New here and in dire need of help :(

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Nat

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My 11 year old cat Sagwa has been diagnosed with diabetes this past thursday, by having a blood sugar lvl of 475. Let me rewind and tell you all how this began..

Sagwa had a open wound ( size of a cherry ) on the top of his head, next to his ear. It never seemed to bother him much, but I took him into the vet ( since I could finally/financially afford it, 4 weeks ago ). The vet gave him a steroid shot and antibiotics lasting for 2-3 weeks. His wound never healed just crusted up again ( almost tree bark like ), so I went again for a follow up visit and they cleaned his wound and gave him the same thing, steroid shot/ antibiotics. Same thing, it never healed. A week ago before I went to work I've noticed his wound started oozing in the middle part and mucus like little fluid started to crust up on his head. I am a live in caretaker for 2 Alzheimer's patients and work every week from mon - fri/ 24 hours, so I am not here to watch him very closely but have a wonderful older lady to come and feed/ clean litter etc for my cats ( I have 5 ). I have told her about my observation and she kept an close eye on him but she said he ate and seemed to be alright.
When I got home last thursday ( my short work week ), Sagwa greeted me but he soon after went to sleep under a covered chair and my crafting table which is not usual for him. He seemed lethargic and did not eat at all thursday. So I took him to the vet that afternoon and he got diagnosed with diabetes due to his high blood sugar! She gave him a shot of 2 units of lantus and sent me home to see if he gets better. Well he didn't, his temperature dropped, no eating, no litter use - no nothing. I went back to the vet on friday and they did more tests and come to find out he had a urinairy tract infection as well.
At this point, he was im miserable shape and had no food no water, no litter use. She gave him an IV and they suggested I leave him at the vet office for the weekend, they tested if he has "DKA" and he didn't. His kidneys were good as well. He has been at the vet since then. The Vet technician called me 2x a day to let me know the updates. Sagwa would still not eat, he is on constant IV fluids. They had to forcefeed him on saturday and then even gave him some appetizer stimulant to hopefully get him to eat - but he didn't. His blood sugar dropped to as of yesterday evening to 273- halfway down from his initial 475 from Friday.
He has a catheter in and the tech told me he urinates good, but the again no food, just a tiny little bit at one time this past weekend.
I am puzzled, shocked, depressed as to what I can do. I haven't talked to my vet today but they will call me soon'ish, to let me know what is what. I have been reading online about diabetes which is a foreign subject to me and gained a little knowledge as to it may be a temporary "thing" or it may not be.
I am very worried about my cat, and even moreso since I can't be here when he needs the insulin shots and have to have my friend here to do this and she is very nervous about going by this, since she is scared she would hurt him. The vet tech showed us both how to do it past thursday before he got sent home and I had it in no time, while she is nervous, but she will learn it and will do anything to take care of my cat while I am at work.
Sagwa did not drink exessive water or is a overweight cat ( unlike 2 other cats of mine ), he is a large red tabby cat with heavy bone structure and weighed in 13.75 lbs this past friday.
Before I took him to the vet this past friday for his hospital stay, I have noticed he had his eyes slented (sp?) almost like squeezing them together as something would be in his eyes or bothering him. He is usually a very talkative cat ( his father was a siamese mix ) and he wouldn't talk at all... UNTIL I had to let him stay at the vet hospital. They brought him to the back into a cage and I wanted to see him before I left and he let 2 tiny meows out and I petted him, burried my face into his fur and talking to him, he purred like he was so happy that I was there...
Needless to say I bawled on my way home...and have been ever since in some sort of zombie like, just functioning mode. I am worried sick about my cat, I miss him so much and I fear for the worst.
I am on the limits of my funds since I spend in the past months $1300.00 on the vets visit. I have a son, freshman in college and I am to an exhaustion point where I don't know how I can afford any or anything anymore.
I am sincerly looking for advice on this forum, if anyone knows why my cat Sagwa doesn't eat or why/ what is happening to him.

Thank you all so much in advance for your replies.
 
Oh my goodness I feel so bad for you. I dont know much but am sending prayers for you both. I hope others will be able to help you better than I.
jeanne
 
I'm sorry, what a terrible time you've been having.

He may not be eating and squinting his eyes simply because he does not feel well. Maybe the vet can force feed a little canned A/D (script food) into him.

The two steroid shots might be what caused the diabetes and if that's the case, he could go into remission but will need some insulin at this time. There are really short needles, 5/16" length 31 gauge needles that are so tiny my cats don't even notice them.

Not DKA is great news.

My main concern right now is the wound on his head that won't heal. Any idea what caused that? An unregulated diabetic, which he could have become once he got the first steroid shot, they have difficulty healing infections.

Also the urinary tract infection, that was probably caused by the diabetes. Sugar in the urine can be a breeding place for bacteria.

I know it sounds really bad all of this stuff, but a short time on Lantus which is an excellent gentle insulin and if you could consider home testing and teaching the other care taker to do that, you may have a well regulated kitty quickly and hopefully one that will go into remission soon.
 
The ulcerated wound may actually be a cancer. Have they taken any biopsies of it? Or cultured any of the discharge to get the correct antibiotic to prescribe?
 
Hi Jennifer,

Thank you so much for your reply!
Yes the doc said it could have been a possibility that the steroid shots caused all of this... because he was doing GREAT before all of this. My cats are inside cats, aside a hug back balcony I have, but I live on the 2nd floor and it is pretty high up ( 20 + feet ) so there is no way he could been in contact with any other animals.

He had this little wound for a while, it started out very small and just gotten bigger I would say the past 2 months. I have no idea what caused it, none of my other cats have anything, they don't fight either asides the occasional paw slap or hissing when fighting for my attention. The vet, however had concerns when we first gotten that wound checked, that it may could be cancerous, but she didn't wanted to jump the gun and try the antibiotics and steroids first. The diet in my cats is an issue , however....

