GA New to diabetes and I already may lose her, help!

I'm new to this site, and to feline diabetes so I apologize in advance for not having very detailed information.

Two months ago my cat Willow (11 years old) was diagnosed and put on glipozide(sp?) She was still losing weight but acting normal overall and I was about to schedule another appointment when she just crashed this Tuesday. Completely lethargic and wouldn't eat. Called her vet, they told me to get her to eat what I could and to keep up with the pill. I brought her in Wednesday morning, they said her blood sugar was extremely high and we switched to insulin shots. (2 units)

Nothing has improved. She just sits and stares at the floor and is off balance. I called the doc twice today and they told me to switch to their Hills wet food for the high calorie but it took me a lot to press that it's not the food type that's wrong, it's her. So now if she continues not to eat on her own I need to bring her in tomorrow morning to get IVs. I've given her about 5 units of karo syrup in a syringe 3 times today and its midnight now. She's not unconscious and does shake her head at my syringe feeding her the syrup and wet food mixed with water. She just rests on her stomach with her head up, and she only used the box once today.

The vet kept insisting I not blood test at home but I know if I had been most of this would have been avoided. I'm in a smaller town and this vet is the only one we have otherwise I would switch.

What products do I need to start blood testing? I already switched her food to high protein(blue diamond wilderness dry food, which sits out due to other cats but she doesn't eat it) and switching between friskies poultry pate and fancy feast classics. The insulin prescribed is vetsulin(2 units) every 12 hours, and right now she is underweight (I believe about 4 lbs, down from the 11 she was before she was diagnosed with this.) Will she be okay overnight until the vet in the AM? The doc told me not to skip shots so I gave her insulin tonight but I gave her syrup with it as well as an hour ago.

Sorry for the long post and thank you! (Picture of my fur child a few weeks ago ♡)

 

bump @Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

hi @Idjit's mom ... good to see you back!!!!!!
I am answering this at the moment thanks

 

Hi and welcome to the forum
Willow is beautiful.
First of all the oral medication given to diabetic cat is not good and I'm glad you have stopped using it.

I do wonder how much your vet knows about feline diabetes....not much I think.
They should have seen her today.
I am so sorry you are going through this....

First of all it is really important Willow is eating if you are giving the insulin. Make sure she eats well before the Vetsulin as it is a fast acting insulin. And get her to drink also if you can.
I think 2 units may be too much for Willow if she is only 4 lbs.
Do you think when she 'crashed' , that she was having a hypo?

If you can overnight, keep offering her some food, pop it is her mouth, or if you have a syringe, water down some canned food and give her that. Edit....I see you have a syringe and are feeding her that way....good.

I would definitely take her into the vet tomorrow morning and get them to give her some fluids.
She may also need an antinausea medication such as a cerenia injection and ask for some oral cerenia to take home.
Also ask them to test for KETONES in the blood...she may have ketones and it is really important to have them treated if she does.
Also ask if they have Hills a/d canned food. It is a recovery food and is good for unwell cats.

Also you need to buy some Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy so you can test the urine yourself for ketones.
All you need to do is collect a urine specimen from Willow and dip a test strip in and compare it to the colours on the side of the bottle in exactly 15 seconds. Anything above a trace needs vet attention.

You don't need your vets permission to test the blood sugar.
If you live in the US you can buy a human glucose meter from Walmart quite cheaply.
The ReliOn meter is good.
You will also need some test strips that go with the meter and some lancets to prick Willows ear. Get gauge 26 or 28 lancets.
Here is a link to how to test
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

I would also ask the vet to swap the insulin to Lantus insulin or levemir insulin. They are much better insulins for cats.

Keep checking Willow overnight and try and get her to eat.

We will help you get organised.
Get her to the vet first thing in the morning....don't let them fob you off. Just turn up if necessary.
Buy the Ketostix, meter and strips and lancets, and some food she will eat. Anything is fine at this point as long as she eats.
We can sort out the best food for her later when she is better. The most important thing is she eats..

Please keep us updated and we wish Willow a speedy recovery.
And hugs to you

 

This is great advice from Bron.

