New member (DKA, CHF kitty)

N

Natalie86

Member Since 2026
Hi all,

Thank you so much for allowing me to share our story. My 10 year old cat Brady had a sudden episode of DKA 10 days ago. We had no idea he had diabetes, he presented no symptoms.
He survived the DKA, however learned throughout all of this that he also has CHF.

Would love to hear successful stories and feel goods if you have or have known a cat to have both of these issues.

The ER vet started Brady on 10 units of insulin 2 times per day. The first night we brought him home from his week long hospital stay, he went into hypoglycemia with numbers dropping to 54. He was then hospitalized for another 5 days.

The vet still hasn’t gotten his perfect insulin dosage yet (Lantus). He’s all over the place and went into the 500s today. The vet has him now on 4 units twice per day.

I love my baby- I will continue to fight for him but this has been emotionally draining and pray to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

So much love to your fur babies ❤️

Natalie
 
Hello and welcome. Sorry I can't help with the combination of DKA and CHF, just diabetes and CHF, which happened well after my Neko got her diabetes diagnosis. I am glad to hear your Brady survived DKA, we have many DKA survivors here. I hope Brady will be home soon.

The ER vet was crazy starting on 10 units of Lantus twice a day. That is a huge dose to start. Were you home testing and found that 54? What type of meter was that tested on? 54 on a human meter is a normal blood sugar number, but it's too low on a pet meter.

Some of what the vet may be seeing with high numbers now is the cat's natural protection system that we call a bounce, definition here:
Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).
Click to expand...
Bounce numbers can be ignored, they will go away. And bounces are very common for new diabetic cats and even some not so new. The thing to focus on now is the lows, and how low the dose takes the cat.

Is the vet running regular blood works tests? How are his electrolytes? Is he seeing any ketones now? How is Brady's appetite? Both CHF and DKA can cause inappetance, so the vet should send him home with anti nausea medication like ondansetron (my preference) or Cerenia. Possibly an appetite stimulant too. He will need to eat a lot of calories at first to battle the ketones and DKA.

Most people here don't leave their cats at the vet to find the "right" insulin dose, as that will be a moving target. You just want to be close enough that he won't be showing ketones and is over the DKA. Which is why I am wondering if there is more than just the insulin dose the vet is trying to manage. More reading here: Ketones, Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), and Blood Ketone Meters. Part of DKA is also infection or system inflammation - did they find anything like that?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello and welcome. Sorry I can't help with the combination of DKA and CHF, just diabetes and CHF, which happened well after my Neko got her diabetes diagnosis. I am glad to hear your Brady survived DKA, we have many DKA survivors here. I hope Brady will be home soon.

The ER vet was crazy starting on 10 units of Lantus twice a day. That is a huge dose to start. Were you home testing and found that 54? What type of meter was that tested on? 54 on a human meter is a normal blood sugar number, but it's too low on a pet meter.

Some of what the vet may be seeing with high numbers now is the cat's natural protection system that we call a bounce, definition here:

Bounce numbers can be ignored, they will go away. And bounces are very common for new diabetic cats and even some not so new. The thing to focus on now is the lows, and how low the dose takes the cat.

Is the vet running regular blood works tests? How are his electrolytes? Is he seeing any ketones now? How is Brady's appetite? Both CHF and DKA can cause inappetance, so the vet should send him home with anti nausea medication like ondansetron (my preference) or Cerenia. Possibly an appetite stimulant too. He will need to eat a lot of calories at first to battle the ketones and DKA.

Most people here don't leave their cats at the vet to find the "right" insulin dose, as that will be a moving target. You just want to be close enough that he won't be showing ketones and is over the DKA. Which is why I am wondering if there is more than just the insulin dose the vet is trying to manage. More reading here: Ketones, Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), and Blood Ketone Meters. Part of DKA is also infection or system inflammation - did they find anything like that?
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your response- it was incredibly helpful and also brought me some peace of mind.

Brady is home and his ER vet decreased his dose to a “sliding scale”. 4 units if BG is over 300, 2 units if less than 300 but over 250 and no units if BG is below 250.

His initial dose of 10 units twice per day was what sent him into hypo. I am new to this disease, but now realize how terribly high that really was. I saw the 54 BG with the free style Libra. I immediately took him in to the ER where he was treated.

They believe he has stage 3 HCM. We are confirming that with internal medicine next Friday. I am really praying for a good prognosis.

Brady was just discharged last night, and is still very tired from the hospital stay and is not eating much. The vet doesn’t sound too concerned over that at the moment.

Natalie
 
I don't know about staging with HCM, hope it's something treatable. Neko got over her first episode of it. Most of us were new to diabetes at the start. You are in the right place.

We don't use sliding scales for Lantus here. This post describes the dosing methods we do use. Dosing Methods: Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS) & Tight Regulation (TR)

Did the vet give you any anti-nausea medication? Eating is very important for recovery from DKA. He should be eating 1.5 times his normal calories. Feed him whatever he'll eat at this point.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. I am sorry you are going through a difficult time.
As well as what Wendy has mentioned, are you testing at home for ketones? You can do this by buying a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and collecting a urine sample. Testing for ketones is a good way of finding out if you are feeding enough and giving enough insulin.
This does not take the place of testing the BG but helps give a full picture of how things are going.
Give lots of snacks as well as the 2 main meals as this fights ketones.
I will give you a link below si you can set up a spreadsheet and a signature which will help us help you.
Keep posting.
Bron
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top