas and found that raw chicken and that sort of thing would be ideal. Only I didn't have any thawed out. I couldn't think of anything. I did have chicken noodle soup which she loves already and it was low in carbs so I gave it a shot without the noodles of course because the vet said NO STARCH. Surely enough she seemed fine for most of the night but at the end of the day I ended up putting honey on her tongue again once or twice.
I've been exhausted as she has been while checking on her constantly while trying to get things done around the house and look up things on the internet about her that I've been just soo overwhelmed. I've read some posts here and got some good advice from these posts (thank you!) but I still have soo many questions:
I know the canned pate is a good option but also read somewhere that it introduced salmon or something that was no good for certain cats, can anyone elaborate?
I'm looking for things I can get at Walmart to tide me over until I have access to a car again on Monday.
I do not have a home testing kit and the vet actually never even mentioned anything about this. I of course should have known from all the Wilford Brimley commercials I've seen but like I said, I couldn't think straight at the time.
Can I get Insulin injections over the counter, at something like Walmart or CVS?
I don't have a lot of money, somewhere around two grand to survive on the next forever being between jobs and without any assistance or anything. Around here, that type of money would typically suffice for a few months so I was definitely unprepared for the situation and thought I was well-off for survival for the both of us.
Can anyone recommend what blood sugar kit and food, possibly Insulin that I can get to get me through the weekend are my main concerns right now. It's really all I can think of right now. My cat's name is Kawala and she has been the most important thing in my life for the past 15 years. I'm hoping to spend less but I would pay anything to keep her happy and healthy. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your advice!
Also, sorry for being soo long-winded I just wanted to give a bit of background and can never seem to shut up regardless. I've got about 21 tabs open and trying to wrap my head around it all. Her breathing seems more labored today than usual. She's an inside cat and I really hope this helps with her anxiety. I hate for her to have to go through all of this.
Ketostix is another thing I've been reading about here. Check for ketones.. I don't quite understand that either. What do you do if they're high or low?
Is there a better way to give her sugar than putting honey on her tongue? This labored breathing has me worried today. She doesn't seem to want much to do with me or even chicken. She seems a little dizzy but not falling over. I am soo lost and stressed and worried for her. I keep adding things here, I just don't know what to do.
I'm new here (unfortunately). On Tuesday I got up and saw my cat to the kitchen table as I usually do. She sits on the bench to wait and see what she can scrounge from me while I get breakfast ready. First of all, I was headed for coffee. I poured a cup, put it in the microwave and hit the timer. I heard my cat's paws hit the floor in excitement and the little pats as she scurried over to me as usual.
But today was different. I turned around with my cheesy smile only to my horror to find her stumbling sideways into the stove. I rushed to her aid (she's 15 after all) figuring she must have just got some leg cramps but that wasn't it at all. Her eyes were darting around her head and she even began rolling about five times on her left side. I honestly didn't know what to do. I pulled her out to the middle of the floor and comforted her gently while repeating her name. She seemed completely out of it still, my only thought was, "I'm going to lose her". Her muscles didn't tighten up and her legs didn't stretch out to their full extent so I didn't think it was a seizure, most likely a stroke. Then she lost control of her bladder (pee) and I thought for sure it was the end. Then it all just stopped. Her tail was flopping around but she lay still while staring forward. I put some mashed potatoes from the night before in front of her nose and she began again.
Her body rolled about five times, she breathed heavy and all other things I said previously. Finally she once again snapped out of it. The first hour and a half she wouldn't eat. She took a few sips of water and that was it. But she came back. She still seemed a bit strange but she was still alive. To be honest, it felt like Pet Semetery; like she was alive but she wasn't herself. She wasn't acting crazy or anything, just the thought I couldn't shake as she stared empty at me.
Finally I got her to eat. I have been feeding her dry cat food all of her life. I put a bowl of that down and she ate some small bites. She eventually stopped, her neck tucked in, head began tilting to one side and she got those big, dazed eyes again. I picked her up and took her outside for some fresh air while repeating her name again. When she snapped out of it, I brought her back in, finely chopped up some steak and fed it to her. She seemed to do well for the most part here but throughout the night began the whole fiasco over again.
