Took Calley to the vet

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Kris10mo

Kris10mo

Member Since 2014
I took Calley to the vet today. She vomited this morning about two hours after her shot of insulin. Yesterday she went all day without vomiting at all.

I told the vet that I decreased the insulin amount and told her that I think I was mixing it wrong and so forth. The vet took a BG and it was at 324 at 7 hours past the morning shot. She took Calley's temp and it was normal(I think she said 102). She said that Calley looked alert and in good shape, though she has lost a pound since the insulin curve was done just a week and a half ago. She suspects that Calley might have developed a thyroid condition along with the diabetes.

She sent me home and told me to make sure she is not eating any of the other cats kibble and to make sure she is only eating one variety of can food/flavor and to keep the insulin at the higher level we had her on and stick with it for a week and see what happens. She says that if the vomiting continues after all variables are the same after a week's time, that we will do another CBC and check for thyroid and any other issues. She wants me to watch Calley and make sure that there are not any other symptoms when she throws up. I haven't seen any staggering or other signs of the hypoglycemic episode so the vet is thinking that the vomiting is due to the food variables(she has gotten into my other cats dry food) or due to my changing the insulin dosage.

I'm frustrated that I still have no answers to go by. This disease is so hard to deal with. I see a glimmer of hope that she is feeling slightly better, but maybe it is just wishful thinking.

Kristin
 
Ok. So I just saw Calley vomit....this is the first time I have witnessed her being sick. She was licking her lips for a bit and then stood up and let it out. She did not act sick, did not stagger or fall over or have any eye issues....just vomited up the food she ate an hour two hours ago.

So now I am not as worried since she did not show the symptoms I read about.

So now the question is....what is causing the vomiting? This is a new. She has only done this for about four days now and today was the first day she vomited both her meals morning and night.

Kristin
 
The vomiting could be any number of things.

1. A bad batch of food.
2. Pancreatitis
3. Trying to hack up a hairball (One of my kitties does the vomit food for a few meals first before being able to expel the hairball)
4. Ate something poisonous. Any new plants in the house or yard she can get to?
5. Lot's of other causes I haven't even though of.
 
No. There is nothing new she has been exposed to. She is an indoor cat and has not left the living room/kitchen area in months. She lays by the water bowl all day long and does nothing else....besides pee. I will go and get her some new cans of the Friskies she eats and throw out the stuff I have just in case she got a bad couple of cans. Do I feed her again after she has thrown up her meals? I don't want her to keep losing weight.

Just now as I saw her vomit...she did the mess and then went right to the kitchen to look for more food and has drank several times. She gets up and walks back and forth to the kitchen and then back to the water bowl. Whenever anyone walks to the kitchen she follows them looking for more food.


I am going tomorrow to buy home testing stuff as I have GOT to rule out BG as the reason for her vomiting. Or possibly rule in the BG so I can get some answers.

I'm beginning to second guess the vet. :(
 
PS...I asked the vet about pancreatitis and she said there was no way to test for it and no way to treat it even if she had it. So if that is what is causing the vomiting how am I to know? She said the CBC wouldn't show pancreas issues. Does that sound right?
 
Sounds like a possible food allergy to me. Mikey did that whenever I fed him red meats. Some cats are allergic to poultry, some to seafood. Try an elimination diet and feed only one type of protein at a time for a few days. If no vomiting, add another type, etc.... Do you remember which flavors you've been feeding prior to the vomiting?
 
You might not be able to diagnose pancreatitis all the time but you can definitely treat it. In fact, it's usually suggested to treat any possible pancreatitis flare as if it were in fact pancreatitis. Nausea (lip-licking) and vomiting is a common symptom. Not all cats exhibit all signs of pancreatitis. Since she's not having appetite issues, I'm not too sure she might have it, though?
 
