It's four in the morning . . .

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Snowleopard said:
I am a bit of a poke out of town, so planned on picking up the supplies tomorrow when I go in for work. Ditto printing all this out---will have access to a printer then.

I'm limited in supplies, varieties of cat food, etc., right now.
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Great for part one, :)
As far as the food for the tool box, the Friskies with gravy like the Fillets or Cuts (used to be Idjit's favorites) is good, you can give a tsp at a time, to raise BG without filling kitty completely up and also if needed add the corn syrup. Or press out a little gravy with the back of a spoon. I kept med carb and high carb (one can each) of the Friskies in the box.
 
Is there advice/printout/vid somewhere about assist feeding? Cordelia is eating nothing. All she's had since Thursday or Friday is assist-feeding.
 
So this is good.

I think the assist feeds/medication sessions are grueling for the cat--I find them so, and I know I've got the easier role in it. She resists the process, and it's hard on her having to cope with that on top of not feeling well. At the end of it she's exhausted, and goes to one of her `spots' and melts, and it looks pretty much like she's in pain and ready to check out. Last night felt like a nadir, as she'd had the near-miss at the litterbox, and the feeding seemed like such an ordeal for her, and I wondered how much longer I could put her through these feedings.

Awakened in the night to use the bathroom, decided to check on her. Went downstairs, looked around, didn't see her anywhere, which I took to mean she'd found an even more isolated spot to hide, which I took to mean the end was imminent. Came back upstairs, looked around, didn't see her. My search up 'til that point had been without turning on the lights, as I have enough light to move around. Decided I needed to find her, so flipped the lamp on, and there she was, sitting on the floor of my bedroom.

The only thing that's obvious to me that would bring her upstairs is the desire for companionship. I went to her and rested beside her for awhile, and she purred while I snuggled her. Then I picked her up and brought her into my bed, and she snuggled with the other cat and myself, then left so quietly I didn't hear or feel her leave. Checked on her, and she's downstairs in her hidey-box, but in an `alert repose' position, and there's no evidence of diarrhea in (or next to) the litter boxes. That's the most she's moved around in days, and I'm guessing (possibly egocentrically) that she came up looking for us, which I took to mean that she doesn't feel as crummy as she did before. Serendipity is who knows where, and that means I have the whole bed to myself! and I intend to get more use of it before my alarm goes off.

According to Google, yep, others have applied Maslow's theory of hierarchy of needs to cats, with the expected pun on the name (a vet at http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/meowslow-s-hierarchy-needs explains it by saying, `cats are people, too, so this applies to them'). The following is from that site.

Kitty's needs are simple: unchecked power and internet fame.
veterinary-two-pyramids-kitty-450.jpg
 
Well, that's a turn of events and certainly encouraging. I hope that she will begin eating on her own and that the eating problems and loose stools come to an end.
You have been so busy coping with a great deal and I hope you get a little bit more rest before you have to go back to work today. When you get a few extra minutes (yah, I know, rolling eyes) create your signature. This is pertinent information on your cat that is attached to each of your posts and informs all who read and respond to your posts without having to scroll back and search for that or repeatedly ask you. Here's a link to doing that: SIGNATURE. There is also some additional info on filling out profile information and selecting preferences, which you can do at any time.
I sure hope your kitty is on the mend and things get more manageable.
 
So I've been waiting an hour and a half for a call back from the vet's office.

She is sleeping--but not that `can't wake up' kind of tiredness--I understand, I'm tired, too. She seems happier--purred when I picked her up to test this morning.

I tested her this morning at 107, and am reluctant to force feed (okay, assist feed might be appropriate terminology for some cats, but yeah)---I think she needs a little chance to get her appetite working for her and let herself heal. Also hesitant to give her insulin because I'm afraid that without food it would push her into hypoglycemia.

Have to head off for work, will be an hour late. Arrggh.

ETA: tested her again before I left--first test was just before 8, second at 9:30, results then were 95. So dropping some, but not tanking. Made the call to not give insulin or an assist feed, or the anti-diarrhea meds or anything else to stress her out, just let her rest.

This is like some bizarre game where any decision you make can either help or kill--the only rule is that you have to make a decision.

Onward.
 
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What a day. I bet most people reading this are nodding as if to say, yep, I've had those days.

No complaints, I hasten to add. Just long and weary day here. Was late at work, went to the grocery store and bought every flavor of Fancy Feast I could find, as well as several others, plus baby food. Stopped to fill my sucking-air gas tank, drove home, late by the time I arrived, but to my delight, for the first time in a week, Cordelia was waiting for me on the stairs. Clearly it was a bit of a rocky journey, but she celebrated by drinking out of the upstairs bowl, and then shakily making her way downstairs (house is built into a hillside, so main entry is upstairs, kitchen is downstairs) where she hung out, purring so loudly I could hear her from several feet away. Seemed happy and affectionate.

I opened three containers I'd bought, and even rubbed some on her gums, and this time she at least licked them, sniffed the food with interest, and it was like watching a dieter consider, then take a pass on a slick of chocolate cake. "Yes, I want it, but I shouldn't, really," before finally getting down and walking away. This time she selected the bed by the woodstove, not as hidden away as The Box. BG tested much higher, 273, so I will be giving her the whole magillicuddy tonight: dinner via syringe, appetite pill, anti-diarrhea meds, fluids, and insulin. She seems stronger today, and I'm not willing to let her go longer without food.

I left out dry food for her, which is gone, but that could well have been Serendipity walking past and thinking, "Waste not, want not," or whatever cats think about that. I let her have the can of FF that Cordelia rejected, thinking Cordelia's appetite might be inspired by the other's eating frenzy. Nope. C turned away in delicate disgust like an anorexic watching a glutton. Thought I heard her tummy rumbling, which I took to be a good sign until I realized it was my own that was inspired by the hoovering of the FF. We have no secrets here, right? My digestive system knew a good thing when it smelled it. When I tried rubbing some of the Sheba Perfect Portions Delicate Salmon Entrée Pate in Natural Juices (seriously, who writes this stuff?) on her gums, she licked it off and swallowed it. I'd rather sit here for an hour rubbing her gums with SPPDSEPNJ than put a syringe in her mouth again.

Have a fire going (I can take a hint), and now I am going to put a Netflix or youtube vid on and relax and do the evening feed/fluids/meds. Wish me well--I figure I'll be at this for a couple of hours.

I got several of those documents printed out today, so I have hard copies of at least the ones I think are most important.
 
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A better day then. I'm so glad you got your printouts, and the signature made. Suggestion, add the Prozinc dosage, how many units you shoot every 12 hours, and a geographical location, general or specific whichever you are comfortable with, so we have a time zone reference. Please get the spreadsheet going, and record your BG tests, There is a comment section on the spreadsheet and it would helpful to record feeding times and amount you get into Delia. I know there was a lot of information provided to you in a short, stressful time, but I wonder if you noted the recipe for the Liver Shake for assisted feeding, for cats not eating? I'm just trying to think of what might help you and Cordelia. I hope you had, or are having a good night, and Delia steadily improves.
 
Earlier today I wrote: Good morning,
Delia was again stressed by the multiple treatments last night, but later really seemed to relish a cuddle--I finally had to put her down so I could get to sleep at midnight, and am up now at 5:30, thinking about her and what's best. I asked the vet tech I spoke to on

That's as far as I got, decided that even though it was early I wanted to check her blood sugar. It was 41. Retested with a larger drop: 49. I warmed up some honey, rubbed it on her gums, and retested later: 51. Got everything ready here for a speedy departure: dressed, packed up, sprayed the travel bag w/Feliway. Vet clinic opened at 7:30, called in, spoke to a tech who looked at her notes and listened to me, and said she thought it was time to bring her in. I agreed, and brought her in. They retested her there with a larger blood sample, and it was 49 again. Doc said she looked dehydrated, so they gave her fluids. We discussed her numbers, and he said that he thought she'd flipped.

Yesterday after feeding, she tested at 237, so I upped the insulin to 2.5 units, based on his earlier recommended dose. I think that's what drove her into hypo. I told him I felt the same way, that the interventions at this point were a lot of stress for her emotionally and physically. His recommendation at this point is to hold off with any insulin unless her BG go up above 350, and then only administer .5 unit, maximum of twice a day. We're stopping all meds, and I'm not going to try the assist feed tonight, either. There's no evidence of abdominal pain on palpation.

She spent the day at the clinic, and they basically got an idea of what I've been going through--tried six different foods, noted the diarrhea, gave her fluids, Vitamin B shots. We are going to give her a day or two off the juice, no interventions beyond the fluids, and see how she does, see if the eating restarts. He also said they had no luck with syringe feeding, that she just spit everything out. That made me feel a bit less like an incompetent buffoon, though I would have been happy to see her get the calories if they had succeeded. On the upside, the poo was brown, not bloody. That also seems like a cause for cautious optimism.

He said that if she's not eating, then Friday at the latest it's time to hospitalize her, and put in a feeding tube. He said, "They don't like it, and [people] hate it, but . . ." and I told him I would welcome it. I asked if that was a temporary measure, and he said he would go into it with that idea.

Brought her home, and she headed straight for the bed next to the wood stove and went to sleep. I put water out for her and started a fire, and will probably put her in a room where she can be alone later and put food out for her. I think more than anything right now she just needs to rest.

I also had a brief `quality of life' discussion with him, and said that I didn't think that we were to that point, but that this couldn't go on indefinitely, and we needed to see how she did over the next few weeks, and he agreed.

So there it stands. I think she needs to be less stressed to heal, and he agrees.

So there it stands. She is OTJ, but not doing super-duper at the moment. Still, better than she was by a long shot.

Thank you for your post and your concern.
 
