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Joeann

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My name is Joeann, my sweet kitty's name is Breezy. She is under two years old and became ill the first of this month with diarrhea and not eating well. I took her to the vet and she spent four days there and they decided she was probably diabetic as her glucose was 278. She also had a bacterial infection which they though might be a UTI. Anyway, she was better and I brought her home but they wanted to see her back in a week for fasting glucose. Well within that week she became ill again and started withe the loose stools and when she got to the vet she had a temp of 104 and they gave her fluids and kept her all night and sent her home on Orbax this time. She was getting Baytril and Lincocin while at vets both times. She did good for one night and then she wouldn't eat any longer. I started her on canned food but she started sneezing and congested and had to prime her with some in a syringe to get her to eat but she was better playful otherwise. Back to the vet and the glucose was 288 and they gave her a unit of insulin and sent her home with a bottle of insulin a bag of Hills DM dry. She won't eat it. She was eating some of the canned but now she won't eat any of it today. Now she did eat some last night. I tried to prime her with some this morning but she wouldn't take any except what I gave her with the syringe just a tiny bit. She went under the bed. She stand in front of the dry food and this morning she crunched about three bites of it but then later threw that up. I am at my wits end of what to do. Right now she is sleeping and she is fine because that is what she does during the day. She has voided this morning and had one small loose BM. I guess it's back to the vet tomorrow. Any suggestions out there? I did read the post about relax and I see a lot of me in there but this is my baby. I bottle fed her from right before her eyes were open and I am the only mother she knows. Any help will be appreciated. Joeann
 
Is she on antibiotics right now? Because ABs can make them not want to eat and throw up.
Did the vet do a fructosamine test? I'm asking because that 278 and 288 aren't as high as I'm used to seeing when a cat gets her first test at a vets to determine she's a diabetic and with the vet stress and illness and fever, I would just want to make sure she's diabetic with a Fructosamine test. That test will tell the average BG over the past 3 weeks or so.
Why was she hospitalized for 4 days?
 
Thanks for replying. She was in the hospital for the four days due to some type of bacterial infection. They never actually determined where it was. I thought gut since she was having the diarrhea but they said they thought UTI. I felt the same way about the blood sugars but did not realize there was a test that they could do to see how sugars average for 3 weeks. I knew they had that for humans. When I picked her up the other day and they told me they started her on insulin, I asked about the home testing and they told me there wasn't any way to do that but I have since found out that there most certainly is. I will ask for the fructosamine test. Thank you so much for that idea. This is so new to me and I just want my baby to be good. Joeann
 
Have you starting home testing? I would highly highly recommend home testing to make sure she doesn't go too low. Especially if she is having appetite issues.
 
No real suggestions. As others have said, the BG is not that high. There could be other problems more major that diabetes. Sending purrs and prayers for answers from tomorrow's vet visit.
 
let us know how she gets on. We can help advise on home testing. Also find out what kind of insulin they gave her... ideal for cats is Lantus, Levemir or Prozinc.

Wendy
 
Hi Joeanne and Breezy and welcome to the FDMB, the best little place in the whole universe to help your diabetic kitty.

We have oodles of practical day to day experience in managing diabetes.

First off, take a deep breath, hold, release,take a deep breath, hold, release, take a deep breath, hold, release, take a deep breath, hold, release.

The stress can be unbelievable when one of our beloved fur babies is sick. The best thing you can do right now for your Breezy is to relax. One of the most difficult things for you to do, but one of the most important.

They should have done a cytocentesis to diagnose the suspected UTI.

How was her bloodwork? Any high or low values?

The fructosamine test costs money so not all vets will suggest it. What are her other clinical symptoms of diabetes? Was she peeing huge lakes, eating everything in sight and asking for more, walking funny down on her hocks instead of her tiptoes, losing weight rapidly?

Is she getting insulin now? What kind and how much?

I asked about the home testing and they told me there wasn't any way to do that but I have since found out that there most certainly is.
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: The thousands of people here on this message board thank you for the laugh. Of course there is a way to home test. We even have some secondary monitoring tools you can use if you do not have a meter yet.