My oldest (15 yrs ) old cat, she is VERY picky on what to eat. She and my other girl cat love wet food and she changes her mind every months or so, about what she wants to eat.

I have tried everything from science, organic to hollistic dry food to whiskas, purina to fancy feast food which where we are on right now. They will only eat that kind of wet food ( these little oval plastic shaped containers ), which looks like real chicken or real turkey. As for dryfood, I always have some of that out, and again I try to steer away from anything that has corn, or fillers in the dryfood. I bought yesterday ( trying it again ), Science, adult 11+, dryfood and she eats it a little bit, but usually raises her nose, yells ay me because it is not to her taste.
I only buy chicken or turkey, since my other boycat had a UTI a few years ago and totally stayed away since then from any tuna or other seafood.
Sagwa eats wet food but like to nibble on dry food as well. He is not an exessive eater or very finicky.
So yea there have been changes in their diet due to my demanding oldest cat who pretty much calls everyone out for food and dictates if it is " good " or not, lol.

I am still waiting on the vet to call me back... I have called but the receptionist told me they will call back since she didn'y had his chart with her... and I took off today to be here and hoping, Sagwa will finally come home.
 
BJM said:
The ulcerated wound may actually be a cancer. Have they taken any biopsies of it? Or cultured any of the discharge to get the correct antibiotic to prescribe?
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No they have not done it yet... but she suggested to me, 2 weeks ago this is what they may need to do. Could this be a reason why he has gotten diabetes?

And thank you.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
Oh my goodness I feel so bad for you. I dont know much but am sending prayers for you both. I hope others will be able to help you better than I.
jeanne
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Jeanne, thank you so much for your reply and kind words. I am anxiously awaiting the call from my Vet, I am terrified and feel so helpless as in what to do. TYVM
 
You are doing the best you can right now, just breathe. It is so simple and yet so hard to do.

You said your vet taught you how to do "it"- was that giving the shots or to do home testing- which is a must (especially if the FD is related to something else and can be treated to diet controlled quickly)? Most of us use a human meter- I use the Relion Micro that i get at Wal-mart as they are cheap ($9) and the strips are not that expensive compared to the other brands ($22/50, $33/100). Another good one is Bayer or Freestyle. Do NOT get anything with the name True in it as there has been problems the last few months with that brand.

You can do this. It takes time. Good luck!
 
Nat said:
fancy feast food which where we are on right now. They will only eat that kind of wet food ( these little oval plastic shaped containers ), which looks like real chicken or real turkey.
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The Fancy Feast Appetizers? Those are only supplemental foods/treats. They do not contain any vitamins or minerals.

Try to get your cats to eat a nutritionally complete canned food. A similar brand to the Fancy Feast Appetiziers is Weruva, http://www.weruva.com The food is chunks or slices of meat or fish in gravy or jelly. Not all of the Weruva varieties are low in carbs. I think there's a list somewhere of the low carb ones that a diabetic cat can eat.


As for dryfood, I always have some of that out, and again I try to steer away from anything that has corn, or fillers in the dryfood. I bought yesterday ( trying it again ), Science, adult 11+, dryfood and she eats it a little bit, but usually raises her nose, yells ay me because it is not to her taste.
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Try a grain-free dry food like Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, or Nature's Variety Instinct.
 
squeem3 said:
Nat said:
fancy feast food which where we are on right now. They will only eat that kind of wet food ( these little oval plastic shaped containers ), which looks like real chicken or real turkey.
Click to expand...


The Fancy Feast Appetizers? Those are only supplemental foods/treats. They do not contain any vitamins or minerals.

OMG, I didn't knew THIS!!!!! I feel like an idiot and abuser now. OMG thank you thank you for telling me! I had no IDEA!

Try to get your cats to eat a nutritionally complete canned food. A similar brand to the Fancy Feast Appetiziers is Weruva, http://www.weruva.com The food is chunks or slices of meat or fish in gravy or jelly. Not all of the Weruva varieties are low in carbs. I think there's a list somewhere of the low carb ones that a diabetic cat can eat.

I will buy this TODAY at Petsmart, as soonest I get the call!

As for dryfood, I always have some of that out, and again I try to steer away from anything that has corn, or fillers in the dryfood. I bought yesterday ( trying it again ), Science, adult 11+, dryfood and she eats it a little bit, but usually raises her nose, yells ay me because it is not to her taste.
Click to expand...

Try a grain-free dry food like Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, or Nature's Variety Instinct.
Click to expand...

Making a list here and will go do, I feel so terrible now. I have to admit I didn't read the labels about that food. I thought it was regular catfood. :oops:
 
Nat said:
BJM said:
The ulcerated wound may actually be a cancer. Have they taken any biopsies of it? Or cultured any of the discharge to get the correct antibiotic to prescribe?
Click to expand...

No they have not done it yet... but she suggested to me, 2 weeks ago this is what they may need to do. Could this be a reason why he has gotten diabetes?

And thank you.
Click to expand...

It is more likely the probable uncontrolled infection, plus steroid shots, plus diet is what triggered the diabetes.
It is possible, however, that if this is a malignancy, it may have metastasized and is causing some of the other problems.
If you can, I'd encourage sampling the discharge and culturing it, plus perhaps a skin scraping sent off for pathology.

And under holistic approaches - some humans with non-healing ulcers have used dressings of sterile honey (ex this), or sugar to dry them up and help them heal. I'm not sure how you'd bandage the cat's head for that, though!
 
Hi Nat,

I am so sorry for what you and Sagwa are going through. I can just imagine how hard this has been on you working the hours you do. I have a 15 1/2 yr old diabetic and am in the process of switching her to appropriate wet foods which is what you want, low carb and wet not dry. She was a dry food junkie. If I can do it anyone can. This is one of the fussiest little princesses in the world. :lol:

I also am concerned with the head wound and think you should go ahead and get the biopsy while he is in the hospital.

