NEW MEMBER - Diabetic cat after Tooth Extraction Saga

[BarbsSugarBabyKitty]

Good morning!
My name is Barbara and I was a member several years ago when my 18 year old cat Flurry was diagnosed with diabetes. Here I am again with my 5 year old fur baby Buzz. It never occurred to me that my sleek young cat would/could get diabetes. I was careful to watch his weight .

The beginning of March my fiancé and I were calling him skinny kitty. He was always much thinner than his brother and we didn't think of it as a problem at first. After that I found a canine tooth while I was cleaning I took him to the and was told his gums were infected and two other teeth needed to be extracted. We assumed his weight change was due to his inability to chew his dry food and switch him to wet.

The surgery was done with out prior blood work as prior to this there were no problems and he was 5 years old. This turned out to be a huge error in judgment. The surgery went well and we found him to be "VERY" hungry when he got home and we over compensated for his inability to eat prior to the extractions.

A week later he became weak , dehydrated , lost 1.5 lbs and was severely dehydrated. . This came on suddenly ! Assuming the teeth were still the issue we made an emergency visit to the vets. The vet was shocked by his condition and immediately placed in on an IV . He assumed it was renal failure. Which has not been completely ruled out. He stayed there for 2 days and showed improvement. The vet stated that they almost lost him on Sunday and that is when the ketones showed in his urine. He was diagnosed with Diabetes and placed on Vetsilun 3 ml 2X a day. I was shocked. He had had ketoacidosis and we almost lost him. This was something completely new to me.

We brought him home and fed him what I thought was enough and gave him his first shot.
1.5 hours later he was weak and 2.5 hours later he began twitching followed by Grand mal seizures.
I knew he was going hypo and tried to rub Corn syrup on his gums which was a terrible idea during a seizure. I ended up getting bit and I once again knew better. :-(
After repeated of seizures I didn't expect him to survive He was already weak . Finally the 8 to 10 hours passed and so did the seizures. This was the most horrific experience ever! I knew what I had to do.

I checked him for ketones which came up negative a followed by a blood test . I did not give him an injection yesterday and monitored his urine output . His blood glucose was 245 last evening and decided to not give him his injection it was high but not over 300. He slept great and is up and walking around today. No ketones in his urine.

This morning I fed him by syringe as his appetite is not up to par and checked his BG's. He was reading 328 which once again is high but not outrageous. No ketones in urine. I gave him 1 ml of insulin and will be tracking his progress . I realize that is a very low amount but felt it was better to start low and see results than to have him too low.

Blood has not been done as I believe the Vet thought he was not going to survive this ordeal .
We are scheduled to go back on Monday. I am also considering a new vet that knows more about treating a diabetic cat. Feeling like blood work should have been done before sending me home with insulin in hand as I feel infection and trauma played a part. The goal is get his weight up to 8lbs again.

I know I have made many mistakes here and need some advise .

Barbarab

 

[Juls and Billy]

Hello Barbara!

I'm so sorry you've been through so much with your sweet Buzz. It's very good that he has no ketones, but you're right, he had a very dangerous hypo event, which you handled beautifully. I know you got bit, but that corn syrup on his gums is why he's still with you and doing better.

You have already done the smartest thing by reducing his dose to 1 unit. 3 units twice a day is a huge starting dose. I agree with you that it might be time to find a vet that knows feline diabetes better. The other thing is that Vetsulin is not the best insulin for cats. It's an in and out insulin that hits hard and wears off fast. Cat's tend to do better on a longer lasting insulin such as Lantus or Prozinc. For now, I would keep his dose at 1 unit twice a day while you explore your options.

With the ketone history, it is very important that he eat and get some insulin. Skipping shots happens, but anytime you have to skip, ketone testing like you did is very wise. If you are giving 1 unit, you should be good to shoot any BGL over 200. If it's under 200, you might want to give a reduced or token dose depending on the BGL, just because of the history of ketones. You can always ask for advice here when you have a lower reading. Always test Buzz's BGL before injection, as I think you already are. You want to avoid another hypo if you can.

I know this isn't your first rodeo, but the sooner you set up a signature and spreadsheet for Buzz, the better we will be able to help you. You can find the instructions here.

You also might want to take a fresh look at how to treat hypos, and what to have in your hypo kit.

You did great helping Buzz with his hypo. Buzz is lucky his mama rocks!

 

[sandscout]

Hi Barbara, what a frightening ordeal for you and your kitty. You were a quick thinker. The syringe feeding is a good idea, although kitties don’t always agree.
Has your kitty seen the veterinarian for evaluation since the grand mal seizures? I ask because Drs. often will want to check a cat’s mentation following seizures or seizure-like activity.
Please keep us posted on Buzz’s progress.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Barbara, that sounds really, really scary. First the ketones, then the seizures.

You said he slept ok and is walking around. You said ketones were normal (no trace).

How is Buzz acting right now? Since the seizures? Does he seem fully aware of his surroundings? Is he acting normally? You said his appetite is still not good. Does he act nauseous?

Vetsulin can be an appropriate insulin for a cat that has had a recent episode of ketosis, or is at the vet being treated for possible DKA and ketones. There are other conditions that can raise ketone levels. Hyperthyroidism, kidney issues, hepatic lipidosis, not eating enough.

Ketones are are toxic byproduct that is produced when a cat is catabolizing (burning off) his body tissues, both fat and muscle, to provide energy to keep the brain, body and organs going.

After using the Vetsulin for a week or so, then you should switch to one of the longer duration insulins, like Prozinc or Lantus. (or Levimer). Much better insulins for cats. Don't sell your vet short yet. There was a lot going on and some judgement calls were made based on the best information available. Cat owners rarely have enough funds to do all the testing required, so compromises were made.

SS (spreadsheet)and information in your user signature would be really helpful. We have a template for the spreadsheet. Simply follow these directions in the blue link I have copied for you below, to copy that template and setup a SS for Buzz.
FDMB Spreadsheet Instructions

What it all means is here.Understanding the Spreadsheet/Grid

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

Wow cant give advice but prayers are easy! Sending them for you and Buzz!