Link for those are here secondary monitoring tools
 
Hi Deb and Wink, They sent me home Wednesday with insulin and I said "where in the world do you give insulin to a cat" They said it's really easy, just at the back of the neck sub q and it doesn't bother the cat at all. Just give one unit twice a day and needed to be 12 hours apart. Make sure she eats but if she doesn't eat tonight give it to her anyway, it's not enough to hurt her." I paid for the ProZinc insulin and the kit and the Hills dry MD. I told my husband on the way home that there was no way I was giving insulin to a cat that wasn't eating and that I would get her regulated on food and then take her to another vet for testing. My kitty never had any symptoms of diabetes. No losing weight, no ravinous eating, no excessive drinking or urinating. It's why I was blown out of the water when they said that. She has been a healthy girl until she got this diarrhea, she was straining to have diarrhea and had fallen off her food. One day of vomiting but after that she just salivated like she was sick to her stomach. I called the vet and they said sounded like she had a hairball and to give her the cat lax to help. This didn't work and I took her in. She had temp and they kept her three nights and a day and did all kinds of lab like feline leukemia, aides, chemistry panel. The only thing that stood out was her amylase was 1360 which he said was because of the infection, she had a 12.9 WBC, Granulcytes were 91.6 so he said bacteria somewhere. He did a suprapubic aspiration for the urine wants they got enough fluid in her as she was dehydrated, glucose was 3+ WBC were only 0-4 which is normal, no bacteria seen but he was sure it was UTI and sent it for culture which is never grew anything. Her blood glucose level was 278 that time. I picked her up on 7-5 and she seemed pretty good although skittish from the hospital stay. Oh and they put barium in her twice to see if she had any blockage which they said she did not it went in the mouth in 20 minutes and out within two hours. Also no tenderness in her abdomen which you would expect with something like that. She was to go back on the next Wed for a fasting glucose but by Tuesday she was having diarrhea again so when I got there there she had 104.5 temp and they kept her all night for fluids and antibiotics. They did labs on her again and when I went to pick her up the girl at the window told me what I owed and I asked what they found out and she said "she's diabetic". I said what made her sick again? She said I'll go get him. He came and said that it seemed to be an allergic reaction to something and that she was fine and that I should bring her back on the next wed for the fasting blood sugar and they sent her home on Orbax this time. She came home feeling well. Ate some of the Purina dry DM they had given me the first time and drank a little water and settled down for the evening. By morning I could tell she wasn't feeling well again. I called and asked if she could be allergic to the purina DM, they said no since she was sick before she had it. I let her eat a little more of that Friday evening and also she ate a few bites of the Hills canned WD or MD or one of those I had both. Saturday she was not wanting to have anything to do with any of us wasn't eating or drinking. I got the Purina bag down and decided to see what in the world could be in there that her body might not be liking. The only thing I found was that the bag said "Best by October 2010". I quit giving it to her. I got wet food and watered it down and started feeding her with a syringe and sometimes when I would get her started she would lick the rest out of her bowl for me. She also at this time Saturday started doing a lot of sneezing and a little congestion so I figured she wasn't eating because she couldnt' smell it so I would prime her and get her going and by Monday she was feeling pretty good but not really eating on her own. Off to the vet on Wednesday and told them to check her nose because of the eating. Picked her up like I told you above and she still won't eat without being primed. She has tried to eat a few bites of the dry MD but seems to just wallow it in her mouth and put in back in the bowl. Just worried sick and have no idea what to do next but she did play quite a bit this evening after she ate some Friskies turkey and giblets that I had put in the blender with some water and syringed her first and then she lapped it up. Hard to take a deep breath but I am trying. Thank you for being here.
 
Ok what was she being fed before all this started? Many cats get sick of the m/d really fast. It's important she eats so I would keep trying whatever she would eat before,

Second the vet is wrong, cats can have a hypo on less than 1 unit. My bailey had a hypo on 1/4unit. So home testing is key to keep them safe, and home testing will help you confirm if this is diabetes or not.

Wanna go shopping tomorrow for a home test kit? We can give you a shopping list.
 
Hi Joeann!

Would you please make some paragraphs please, for better readability. It's much harder to read with all those run on sentences. Like this.

Joeann said:
Hi Deb and Wink, They sent me home Wednesday with insulin and I said "where in the world do you give insulin to a cat" They said it's really easy, just at the back of the neck sub q and it doesn't bother the cat at all. Just give one unit twice a day and needed to be 12 hours apart. Make sure she eats but if she doesn't eat tonight give it to her anyway, it's not enough to hurt her."

I paid for the ProZinc insulin and the kit and the Hills dry MD. I told my husband on the way home that there was no way I was giving insulin to a cat that wasn't eating and that I would get her regulated on food and then take her to another vet for testing. My kitty never had any symptoms of diabetes. No losing weight, no ravinous eating, no excessive drinking or urinating. It's why I was blown out of the water when they said that.

She has been a healthy girl until she got this diarrhea, she was straining to have diarrhea and had fallen off her food. One day of vomiting but after that she just salivated like she was sick to her stomach. I called the vet and they said sounded like she had a hairball and to give her the cat lax to help. This didn't work and I took her in. She had temp and they kept her three nights and a day and did all kinds of lab like feline leukemia, aides, chemistry panel.