Since I changed Calley to wet canned food(about two months back) she has been eating Friskees Oceanside Pate. I've stuck to that and I think the Mariners Catch. She has eaten a variety of the Friskees Pate for weeks now and hasn't vomited. Recently she has gotten some of my other cat's Purina Cat Chow(since she is always voraciously hungry and eats the wet food and then goes hunting for more). Would the mix of the two be causing the vomiting?

I started feeding my other cat his dry food in the bathroom tonight so Calley wouldn't have access to it.

As I have sat here at the computer the last hour or so, Calley has drank out of her water bowl at least 20 times.

I am so confused right now I don't know what to think. Is it food related, is it insulin related???? I hope I"ll be able to test her with home supplies and get some blood out of her and get some numbers. The vet told me to only feed her twice a day at insulin times. But if she is vomiting up all her food intake she is going to continue to lose weight and I know that is not good.

So I fed her again after she vomited and has kept it down now for a few hours. And she wants more.

She is such a good kitty. Sleeps on the floor right next to my bed at night(when she feels good enough to leave the LR) and will not wake me for her needs but waits until my alarm goes off and then meows and heads for the kitchen as if to say "follow me mom, please feed me".

Please pray for success for my first attempt at home testing tomorrow. I'm going to need it.
 
Sending prayers for your success with home testing. With the frequency of Calley's drinking, that tells us she is not regulated. She may need more insulin. Hope to see some BG test numbers for Calley soon.

Being voraciously hungry is also telling us that she isn't getting enough insulin.
 
Excessive drinking and urination can be at least 3 different diagnoses: diabetes, thyroid, and renal disease come to mind. There may be others.
Combined with high glucose, its pretty certain diabetes.
BUT
It is possible to have more than one condition.
Vomiting and excessive urination could signal renal disease too - were there any labs recently with BUN or creatinine? Urinalysis?


And sometimes, the stomach just gets irritated. 1/4 a plain Pepcid, given about 20 minutes before feeding, may help food stay down if its just a mild GI issue. Discuss trying this with your vet.
 
Labs have not been done in a few months. The vet is trying to keep the cost down. She wants to see how the strict control of food intake does for Calley and the vomiting before she does more tests. She said that it could just be an upset stomach, or a changing of food issue, or it could also be thyroid related. She also mentioned again that it could be the tumor in the brain that is making regulation so difficult. I doubt she will ever regulate.

Calley did not vomit today. Her stools are runny and very stinky :( but the urination is way down. She is still looking for food, but maybe not as much?

There are too many variables to try to control/understand them all. All I know is that she is very lethargic....sleeps all day, does nothing but eats, drinks, and uses the box. Not at all what I would call a quality of life.

Kristin and Calley
 
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is looking possible - the pancreas digestive enzymes can become impaired, not just the insulin-production. This results in malabsorption, thus the stinky, runny pooh. There are some over the counter digestive enzyme products (ex Mercola), however you'll want to discuss with the doc if an empiracle trial of them (or Rx enzymes) is safe to do and worth doing.

* empiracle - based on symptoms, and logic, not more test$
 
Hi there. I feel your pain because getting a handle on cats' physical issues are always a challenge.

One of my other kids, Murphy, always suffered from a tender belly. My vet did a test to determine if pancreatitis was the problem, which it was. So, I don't know why your vet told you there is no test for pancreatitis. But you know, based on what I have read and experienced not all vets are up to date with all things necessary to care for our furry loved ones.

You sound like a great mom. I am wishing you and Calley the best.

Hugs,
Lydette
 
Hi just want to stop by and say you found the greatest site and angel for help. I am sending tons of prayers and healing green light to surround (((Calley))) hoping she feels better very soon. You are a wonderful mama bean and taking such good care of your baby. Always so hard to see them not feeling good and yes keep all dry food and treats from them is so hard but it is so bad for cats with diabetes. Gave my Trey 7-8 temptations after getting his nails cut and drove his BG way up .....Hugssss Kath
 
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