Racci just had a Hypo!

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MelanieAndRacci

MelanieAndRacci

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Racci just scared me half to death! I had dosed off in front of the tv at her +6 test time and 10 minutes past it, Racci went in the kitchen and started yelling at the top of her lungs at my husband. He didn't have a clue so thought she was hurt. Racci never does this. She's a real picky eater and I feed her so it never occurred to him that she was hungry. Finally he was sure she wasn't hurt & got the idea she was hungry. I woke up in a panic, went in the kitchen to see what was wrong, she's still yelling and he was getting out the DM dry! He gave her a little and she immediately stopped yelling and gobbled it up while I got her testing supplies and wet food ready.

Sure enough she was just 34! She ate all her wet food and a little more DM dry & lots of water so I could test ketones but they were negative thankfully. It was like she knew she had to eat to feel better! She hardly ever asks my husband for food if I'm home. I can't imagine not hearing her if she asked me in the same room. I'm a super light sleeper! I think she went in there, saw that I had picked it up before her test & just knew she had to eat.

I've been trying to get her regulated again since she was sick with that infection and at the same time lowering her dose little by little as she lets me and changing her over to wet food so she's had a lot going on. This is the lowest I think she's ever gone and she's never acted like that before when low but then again, she's never been on wet food before either.

If I leave the wet food out she just won't eat it. She only wants it fresh and warm & out of I don't know how many already she's only accepted 2 & one of them is fish. This is really challenging. She's so fussy. I usually can't get her to eat a 4th meal. She's always been a grazer. She doesn't like the freeze dried either. Any suggestions on what to do about this 15+ year old stubborn prima donna?

Melanie & Racci
 
Melanie OMG!
Is Racci doing better? What are numbers now?
I am so glad your husband was there & you I know what to do.
I can't imagine the panic you use have felt.

Hugs to all 3 of you. :YMHUG:
 
I just finished testing again and feeding again. She was 233 before feeding and she's due for her shot half an hour ago. I'm not sure whether to give a reduced shot by half a unit or a whole? What do you all think?

Luckily she's fine. cleaning herself and even got me over to her toy basket to play with her. :lol: She knows I can't resist her and she saw I was paying extra attention to her so went right over to the toy basket to wait for me. I just can't believe she knew she had to eat. She's very smart and when she had the infection she learned the first day to call me when she pooped so I could clean her and she would wait till I came then go to her spot to be cleaned. Now she's still doing that. :)
 
Melanie, glad her numbers are better. She sounds like one little smart cat. Plus, she is so pretty.

Everything I have read is to give a reduced dose after hypo. I use ProZinc so it might be different for you.
 
Thank you Jenn. She just keeps on amazing me with what she knows.

Any insulin has the same rules about hypos. It's always reduced or skipped shots after a hypo depending on how severe it was. In classifying hers, I'm guessing it was mild since she was fine as soon as she ate and had no symptoms other than yelling at us to give her something to eat. :lol: She's been acting normal all night and no ketones.

I wound up giving her just over 3U instead of her usual 3.75U. I know I won't sleep anyway no matter what I do but if I give her any less she normally would be like she missed a shot. I hope I gave the right amount. She never had a hypo before. I wish one of the really experienced people was up late tonight. I think it's just us here tonight. :smile:
 
Not to many on the board tonight.
Glad she is doing better. She sounds like a funny cat....yelling at you to give her food now. Good kitty!
 
Thanks Jenn, Tracy & Lu,

I'm going to try to grab a couple of hours of sleep so I can try to get up for a +6 to make sure she's ok tonight. So far so good tho.

Good night!

Melanie & Racci
 
Keep us posted - hope she did well last night. Sorry I crashed on you last night. This week has been very draining for me!
 
Hi all,

Well, she made it fine through the night and wouldn't eat a meal at +6. She looked at me like I was nuts since it was sleep time, but she did take a few snacks and went back to sleep. :razz: I didn't have the heart to stick her since she seemed okay and tested ketones again- another negative. I left the food out and she did eat a little this morning before I woke but was holding out for fresh.