As far as meters, do NOT get the Freestyle. There have been issues with it and its strips. The Relion and the Bayer Contour are both good tho the Relion is cheaper, I prefer the Bayer but that is a personal choice. Whichever you buy, make sure it takes a very small amount of and sips the blood from the strip. The syringes should be 3ml, 5/16, 3cc, 31 gauge, holding 30 units or less, with half unit markings. The only lancet pen worth anything is the Freestyle Lite Lancet Pen. American Diabetes or Amazon have them free freight. You will also need lancets. That pen will take just about any but the Freestyle lite is nice with it because it fits tight and you can adjust how far you want it to stick out.

The link for the Food list is: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html The lower the carbohydrates, the better for diabetes. I think he will have to lead everyone else now to a certain extent while trying to please your 15 yr old also. I found that my Fusspot will eat the Wellness Trout & Salmon Dinner & Turkey & Salmon Dinner & their new 3oz Flaked Turkey dinner which is not on that list but I am working on converting the series so still don't know how it will work out except that it seems to be low in carbs and high in phosphorous.

We have lots of videos on how to test the blood glucose and instructions and how to properly give an injection and there is almost always someone here to answer your questions. This is a good link for testing: http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-test.htm We all have tips for you too. You will need to get your supplies for him before he gets home though and we will help you or your friend take care of him . Don't worry too much. You found the right place for help.
is
Melanie & Racci
 
Nat said:
OMG, I didn't knew THIS!!!!! I feel like an idiot and abuser now. OMG thank you thank you for telling me! I had no IDEA!
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The Fancy Feast Appetizers labels says this but in teeny tenny print that no one ever reads :roll: It's on the Fancy Feast web site in teeny tiny print: http://www.fancyfeast.com/appetizers/ At the bottom of the front page picture in teeny print it says "Serve as a complement to regular meals" and each individual product info page says this under Feeding Guidelines: Suggested Daily Feeding: Feed up to 1 tray per day for an average size adult cat. Refrigerate unused portion. Fancy Feast Appetizers are intended for supplemental feeding only. This product may be fed daily along with a complete and balanced cat food diet.

Personally I feel that Fancy Feast should make this clearer and in bigger print on their food labels and ads to cover their butts in case someone ever sues because they fed their cat only the Appetiziers and developed serious health issues or even died because they had no idea that the food was not nutritionally complete.


I will buy this TODAY at Petsmart, as soonest I get the call!
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PetSmart does't sell Weruva, nor does Petco or most chain pet stores. Weruva is sold in specialty pet stores/boutiques. There's a store locator on the Weruva web site that you can use to find a local store that sells the food. You want the Weruva canned, not The Cats In The Kitchen pouches. The pouches are in gravy and are too high in carbs to be fed to a diabetic.

Petco does sell Soultistic which is made by the Weruva company. It's pretty similar.
 
Thank you ALL for your kind and helpful replies, I appreciate this so much!

Sagwa is at home now and very disoriented. He just lays on his stomach, head down and doesn't " communicate ". He did however when I picked him up from the vet and on the drive home.
The vet had some good news as in his blood sugar dropped from friday 477 to today morning 127. His pancreas however is a bit inflamed and they found to much fat in his blood. Sagwa is not an overweight cat, but has a very solid frame. When I first came home he was so dizzy walking and had his backleggs somewhat pulled in and wanted to go behind the sofa ( he never goes there...) but I got him and layed him undre my crafting table and opened a can of fancy feasts tuna and had to almost dip his mouth into the can so he would eat. He ate a 1/4 can and they are tiny in about an hour time frame. I just kept holding the can under his nose and he ate which made me so happy, because the vet and vet tech couldn't get him to eat at all. Soon after the eating, he wanted to move and it seemed to me that he couldn't see where he was going ( does diabetes can make a cat blind? ), but he was just to weak to do more than 2 steps and layed flat down and just layed there.
I feel so horrible for him to see him in THIS condition, it makes me teary eyed just writing this.
He doesn't lift up his head when I talk to him, he is just not feeling well.
My friend came over and I gave him his first insulin shot, needless to say he was not happy when I had to do this. The vet has him on 1.5 units twice a day. It is very hard to see the unit lines on the syringes. But I did it and he meowed afterwards, and when layed back down again, he got up and walked so slow and miserable to the cold balcony. I took him back inside because I am scared he may fall off! His temperature was good today too, 101 from friday where it was 92. After I fed him.. he urinated behind the sofa, it was a good bit and I guess I was never happier to see cat pee than today. I changed the litter box later on and sat him in there, he automatically started scraping the litter and pee'd again but then sat down in it. I wiped him off and took him back to his little spot undre my crafting table with an blanket he is now laying on.
At this point he is sleeping, ( 10:23 PM ) and again his head is sort of down.
After he had his insulin shot, he seemed to be a little perked up and walked a few steps but only to end up laying down again...
His head wound looks better! The crust became solid hard and doesn't look inflamed as it was a week ago.
I am guessing my Sagwa is fighting many illness's demon's at this time and I wish I could do something but I decided to let him sleep and just go there every 30 minutes to pet and talk to him. He even purred a little while ago, which was his first in a while.

My main concern however is... will he eat in the AM before his next insulin shot, will he drink water ( he didn't drink any tonight ) on his own, will he be able to walk around soon?

I have to go back to work at noon tomorrow and wont be back til friday noon and it kills me not to be here with him when he needs me the most, but I need to work or else I can't do anything for him and also my my son in college :(
Am I torturing him for not letting nature doing it's course.. I am at wits end, because I don't know what to do :cry:

I took the great advice for this forum here and bought fancy feast cans and also $50 worth of Innovia grain free dry food and Wellness Core Prime grain free dry food. The Wereda can food is at one location in my city and I will go there by friday and buy some cans. Also my vet gave me some antibiotics called " Orbax " and he needs 1 ML in the AM with his insulin shot.
And his caregiver, I am terrified that he wont eat or drink on his own and land back at the vets office. She will try everything from feeding him with a dropper/ and give him water the same way if he doesn't start to do this on is own. But this is so much on her, and I feel so guilty because she is taking care her 99 yr old aunt. Also it is very hard to give him exactly 1.5 units of his insulin, it is so hard to see on these syringes and I am scared I may give him to much and close to 2 units. I just hope all goes well this week but honestly it looks grim to me.

I don't know how long it will take for him to be my active talkative Sagwa again, if ever at all? :cry:

Thank you all so much.
 
Hi Nat,

I'm glad you have poor Sagwa home again. Did the vet say what he thought was going on with him? He sounds like he's pretty disoriented. They may have been giving him some type of anesthesia or pain killers to keep him calm. If you can, you might want to try to get some water in him tonight by syringe if need be.

Do you have the syringes with i/2 marks? Those are the ones that have lines on both sides. The ones on the right are full units and the ones on the left are half units. I find it easiest to read it when I don't look directly in the light but hold it up looking at the wall that the light is shining brightly on instead. Sometimes the tv is good to hold it up to also.

Don't worry. I'm sure you and your caretaker will do just fine. You're doing all the right things. Just keep an eye on him while he's so disoriented and maybe limit his movement to where its safe. I think he'll feel much better by tomorrow.

Melanie & Racci
 
hi Nat,
Where are you located? Just wondering as there may be some others who are close to you.

OK about the dry food, are you able to hold the dry food away from Sagwa? The dry food will be contributing to the high BG numbers. Stick to the low carb wet foods like the fancy feast pates, no gravies, and Sagwa should be good. I do know that the vet food A/D is easy to mix with water and syringe feed if needed, even if you can get just small amounts of food into Sagwa, it will help.

You are giving Lantus insulin, yes? What is the dose you are giving and I just wanted to confirm the shots are every 12 hrs... also, the syringes you are using, are they U100 with 1/2 unit markings on them? It's really hard to get a consistent dose if you are giving 1.5units but your syringes do not have 1/2 unit markings on them.

For testing, the Relion meter has the most economical test strips, but other meters are good as well, EXCEPT the Free Style ones.
Testing is very easy; my cats mostly sleep through having their ears poked to get a drop of blood for testing.
Testing on cat’s ear
If you want to see other videos of testing or even giving shots, just post and ask, OK?

Nat, each of us arrived here so scared and worried about our cats. We wanted nothing but to do what was needed to help our cats to just get better and as fast as possible; their pain was ours.

Please know that if you have any questions at all, just ask and someone will have an answer.
And as you and your helper with shots get used to the testing and measuring and shooting, it will get to be just like brushing your teeth in the morning.

Pats for Sagwa and I hope you start to see some improvements soon.
 
Hello I am so sorry you are going through this. It is very sad to see your friend not feel good. I cried for weeks when Baxter was DX. I was scared, but with time things got easier.
Are you home testing? This is very important to do before adminstering insulin especially if you aren't able to be home often to do testing. With the diet change Sagwa BG could start to lower. Maybe even to the point of not needing insulin. So you or your Sagwa caretaker will want test as much as possisble & keep record of the BG on a spreadsheet.

A little tip...One thing many members add water to the canned food.

Please keep us updated on Sagwa. We are all here to help.

Jenn & Baxter
cat_pet_icon
 
It is 2:01 AM and things look grim with Sagwa, he has this nailpolish breath or nose ( I am not sure which one it is ) and I looked and read about this for hours and even he tested negative on friday for DKA, I think this is what may will change evrything.
IF that is the case... a hospital stay for him to flush the ketones out runs $1500 - $1800, which my vet told me about last friday. I will have to call the vet in the AM, to get him tested, ( he tested negative a few days ago ) but it seems it changed like overnight.

Heavy short breaths, he is just laying there and I don't know what to do. I can't afford to take him to an ER vet. I am at the end of my funds.

Five more hours til the vet opens... :cry:
 
You can check for ketones at home. Walmart sells the strips. They are about $8. They are fairly easy to use. It's good to have no matter what.

Ketones happen very fast & can be life threating. Try to keep fluids in him.

I know this timing is very stressful try to breathe. We are all here to help you with advice or to give comforting words.

Jenn & Baxter
 
Nat said:
It is 2:01 AM and things look grim with Sagwa, he has this nailpolish breath or nose ( I am not sure which one it is ) and I looked and read about this for hours and even he tested negative on friday for DKA, I think this is what may will change evrything.
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Ketones (the nail polisher remover-like smell) can develop very quickly and can turn into DKA just as quick. Is there a vet ER nearby that you can take your cat to? If you call your vet office the after hours voicemail message will tell you who to call/where to go for emergencies.

Is there a 24 hour Human pharmacy nearby? You can buy Ketostix (can also buy KetoDiastix) there to test your cat's urine for the presence of ketones. Any thing more than a trace amount needs immediate vet treatment.

If expensive vet bills is a concern, you may be able to get help from one of these places: http://www.felinediabetes.com/vetbills.htm

General tips on how not ot go broke managing a diabetic cat: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/frugal.html

Do you have the U100 3/10 cc insulin syringes? Here are pictures of how to measure insulin with those syringes: http://steverapaport.com/jock/SyringeFineGradations/ It greatly helps if you cold get the 3/10 cc insulin syringes with the half unit markings, like the one shown in the link, so you can mesure 1.5 units and other small amounts. For now, just eyeball between the 1 unit line and the 2 unit line.

resource.aspx
 
You are such amazing people here I can not thank you enough for all your kind words, advice and then some!
I am at work now and before I left, Sagwa was still lethargic, he had 2 ml of wet food yesterday ( i call it today ) in the AM. He as not a happy camper since my friend came here at 7AM and this is all new to him and my other cats as well.
I had Sagwa on a soft cushiony pillow last night with me on my bed, not letting go of him by petting his head and myself to sleep. I woke up an hr or so later because he was under the bed and scraping on some plastic bag... I guess he pee'd. He did manage to jump back on my bed, very weak but he did it.
Fast forward... I had to be at work at 12 noon, so there was little time for extra tlc for my other cats. However this bothered me all so much all throughout the day that I did the unthinkable at 10 PM tonight. I sneaked out from my job, since one of my patients is in the hospital and his sister is ok ( her alzheimers isn't that bad ). I have never done anything like that but I just had to go. She was asleep so I went to Walgreen and bought those Bayers ketone/ glucose strips and some ear/eye dropper which I have used in the past to feed kittens and work well to give water or food,
I found some lid in the kitchen ( I had to hurry with all that ) which I used to collect Sagwa's urine, and poured some water into a bowl and got tuna fancy feast to feed Sagwa first incl water, hoping he will pee. And he did!
He ate about 1/8 of the food.. not much but it is something, I gave him 5 or so ear droppers full of water, which he didn't like but he drunk it. Then I went, at him into the litter box and he peed right away. Held the lid under his behind and sure enough had lots of urine to use with the test strips.
Now I think I did this right, but I did it 3x to be sure and it looks like there are slight traces of ketone in his urine and the glucose as well. I took some pics with my mobile but I am not sure how to upload those here?
Overall Sagwa was sooo much better than yesterday, he even started grooming himself a little and looked at me. His walking has improved as well, not as sluggish as yesterday. I was SO SO happy! Little progress but my depressive mood changed immediatly!
Now my friend I left her a note about what I did and Sagwa's tiny progress, but we decided that he needs to go to the vet and gets some more fluids and more to know about his traces of ketones.
She will take him early, around 9AM and make sure he gotten his shot and ate.
What still puzzles me is that he hardly doesn't eat anything and no # 2 in the litter and what I have to do next to make sure these ketones wont take over him.

Thank you all so very much again!
 
Can you be sure the vet is told your test showed ketones, and definitely ask about #2 ... if Sagwa does not get her bowels moving, you could have big problems. Maybe an enema is needed but check with the vet.
Many people mix Miralax powder into the wet cat food so the cat's bowels keep the stool moving.

ETA: also ask about getting an appetite stimulant.
 
I spent almost 2 weeks not sleeping cuz my cat wouldn't eat before her insulin injection. Here are couple of tricks :
- Try all sorts of different dish
- Try to put the dish with the food in the fridge or in the freezer a little to see if maybe cold food give him more apetite
- if you have a balcony try to place the dish on the balcony
- Try to put the food in a tiny little plate and place it in front of him when he seems confortable sitting somewhere
- Ad water to his food

Ask your vet if mabe you should seringe-feed him for a little while. When he has more energy he will probably just start eating normaly again
 
Gayle & Kim, thank you so much for your reply. As to someone else asked me where I was located, I am in NC.

Sagwa is back at the Vet. My friend was unsure to give him his insuline this AM, even though he ate a tiny little bit of tuna. I told the vet via phone that he had traces of Ketones showing and she didn't seem to be TO concerned, saying he has so many things going on at once etc etc. I am getting VERY pissy now, because she said something to that order if I was thinking about putting him down. And yes it may crossed my mind but it was like a bad daydream and not something I WANT, unless Sagwa is so sick that there is no other option left!
She suggested to get him an ultrasound to see if something is wrong in his abdomen, and I told her I don't think this is the case, but perhaps cancer and this should be tested eventually. She told me it would be $153.00 for the ultrasound plus arounbd another $300.00 for him staying there overnight again, and I told her I am at the end of my resources and also asked her if I could pay half if a big bill comes up and the next one next friday and she said right away that they wont do any payment plans, while I know some people do get payment plans. I spent over $1600.00 in the past 6 weeks on Sagwa and this is really making me so upset!

Anyhow back to Sagwa, he has gotten IV fluids today and I was told they force fed him all day. He spents the night at the vet and my friend will pick him up tomorrow, but I will make it a POINT again about the ketone traces.

Bottom line is, Sagwa wont eat, drink water. He does uses the litter but only urinates so far. I am very fed up at this point, because my cat is miserable, doesn't eat, doesn't drink and nothing seems to be getting done or seems to be working. :-x
 
Good evening Nat,
I am so glad you posted a update.
I know I might have mentioned this before, but I think it might be time to find another vet. Please forgive me if you just love your vet & that really isn't a option. I got attacked once by a member by suggesting finding a new vet. I just believe if you aren't happy or like the way you or your cat is being treated then it's time. There are to many amazing vets out there. You pay for a service & if you don't like the service then...see ya. To many other options out there. I know you have a very busy schedule. I would get Sawga in the morning & get him into another Vet quickly. Get his files & all the results from all the test ran. This will help the vet & might save some time running dupilcate test. I know you have already shelled out a lot of money into this one vet. Don't look back, just move forward.

I do think that running a ultrasound would give you a clear picture of what is going on. I know you have spent a lot of money so far. The ultrasound would help in moving forward to the next step for treatment. The ultrasound price sounds about right. I live in Houston it that's about the price my vet wanted to run a ultrasound on Baxter. The cost of the nightly hospital stay I don't know about.

I know you said the Sagwa is at the vet. I am going to include a receipe for Liver shake. It is suppose to help with cats who won't eat. Maybe give it a try. I have read past post about it really helping sick cats.
download/file.php?id=5111
If this link doesn't work let me know. I will pm the receipe to you.

Please hang in there!
Hugs to you & your precious boy Sawga. :YMHUG:
Jenn & Baxter
 
Hi Nat,

He may just be constipated. I give Racci miralax everyday. 1/8 tsp mixed with water 2x a day in a syringe to make sure she gets it all, then I give her extra water to drink. She wouldn't eat much when constipated either. Jenn's cat had a blockage just recently also from being so constipated and had to have the vet clean him out. the vet should check for a blockage while he''s there. I think the ultrasound is a good idea too and second the idea of finding a new vet.

