Sub-Q Question... (Might Need to Give More?)

[ToddyTiger]

The new vet who saw Todd on Tuesday for possible Pancreatitis, said I should give him 150ml Lactated Ringers Sub-Q, once a day. She said he is pretty dehydrated and he absorbs the fluid pretty dang fast. Within an hour, the fluid pouch is gone and I don't see that it has moved anywhere else on his body.

He got the 150ml today (Wed. 8/4) around 1 in the afternoon. Later on in the day, I noticed that when I lifted his skin, it stayed up a bit, which from what I understand, means he is dehydrated. (?)

Should I be giving more than 150ml? I mean, I'm going to call and ask the vet tomorrow morning. Splitting the fluids up where he gets some in the morning, and some in the evening is a great idea, which was suggested to me earlier. But I wonder if he might need more than the 150ml? I don't know how much is too much for a 12lb cat with possible Pancreatitis.

The last few days I had noticed he was drinking more, but since I have him staying in our bedroom now (as of Tues), it appears he is drinking less than he was two days ago. I think this could be because he hates being forced to stay in one room and I am sure the syringe feedings, along with all of the meds I have to force down his throat are making him rather cranky. He is not a fan of having things put into his mouth. I'm trying to find a comfortable way of doing the syringe feedings as well. He tends to get a lot on his chin, rather than in his mouth. (Suggestions?)


Thanks!

 

[chriscleo]

i always worry about overtaxing the heart if you give too much fluid at once. so once every 12 hrs is a good idea (split it up into two doses of 75mls each or 100 mls each if he still seems dehydrated. i probably wouldn't feel safe giving more than that.)

if you're giving insulin, give the fluids at least 4 hrs before or after the insulin so they're not given so close together.

did you get injectible Pepcid AC and pain meds (like buprenex) to give, too? they can help a lot with pancreatitis. my cat cleo has really bad chronic pancreatitis so we've been thru this a lot. a partial syringe (no needle) of bupe is usually administered near the gums or cheek (so they don't swallow it directly--it permeates the skin tissue instead). if you don't have injectible pepcid AC, you can get the pills at the pharmacy and give 1/4 pill a day, followed by a syringeful of water. the bupe would be every 8 hrs while pancreatitis symptoms persist.

i don't know anything about syringe feeding, so i'll leave that to others...

hope this is helpful.

 

[ToddyTiger]

Thank you!

Yeah, I wasn't sure if you could cause more harm than good by giving extra fluids. I didn't want to do it until I got some advice.

I was given pain meds, as well as a bunch of other stuff. No Pepcid was given, but she did give him a shot of anti-nausea meds before we left her office on Tuesday.

The meds I was given are as follows:

Lactated Ringers Sub-Q 150ml once a day

Buprenorphine 0.25 to 0.3 every 12 hours (up from the 0.2 our original vet gave him)

Metronidazole One capsule (62.5mg) once a day. (Giving in the AM)

Baytril 22.7mg Once a day (I've been giving in the PM to space out his meds a bit)

Mirtazapine 1/4 tab every 72 hours (due today 8/5)

Tumil-K Gel 3ml twice a day

Lantus 1/2 unit in the PM if BG levels are in the 200's in the afternoon.

0.25 of B12 once a week (Will start today 8/5)

I've only been up for a few minutes, but he already seems a bit perkier today. He's talking more, which he hasn't done in a few days. and he was soooo happy getting brushed last night. purring and rolling all over the bed. of course, that could have just been the pain meds talking. heh

 

[chriscleo]

cats hide pain so well that i didn't give pain meds when cleo first started getting pancreatitis attacks. but i've learned bupe makes a huge difference for her. my understanding is that it doesn't last longer than about 8 hrs tho so it might be better to give the original dose but every 8 hrs while kitty seems to be having a pancreatitis flareup. sometimes i just give half the dose if i don't think she needs the whole thing.

some cats get more fluids but the 75 mls twice a day should help a ton.

re the B12, i actually put it in a regular U100 insulin syringe. using a 3/10 cc U100 insulin syringe the weekly B12 dose is around 30 units. i like it coz the needles are skinnier (i use a 31 gauge).