Lewie Not Doing Well - Need Thoughts

Kathy4Lewie

Kathy4Lewie

Active Member
Hi All, It may be getting close to Lewie's time.

Last Monday, he was constipated and had to be sedated and cleaned out. It took until Saturday for him to be back to himself. At the appointment last Monday, the blood work revealed that his PCV was 25% and his Potassium low. Tumil K powder was started. He had also lost 0.6 pounds in 4 months time. I told the vet that Lewie's really likes the DM dry food but that it made his blood sugar high. We discussed and since I test at home, the thought was that I would just adjust his insulin which I've been doing, but not fast enough. I've only been going up 1/10th of a unit every day. He is still readying HIGH. I mix the DM dry with Fancy Feast.

Tonight he was walking past his water bowl to the litter box and he fell over into his water bowl. He has hip and back problems, but he is usually steadier than this. He is still eagerly eating and sitting out on the porch during the day, but he's very weak. The vet said I could try the erythropoietin shot if he is lower at his next appointment in 3 months, but he won't make it 3 months if it's the PCV that's making his so weak. I would think the potassium would have kicked in by now, so I'm wondering if it's being HIGH for 4 solid days is causing his weakness.

If he is HIGH tomorrow morning, how much can I increase his insulin? I gave 0.9u tonight... up from 0.8u this morning. Should I jump 2/10ths in the morning? I'm using the U100 syringes.

I also wonder if his readings aren't coming down because he is failing.
Thanks for your thoughts.
:(
 
I'm sorry to hear Lewie is having a hard time.

With dry food and numbers that high are you testing for ketones?

I would call the vet and let them know what happened.

Sending love and healing vibes Lewies way. <3
 
Those numbers can definitely contribute to not feeling well. I wonder if a lower carb kibble would still entice him? Dr. Elsey's is lower-carb and I've read of good quality for a kibble. Also, go ahead and increase to 1.4u, on the next cycle, and keep going up around 0.5u every third cycle after that until you see a yellow, and keep posting so someone can help keep an eye on things in case you need to go faster or slower than that.

As for ketones, you can get the urine stix at most human pharmacies, and just stick one under his bum when he's using the litter box to catch a drop of pee. Or really any ketone blood meter will be fine. Whatever you can find most quickly. They are a little pricey, but often easier than stalking the kitty to the litter box.

I'm so sorry to hear Lewie isn't doing well. Sending healing thoughts your way! :bighug:
 
Thanks for the dose instructions. I wish I'd given more the morning! :banghead:

It looks like the Dr. Elsey's food is no longer made. It's out of stock everywhere. :(
 
And don't worry about the dose this morning :bighug: - increasing that much and that quickly is unconventional dosing advice. It's only because he's sick and you need to try to get on top of it. Normally dosing like that would be too much too fast.

And if you do end up getting a lower carb food, you'll likely need to slow down with the dose. This is very situation-specific, and not advice for typical cats (just want to put that disclaimer in there in case someone is lurking!) :stop:
 
Thank you! I forgot about Chewy's.

On the insulin dose, is it ever ok to give more insulin a few hours after the shot? I know that's totally unconventional, but thought I'd ask. I gave Lewie's shot at 6:30am and only gave 0.9u.
 
Kathy4Lewie said:
On the insulin dose, is it ever ok to give more insulin a few hours after the shot?
Click to expand...
It's not a good idea to give an extra dose of Prozinc because it lasts too long and it can really mess up the cycle after. There is a short-acting insulin called Novolin R that is sometimes used in conjunction with a long acting insulin like Prozinc, Lantus, etc. It is very strong and very harsh, so using it is tricky and should only be done with guidance and a lot of testing.

Kathy4Lewie said:
Lewie's AM+6 is 270
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Yay! I would still recommend moving a little faster with the increases since while the 270 is promising, that PS was still pretty high. Adding a little more insulin will hopefully extend the duration and start to move the PS numbers down a little.
 
His PM+6 was 369 so not as good as this morning. AM shot I gave 0.9. PM shot I gave 1.0. Maybe in the morning I can jump to 1.2u.
On another note, he is constipated again. If he doesn't poop overnight, it's back the vets. I'll ask for an enema without sedation... there are quite a few YouTube videos on the topic and it would be better than sedating him. I gave him 2ccs of Laculose so hopefully that will kick in.
 
You could also post out on Main about the constipation. There are a number of home remedies that people like that might be able to help as well.
 
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