I wish you lived near my vet. She would never treat you like that and she's a cat specialist and so good. I'm in VA though. Not too far but far enough. :smile:

I hope they get to the bottom of this soon. I feel so bad for what you're going through.

Melanie & Racci
 
Hi Jenn and Melanie,

Thank you both for replying to me. And yes I was telling my friend today as well that I didn't like the vets behaviour, like she told me to call her late afternoon, when i called she was with another patient and told the receptionist basically the same thing the vet tech told my friend in the morning. I would never yell at anyone here, YOU are all so awesome and giving me so much advice which I so so appreciate!

Anyhow, I didn't knew about a blockage, this may/ could be something that goes on with him. I will make sure to ask if he had a bowel movement. Could the antibiotics make him constipated? Because it can happen in us humans.
I can't call my friend at this hour because she is asleep and this is pretty much the only time I can find some time to get on my laptop from work, because my week is as restless as last week.
I may just try to leave a msg for the Vet to have his bowels/ stool checked, IT just has to be something!

One short story why I stucked with this vet, they had one wonderful Doctor there who was the sweetest & nicest to my other cat when he was blocked with an UTI a few years ago, she researched things and talked with other Vets to find a solution when she needed one! When they send an email out about a year ago, saying they couldn't "afford" an outside vet anymore, I even called and asked where the vet was working at.. but of course they wouldn't tell me. However, their Vet techs are awesome. I told my vet that I was here on this forum and that you ladies an gents are just diabetes gurus and she said something like I shouldnt be listening/ believing to all I read online....anyhow.......

I would have to do an intense research on other good vets because I honestly don't know who is good or not.

The liver recipe, it is not downloadable :( , it would be really nice if you could PM me the recipe ) TY!
 
Make sure you ask your vet's secretary to give you a copy of your cat's entire file (that is the step that made me the most shy couple of days ago). But this is definitly gonna help you save some money. Why not spend a little time calling the vets not too far from where you work or live to find out first of all which one is willing to take the time to speak to you on the phone and take a close look at your cat's file. He/she must understand that you are in the middle of different treatments for diseases that have not well being identified and that you have a busy schedule and that you might need to split the bills on couple of months...
Trust your instinct on this one! I said farewell to my vet last week and then understood she was not doing her best to help me out. When it doesn't feel right there's no reason to stay with the same vet!

Good luck to you and to your amazing friend
 
Good point about getting copies of all the tests done and bloodwork results for Sagwa; I keep a binder with all papers for each of my cats. It was not so much that I didn't trust or like the vets but rather I wanted to compare the numbers myself later on. I could see what was WBC last time and what that value was this time.... and lots of times I would be able to look up stuff online if i was wondering why a value was going lower with each blood panel.

Also, you never know if you are going to move or go to another vet! it's wonderful to be able to pass your cat's history to the new vet.

I have copies of Xrays and ultrasounds, even have pictures and CDs. I also have a photocopy of the papers showing all the dental work notes.

Now, if the vet techs are good for stuff like drawing blood for tests, doing dentals, fixing broken bones, sending out for tests, doing Xrays and ultrasounds, then you may be fine to stay.
The big thing is to be sure your vet will work with you and not give you a hard time about things like home testing, or giving you rx for the insulin you feel you want, and won't fight you if you ask for pain meds or things like B12 or something. If you feel your vet is not working with you, does not bother to look into problems you are having, then maybe it's time to ask others around you if they know of some other vets.
As far as taking care of Sagwa's diabetes, you can do all that is needed yourself, at home!
We must speak up for our cats, we need to do our investigations and then talk to the vet about our concerns. You are worried that Sagwa's maybe having stool problems, maybe constipated, and your vet should help you with fixing the problem, but if you don't mention it, the vet won't know.
If you mention it and you don't get results from your vet, then start looking for another vet. if you don't take care of constipation or slow moving stool, you could end up with a megacolon problem and you do NOT want to get to that point.

OK get some MIRALAX and mix it into Sagwa's food and add lots of water to the food. you can get a feeding syringe at the pharmacy and you can syringe feed to get the food in.
you need to get the bowels moving and the miralax with extra water should help, but maybe you may need to consider an enema for Sagwa.

you can give the fluids at home and you do not need to pay the vet to do that or stay overnite at the vet. give fluids yourself at home and flush out the trace ketones.

what tests has the vet done so far to try and find out what is wrong? Get copies of ALL the results because you paid for all of the tests so the results are YOURS to have copies to keep in your home records.

You've got lots of terrific help and suggestions in this post, so make a list of all you need to get from the vet and ask of the vet, then when you have everything, see about getting a 2nd opin from another vet.
 
Nat,
Yes it was my Baxter who was severely blocked. Just a couple of weeks ago. It was horrible! On both of us. I really thought he was dying. He was throwing up, couldn't keep food down. He isn't a lap cat, but that day I placed him on my lap & he just layed his head down & didn't move. The vet did a manual clean out. OMG my heart sank & I cried...along with Baxter.
One thing is I would think your vet would automatically check for constipation or even ask you the question. My vet always feels around on Baxters stomach underneath, looks at his bottom & ask the question about BM.
Here is the other thing about constipation. Some of the canned foods really don't have that much fiber in them. We all know what we need fiber for. As you know because you work with elderly people is when you get older things just don't quiet work like they use to. This is the same with cats. There are many of us that use Miralax daily (on our cats, I don't know maybe for them self too). Dr. Lisa Pierson also recommends using Miralax. 1/8-1/4 tsp. mixed with water into food. I have been using it & see a difference. It's very important to add the water. Because it draws moisture from the body. So it's easy for a cat to become dehydrated. It's a good idea to add additional water to the food as well. I warm the water with Miralax, it helps bring out the aroma of the food.

