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Juicy thanks everyone for being so wonderful. I’m going to call the vet tomorrow to request a copy of the tests they ran. I’ll post once I receive them. Thank you!!!
 

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Ok I spoke to the vet today and she wants to do an abdominal ultrasound on juicy because of her fever and her tummy being a little distended. She also suggested Vetsulin (I was thinking of going with Lantus and she said I can) and a glucose monitor for pets, not a human one. She said I can make an appt so they can show me how to administer the insulin. I said I need to discuss everything with my husband. Here are Juicy’s labs. Thanks again everyone. Please let me know if it doesn’t open.
 

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You can argue for use of a human meter on grounds of cost, Amanda. The Alphatrak's a great meter but the strips are much more pricey than those for the Relion Prime.

I'm glad that the vet went with your wish to use Lantus and didn't force the Vetsulin. Lantus is a much better insulin for feline diabetics and I hope that Juicy will do great on it. :)

When you're going for your lesson on how to inject the insulin, it'd be a good idea to bring an orange with you: they're good to practice on. :)


Mogs
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Mamanda__ said:
... and a glucose monitor for pets, not a human one.
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I initially bought an AlphaTrak2 because, well, Lola's s a cat. It was about $50 for the starter kit which came with 50 strips (about half of which I wasted in my early attempts to get blood samples.) Additional strips come in packs of 50 and cost $50.

Because the the information on this board is available 24/7 (my vet isn't) and the FDMB guidelines are based on readings taken on human meters, I've since gone out and bought a human meter (from Walmart, the meter cost $9 and an additional 100 strips for $18), and I thank the stars that I did! The very next day we entered a low BG situation that required that I test every 30 minutes. I used 16 strips that day (including the 1 that I messed up because the sample size was too low). Using the Relion strips cost $2.72 for that day versus the $16 that the AT2 strips would have cost.

But it's not just the cost: Had I run out of AT2 test strips I would have been up the creek. I don't know if any local store sells them. At a time when I was worried about Lola's potential for entering a critical low blood glucose stage I would have been frantically calling around trying to find additional strips locally and probably ended up having to order them online and paying to have them overnighted - which wouldn't have helped at all during that morning's looming crisis. Because the Relion meter and strips were so affordable I was able to lay in a good supply beforehand and would have been able to buzz out to buy more if I needed to.

Just something to think about ....
 
Mamanda__ said:
Ok I spoke to the vet today and she wants to do an abdominal ultrasound on juicy because of her fever and her tummy being a little distended. She also suggested Vetsulin (I was thinking of going with Lantus and she said I can) and a glucose monitor for pets, not a human one. She said I can make an appt so they can show me how to administer the insulin. I said I need to discuss everything with my husband. Here are Juicy’s labs. Thanks again everyone. Please let me know if it doesn’t open.
Click to expand...

Because of the fever and high blood glucose results, I think getting a urinalysis done to check for a UTI would be a good idea. UTIs are really common in diabetic cats and can actually increase blood glucose levels even in non-diabetic cats. If she has a UTI, treating that (confirming treatment with a urine culture) and switching to low-carb canned food may be enough to control her blood glucose without insulin.
 
How old is Juicy? How long have you had her? Has she ever been sick before? I ask because I wonder why she tested for FIV and FeLV. I ask because first of all I question some of the tests run but need to know first. Her electrolytes are unbalanced due to having diabetes that needs to get uncontrolled. She has pancreatitis and needs to get support for that. Lots of vets want you to use a vet meter but as mentioned test strips are expensive and you can’t just go get more at a drug store. I would have a talk with your vet and tell her that you have twins and funds are limited. I would not necessarily do an ultrasound right away and instead see if you can get her over the pancreatitis first. Maybe she won’t need more expensive tests.
 
Ask for an RX for ondansetron for nausea so you can get it at a drug store. Use Drugs.com to find the cheapest places. Say no to an ultrasound now. With pancreatitis you treat the symptoms. Cyproheptadine is an inexpensive appetite stimulant so you need an RX. You do need buprenorphine who’re pain which is a vet medication. Have you ever given sub-q fluids? I think she might need that to balance the electrolytes. How is she tonight?
 
tiffmaxee said:
How old is Juicy? How long have you had her? Has she ever been sick before? I ask because I wonder why she tested for FIV and FeLV. I ask because first of all I question some of the tests run but need to know first. Her electrolytes are unbalanced due to having diabetes that needs to get uncontrolled. She has pancreatitis and needs to get support for that. Lots of vets want you to use a vet meter but as mentioned test strips are expensive and you can’t just go get more at a drug store. I would have a talk with your vet and tell her that you have twins and funds are limited. I would not necessarily do an ultrasound right away and instead see if you can get her over the pancreatitis first. Maybe she won’t need more expensive tests.
Click to expand...

There's a blood test package at Idexx that includes FeLV/FIV tests; it's sometimes more economical to get the package. My vet's selected that package for my cats a few times, even though there was no concern for FeLV/FIV.
 
She’s 11. I have had her since she was born. I bottle fed her after we rescued her and her 2 sisters from the rain one evening when we heard baby meows. The mama was no where to be found. I have one of the other sisters and my mom has the third sister. She has never had any issues before. Her sister, Sookie, that I also have, had crystals in her urine 5 years ago and she was treated for that. Both kitties have been pretty healthy their whole lives until now.

so does she have pancreatitis? And why would she needs nausea meds? Pain meds are a good idea? The vet didn’t mention any of this. Thank you so much for interpreting the labs!!!!
 
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Yes. She tested positive for pancreatitis. On your labs that test is the SpecfPL. She scored 12.2 and over 3.5 means she has it. That is why at this point I would treat for it and see if everything else returns to normal. Is she indoors only?

My Max had chronic pancreatitis that started when he was about Juicy’s age. It’s treated by controlling the symptoms with the things we have mentioned. They don’t know the cause. Sometimes cats get it once and never again. For others it’s a chronic condition that comes and goes.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Yes. She tested positive for pancreatitis. On your labs that test is the SpecfPL. She scored 12.2 and over 3.5 means she has it. That is why at this point I would treat for it and see if everything else returns to normal. Is she indoors only?

My Max had chronic pancreatitis that started when he was about Juicy’s age. It’s treated by controlling the symptoms with the things we have mentioned. They don’t know the cause. Sometimes cats get it once and never again. For others it’s a chronic condition that comes and goes.
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The vet didn’t mention that! So strange! Yes she’s an indoor only kitty.
 
I’ve been reading about it for the last 30 mins. Wow. I don’t get why she didn’t mention that! It makes me angry. She hasn’t been vomiting and is eating (more than normal). She’s always starving and she’s definitely getting enough food. Ugh. I’m going to have to call the vet tomorrow.
 
The anti nausea is needed because with a pancreatitis flare up she may get nauseated and stop eating. A diabetic cat needs to eat because of the insulin you’re going to start giving her and because without food they could develop other issues. So the 2 options are Cerenia, which is a pet med, and Ondansetron which is a human med. they both work differently and for some cats one works better than the other. You have to try one or both and see what happens. It’s a good idea to have that handy instead of waiting for your cat to stop eating because you may not be able to get the prescription and meds ASAP. I’d explain that to the vet, that you want to be proactive about it and have it at home. Minnie had IBD and I thought pancreatitis until we ran all the tests. Anyway, ondansetron is what keeps her eating during flare ups
 
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