? Low Glucose Readings

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Phyllus said:
UPDATE: WOOHOO! I think we have definite improvement (knock on wood). Milo is up and about. He is making trips all the way to the kitchen water fountain and drinking a LOT of water on his own. Although he is still not eating on his own yet, I was able to easily feed 3 ounces of barely diluted food this morning with a short 10 minute break at a midway point. He is definitely a little stronger and more steady on his feet. I attribute that to Pedialyte every 2 hours. I'm hoping things will only get better from here so we can get back to our regular schedule. :cat:
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I am so glad to hear that Milo seems to be feeling better! Fingers and paws crossed that this is the turnaround he needs! :bighug::cat:
 
Ok...my cat is simply not improving the way he should. I'm still having to syringe feed and am back to syringing water. Even though this cat has a crusty nose that I keep cleaning for him and my gut tells me this is quite a bit more than cat flu and my next questions are: If his urine shows no keytones can he be DKA or could he be allergic to novolin n insulin? Vet doesn't want to hospitalize because he is extremely hard to handle. Please advise.
 
Ok...my cat is simply not improving the way he should. I'm still having to syringe feed and am back to syringing water. Even though this cat has a crusty nose that I keep cleaning for him and my gut tells me this is quite a bit more than cat flu and my next questions are: If his urine shows no keytones can he be DKA or could he be allergic to novolin n insulin? Vet doesn't want to hospitalize because he is extremely hard to handle. Please advise.
 
If this has been going on since February 1, maybe it's time to talk to the vet about a feeding tube. Most cats seem to handle them really well, and it may be what Milo needs to get over the hump of his illness. If he's all stuffed up and his nose is crusty he probably can't smell his food, and congestion may make eating very difficult for him. I would definitely take him back to the vet, even though he is hard to handle.
 
UPDATE: I talked in depth with the vet about Milo's progress. After a night's sleep I could evaluate the situation more clearly. Although he was not eating or drinking on his own yesterday, this morning he seemed somewhat perkier with a better light in his eyes. He took water willingly and gulped down the food I syringe fed him. Immediately after his meal he went to potty and I checked for ketones with a negative result. After this I spoke with the vet about the problems I had with him yesterday but that he was lapping quite well from the syringe today. I informed him that although I wasn't able to get a full 600 mL's of fluid in him each day but I had gone through 1.5 quarts of pedialyte both straight and mixed in food. I also told him I had given Milo pumpkin in case he was having constipation, but he told me that the reason he's not having a bowel movement is because there are no solids on his stomach yet and that though the pumpkin won't hurt by any means, I shouldn't worry too much about the BM's. I inquired about whether we needed to rethink whether or not to hospitalize him and he told me that with as wild as he is that he would have to repeatedly sedate him to do what he needed to do and that he would be too stressed upon waking each time and that he felt Milo needs what he is getting now at home and that we should continue with the plan and talk again Monday. So I picked up more antibiotics since I was running low and inquired about sub q fluids. My vet is not a fan of sub q fluids. He feels they are not as efficient as IV fluids and not as effective as assisted drinking. So we passed on the sub q fluids. Milo's glucose levels have been great today with a low of 92 +4. I wasn't in the least concerned about leaving him long enough to run a couple errands and pickup his meds. Before I left, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and it was Milo looking for food. He found a bowl of crunchies but only sniffed and walked away. I re-fed before leaving. My vet and I are thinking that I may be about to get over the hump with him. We shall see.
 
If Milo has distemper (referred to as Upper Respiratory Disease Complex these days) as the vet cited as a possibility, we are in for a long recovery time. Last cat I helped through that took 6 months to recover completely with several set backs and was isolated another 6 months after last symptoms were gone. That one at times was so weak he couldn't even lift his head. The day I took Milo to the vet, more blood was drawn than what would be needed for a simple glucose test, and the rest was probably used to check the red and white blood cell levels among other things.
 
Phyllus said:
If Milo has distemper (referred to as Upper Respiratory Disease Complex these days) as the vet cited as a possibility, we are in for a long recovery time. Last cat I helped through that took 6 months to recover completely with several set backs and was isolated another 6 months after last symptoms were gone. That one at times was so weak he couldn't even lift his head. The day I took Milo to the vet, more blood was drawn than what would be needed for a simple glucose test, and the rest was probably used to check the red and white blood cell levels among other things.
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I hope that's not what Milo has, fingers and paws crossed that it's just a random virus that clears up soon. We have several members who are very proficient at reading test results, so if you have the results of Milo's bloodwork you can post them and ask for help, someone will walk you through them.
 
OK...Bigquestion now is can my cat actually be allergic to Novolin N? The reason I ask is because he seems to improve between doses and within 2 to 4 hours of the insulin shot he just seems to be in Lala Land. His vet insists he needs 2u but he is not getting any better and the only other symptom he has is a runny nose that keeps crusting over. Now his third eyelid is showing and his eyes seem further sunken. I can't tell if he's in a deeper sleep, or something worse. My vet didn't administer IV fluids even though he was dehydrated, and though his skin is now snapping back the way it should, I wonder if he still needs fluids to help. He has no ketones.
 
I am not a professional in any way but I think I read somewhere that some kitty's can be more sensitive to certain insulin's. I don't know if it said allergy. I'm trying to find the article now. :banghead:

Also, what food is he eating?
 
Yong said:
I am not a professional in any way but I think I read somewhere that some kitty's can be more sensitive to certain insulin's. I don't know if it said allergy. I'm trying to find the article now. :banghead:

Also, what food is he eating?
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My cat is not eating on his own at all and his vet recommended Sheba chicken pate for digestibility to use during assisted syringe feeding. He said he didn't have inflammation of the pancreas but that if he has pancreatitis that the only difference in treatment from what we are doing now would be the withholding of food for 24 hours. But it seems to me that after his injection (2u Novolin N) he becomes very disinterested, very depressed and even more lethargic. As the insulin begins to wear off at the end of the now 24 hour period, he seems more alert, propped up in bed watching what's going on around him. I've added a humidifier to the room to assist with the running, crusting nose; which, I think I finally have under control. Also, I have moved the water fountain within 2 feet of his bed, which sparked some interest a half hour ago. So I stood him up near it when I saw his interest and he drank an average amount (if it actually was swallowed), it did look as though he was taking it in.
 
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