My vet told me the same thing about staying off the Internet. I was also told not to believe everything I read on the Internet. I am just careful when I go about what I say & act like I know.

I will PM you the receipe for the liver shake.

I just really want Sawga to feel better very soon. I know this has to be very difficult & stressful on you because you can't be there like you would like.

Jenn & Baxter
cat_pet_icon
 
One more thing that might help. I warm Racci's food with the water in it in the microwave for a few seconds so it is warm, not hot but warm enough to be body temperature & to smell good, like they would eat in the wild. It makes the water turn into a gravy also. That might entice him into eating.

Melanie & Racci


Edit: Forgot to add: yes, to the antibiotics. They can make you constipated or give diarrhea just like with humans.

Goodnight. Have to get to bed.
 
There is so much help from you all here, I can not say thank you enough to all of you, thank you thank you thank you! I will make the liver shake, ty ty Jenn ( my vegetarian stomach will turn at this, lol )
Well just got of the phone with the vet tech and Sagwa's blood sugar is up again at 382. They force fed him yesterday and he ate even a little dryfood on his own last night which gave him a bowel movement.
BUT today, again no eating, no drinking nothing. They told me they took him out of the cage, but he did walk and hid behind a book case. ( he is a CAT not a DOG and sick at that - he wont be social! )
We are basically back to the beginning, because when I mentioned ketones to the vet tech again, he talked to the vet and she said the fluids/ iv's he is getting should get rid of the traces. He is however not on it 24/7.
When I've mentioned the ultrasound to to the tech, he said the amount of $133.00 doesn't sound right and he confirmed with the Vet that it would be $300.00 since an outside vet comes in to do those. And it was my breaking point, I can't afford it, the vet bill tomorrow is $338.00 and I am on a sincere breaking point, financially, and mentally.
I have tried to apply to Care Credit but I already knew I wont get it due to Ex's amazing finances handlings. I looked up the money help places and it seems to be a long winded process plus I don't want to ask anyone for anything, also time is not on my side right now, due to the fact I can only get active with Sagwa's illness on the weekends. It is not that I don't have the money, but it is just I can't pay $1000.00 every week and no payment plan with my Vet.
To find a new Vet when it is urgent is a lottery game, because I just don't have the time due to my ^&%#$ job. My vet has good ratings online but I am tired of it because my cat is NOT getting better. I have spend so much and I am going to try the liver shake and all I can possibly do this weekend.

I am sorry if I sound depressed or non appreciative, I really truly appeciate each and every comment from you all!!! I just feel like I am running in a circle and due to timing and not being able to take full proper care of the one that needs me the most - my cat, Sagwa...
 
I'm a vegetarian too! Everyday I ask Racci if she realizes how much I love her when I'm making her smelly yucky food. :lol:

$300 is outrageous for an ultrasound. They should not be sending them out! I don't understand why they don't have their own machine! He will probably eat better at home in his own environment now that the ketones are flushed out. I would start making it a routine to give him 1/8 tsp miralax twice a day premixed with water until he starts moving his bowels normally. With your schedule, if he does not start eating and drinking normally, I think you will have to force feed him in the morning before work and in the evening after work after his tests but before his shots and have your friend try to do it during the day.

You'll probably find he is high when he gets home from all the stress and the dry food they gave him. Keep a good eye on him and baby him. Bring some the liver shake over to your favorite place to sit with him and if he won't eat there with you coaxing him, use a syringe. Racci will usually eat like that if I make a fuss over her.
 
$300 is a very good price for an ultrasound. While the machine is somewhat expensive, the reason for the "outside" vet doing it is that you need a lot of experience and training to interpret ultrasound results. Vets in general practice do not that that experience.
 
Nat,
I think you could get supplies to care for Sagwa at home because you can easily give fluids at home yourself, test BG, and urine for ketones, and give insulin shots.

What is the vet doing there for Sagwa? Monitoring and giving fluids to flush out ketones..... why can't you do that at home? just get fluids kit and pain meds in case you need them, plus if you need any AB for infections or diarrhea, etc. I bet Sagwa will get much better and be able to eat a bit more when at home again. The dry food the vet fed is going to cause some high numbers, so it may take awhile for that food to clear the system.

What did the vet say about constipation; has Sagwa had decent stool at the vet? Be sure that you have Miralax to give at home in Sagwa's food as you need to keep the stool moving.

Please get copies of the test results and bloodwork to have at home and so you can look up the values online.
 
Gayle,

I think she needs another vet. She said she's working as a live-in caretaker Mon-Fri so has a caretaker she would have to depend on taking care of Sagwa. Do you think DCIN would help? I'm going to look at the geographical list.

Melanie & Racci
 
Nat,

We have a member in NW area of NC. Is that where you are?

She might be able to offer help in some way.

Melanie & Racci
 
I am in Charlotte/ NC, and no I can't do any of these things before or after work because I do live in caretaking, for 2 Alzheimer's siblings. My friend who loves cats and has 2 of her own, she is very limited with time because she also takes care of her 99 yr old aunt. She loves my cats and is really amazing on how she takes care of my "babies", but I can not possibly ask her to come 4x or so a day to tend to my cats. She does so much already and I am so thankful she does all this. We will both learn this weekend on how to home test Sagwa's bloodsugar together and I will make this liver chocktail. ( Thank you sqem, but Jenn already sent it to me in PM, but ty for posting it still :), feed him lots of fancy feast and do the best I can do.
The vet is not doing much atm, she gave him another appetizer stimulant and I suppose this is how he ate on his own last night. And also had a BM as well.
I made a huge list on what to get for Sagwa, prior to me picking him up after work tomorrow. I will stay in all weekend long and take care of him and the rest of my cats and not leaving him out of my sight, preparing liver juice and store it if possible in the fridge for this coming week to have my friend give it to him as well.
The vet tech told me how unhappy Sagwa is being at the vet office and I can only imagine. They said when they don't look that is when he moves but for the most part he just lays there in the vet's cage.
I will go to home health market tomorrow to get the ingredients for the liver juice and check if they have organice carot juice too.

