Thelonious the Super Cat

[Aurore]

Hello! So, today is day three. On Thursday we went to the vet cause T-lone had suddenly lost a lot of weight and was uncharacteristically sluggish. He's usually very mellow and we recently fostered a kitten for a few months (validating unusual behavior) and I'm a two-job single catlady so all said, I didn't see the signs until the last minute. Really, like the very last minute. I'd have come home in the next few days to find he had passed away quietly under a bed if I hadn't brought him in when I did. Ketoacidosis is pretty terrifying.

So, the worst is finally behind us! Many tears have been shed, particularly today when the vet said he could go home tomorrow and oh, guess what?! The bill's not nearly as much as we thought and we'll even let you pay off a small part of it over the next six months! Yep, even more tears.

T-lone is only 8 years old. The first vet said, 'look, this is really bad (cause I did not at all comprehend anything at that point). You can take him to the ER for about $4000 or we can discuss more humane options...' Um, yeah no. Not my boy. Not my T-lone. No way, no how, let's go figure out how to make this work...

So, three days of absolute terror and stress and tears and anxiety and boy did my whole body ache last night! But today, hallelujah, the news was good! He's coming home tomorrow!

Now what??! I'm shopping for a monitor and any advice is appreciated! And all the other advice as well. I'm so ready to have him home and get him healthy again!

 

[Kris & Teasel]

I sympathize completely! My guy had a bout of DKA a year ago - terrifying and very expensive. Please go post on the main health forum where it'll be seen by many more people. They'll want to know:

1. What insulin has been prescribed and what dose (was he on insulin before the DKA?)
2. What glucose meter you'll be using
3. Any other meds/health issues he has
4. Your approximate location/time zone because advice givers are all over North America/Europe.

If you go there now and put up that info I can get you started. We like eyes on all advice given because it's peer reviewed.

Thelonius is a handsome lad!

 

[JanetNJ]

welcome! So glad you were able to save him and get the help he needed! As far as monitors... since cost is a factor you can use an inexpensive human monitor. Many here use the walmart brand Relion Micro as the test strips are pretty inexpensive relatively speaking. I use a pet monitor called Alphatrack, but the strips are REALLY expensive. Also get some 28 guage lancets to poke the ear with. the ones that come with a human meter are usually 31 gauge which are too thin. I use cotton cosmetic rounds behind the ear when I poke so I don't get my finger. Good to have some neosporin gel with pain relief to sooth the ears as well. while the poke doesn't hurt much, after testing several times a day it will help.

Get good low carb food to feed him when he gets home. Skip the prescription stuff... it's not better than what you can get in the store. Esp. the dry prescription... avoid it. Most of us feed fancy feast classics or Friskies Pate. NOTHING with gravy. (although have a can or two of gravy lovers on hand just in case you have a hypo incident and need to get your cats levels up.)

we are here to help if you need us!

 

[Aurore]

Thanks for the great info! Especially lancet size, I'm gonna order some stuff today.

So up until now I've free-fed both of my cats Purino Indoor formula. The vet says T-lone is eating the prescription stuff well so maybe I'll take a bag home and then get advice here on what to buy next. Vet did offer to give me suggestions for commercial food, so no pressure there.
Is there a reason to give him wet food? My mother convinced me years ago that it gives cats diarrhea so I never give it to them. My Nellie is a garbage cat who loves broccoli and once ate a bunch of roasted garlic (I didn't know it was toxic until much later, but the only toxic part as far as she was concerned were her farts ). T-lone, however, generally won't touch anything but dry food. We definitely need to get some weight on him, though, as he became the incredible shrinking cat a week ago and is at least four pounds under. He's a well-muscled beast usually, my pitbull cat.

Good tip on the Neosporin. Going on the list.

So when you say more expensive for the cat-specific test strips, just what are we talking? I really have no clue what sort of monthly costs I'll be looking at yet...

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Thanks for the great info! Especially lancet size, I'm gonna order some stuff today.

So up until now I've free-fed both of my cats Purino Indoor formula. The vet says T-lone is eating the prescription stuff well so maybe I'll take a bag home and then get advice here on what to buy next. Vet did offer to give me suggestions for commercial food, so no pressure there.
Is there a reason to give him wet food? My mother convinced me years ago that it gives cats diarrhea so I never give it to them. My Nellie is a garbage cat who loves broccoli and once ate a bunch of roasted garlic (I didn't know it was toxic until much later, but the only toxic part as far as she was concerned were her farts ). T-lone, however, generally won't touch anything but dry food. We definitely need to get some weight on him, though, as he became the incredible shrinking cat a week ago and is at least four pounds under. He's a well-muscled beast usually, my pitbull cat.

Good tip on the Neosporin. Going on the list.

So when you say more expensive for the cat-specific test strips, just what are we talking? I really have no clue what sort of monthly costs I'll be looking at yet...

AlphaTrak pet meter test strips are about a dollar each in the US. I pay more than that here. If I recall from reading here, the cheapest ReliOn tests strips are about $18 for 100 of the type for the ReliOn Prime meter. However they need a larger blood drop to work and you can end up wasting strips. I think the strips for the Micro are about double the price but you can check at the store. We can't get those meters here in Canada.

 

[JanetNJ]

the wet food is lower in carbs, and in general the added moisture in wet food is better for cats because it keeps them better hydrated for kidney health. Ideally you want to feed a diabetic cat food that is under 10% carb. there are only a few dry foods that fit that criteria. Evo Cat and Kitten in the purple bag is about 7% carb. Young Again Zero is my personal favorite at about 1% carb. They will send you a free sample of the food if you ask. youngagainpetfood.com

The perscription dry food is about 14% carb and is considered a medium carb food. while it's lower in carb than most other dry which can be as high as 25-40% carb, it's still not low enough for a diabetic cat. The wet perscription food is about 6% carb and is fine to feed, but expensive. This is why most of us feed wet fancy feast classic. They are all under 10% carb and much more affordable, and most cats find them tasty.

I personally feed fancy feast classic twice a day and then leave both evo and Young Again to my diabetic because she's a kibble lover.

Here is a chart of wet food carb contents: http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

The purina indoor you were feeding is somewhere around 36-39% carb.

 

[JanetNJ]

Most on this board use Relion Micro. I think it's somewhere around $35 for 100 strips. I use the alphatrak because I like having the same readings as my vet.... I pay $48 for 50 strips. Not gunna lie, it adds up. Before my cat went into remission i was spending about 150/month on test strips. On the other hand testing at home kept her safe and made trips to the vet for curves unnecessary, so I figured it was a wash with what I would have been spending on monthly trips to the vet for curves and fructosamine tests.