Max - Newly diagnosed with a bout of DKA

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Chris Ca

Member Since 2019
Hi!

Been lurking a few days figuring things out, but wanted to post a hello and general intro.

During the last week of August and into early Sept, Max started getting rather picky about his food, and eventually was refusing all of it. Tried all kinds of different foods, etc. He was primarily eating GO! canned chicken stew - approx 17% carbs as fed. Not much luck with other foods. We started to notice some significant weight loss, and frequent large urination in his box. With the knowledge we have now, he was clearly headed down the DKA path.

He went to his (old) vet on Sept 9, they took blood for labs and also xrays, trying to get an idea of what might be wrong. Fructosamine was part of these labs. We were called back to the vet on Sept 13, where the initial tentative dx for diabetes was made. Lantus was provided, along with training and a variety of prescription diabetes diet wet cans. At this appointment they also took urine and additional blood for testing. The vet was somewhat unconvinced that it was diabetes for sure.

That evening, Max was very much not himself. Staring off into space, still refusing to eat, etc. I had only just started reading into this forum and other resources online, so everything was still very new and information overload! We were not particularily happy with the dx we had received and my partner and I had been discussing getting a second opinion and just eating the cost of additional lab work.

Sept 14 morning, Max had still not eaten anything. We called our other vet at 8am (they regularly see our pooch) and they got us in for an appointment an hour later. We headed over, the new vet was very thorough with his initial diagnosis. Looking for other things that may be wrong, etc. He took max into the back to collect urine and do a BG test. He came back to us within 3 minutes VERY concerned. Max's ketones were very high on a test strip (sorry, dont have the exact number). Max was immediately hospitalized with them for DKA treatment.

He responded well throughout his time at the hospital. We received frequent updates on how he was doing. Ultimately he stayed with them for 3 days. We picked him up Monday afternoon (Sep 16).

Since he's been home, he's been getting 1U AM and 0.5U PM of Lantus. Food wise, he's been pretty uninterested in the MD pate and prefers the dry. He will eat his full portions of the dry across an 8 hour window or so, and we provide food every 12 hours, a little before his insulin shot.

I started measuring regularly in the last 2 days, based on my reading here ;) SS is in signature below.

If anyone has tips on ideas to get him to eat his darn pate, I'd love to hear them! I will be picking up some FF today on my way home from work. Ironically, when we first adopted Max we fed him FF pate exclusively!
 
also, we are in Canada so we're measuring in mmol/L, but I think I used the template properly as the US tab is there and the values are copying over! Let me know if I missed something :)
 
Hi and welcome Chris and Max. Your spreadsheet is perfect and thank you so much for getting both the signature and spreadsheet done already.

I am so sorry Max, and you, had to have such an experience. DKA is definitely no fun and does take some recovery time. Chris, there have been other kitties who have suffered DKA and there is a wealth of information and support here for you and Max.

One thing that I keep seeing mentioned here and is doubly important to measure for Max is using Ketostix in a fresh urine sample to be sure kitty is not still throwing ketones. I'm glad to hear that Max is eating, even if it's dry food, he needs to eat so that DKA doesn't rear its ugly head again. Ketostix are widely available at pharmacies since the advent of the Keto Diets for humans, and are not expensive. Testing him at least once a day is going to let you know what's happening.

I would like to see you start a new thread in the Main Health forum regarding transitioning him to an all wet low carb diet that he will like and eat. A gradual transition from dry/wet to all wet is recommended to prevent GI upset and because it can lower BG significantly, which needs to be monitored and insulin dose possibly adjusted. Max does not need the Rx (which is not actually Rx) food, it's too high in carbs and it's like giving donuts to a human diabetic. I and others can elaborate more in the new thread on Main Health HERE.

Thank goodness you are testing. Chris, this is the best way to keep him safe, help prevent any hypo situations and let you know how the insulin is working. You are an excellent and caring cat mom!

I will be looking for your new post in Main Health forum, very best wishes going forward in this new journey. :cat:
 
Waving to you from the Kawarthas.
Lantus is a depot insulin and works best giving the same dose twice a day. Please re-post in Main Health where more people will see your post.
But quickly, there is no dry food in Canada that is low carb.
Food chart put together by the vet Dr. Lisa. You want foods below 8-10%. Not all foods are available in Canada. Some cats like the Weruva: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
Canadian canned food not listed on Dr. Lisa's chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...ZVTk_tYNVRaoG_3Dfy64/edit?pli=1#gid=964479244
 
@Red & Rover (GA) thanks for the Canadian charts! Will definitely have a look at these option ;)

@Idjit's mom I just reposted in the Main, thanks for the advice. I'll pickup some keto stix for sure. I also think I want to get different syringes, as ours dont have half U measures and it's pretty tricky to eyeball! I'm actually the cat dad, my partner Kate is the cat mom :) We're doing this as a team... i've got the research down, figured out BG readings etc, Kate is mostly doing the injections and metering as well. I have a needle fear to get over!
 
I had been ordering Carepoint syringes online but I got weary of paying shipping charges.

Now I buy Relion 31 gauge 6mm 3/10mL syringes at Walmart. They have half-unit markings. These work for us. Mabel is low dose. She tolerates these syringes very well.
 
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