As I knew she would be, she's 419 this morning reacting to the hypo, short shot, and dry Dm. It seems every time I almost have her re-regulated something comes up to blow it! Its very frustrating. The little fatty looks like she has lost weight on the wet food so I have to weigh her today & see if she's lost too much too fast. It might be time to reduce her amount of insulin again. so far she's come down from 5u to 3.75 but I have to go very slow with her because she reacts to every change!

I wish I could figure out something that she likes to eat that isn't fish also in the canned. If anyone has suggestions that their cats love, I'd love to hear them. She seems to like the pates now but when they dry out after she finishes the liquid, she's starting to eat the drier pieces too so that's something new and she might like the one that are drier too as long as no lumps are in it. I like the premium foods for her. Right now she's eating Wellness turkey and salmon & trout. She also loves the chipped turky w/ gravy but that's higher in carb and fatenning so it can only be occasional.

It's ok Lu. No need to be sorry. We all have our own lives to take care of too and sleep is a necessity. :mrgreen:

Melanie & Racci
 
I haven't checked these on Binky's chart, other than the urinary about 1.5 months ago, but maybe the Royal Canin would be an option? Paulo, my perpetually UTI cat has lived on RC-U for several months now. EVERYONE loves the food if they can get it away from him! (pretty much NOT happening!)

If I recall, Binky's list said it had 3-4 carbs, but when I used it early on in Grayson's treatment, it seemed to keep his numbers high... of course he may have been stealing kibble from the others back then... But they all seem to like it. Again, some gravy - but the pieces stayed soft (if there were any left, that is!).
 
I wonder about the regular Royal Canin? I don't want to mess with her urinary tract since she's not having problems with it. Is that more expensive than any other premium? I thought it was super high? I only have the one now so it's not a problem unless it's really outrageous. At this point I'm so frustrated with her eating likes......., tho I do have to say she's getting a little more used to it.

I woke her for an extra meal so she doesn't have another problem today. This will be meal 4 since she will also get one with her +6 and her pre-pm, and she ate it all. I was supposed to go shopping today but decided to stay home with her & go tomorrow. I'll be waking her for another test in about an hour. She only has one ear that works so I don't want to burn it out. :sad:

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check that out. Maybe they have a pate since she doesn't like lumps all of a sudden. I don't think she knows she's a cat.
 
Traci,

I think I will try the 3.5u again. Maybe she's ready to drop one more time now. I'll give it tonight and see how it goes and then switch it to the day so I can watch her easily. She also lost weight on the canned diet and that makes a difference.

Melanie & Racci
 
Melanie-

How do you pronounce Racci? Is it at "ch" sound or a "ck" sound?
Where did come up with her name? Oh and btw, she's gorgeous. I love her long fur and calico colors.
 
It seems counter intuitive, but my kitties were only willing to transition to wet food from dry when I made it very soupy/gravy like in texture. They'll go with a little less water sometimes, but they seem to like it that way best. Sometimes they will just do the "gravy" down to dryish texture left in the bowl. When hot weather comes, kitty pops (frozen pucks of food/water made in silicone cupcake pans make great food. Half my crew prefer starting with it frozen, the other half nibble as it thaws.
just a thought
 
I'm sure Racci went to the same picky school as my Sam did. He also needs to learn he is a cat not a rockstar diva lol

good to know she is doing better!
 
Racci's name is pronounced Rackee for Raccoon. My husband swears that her mom, Calli got into it with a raccoon because of her mask and the way she walks and shakes her butt and her bushy fur and her markings. :lol: She's so funny. We know that's not possible but thought it was cute so it stuck. She was the runt of the litter and she always seemed to have troubles and things happen to her.