Thanks all so much again, I will update tomorrow to let you all know how my Sagwa is doing. TYVM everyone.
 
Hi Nat,

I'm sure he'll do better at home if your friend can make him eat & take care of everything while you're gone. You're so lucky to have her. It's really good of her to help so much with the cats. I bet they love her too. They can tell when someone loves them and with her taking care of him so much they'll develop a special bond.

Let us know if you need help learning how to test or anything. Good luck this weekend with him and let us know how it's going.

Melanie & Racci
 
Sagwa is HOME and he is like a changed cat! He is perky, walked around for a good 2 hrs, greeting the other cats, inspecting the apt, jumping up the cat tree, ATE a few morsels of science dry food, which was left over from Today morning. He walked to the food bowl 4x, used the litter box twice ( # 1 only ) but he had 2 bowel movements at the vets office!
He is TALKING again, he acts like he has never been away from here and like everything is "normal".
I opened up a can of fancy feast tuna he nibbled a tiny bit on it but not to much. Didn't see him drinking water... yet.
My vet told me he is a "night eater", he would only eat at night. I guess when everyone was gone and he had his "peace". He is also cleaning himself ALOT which he hasn't done in the past 2 weeks.. or hardly.

Now his blood sugar is of course high, my vet told me it was up to 427 today, and I guess high lvl's because he ate dry food. But she said at this point she rather has his blood sugar high and he is eating and drinking than to low and him not taking anything in.
I have told her I wanted to make this liver juice and she suggested I stay away from this right now due to liver being "fatty" and it wouldn't be good for his pancreas which are inflamed. So I am not giving it to him just at this moment.

I don't even know where to begin to tell you all how happy I am to see him active, talkative, eating and doing all the things he used to do.

The vet has him now on 2 units Lantus, 2x a day, an appetizer stimulant, liquid pain meds and his antibiotic.

I have to give him his insulin at 7PM (I am on the eastcoast) and now wondering since he has been eating a little on and off for the past 3 hours... is it ok to give him the insulin without food or water, or should I force him to have some intake before his shot?

Thank you all!!!
 
This is so good to hear!!

I would visit the Lantus support board & ask about dosing. I know you have to be careful with dosing now because you are using canned food & taking away the dry food. His BG could drop fast & with 2 units it might be to much. It's a great question for all the experienced people on Lantus.

Please keep us updated!
Jenn & Baxter
 
Hi Nat,

What wonderful news about how well Sagwa is doing! He sounds like he feels so much better. How does his head wound look?

I'm sorry I just got back online & missed your post. Were you able to get some food into him before his shot? If not, try and get him to eat or he will get very low. If he will eat the FF chicken it would probably be easier on his stomach and pancreas. Will he and do you have it? Even if you have to mix it with the Tuna (one of my tricks).

They can go from very high to very low in a flash that's why testing is so important before shots. I know you probably haven't had time to study it yet today but you really are going to have to do that with your neighbor so you both know what to do. You have to get in a habit of testing 3x a day and get your neighbor to come online with you to learn what to do if you can. He needs to be tested before each shot to keep him safe and make sure you don't shoot when he is too low and he needs to be tested at his nadir (his lowest point of the day) usually +6 hours after his amps (am pre-shot test). This will give you much needed info about him and save you a lot of trips to the vet and a lot of money while keeping him safe.

You should always test, feed, shoot. That should be the routine.

I just had an emergency with Racci out of the blue! I only knew what was wrong by testing. She was only 34! I'm going to post it now so you can read my post. That's what I've been taking care of for the past 2 hours or so. nailbite_smile

Melanie & Racci
 
Nat said:
Sagwa is HOME and he is like a changed cat! He is perky, walked around for a good 2 hrs, greeting the other cats, inspecting the apt, jumping up the cat tree, ATE a few morsels of science dry food, which was left over from Today morning. He walked to the food bowl 4x, used the litter box twice ( # 1 only ) but he had 2 bowel movements at the vets office!
He is TALKING again, he acts like he has never been away from here and like everything is "normal".
I opened up a can of fancy feast tuna he nibbled a tiny bit on it but not to much. Didn't see him drinking water... yet.
My vet told me he is a "night eater", he would only eat at night. I guess when everyone was gone and he had his "peace". He is also cleaning himself ALOT which he hasn't done in the past 2 weeks.. or hardly.

Now his blood sugar is of course high, my vet told me it was up to 427 today, and I guess high lvl's because he ate dry food. But she said at this point she rather has his blood sugar high and he is eating and drinking than to low and him not taking anything in.
I have told her I wanted to make this liver juice and she suggested I stay away from this right now due to liver being "fatty" and it wouldn't be good for his pancreas which are inflamed. So I am not giving it to him just at this moment.

I don't even know where to begin to tell you all how happy I am to see him active, talkative, eating and doing all the things he used to do.

The vet has him now on 2 units Lantus, 2x a day, an appetizer stimulant, liquid pain meds and his antibiotic.

I have to give him his insulin at 7PM (I am on the eastcoast) and now wondering since he has been eating a little on and off for the past 3 hours... is it ok to give him the insulin without food or water, or should I force him to have some intake before his shot?

Thank you all!!!
Click to expand...

hi Nat,
What a great update! Such good news to hear that Sagwa's feeling and acting so much better!
Would you be able to post the names of the appetite stimulant, the pain meds, and the antibiotic, that your vet has you giving Sagwa? It will help others to let you know if there are any special precautions you need to take with them.

I was giving an appetite stimulant to Oliver but it was given every 2nd day, so I wondered how often you are supposed to give your meds.

For the fatty liver, here is one site with some info that may help you care for Sagwa's condition.
http://maxshouse.com/Feline_Hepatic_Lipidosis.htm
 
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