The only thing that stood out was her amylase was 1360 which he said was because of the infection, she had a 12.9 WBC, Granulcytes were 91.6 so he said bacteria somewhere. He did a suprapubic aspiration for the urine wants they got enough fluid in her as she was dehydrated, glucose was 3+ WBC were only 0-4 which is normal, no bacteria seen but he was sure it was UTI and sent it for culture which is never grew anything.

Her blood glucose level was 278 that time. I picked her up on 7-5 and she seemed pretty good although skittish from the hospital stay. Oh and they put barium in her twice to see if she had any blockage which they said she did not it went in the mouth in 20 minutes and out within two hours. Also no tenderness in her abdomen which you would expect with something like that.

She was to go back on the next Wed for a fasting glucose but by Tuesday she was having diarrhea again so when I got there there she had 104.5 temp and they kept her all night for fluids and antibiotics. They did labs on her again and when I went to pick her up the girl at the window told me what I owed and I asked what they found out and she said "she's diabetic". I said what made her sick again? She said I'll go get him. He came and said that it seemed to be an allergic reaction to something and that she was fine and that I should bring her back on the next wed for the fasting blood sugar and they sent her home on Orbax this time.

She came home feeling well. Ate some of the Purina dry DM they had given me the first time and drank a little water and settled down for the evening. By morning I could tell she wasn't feeling well again. I called and asked if she could be allergic to the purina DM, they said no since she was sick before she had it. I let her eat a little more of that Friday evening and also she ate a few bites of the Hills canned WD or MD or one of those I had both. Saturday she was not wanting to have anything to do with any of us wasn't eating or drinking.

I got the Purina bag down and decided to see what in the world could be in there that her body might not be liking. The only thing I found was that the bag said "Best by October 2010". I quit giving it to her. I got wet food and watered it down and started feeding her with a syringe and sometimes when I would get her started she would lick the rest out of her bowl for me.

She also at this time Saturday started doing a lot of sneezing and a little congestion so I figured she wasn't eating because she couldnt' smell it so I would prime her and get her going and by Monday she was feeling pretty good but not really eating on her own. Off to the vet on Wednesday and told them to check her nose because of the eating. Picked her up like I told you above and she still won't eat without being primed.

She has tried to eat a few bites of the dry MD but seems to just wallow it in her mouth and put in back in the bowl. Just worried sick and have no idea what to do next but she did play quite a bit this evening after she ate some Friskies turkey and giblets that I had put in the blender with some water and syringed her first and then she lapped it up.

Hard to take a deep breath but I am trying. Thank you for being here.
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Sorry about the run on paragraph. I just had my thoughts going and didn't stop. :oops:

I am going shopping tomorrow and will get all the stuff for home testing.

Breezy was eating Purina Indoor before she got sick. She has been on that ever since she got off the Kitten Chow. I have tried giving her the Purina Indoor again but she walks away from it. I am currently blending food and priming her with a syringe and sometimes she will lap up what I put in her plate and other times I have to feed more with the syringe.

She played well this evening after she ate.
 
Shopping list..

1. Meter ie Walmart Relion Confirm or Micro.
2. Matching strips
3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool.
4. Cotton balls to stem the blood
5. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound
6. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against
7. Ketone urine test strips ie ketodiastix - Important to check ketones when blood is high
8. Sharps container - to dispose of waste syringes and lancets.
9. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken
10. Karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
11. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
 
I've tried to pick out and summarize some of the highlights in this complicated history for your cat. More questions for you in blue as well as my opinions and suggestions.

1. Prozinc insulin, BID, 1U, 12 hours apart. Diagnosed diabetic 7/17. Is she getting the insulin now?

2. paid for test kit Which one? Alphatrak 2? Can you home test? We have tips and tricks to help you.?

3. Purina DM dry, expiration date October 2010. Take it back to the vet for a full refund. Purina has a guarantee and you can get your money back. Expiration date or no expiration date. Please also tell them they need to check their supplies for other expired food.

4. Hill's m/d dry, Hills w/d wet, Hill's m/d wet also foods being fed. Is she still getting these? If so, I would stop feeding them, especially the dry food. A cat with a suspected UTI needs plenty of water in her diet. I would continue with the Friskies with the added water, as you have been doing.

5. appetite is still lousy. Assist feeding. What are you assist feeding right now? What food? The Friskies canned food?

6. Urine culture negative. A good proportion of suspected UTI's are sterile. Antibiotics are useless for sterile cystitis. Good article here on urinary tract health. http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth#Lower_Urinary_Tract_Clinical_Signs

7. No clinical signs of diabetes, yet vet has diagnosed diabetes and prescribed insulin. Run, don't walk, run to find another vet. In my opinion, your cat does not have diabetes at all. Never did. She was most likely misdiagnosed. Infections can elevate the BG (blood glucose) as can "vet stress".