First off she got stuck coming out of Calli and I had to help her come out. Then she couldn't get a nipple because she was so little and her brothers were all big and strong so I had to make a tent around her with my hands so she could hold on. Then she hurt her tail getting stuck behind a dresser and it was never straight after that. Then when she was about 1 1/2 she sprained her left back leg making her walk even funnier after her cast was removed. Poor little Racci. She's still my adorable raccoon cat though.
Edit: I forgot to mention the spaying that went wrong with opened stitches and infection, and she's probably the only cat I ever heard of having gall stones removed! :lol:

Thank you Traci.

Boomer is gorgeous too! How did he get his name?

I don't know what happened. I thought I sent this and it didn't go? Sorry.
 
Hi Kathyh,

I do mix it to be very soupy. She seems to like it best that way as long as I don't add too much liquid. She's very fussy. It has to be just the right amount. :lol: At first she liked the chipped turkey but she started pushing aside all the pieces and only eating the gravy so I started buying pates and i'm having more success with that but she'll only eat Wellness turkey, and the Salmon & Trout. Everything else has been nixed. I keep buying all this premium food and winding up tossing it or hiding it in so much tuna water that she can't smell or taste it.

I like your idea for the kitty pops in the summer.

Melanie
 
Hi Nadja,

Yes, they went to school together for sure!

Thanks!

I have to go get ready for Racci's +6 test and meal now. Be back soon.
 
Glad Racci is better now :) My diabetic used to do the same thing when his bgs were dropping too low: constantly meow loudly and act restless and fussy. Every cat has his or her own unique potential hypo warning signs that you just have to learn to identify.
 
Hi Squeem,
This was very specific though. She wasn't restless or fussy. She knew exactly what she wanted. She stood in front of her bowl and looked us in the eye and yelled at us. There was no mistaking what she wanted. My husband just doesn't speak cat very well & got scared that she was hurt & was looking for hurt spots. :mrgreen:

She never went this low before or showed any signs before. I guess I'll know what to expect in the future. She's been below 50 but never this low and never reacted. I was expecting the restlessness or any of the other signs I've read about when it happened but not the single-mindedness. :o

She seems a little off today. She's sleeping more than usual but other than that, her numbers aren't bad and she's eating and using the litter box and no ketones. She had the one real high one this morning 491, but her +6 was 176. She had 2 meals before that and has had one since.

Thanks, I sure hope we don't go through this again! I guess I have to watch those low numbers more carefully now with her new diet.

Melanie & Racci
 
Hi Melanie-

I'm glad I know how to say her name correctly! I had been wondering for a while so I'm happy I asked. I like all her baby stories. It's SO cool that you helped birth her and you know about her entire life.

Boomer (GA) is my former diabetic and the reason I am on this board. He was my first meezer - a little flame point who passed at 3 and a half. He was a sick guy since he was little. Poor thing. Then I got Merlin-he's the avitar photo - he's a longer haired seal point meezer...he's about 2 and a half and he's got asthma. And Trink's also a meezer with even longer hair - she's a blue point and still a kitten....but not for long.

All my cats got their names because I thought they were cool names. Boomer was my only cat who really didn't "fit" his name,but I didn't want to change it. Trinket and Merlin totally do. I had a dream where Merlin's name kind of came to me and I knew that's what his name should be. With Trink, I had never heard of any pet ever named Trinket but I thought it was really cute and different.
 
Sorry I'm so late replying. I had my 3 yr old grandson today and was out shopping with him before we came home to play so it wound up being a late crazy day but fun. :razz:

I'm glad I asked too. I love all their names. Their so different and Merlin is so beautiful also. Is his asthma under control? Luckily Racci only had to have prednisone for a couple of weeks because I had insisted on the inhaler right away and she's been controlled by the inhaler now for about 2 years.

It really is great having had Racci all her life. We have a bond that I've never had with another cat or dog because of it. She's so extra innocent also since she always had her 2 moms until Calli died this September. It makes her special.
 
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