New cat diagnosed last night, still in hospital today

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LaurieGK

Member Since 2013
Hi! My name is Laurie and our cat PJ is 9 and was just diagnosed last night. He's probably had diabetes for years because many years ago he lost a lot of weight for no reason. He's always been playful and eaten well and we never suspected diabetes because we had no idea cats could get it. We have just in the past year or so been able to afford vet care again after almost five years of part time only employment, otherwise I'm sure our vet would have known.

Yesterday PJ started throwing up, but that's not unusual for him at all. He's always been a pukey cat, so much so that we started feeding him Purina One for sensitive systems a month or so ago. I wonder now if that didn't have something to do with escalating his sickness... we always give it to him wet so it's like a wet food. Anyway, we finally took him to the emergency vet since he threw up a few more times, and although he was drinking and using the littler box he couldn't keep anything down and didn't want to eat. They have him on an IV drip and antibiotics and insulin right now and his blood sugar, which was over 400 last night, is down around 250 right now. He still has ketones in the urine, but they will check again when we go visit him around 6 pm.

I just don't know what to do right now. They want to keep him for 3-5 days and we are not in a place where we can afford that. The vet down the street, since PJ was not a patient of theirs, is sort of giving us a hard time about treating him now (as if we could help not having money to take him in for regular check ups, etc.) and another thing, they are only open for a little while on Saturday and not open at all on Sunday so no one will be there watching him. They say we can take him home but he won't do as well here as he would in the hospital since the ketone thing.

Any thoughts or advice? I know my boyfriend and I will be regular visitors to this site now that we have a little diabetic baby on our hands. I'm so glad I found you!
 
Learn how to home test, put your baby only on canned food, and send these people the sugar levels. I'm in South America where they do not know how to handle this, and if it weren't for this forum, I would have lost my Holly. We are still fluctuating, not controlled. Treating a diabetic cat is not cheap. My strips alone cost about $125-$150 a month. If you can get control quickly, you might be able to wean off the insulin and keep control with just diet, all canned food. There are lists of acceptable brands you can find online; you can even make your own food. You want high protein and low carbs. Dry food is a BIG problem with felines. I'm new here, but this is what I've found out in the last three weeks. Everyone here will help, even give you tips on the best glucometers and supply prices. Hang in there!
 
When they say "showing ketones" is it trace, mild, moderate, or severe ketones. Anything other than a trace and she needs hospitalization.

I'm sorry to say that diabetic ketoacidosis isn't treatable at home. In addition to insulin, electrolytes (potassium, magnesium, etc) need to be monitored to keep them balanced.

If you take him home with higher levels than a trace, he may die, feeling awful, vomiting, and possibly seizing.
 
shelly2893 said:
Treating a diabetic cat is not cheap. My strips alone cost about $125-$150 a month.
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Hi Laurie! I just wanted to ask which country you live in. If you are in the US, Walmart makes a meter for home blood testing that you can use on PJ and the test strips are very cheap, 50 strips for $9. The initial costs for diagnosing a cat can be high, as can treating for diabetic ketoacidosis if PJ does need to stay at the vet for that reason, but otherwise the ongoing care for a diabetic cat is not necessarily that expensive.

I'll be thinking of you and PJ and hoping to hear that he's home and feeling better soon!
 
I was going to say the same thing as Amy. I get my test strips for about 18 cents a piece ($9 for 50) from American Diabetes Wholesale. There's a link at the top of this page, and if you click on it and order from them, they give a small percentage of the sales back to FDMB to keep this site running.

I hope your baby is okay and the ketones are going away or gone and PJ gets to come home soon.
My cat is a DKA survivor, so they can get through this. I had to use a line of credit to pay for it, but it's so worth it.
 
I have been visiting him when I can so I haven't been back to post, but I appreciate the replies!