Everyone here home tests. It's the only way to keep your cat safe. Frankly, I'm concerned about a 7 lb weight loss. Weight loss is not uncommon with diabetes but that's a great deal of weight. In addition, 2u of Vetsulin is a large dose in such a small cat. We do not enourage that large of an initial dose regardless of the size of the cat. Please let us know if you have questions. As Bron noted, I'm not confident that your vet knows how to treat feline diabetes (in part, because Vetusulin is more appropriate for dogs than cats).

 

That poor baby. How is she this morning? Have you been to the vet, how did it go?

It really sounds like your vet does not know how to properly treat feline diabetes and has put your cat at risk. For one thing, Glipizide should not have been used. The AAHA guidelines say that those kinds of drugs are not recommended or appropriate for long term use. They are only to be used if the cat owner refuses insulin therapy or is considering euthanasia. And then, only for temporary use combined with dietary modifications. They are just not effective.

While Vetsulin is used by some, it is not at all the best choice for a cat. It has a harsh action and can cause steep drops. Levemir (detemir), Lantus or Basgalar (glargine) or ProZinc are the best options - preferably one of the first two, if you can get one, but ProZinc is a fine option, too. And, 2 units is way too high of a starting dose!

I hope your baby got some help this morning and is doing better. Please let us know. We can help you get her diabetes treatment on track. (Oh, and I'm so glad that you are ready to start testing. It is imperative!)

 

Thank you everyone, I apologize about the late response I was at work all day. I brought Willow into the vet this morning and she's been on IVs since. Her liver had begun to fail due to the diabetes not being managed properly despite my calls, and despite me calling and asking for help when she stopped eating in the first place earlier this week. She's not in full liver failure yet, and so far her kidneys are fine so there's a very small chance she may pull through but she's staying over the weekend.

If she does get discharged I'll be taking her to the next nearest vet over an hour away. Between the vet techs and her apparently there was "constant miscommunication" and started blaming each other today. I'd sue if I had the time or energy but that wouldn't bring Willow back if she passes, but you can bet your ass I'll be smearing their name everywhere I go and to everyone. I'll post an update about whether she passes or makes it.

Thank you all for your help. Here's hoping I'll have a reason to continue on here and receive proper help ♡♡♡♡♡♡

 

Sending you lots of

I hope Willow makes it through, and after that you can take care of her, a lot of times liver does recover so hang in there.

Do make sure they monitor her closely did they mentioned anything about ketones? What is her blood glucose levels right now ? what food are they going to try to give her?

If you can have them send you a copy of any blood test they do and post it here so that the people that know a lot about interpreting those can have a look at them

 

I hope she makes it. We really can help you with the diabetes once she gets past this. Keep us posted, please. (I also have a calico named Willow.)

 

That poor baby, I will be praying for your sweet Willow, I would be really pissed off also at the vet and tech blaming each other, Bull S**t Is someone there with Willow over the weekend full time to monitor her, trying to feed her, test for ketones, fluids etc
I'm glad you will see another vet if Willow pulls through.Please keep us updated OK.She is a beautiful girl

 

Sending prayers and healing vines for your Willow and hugs for you .

 

She’ll make it... something tells me Willow is gonna make it and she’ll be ok ❤️

 

Thank you again. Willow passed away this morning at 6am. They did have someone stay through the night with her that called me. Her liver started shutting down despite treatment. They had stabilized her blood sugar but she was too far gone I believe for it to be much help.

Good luck to the rest of you, this is a wonderful community.

To Willow and the pets that have been lost, we'll all meet again at the rainbow bridge ♡♡♡

 

I am so very sorry.

 

I'm so very sorry to hear your beautiful Willow has crossed to the bridge. You were her guardian angel and now she is yours.
RIP sweet Willow.

 

I'm very sorry for your loss

 

I am so very sorry for your loss.

Fly free Willow and land softly.

 

I am so very sorry Willow has gone to the rainbow bridge
Fly free beautiful Willow

 

What a beautiful girl. I'm very sorry, I can tell how much you loved her. Thank goodness she had someone there with her to hold her hand, what a blessing.

 

I am so so sorry about your precious girl Willow. My heart goes out to you. The picture just breaks my heart