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Where are the labs? Found them. No fructosamine. No UTI. Sugar in urine. That’s how I diagnosed Max.
 
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Rebecca, take down the labs and remove your personal information as this is a public forum. Then repost. I’m still lookin at the labs. I will be back.
 
What does concern me is that the basophils are high. If the eosinophils were high it would signal allergies but they are low. There’s inflammation and I would call your vet and ask what this means. Usually cats have 0 basophils.
 
tiffmaxee said:
What does concern me is that the basophils are high. If the eosinophils were high it would signal allergies but they are low. There’s inflammation and I would call your vet and ask what this means. Usually cats have 0 basophils.
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Can that be consistent with pancreatitis you think or something else?
 
tiffmaxee said:
Where are the labs? Found them. No fructosamine. No UTI. Sugar in urine. That’s how I diagnosed Max.
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I noticed that, but the numbers have been within normal range without any insulin since Saturday that we know of maybe even before. Could the food change alone put him back into non-diabetic range? I’d really like to see a fructosamine test to know what the 3-week average was for him
 
Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
Can that be consistent with pancreatitis you think or something else?
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It’s not something I have seen with pancreatitis. It’s just a snapshot in time so should be run again and if still high looked into.


Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
I noticed that, but the numbers have been within normal range without any insulin since Saturday that we know of maybe even before. Could the food change alone put him back into non-diabetic range? I’d really like to see a fructosamine test to know what the 3-week average was for him
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He very well could be food controlled. I agree a fructosamine could shed light. As an alternative I not give insulin and see how his bg is on low carb food. I have seen cats go OTJ rapidly with a food change.
 
Thanks for looking tiffmaxee . I noticed that about basophils. I'm thinking maybe asking for a leukemia test? Does anyone know anything about that? Also, I tested him 2 1/2 hours after 20 ml of food and it was 124.
 
Thanks not much over normal. Keep feeding lc and let’s see what happens. There was sugar in his urine so he was above normal. He may need some insulin once the transition to low carb is complete.

I did read there could be a bone marrow issue BUT my internist never rested upon one test. I would wZnt another CBC and chem 25 run and sent out to a lab to see if this a a fluke.

How is he feeling? Eating? Preening? Purring? Pooping? Playing?
 
He's moving around the house slowly, wants affection from our other cats. He tried to cuddle up with them any chance he gets. Purrs when we sit and pet him. He's able to get up on my daughter's top bunk so that's great news about his hind legs. Mostly sleeps but gets up every few hours to sniff the food bowls and drink a little water. He's not too playful but pooping/ peeing normally. It's been almost a week since he's tried sleeping in the tub or sink. The big issue is him not eating on his own. I'm feeding him 3-4 times a day between 15 and 25 ml of food through syringes. (Either Crave turkey or Salmon or Purina Beyond wild salmon) No insulin since Saturday morning since his last 3 readings have been 95/95/124. Guess I'm just waiting until I can get more bloodwork?
 
tiffmaxee said:
That is encouraging. Are you giving him ondansetron? He might very well be nauseous. At this point I would see if he will eat even dry on his own. Did they test for pancreatitis?
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They didn't test for pancreatitis, unfortunately. I only learned about it recently from alleluia grugru & minnie. Yes he's getting 1gm ondansetron every 12 hours (as of Saturday). I've offered dry food and he seems interested but doesn't actually eat. The syringe feeding is getting a lot easier. I think he almost enjoys it.
 
After approximately 8 hours since his last meal Buddy had a bg reading of 112. He is walking around the house, rubbing against furniture, purring and looking for affection. He is still moving slowly and not eating from the food bowls but drinking water. I am going to feed him now and take another bg reading a while after. He gets another dose of ondansetron tonight so I will also try the appetite stimulant again tonight if all continues to look good! Thanks again for everyone's advice and suggestions!
 
It sometimes took a couple of days for the ondansetron to work for Max. I would give him an appetite stimulant. You have to be careful though because if a nauseous cat eats he can develop food aversions to what he ate so don’t feed him his favorite food until you think he’s no longer nauseous.
 
tiffmaxee said:
How is Buddy today?
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Thank you for asking. His energy is way up. He's been walking all over the house and wanting affection. No hiding at all and normal sleep. I tested him earlier today before his first meal and he was at 88. He still isn't eating on his own so I syringe fed him but he's drinking water on his own. I will test him again tonight. He is still on ondansetron every 12 hours . Still no insulin since Saturday morning since all of his readings have been good.
 
