New member Henry is very sick

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

stacyeb

Member
I joined a little over a week ago for my 14year old cat when I found out that his glucose was 780 and he had a lot of high values, including kidney values. We started him on 1unit of lantus two times a day and a low carbohydrate diet with a phosphorus binder. I noticed on Friday that he was acting lethargic, so I took him to the vet. It was about the time for his insulin peak, and it was good that it dropped to 575, but his BUN was a horrible 140. They gave him 180cc of sodium chloride and gave us the stuff to do fluids at home. She said his prognosis isn't good. That night, we found him lying very still and he had had a bm. We gave him fluids and just a little while later, he was up eating. This has been his pattern somewhat, although we try to keep him regularly hydrated. This morning though, he struggled to our room, very weak, but ate eagerly and regained some strength quickly after foods, fluids, and insulin.

Yesterday our vet highly recommended euthanasia. I feel like it's too soon, but I do understand that he is very sick and I don't want him to suffer. Has anyone else experienced this level of illness and regained your pets health? Someone on my dog's kidney forum thinks his diabetes is caused by a liver/pancreatitis disease that can be treated with steroids. Or that it could be cancer.

A very worried Kitty mom, Stacy
 
I am so sorry Henry is so sick. Are you home testing? Do you know what his blood glucose numbers are? Has your vet checked for ketones? If he is going really low and really high, this could be causing crashes and lots of weird blood chemistry. Or, he could have something else that is causing the blood glucose numbers to be all whacky. You are on a good starting dose, but I am wondering if he is zooming up and down in blood glucose numbers and that is causing these crashes, or if he has ketones (that can cause some of this, though I have to assume your vet would have checked for that, but you never know) or as I said, something else is causing all of this. You can get keto strips at the pharmacy to check at home for ketones but dipping it in his urine. So you could at least rule that out. It is dangerous and needs immediate vet care. Was there anything else the vet said except recommending euthanasia? Any other blood chemistry oddities? I can tell you that this is not normal behavior in a diabetic without some underlying cause, whether ketones, rebound (going way up and down) or something else. Maybe if you tell us more about that vet visit, we can suggest more. Also, again, are you home testing? I think this is really important. It is interesting that he regains strength upon eating. It really makes me wonder if his blood glucose is going really low. Eating would bring them up again. That is why I think maybe this is something you should learn to do today if you can.
 
My female Tjejen got renal failure when she was 14 years old. I didn't want to let her go, so the vet at the hospital worked with me and gave her a couple of steroid shots, but that didn't stop her from detoriating. I was so determined to get her well again, but there was no chance and it was her time to go. I took her in to the hospital a quiet Sunday to let her go, and it was the hardest thing ever having to hold her for the last time.

I can't advice you what to do, but whatever you decide you have my hugs for you and your little loved kitty.
 
I'm so sorry Henry is so sick. I hope you can get him better. Have you thought of getting a second opinion? Do you live near a cat specialist? I was lucky enough to find one for my kitties. In your place I think that is what I would do. It's more money but you could bring all the results of the tests this vet did already and save some money that way.

If he's a large cat that might be too small a dose for him, hence his feeling better after eating? A lot of vets are not very knowledgable about feline diabetes. My vet told me Lantus was known for larger doses.

It's a terrible decision to have to make. I know how you feel. I just lost my 16 year old Calli. Whatever you do, Henry will know you loved him and made the decision for his best interest. HUGs.

Melanie & Racci
 
If you can find a good emergency / critical care specialist in your area I would highly recommend it. When Charlie got sicker after being at the vet for two nights, they recommended I take him because they were closing for the weekend. If he had come home or stayed at the vet another night, I would have lost him. He was very sick. Now just over a month later he is back to his usual self and healthier than he has been in months. Every cat is different, but a clinic that specializes in critical care can give you a much better diagnosis / prognosis than your regular vet. It is not cheap (our estimate was 2-3,000 but ended up being more than double because Charlie was there for so long and needed blood transfusions). Did I consider bringing Charlie home to let him pass peacefully at our sides? Yes. Was I concerned I would have to euthanize to keep him out of pain? Yes. Am I glad that I made the tough decision to bring him to some unknown hospital for a 50/50 chance of survival? Hell Yes!!! I know it doesn't work out like that for everyone, but if you can afford it, I would at least bring Henry in for a consult and see what they say.