Wow! What an incredible day. I so hope that tonight she rests and begins healing. Her poor little body has been through so much. Hopefully you can find something she will eat, souped canned food, baby food, the Liver shake, something. I know you will do your best. Please, you also get some rest, this has been hard on you too, and you have to be ok to care for her and Serendipity. Peace, comfort and tons of healing energies to descend on your home. If you have to work tomorrow, maybe tonight make wet food slurry, freeze in ice cube trays and leave some cubes out to gradually thaw, and she could lick?
 
I recommend you begin a new thread, the It's four in the morning title does not convey any urgency, a question or indication of what the problem is. I would very much like for the veteran members on the board to read and respond. You can link this thread to the new one and then continue with updating about Delia's issues and current conditions.
 
Will do, Lou, tomorrow. But tonight, I just had to share the exciting news!!!

I went downstairs to check on her one last time, found her semi-awake, so offered her food, and she was interested enough to sniff. I rubbed some on her mouth, and she ate it! Repeated, and she ate it as well. Rubbed some on the fur of her leg that was right in front of her nose, and she ate that as well, then groomed her leg--first grooming behavior I've seen in a week.

Reminded me of a very sleepy toddler--would eat a little, rest, gather her strength and eat a little more. She probably downed about a teaspoon and a half of food, which isn't a lot, but it's a fine start.

I'm going to floss and roll up the sidewalk and call it a night. Thank you!
 
I am keeping my crossables crossed that she is off the juice. The vet seems to think that she is `flipping', as he calls it; in other words, her body is starting to self-regulate and she's beginning to produce what she needs. To put the 2.5 in perspective, when I returned two weeks ago, she was on 4.5 2x daily, and appeared to be doing well. 2.5 was the `cutting back' dose recommended by the vet, but clearly is too much for her now. He's now saying no more than .5, and only if her blood reads at or above 350.

It's four in the morning here, Alaska Central Time, again, a fitting bookend for this thread. Went downstairs to check on her, and found a still-very-sleepy, but very happy cat. She got lap time and snuggles from myself and Serendipity, whom she adores, and I thought about the nature of love and what it means for her. I think that loving is her gift--she's just extraordinarily attuned to and appreciative of affection. I really believe that she was slipping away on Saturday, and that she rallied because of love--I think that it means that much to her, perhaps because she went so long without it, perhaps because she's just a very sensitive girl, perhaps both. But when she was feeling at her worst, those long snuggle sessions seemed to give her strength and focus. Ah, we'll never know, but I just have a hunch that this is so.

I checked her blood while I was down there, and was happy to see it up, 223, because it said to me that she got some calories in earlier when she ate. I fed her a little more--still very sleepy, had to do the same thing--rub it on the corner of her mouth, and then some on her paw, maybe a teaspoon altogether. She got down off my lap after a bit and staggered back to her bed near the stove, and curled up, and went back to sleep. She's the purringest girl now. I think she feels better, and is happy about it.

And I am back in bed, and going back to sleep. Thank you again for the concern, advice, and well-wishes. It's been very helpful to not have to go it alone through this.
 
Thank you, Lou, for your concern and well-wishes. ;)
Saturday for the win! What a week that was! Sun is shining and I am still in bed at 10 am oh my, but ejecting as soon as I give the update.

Cordelia has been moving around the house, getting and giving cuddles (and a few hisses to be put in her place again). She is eating on her own, but acting like something is uncomfortable about that--I'm afraid I might have bruised her or squirted food in the wrong place when I was syringe-feeding. But she's eating in bigger amounts now, and looking altogether like a much better girl. I even let her out on the deck for a few minutes to enjoy the sun and feel the breeze. Brought her in and she sneezed-sneezed-sneezed, so I think that we're not going to do more outings for awhile, but it's still a good sign that she is getting curious about her surroundings again.

Thursday I took her blood sugar when I got home, and it was 318. Since she was still bleeding and I had more stix, out of idle curiosity I measured again, and it was 352. Now I was concerned. Measured again. 400. Again. 452. All within a minute-and-a-half. Vet said to go with the first measurement, hold off on insulin. I got a high reading again yesterday, but it took multiple stabs to get the blood, and she was starting to resist the process. I stayed the course per his advice and did not give insulin, and she is looking good this morning. And for the moment, at least: :otj:
 
Thanks so much for the reply, I have been wondering. I did not go back to the entire beginning of all your posts..but I want to ask, have you been injecting the Prozinc since diagnosis, but not at a consistent dose? Your signature says dosing by units.
Can you tell me why the vet does not want Delia to have insulin with those numbers, is it just because she wasn't eating? 318, 352, 400 and 452 are high enough numbers. High numbers for a long period causes damage. I am sure she does get a little testy with the testing, it's all new to her. Have you been testing consistently since diagnosis also? Do you reward with a yummy treat after every test/attempt? I am so glad she's feeling better and eating better, but she's still got those high BG numbers, and until she's regulated or genuinely in remission she isn't going to feel entirely well, or be able to process her food well. I recommend that you post in the Prozinc forum and see what the veteran members there think and might recommend.
 
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