I wonder if something else is going on with him. Pancreatitis is a distinct possibility. Is he still enjoying the syringe feedings? That would be odd if nauseous. As long as you are able to get close to the full amount of food per day I would just give him time. Keep us posted. Thank goodness you are home resting and not giving insulin.
 
tiffmaxee said:
I wonder if something else is going on with him. Pancreatitis is a distinct possibility. Is he still enjoying the syringe feedings? That would be odd if nauseous. As long as you are able to get close to the full amount of food per day I would just give him time. Keep us posted. Thank goodness you are home resting and not giving insulin.
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He fought a little on the syringe feeding today but he is not spitting anything out. I'm opting for smaller, more frequent feedings since I don't have to worry about him having a full feeding before the vetsulin. While I'm relieved that his readings are good, I am still concerned about him not eating on his own and wondering what caused all of this in the first place. Although I can't fully interpret his bloodwork, it's clear that some numbers were abnormally high. Now after some rocky communication with the vet I've lost confidence in their ability to help Buddy so my plan is to seek recommendations for a good local vet and get his bloodwork and urinalysis done again. I can't express how grateful I am for this group and all of the wonderful support and advice. Thanks to Aleluia Grugru & Minnie for introducing me.
 
Does Buddy show any interest in food?
How much are you syringe feeding? The rule of thumb is on 5.5 oz can day. I have a civi who is 13 or 14 and she has only been eating a little food for the last 5-10 years and and I have to syringe feed her the rest of the needed food. The amount sI have to syringe feed keeps increasing but she also shows interest in food. I have tried anti-nausea drugs and appetite stimulants but to no avail. She has multiple heath problems like cataracts and joint problems since she was 6 months old. and now has high blood calcium. I can syringe feed he food in about 5 minutes.
 
Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
@Rebecca SM great news!! When you go to the new vet, remember to explain you want the pancreatitis tests done when you book the appointment as they may be able to quote the prices for you. I think we need that next to either confirm or rule out the pancreatitis
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I am still in the process of finding a new place to get new bloodwork done but am happy to report that Buddy's numbers remain in the 90-100 range and yesterday he started eating on his own. His energy is almost back to normal, too. Starting the ondansetron and then proceeding with the appetite stimulant seems to have really worked. Thank you so much for all of your help!❤
 
Rebecca SM said:
I cannot thank everyone enough. I dread to think what would have happened if I would have just carried on with the insulin. This group has been amazing.
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I just want to add that not everyone is willing to syringe feed daily and to do everything we recommend they do, and willing to go “I’ll do it!” when we say you have to start testing like now. So give yourself a lot of credit because you earned my friend! :bighug:
 
tiffmaxee said:
Only remove one thing at a time in case he stops eating. You need to learn what works and what doesn’t. If you remove more than one thing you won’t know. Start by skipping a day of appy stimulant and see how it goes. If not good put it right back.
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Couldn't agree more with this advice.

And don't rush to stop the anti-nausea meds. Wait till Buddy has had a reasonable period of eating normally by himself without the need for an appy stimulant, and then taper down the dose size/frequency gradually.

FYI, should it prove that there's a chronic issue causing the nausea, unless contraindicated for the particular cat, ondansetron can be used as a daily maintenance treatment.


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
Couldn't agree more with this advice.

And don't rush to stop the anti-nausea meds. Wait till Buddy has had a reasonable period of eating normally by himself without the need for an appy stimulant, and then taper down the dose size/frequency gradually.

FYI, should it prove that there's a chronic issue causing the nausea, unless contraindicated for the particular cat, ondansetron can be used as a daily maintenance treatment.


Mogs
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Agreed! Minnie is on ondansetron x2 daily. There’s no long term contraindications as opposed to Cerenia. And adding Cerenia is also a possibility since they’re both anti-nausea but work in different ways. I add Cerenia when she has a really bad IBD flare up and the ondansetron alone is not enough. So even after you remove the anti stimulant successfully, you can keep Buddy on the ondansetron x2 a day and hopefully avoid a relapse
 
Oh, another thing: just as it can take 24-48 hours for a particular dose of ondansetron to reach full effect, I've found that when trying to taper the dose down, the first day on the reduced dose might be OK but by day 2 or 3 the appetite might get sluggish again. In such circumstances, I have found that going straight back to the last effective dose straight away is the best approach, reason being that it can take that 24-48 hour period again to build back up to full effect.


Mogs
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