His ketone level is still very high. They didn't give me a specific number, though. He is drinking on his own but refusing food. When I visit him, he snuggles for awhile then wants to get down and hide under the chair (our kitties were all ferals and don't like other people besides us so this is normal for him). He is used to a bigger litter pan and feline pine cat litter and won't use theirs so he was just holding his urine and they had to express it but twice when I've visited he just let go of his bladder and peed on me so I know he can do it on his own, he's just not doing it, again, probably either scared or not used to the little cat pan or the different litter. They had Yesterday's News pellets, so it's the same shape and I hope he'll try on his own.

They will offer food again at noon, and then I'll go back at 6 and see if I can get him to eat again.

I am in the US and it wasn't the cost of the supplies I was too worried about, just the crazy amount it's costing us to keep him in the emergency clinic. There doesn't seem to be anything to do about it though since any other vet is not open over the weekend and he needs monitoring, so once our credit cards are maxed we'll get Care Credit, I guess. Luckily we just got some cards with cash back and no interest for a year so it's not as bad as it could be.
 
Bring something with your scent on it, like an unlaundered Tshirt or pillow case, for him to cuddle up with. It will make him feel more comfortable when you are not there.
It is very important for him to eat, so try bringing his favorite foods and treats when you visit. I went to visit J.D. every day, and brought food and treats because he wouldn't eat for the vets, and eventually after many days would eat only a bite/treat or two from me. J.D. was hospitalized for 8 and 1/2 days, and came home with a feeding tube which he quickly dispensed with once he got home and chowed down just fine from his own bowl. Most likely PJ will not have to stay there as long as J.D. did. Usually the stays are a lot shorter. J.D. was at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and they said he couldn't come home until he ate, and he just wouldn't. So, eventually, they just let him come home and he ate fine once home.
They should be trying to assist feed PJ somehow at the vets if he won't eat. Not eating in cats can soon lead to Fatty Liver Disease (Hepatic Lipidosis) so be sure that they are addressing his eating. I wish you all the best of luck with PJ and hope he gets to come home real soon. :YMHUG:
 
How is he doing today? Once you get him home we can help to get him regulated but keep us updated..

paws crossed for you both..
 
PJ just this minute got to come home =) I wanted to check online for all our supplies to see where was best to pick them up. He ate twice this morning and they were able to get rid of almost all the ketones so we got to pick him up! He's complaining right now lol. He was so out of it at the vet for days that I'm not sure he even knew where he was, so we're hearing about it now for leaving him alone!
 
Laurie, That's so great that PJ got to come home finally and most of the ketones are gone.

What insulin are you using?
Will you be home testing?
 
Ok so what did you get and what advice do you need?

Meter= Are you planning to home? Do you want a recommendation?

Insulin- Did the vet give you a prescription or anything?

Food? What kind of Purina One is it? ie flavour/wet dry?

Wendy
 
I'm so glad he's home and so is PJ it seems :-D

You'll need to keep testing for ketones every chance you get, at least every day for awhile.

Keep eating and keep getting better, PJ cat_pet_icon
 
I just picked up the insulin, syringes and all the test paraphernalia for ketones and blood sugars. I'll be testing at home once I take the meter to the vet and calibrate it with the one they have. I got it all at Wal-Mart today but I will be shopping around for insulin prices because it's crazy high. I don't know if I can do better online somewhere for ordering ahead or if Wal-Mart is the best. I read through the posts on this site but I don't even know what questions to ask until I come to them, if that makes sense. We will start the shots tomorrow morning and I do know how to do them after a test shot with saline at the vets.

I got him cans of Special Kitty from Wal-Mart while I was there. He has always been a grazer and we have other cats in the house so this will be a challenge. We are going to switch them all to a partial wet diet along with the Purina One for sensitive systems, but PJ will just be on the wet. We are training them all at the same time to eat once a day and right now we have some cats circling us because it's not time to eat yet and they are used to being able to have kibble whenever they want!
 
What kind of insulin is it and what dose did your vet recommend?

Special kitty is a good choice as long as its pâté or ground style, not the gravy.

You would be safer testing before you start shooting, especially if you are changing the food..
Wendy
 
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