I wanted to take her to the vet that day but problem is they closed at 5, my car isn't running, I live in the middle of nowhere and have been basically secluding myself from the world the past year. I made an appointment the next day to have her checked out. She got a blood test, and honestly I don't know what the rest means:
CBC/CHEM/LYTES
THYROID
FRUCTOSAMINE
I mentioned that she might have hyperthyroid problems from what I've read online. She began getting skinny for the past year, always anxious, rapid heartbeat constant, labored breathing, felt like a lump in her left side.. A lot of what the doctor told me honestly I just couldn't focus as hard as I tried to. I just wanted her to be fine and patting me on the shoulder as she always did to notify me she wanted up, just everything back to normal.
He assured me on many things but nothing felt right. He said that he was thinking she may be diabetic. He also informed me that we would need a urine sample and possibly chest x-rays. Now from what I read, I expected all of these tests in the beginning but didn't think about how to acquire urine for a test. Of course this should be easy for me to get, just put a cup under her while she squats. Problem is getting back to the vet during a 4-5 hour period from getting the sample. I'm going to have to plan it out. I don't exactly have any sort of Uber where I'm at or anything like that so I have to rely on family which, well.. There are issues there as well with transportation. But needless to say, it can be done.
Sorry for the life story here, I'll try to speed things up here. So anyway, the doctor told me it's highly plausible she may have diabetes and maybe even kidney problems. He said they could keep her over night for examination and maybe even put her on Insulin. I was a bit panicked inside at the time having just gone through all of this and took to his suggestion of trying food instead since at the beginning of the day he told me it could be very bad for her to give Insulin without her needing it and just his demeanor didn't seem all that trustworthy. I mean, I'm sure it was but I just had that feeling. You know, like "they don't care about her, they just want your money" sort of thing. She also has never been fixed but due to her age the receptionist said it wouldn't be the best idea to do it now. I read elsewhere this shouldn't be the case. I'm getting mixed messages everywhere and found this forum had been recommended in a few different places.
So yeah, I decided to take her home and try the diet idea. I learned things high in carbs were bad, too much protein isn't good either. But I can do this. My plan relied on a new bag of cat food I have yet to have tried with her and I would read up where to go from there. She seemed fine at this point and things were looking up. But I really had no plan besides getting back to him with a urine sample. Only I haven't had a chance to go back and didn't take the weekend hours into account. So my whole thing is I have many, many questions now. A lot of the things he said come back whenever the problem arises. Such as a drop in sugar levels- I should get something such as honey and rub it on her tongue to make her relax.
I tried the dry food and she didn't even touch it so I looked around online for diet ideas and found that raw chicken and that sort of thing would be ideal. Only I didn't have any thawed out. I couldn't think of anything. I did have chicken noodle soup which she loves already and it was low in carbs so I gave it a shot without the noodles of course because the vet said NO STARCH. Surely enough she seemed fine for most of the night but at the end of the day I ended up putting honey on her tongue again once or twice.
I've been exhausted as she has been while checking on her constantly while trying to get things done around the house and look up things on the internet about her that I've been just soo overwhelmed. I've read some posts here and got some good advice from these posts (thank you!) but I still have soo many questions:
I know the canned pate is a good option but also read somewhere that it introduced salmon or something that was no good for certain cats, can anyone elaborate?
I'm looking for things I can get at Walmart to tide me over until I have access to a car again on Monday.
I do not have a home testing kit and the vet actually never even mentioned anything about this. I of course should have known from all the Wilford Brimley commercials I've seen but like I said, I couldn't think straight at the time.
Can I get Insulin injections over the counter, at something like Walmart or CVS?
I don't have a lot of money, somewhere around two grand to survive on the next forever being between jobs and without any assistance or anything. Around here, that type of money would typically suffice for a few months so I was definitely unprepared for the situation and thought I was well-off for survival for the both of us.
Can anyone recommend what blood sugar kit and food, possibly Insulin that I can get to get me through the weekend are my main concerns right now. It's really all I can think of right now. My cat's name is Kawala and she has been the most important thing in my life for the past 15 years. I'm hoping to spend less but I would pay anything to keep her happy and healthy. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your advice!
Also, sorry for being soo long-winded I just wanted to give a bit of background and can never seem to shut up regardless. I've got about 21 tabs open and trying to wrap my head around it all. Her breathing seems more labored today than usual. She's an inside cat and I really hope this helps with her anxiety. I hate for her to have to go through all of this.
Ketostix is another thing I've been reading about here. Check for ketones.. I don't quite understand that either. What do you do if they're high or low?
Is there a better way to give her sugar than putting honey on her tongue? This labored breathing has me worried today. She doesn't seem to want much to do with me or even chicken. She seems a little dizzy but not falling over. I am soo lost and stressed and worried for her. I keep adding things here, I just don't know what to do.
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