8. Currently on Orbax antibiotic for diarrhea and bacterial infection "somewhere". Antibiotics often have a side effect of suppressing the appetite. You need to keep giving these antibiotics to clear up the suspected bacterial infection. Possibly ask you vet for an appetite stimulant. Please, continue to assist feed.

8b. The following adverse events are listed in decreasing order of reporting frequency: CAT: Blindness, mydriasis, anorexia, ataxia, depression/lethargy, vomiting, convulsions, abnormal retina, hypersalivation. In some cases, blindness has been temporary.

9. lot of sneezing and congestion started 7/13, eating better 7/15, back to vet 7/17, diagnosed diabetic that day.

10. No intestinal blockage, no abdominal tenderness, sterile culture on the urine suprapubic aspiration, allergic reaction to "something" per vet, some high results on some of the blood tests. I want to ask one of our members with experience interpreting the blood tests to come over and comment on those.
 
Hi Deb and Wink,

No Breezy is not getting the insulin now. I have felt just like you said that she is not a diabetic. I felt that the infection combined with the vet stress might be causing this. At any rate on the 3rd of July when I first took her to the vet for being ill and diarrhea he told me that her glucose was 278 but that it was not high enough to do anything about. But then on the second visit he told me that his daughter who has been a vet since 2006 told him that if they have a 3 plus glucose in urine they are diabetic. However he was going to wait for another test on the following visit on the 17th and that is when they gave her the insulin.

The kit that I have is just the syringes and the sharps container that the vet sold to me along with the ProZinc Insulin.

I work in a hospital so thought I could get a glucometer there like used on the patients but I think I will make a run to Walmart and check out theirs as the strips are so reasonably priced.

I am assist feeding the Friskies. She actually lapped up 30 cc of it twice today after I assisted her with the syringe. More playful today. Cleaning self. Out here with me right now at computer which is something she always did before she became ill.

Wendy and Tiggy, Thanks for the shopping list.
 
No Breezy is not getting the insulin now. I have felt just like you said that she is not a diabetic.
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Good! on the no insulin. Very glad to hear that in this situation where the diagnosis was so suspect.

If you need more information on assist feeding, here is a good youtube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6o17wH6ujk

Also, an article about feeding tubes http://www.catinfo.org/?link=feedingtubes

There is also an assist feeding group on Yahoo I believe. I don't have the link to that one.
 
Joeann

I'm the member that Deb asked to look at the labs. Do you have a way to scan and attach them so I can see the entire lab report?

Did they do a stool sample? She could possibly have is an overgrowth of clostridium .... Also known as C. diff...which could easily cause the diarrhea and fever. Did they give her metronidazole? That would be the treatment for suspected C. diff. In most cases when you have a cat with sudden onset diarrhea, the first treatment considered should be subqs and metronidazole.

I would most definitely get her to a different vet. I'd also hometest her but if you can't get a meter right away, If you can run out to the pharmacy, you can pick up diastix which are urine test strips for glucose and ketones. Right now....I'd focus on the glucose test part of it. Next time she pees, catch some urine in a ladle or make a little tray out of foil and catch urine. Dip the stick in it and count the seconds for the glucose test ...I don't remember what it is...maybe 10 but just check the bottle. Then read it and see if she has any glucose in her urine.

I could do a better job for you on the labwork if I could see it. You can attach it by using the "upload attachment" function below the text box.
 
I actually did ask the Vet about the Flagyl while Breezy was in the hospital the second time. He told me that it wasn't well tolerated in cats because it tended to make them nauseated. He told me that he was giving me the equivalent to our Cipro which is also good for the gut. That was the Orbax.

I will see if I can get someone at work to help me scan the labs. I only have copies from the first hospitalization. They said the CBC with diff and the Chemistry Panel that they did on second hospitalization was fine. On third visit to check glucose they did a Chem Panel. Said everything was good except the glucose was 301.

A side not hear. When Breezy got to the vet on the 17th her temp was 103 and her glucose was 301. They waited until noon to recheck her temp after she had settled down and it was 100.5. My question was if stress of the visit could make her temp do that then why not the glucose. Okay, I'm done with that and will move on from here.
 
Stress definately increases blood glucose - but for lab work they usually do a "fructosamine" test which averages blood sugar over the last 2-3 weeks and wont be affected by on the spot stress of the vets.

What kind of friskies are you feeding (type/flavour)

Let me know when you get the test kit and we will give you tips on how to do it.

Wendy
 
Well....two of my cats are on metronidazole right now with no problem. I know of several cats in the Lantus ISG that have been on it with no issue. If it were my kitty, I'd insist on it.
 
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