Lots of hugs for you and Henry! :YMHUG:
 
So sorry about your cat. I know how those questions can eat at you. We all do our best, but it still hurts and stinks when what you are doing is not working. I am there right now.

I am not one to give advice, but please see another vet as quick as you can.

The very best of luck to you and your kitty. Sending positive vibes your way.
 
Yesterday our vet highly recommended euthanasia
Click to expand...
Most vets do not state that they recommend euthanasia......the most majority of vets do is give you a prognosis of how bleak things are and leave it up to the client to decide. Even if you ask, they still wont' say it. I would strongly suggest getting a second opinion before making a final and permanent decision.

Forgot to ask.......please edit your subject line and remove the candle. A candle is used to signify the passing of a kitty and Henry is still with you. Hoping you get somes answers and Henry does a complete turn around, Stacy.
 
I am sorry. I know how hard this part is. My Tater was super sick when first diagnosed. It took weeks to get him back on track, but he kept fighting so I did too.
It seems weird to me that a vet would strongly recommend euthanasia. Like previous posters stated, if you are not home testing, you really should be. It might be your baby's best chance. If you can build a spreadsheet like many of have we can offer much more insightful help.
 
I almost lost my 13 year old Gus 6 months ago after an acute attack of pancreatitis and either inflammatory bowel or irritable bowl (vets weren't sure which). The test confirmed pancreatitis and he had two ultrasounds. Then he stopped eating and developed hepatic lipsadosis.

I can only tell you what did and didn't work for him.

First - he was given a plasma transfusion and the results were amazing. This was probably the best thing anyone could have done for him. He was up and eating the next day and like his old self. Unfortunately the specialist had put him on Ursidol and he went downhill fast. They told me he had to have surgery because they suspected a blockage, but in reality it was the Ursidol that was making him not eat (not every cat will have this reaction). I trusted my instincts as well as my regular vets advice and the help of some people who had been down this road already. He was taken off Ursidol and improved greatly.

He was put on Denamarin once a day and alcohol free milk thistle three times a day.

I tried additional taurine and l-carnitine supplements, but he was never able to tolerate these even in extremely low doses and it caused diarrhea.

I changed his diet - got rid of everything that had artificial flavors (yes Fancy Feast was a huge culprit in the vomiting). He has been on and off Purina DM (I think fish contributes to his bowel problems and DM has salmon). Right now we are on Tiki cat chicken and By Nature turkey and turkey liver. He loves nature's variety prairie, but unfortunately the chicken is 15% carbs and raised his numbers. The venison is 10% but he doesn't like it as well and seems somewhat lethargic after eating it.

During the worst of it he was on pepcid twice a day. We did cerenia shots for a while too and pepcid shots.

B12 shots for a few weeks.

Buprenorphine for pain. When he stops eating he gets this. I don't mess around anymore with the eating thing. I'm on top of it because he has to eat even if it means drugging him.

Probiotics - don't use Fortifloria because it has FOS in it. I use Country Life - there is one made that's safe for cats. There are other brands too just avoid FOS because studies show it is not good for diabetics.

I have tried taking Gus off Milk Thistle a couple of times and the results are never good. He stops eating. I still give probiotics. Pepcid when necessary. I keep a journal of what I give and how much along with his BG numbers. This helps me to figure out what has worked and what hasn't. Also - I can take my journal to the vet and she can skim it to see what's going on.

I'm looking into antioxidants to see if those will help. Not sure, just exploring Vitamin E and C to see if it would be good for Gus or not.

Feel free to PM me. I can only tell you what worked for us. You have to become an expert on your cat. What works for my cat or someone else's cat might not work for Henry. You also have to learn which specialists are good and bad for your cat. I've learned that lesson the hard way.

We are all sending good healing vibes for Henry and I hope everything turns out well for him.
 
One other thing I forgot to mention - my vet also helped by going into a vet forum that only vets have access too and did the research before we implemented a plan of action. I'm hoping your vet will work with you and do that too or that you can find one who will. This was really important in Gus's recovery.
 
I also forgot to add two other meds Gus was on for two weeks - Baytril and Metronidazole.

I don't know if the person who posted about Henry is active on this thread anymore, but maybe it will help someone else in this situation.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top