Newly dx, starting Prozinc

Bella & Rox

Bella & Rox

Member
I am so thankful to find this group of people.

I need to get to my computer to complete signature, etc.

Nearly 16y kitty. Relatively healthy.

Using AT2 and getting numbers around 450. Starting PZI today. As of now we are starting 1u BID. First dose will be at 6pm tonight.

Was on Hill’s science diet light (dry), changed to Purina dm (dry) gradually over last week. Yesterday she stopped eating (she would gorge if I let her). Bought Fancy Feast pate. Mixed with water and over the next 12 hours she slowly ate 90% of it. Nothing this am so far.

Uncontrolled urination a few times over past 24 hours but still going to litter box.

Feeling very lost and overwhelmed.
 
Hi Bella and Rox - and welcome!

I’m at work right now and will need to be brief, but what you are describing sounds like it *might* be ketones.

Anytime a diabetic cat goes off food, they are a risk. I would suggest posting out on the Main forum, and consider getting your kitty into the vet for a ketone test. There is a test you can do at home, but at this point, the vet is going to be your easiest and fastest option. They can do a quick blood test and let you know if this is DKA.
 
Welcome Bella and Rox. I know you are feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed right now, but this is the best place for you to learn about feline diabetes and get support as you learn the "sugar dance".

You are already doing what we suggest all new members do: get kitty on a proper diet, insulin therapy and that all important testing. No, not always easy at first, but very very worth the time you are taking to research and find out what's next.

Those feelings are going to dissipate as you learn how the Prozinc works for Rox, get adept at testing (and yes, it does happen) and start recording the insulin and testing data into the spreadsheet. You and the advising members are going to see the trends and patterns of the blood sugar levels and make informed treatment decisions based on that data.

Since you have changed Rox's diet, know that the lower carb wet food can significantly lower the blood sugar, so be sure to always test before injections to be sure it's safe to do so. You don't want to have a low BG (blood glucose) and blindly shoot the usual dose and possible precipitate a hypo.

Read the yellow tagged stickies at the top of this forum, perhaps some of it isn't going to make sense or sink in right away, but going back from time to time and re-reading can be helpful. Knowledge is power, with the advice and input of the more experienced members, and the support of this community, you have the best chance of getting Rox to better health and well being. Not to mention building your knowledge base and confidence. We all started at the Go space on the board, and we will help you in every way we can.

Do you need the link to creating the signature and profile, or to the spreadsheet instructions? If so, holler and they will be directly provided. (Instructions are in the Beginner's Guide to Prozinc also.)

Best wishes going forward.
 
Hi Bella and Rox,
Everyone else has given the advice you need for now I juts wanted to say that we have all been where you are. overwhelmed and stressed. I promise it gets easier and you have found a great place with wonderful people to help guide you through. I know I couldn’t have gotten this far without this group so ask as many questions as needed I sure did. Sending hugs your way :bighug:
 
Slow and steady take deep breaths and remember to take care of yourself as well. One of the best things I was told here was “ this is a journey not a sprint”.
 
Still not eating or drinking. Ketones are trace.

I have now noticed she has rapid breathing and she is quite warm. Is it possible she has infection unrelated to her diabetes?
 
Yes that is certainly possible. If you think she feels feverish is would take her in to the vet. I see this post was several hours ago. How is she now?
 
I just used a syringe to put water into her mouth. She took about 1 1/2 tsp. Then she got up on her own and drank some more! I didn’t see her drink at all yesterday from her water bowl despite me keeping it beside her.
 
Bella is with the vet. It’s a cat hospital and I feel good about her being with them. There were no open appointments but they look at her as they can. I approved fluids, b12 and glucose checks.
Praying for a ‘simple’ fix of fluids and antibiotics.
 
Thoughts are with you and Bella. Hopefully they will get to the bottom of whatever else might be going on with her please let us know how she’s doing when you have an update. :bighug::bighug:
 
Vet called. No answers. They want to start with supportive care and start a glucose curve. They charge me $22 every time they check her glucose - is that normal??
My husband is not on board with spending hundreds on her. Not sure what to do next.
 
Did they do any other bloodwork to rule out infection? How about her teeth? Dental issues can play an big part in high BG levels. Is she eating and drinking since she’s been home?
 
What do they mean by supportive care? And my vet charges even more than that. It's ridiculous. If you're able to test at home, there is no reason for a vet to do a curve, however if there are other things they are doing, that might factor in.....?
 
We are finally home. They gave sq fluids, b12 and checked BG twice. She went to her water immediately. Sniffed friskies but hasn’t eaten anything yet.
She’s exhausted. I’m sure she didn’t sleep at all while she was there which was 10 hours. Hoping she’ll eat after a nap.
Current BG 425. Should I give Prozinc even if she doesn’t eat?
 
Yes, she's high enough that she'll feel better with a little insulin to bring her down. Do make sure you get her to eat though, even if you have to give her higher carb foods to entice her. Other lower-carb tricks: tuna water, parmesan cheese, brewer's yeast or nutritional yeast, crushed up treats, KFC with the skin off....it might take her a little while after the vet visit and all, but calories are important to fighting off the ketones.
 
Then yes, definitely give her a dose. The vet was going to do a curve without having given her insulin?!?
 
And I’m thinking that the 400s, while clearly not great, isn’t terribly horrible given that her pancreas has been on its own for a day, especially for what was certainly a very stressful day for her!
 
Just to be clear, we often use the "like" button here to indicate "I agree" or "yes, good idea" :)

So yes, check in 3 hours if you can stay up that long. Two hours would probably be fine since the dose is so small and you need to sleep.
 
+3 is good, but it also depends on when she ate? Since kitties are usually eating when we shoot, there’s often a small “food bump” around +2 ... so if she wouldn’t eat, or if she decides she’s ravenous at around in an hour, you’ll need to take that into account.
 
Just realized my last update got lost in the downed server.

I cannot get Bella to eat anything. Not even McDonalds fries which was the only food she actually begged for.

So I’ve stopped all testing and insulin. Keeping food, water and box very near by where she has decided to sleep. She is still lifting her head when I call her name. She is enjoying petting and some cuddling.

I’m incredibly upset. This all happened so fast; too fast. I’m not ready.
 
We’ve chosen to not do any tests and no more treatment. None were done yesterday except BG.

Slowly coming to terms with these decisions.

I’m starting to suspect something horrible is going on in her body. She has lost 0.8 lbs in 2 weeks. About 9% of her body weight
 
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