ToughCookie
Member Since 2013
Hi everyone, I discovered this forum after doing a search for one related to diabetic cats.
I created an account just to see if anyone out there has had a similar experience to mine and could maybe offer their knowledge. Before I begin, I know that we will never know for sure what ultimately caused our recently diagnosed diabetic cat to pass away but we weren't told much from the vet other than maybe it was all too much but what I am wondering is what was "too much"? Everything she had going on at once or the experience she endured the other morning. If anyone can offer any possible insight I would greatly appreciate it! Sorry about any grammatical and/or punctuation errors, I'm not an English whiz. When I say "we" I am referring to my family.
Now to the story. I had a cat that was around 5 and a half years old who was diagnosed with diabetes at the end of January this year. She had a hyperactive thyroid at the age of 3 which we were told was extremely rare for a cat so young to have. She defied the "norm" all of her short life. She had a run in with constipation prior to being diagnosed with diabetes and spent 2 nights at the animal hospital to help get that taken care of. The vet gave us medicine to give to her to help keep her from becoming constipated again which she was still being given a few times a week up until her final week.
When she was diagnosed with diabetes we were also told that her kidney count was not good (we weren't told the exact count) and upon research discovered that diabetes and kidney failure can go hand in hand with cats. We were taking her everyday to the vet for about two weeks to get her blood sugar checked, get insulin and to get fluids to help the kidneys to improve. When her kidneys were re-checked they were back to normal. We started giving her insulin at home and she went once a week to get her sugar checked. Since being diagnosed she started having trouble with her back legs, she was very wobbly and sometimes couldn't walk at all. My mother read that sometimes stiffness is related to diabetes and we figured that's what was going on with her.
Two nights ago my cat was throwing up but nothing came out. She did it about four times before I went to bed and when I picked her up that night I realized she was wet and had peed where she was laying. The next morning my mother discovered that she was very lethargic and couldn't move her back legs much, if at all. She actually thought at one point that she was dead. Since it was so early (about 5:30) and the normal place we took her was not open yet we ended up at a pet E.R. at around 6:30 because we were worried she wouldn't make it until the normal place opened. Once we arrived there they did blood work and checked her temperature. Her temperature was 94 (if I remember correctly) and they checked her sugar and that was, I want to say, 20? If not 20 somewhere between 20 and 40. So they then went to do a complete blood test and discovered very, very bad kidney counts and that she had a bad urinary tract infection. They started her on fluids, anti-nausea medicine, and antibiotics.
They didn't make it seem like she would die any time soon as a result of any of it. It seemed like it would all be under control in a few days from how the vet there talked. We didn't want to keep her there because it wasn't close to home and it was way more expensive than close to home so the idea was that she would stay at the E.R. for the time being until we could get in touch with her normal vet and see if it was okay to bring her directly there. We said goodbye to the cat and left the E.R. to stop by the hospital that was closer to home and to come home while she was getting a few hours of care at the E.R. We went to pick her up around noon to take her to the hospital closer and within ten minutes after dropped her off there we got a phone call that said she had passed. The vet said maybe it just simply too much for her but what did he mean by that? The diabetes, kidneys and UTI couldn't handle everything? Or simply her body was beyond repair by that point? My mom felt terrible and was blaming herself saying maybe she shouldn't have moved her like we did from one place to the other right in the middle of treatment. We're talking about a 20 minute drive. Would that have really had an impact?
Sorry if I lost anyone, I will gladly clarify anything if you need it. I would appreciate any responses.
Thanks in advance. This was the first cat we've ever had that was diabetic and I think ultimately we want to know that we didn't screw up and that it was simply her time to go. :YMSIGH: :sad:
I created an account just to see if anyone out there has had a similar experience to mine and could maybe offer their knowledge. Before I begin, I know that we will never know for sure what ultimately caused our recently diagnosed diabetic cat to pass away but we weren't told much from the vet other than maybe it was all too much but what I am wondering is what was "too much"? Everything she had going on at once or the experience she endured the other morning. If anyone can offer any possible insight I would greatly appreciate it! Sorry about any grammatical and/or punctuation errors, I'm not an English whiz. When I say "we" I am referring to my family.
Now to the story. I had a cat that was around 5 and a half years old who was diagnosed with diabetes at the end of January this year. She had a hyperactive thyroid at the age of 3 which we were told was extremely rare for a cat so young to have. She defied the "norm" all of her short life. She had a run in with constipation prior to being diagnosed with diabetes and spent 2 nights at the animal hospital to help get that taken care of. The vet gave us medicine to give to her to help keep her from becoming constipated again which she was still being given a few times a week up until her final week.
When she was diagnosed with diabetes we were also told that her kidney count was not good (we weren't told the exact count) and upon research discovered that diabetes and kidney failure can go hand in hand with cats. We were taking her everyday to the vet for about two weeks to get her blood sugar checked, get insulin and to get fluids to help the kidneys to improve. When her kidneys were re-checked they were back to normal. We started giving her insulin at home and she went once a week to get her sugar checked. Since being diagnosed she started having trouble with her back legs, she was very wobbly and sometimes couldn't walk at all. My mother read that sometimes stiffness is related to diabetes and we figured that's what was going on with her.
Two nights ago my cat was throwing up but nothing came out. She did it about four times before I went to bed and when I picked her up that night I realized she was wet and had peed where she was laying. The next morning my mother discovered that she was very lethargic and couldn't move her back legs much, if at all. She actually thought at one point that she was dead. Since it was so early (about 5:30) and the normal place we took her was not open yet we ended up at a pet E.R. at around 6:30 because we were worried she wouldn't make it until the normal place opened. Once we arrived there they did blood work and checked her temperature. Her temperature was 94 (if I remember correctly) and they checked her sugar and that was, I want to say, 20? If not 20 somewhere between 20 and 40. So they then went to do a complete blood test and discovered very, very bad kidney counts and that she had a bad urinary tract infection. They started her on fluids, anti-nausea medicine, and antibiotics.
They didn't make it seem like she would die any time soon as a result of any of it. It seemed like it would all be under control in a few days from how the vet there talked. We didn't want to keep her there because it wasn't close to home and it was way more expensive than close to home so the idea was that she would stay at the E.R. for the time being until we could get in touch with her normal vet and see if it was okay to bring her directly there. We said goodbye to the cat and left the E.R. to stop by the hospital that was closer to home and to come home while she was getting a few hours of care at the E.R. We went to pick her up around noon to take her to the hospital closer and within ten minutes after dropped her off there we got a phone call that said she had passed. The vet said maybe it just simply too much for her but what did he mean by that? The diabetes, kidneys and UTI couldn't handle everything? Or simply her body was beyond repair by that point? My mom felt terrible and was blaming herself saying maybe she shouldn't have moved her like we did from one place to the other right in the middle of treatment. We're talking about a 20 minute drive. Would that have really had an impact?
Sorry if I lost anyone, I will gladly clarify anything if you need it. I would appreciate any responses.
Thanks in advance. This was the first cat we've ever had that was diabetic and I think ultimately we want to know that we didn't screw up and that it was simply her time to go. :YMSIGH: :sad:
