Update 11/1 4:00 PM ET: Luna bouncing back from DKA

When you go back, bring food she's used to. See if she'll eat for you. The noise from other animals, strangers, feeling lousy all may effect whether Luna eats. She may be willing to eat, even if you have to feed by hand (or spoon) for you.

Dan -- when Gabby was diagnosed, I went through much the same thing. I had 2 vets try to prepare me for losing Gabby. She fought to come back and we had 6.5. years. Talk to your kitty. You know her. Cats tell us what they want and when it's time. We just need to be smart enough to listen. That said, this Board seems by work its magic in surprising ways. People are sending all sorts of good mojo Luna's way. The power of the paw does seem to help.
 
She has to go on the right side, we love her!
As Sienne said, if you can try to get her eating her food. The more she'll feel at home, the better!
I keep thinking of her and sending all my positive vines and all my energy for your lovely sweetie.
 
Dan

I’m so sorry to hear about Luna’s DKA. Pancreatitis is more an inflammation than infection and so I wonder if this is infection going on and if they should have her on a broad spectrum antibiotic?

Depending on the type of fluids they use (e.g. lactated Ringers), there might also be potassium in them which can help. Keep an eye on her liver enzymes and always question them what they are. You do not want to deal with hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) on top of this; she would need a feeding tube to get through that so if you are able to get food into her yourself, it would be best.

In all the cats we’ve had that have had to go to the ER, it’s been my experience they don’t try to feed. They put food down and if it’s eaten, great. If not, whatever. I always insist on being allowed to feed my cats when in hospital.

Many healing vines.
 
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If you are also able to bring something like a T shirt that you’ve worn with your scent on it, that is often comforting for them as well.

I’m not sure if they have a place for you to stay but I once stayed in my car in the parking lot of an emergency clinic due to a similar situation. I would go in & check on things every few hours. Whatever it is that gives you peace, do it. Just follow your gut & try not to overthink it. It is also ok to go home. There is no right or wrong thing to do.

Much love & prayers your way and more Healing vines to Luna.
 
Adding to the pile of get better vines headed towards Luna. :bighug: :bighug:These are for you.

I like the idea of taking her own food in. Often we hear from people who say kitty eats for them in ER. When Neko was in our local ER, they encouraged caregivers to come and spend time with and feed, as they knew animals are more likely to eat with their people.
 
Dan, I’m so very sorry for what you and your wife are going through with your precious little Luna. Please stay positive, she will make it through this.

Tons of prayers and vines and positive thoughts sent your way.
 
Just got back from visiting. She's really tired and didn't move much. I took some of the glycobalance we use for when her BG is low because she likes the gravy, but she barely sniffed it.

Tomorrow they're going to do a deeper scan of her organs to see if they can figure out what triggered this. She's first up when the specialist gets there in the morning. But she has been getting antibiotics since being admitted.

They want to do a feeding tube, but they're concerned about her electrolytes first. They want them up if possible before sedating to put in the tube. Could happen tomorrow if things look better. They also mentioned getting a nutritionist to help because of her probable fish allergy and being diabetic.

Next update from the vet is in about 2.5 hrs.
 
Sending prayers for little Luna, and you both as well. Good she has her own blanket. I use an animal communicator who once told me my hospitalized kitty "wants a pink blanket". She survived, and was surrounded by pink blankets until she died at 20.5yo this year.
 
Dan, my heart is with you & your wife and beautiful Luna. I pray that she starts to feel better very, very soon. FYI, I had a cat with a feeding tube in the past. It sounds scary, but it's really not that difficult. Thanks for the updates.
 
When our first diabetic cat was in ICU at our local vet school, they made this fort inside of his cage. Almost everyone else in there was a dog, and they knew it was discomforting for him. It was just an upside down cardboard box, but they created flap doors on the front that they could open to see him and treat him. Not sure if they'd allow that, but you could ask.

Also, they had a "quiet room". When we came during ICU visiting hours, as long as he wasn't actively getting any treatments or in oxygen, they let us take him into the quiet room, which was just a glass room within the ICU so that they could still see us and vice versa if needed, but it cut down on the volume, and we were able to just lay on the small couch with him on our chests. You might ask if they have any kind of quiet place that you could take her to for a little while if you aren't able to do that already.

My heart and my hopes are all with you. She's a very beautiful little girl.
 
Just heard from overnight vet. Slight improvement in numbers. Potassium is 2.4 up from 2.2. Chloride and sodium also very small improvements. Next update tomorrow by 9 AM after another round of electrolyte test and then the abdomen ultrasound. Said she's still very sick, but this is two tests in a row that her numbers are getting better. I'm still very worried, but at least I can go to sleep knowing things are improving and not getting worse.
 
That's really encouraging news Dan. I hope you and your wife get a good nights rest.
Please feel better Luna, our thoughts and prayers are with you. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Sending tons of prayers and love for sweet Luna! I am so sorry you have to deal with DKA. But I know Luna can do this, she is a strong little lady and soon DKA will be just a bad memory . :bighug:
 
Spoke to the morning vet, whose bedside manner wasn't the greatest. Luna's potassium was up to 2.6, and her Chloride and sodium also slightly increased. I don't think this vet was aware of the other lower tests, because he said she "tanked" even though her numbers have been increasing.

They're worried about fatty liver, so putting in a feeding tube in the next hour. Hopefully getting some food will help. They'll call to update after the procedure
 
That sounds good Dan...:.more progress ! Food should help Luna.

I’m sorry you had to deal with poor bedside manner- totally unacceptable, especially given the situation is already stressful enough for you. Hopefully the vet will adjust their attitude! If not, & if you don’t feel comfortable with them from a treatment perspective, don’t hesitate to politely ask for another one (if there is another vet there). It’s important that you are able to communicate & trust who you are working with.

Continued thoughts & healing vibes being sent your way :bighug:
 
More in depth ultrasound showed nothing except for fatty liver. So it's still a mystery what triggered this. I asked about pancreatitis and they said the imaging and blood tests didn't really indicate that but they were treating anyway. I was too overwhelmed to ask about the specific test.

How long will pancreatitis show up on the test if we get them to do it later? And even if they don't test, is there any specific treatment for pancreatitis that we need to do moving forward?
 
Your last two updates are so promising Dan! I really believe Luna is fighting to get better and I’m sure she will :)

I’m keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers... get better soon Luna!
 
I wish I could answer your questions, but I'm so glad to hear Luna is improving. There is no excuse for anything less than compassion and patience from vets when a person is trying everything to help their furry friend. I am so sorry you had to deal with someone who had bad cat-side manner. Come on Luna --- get some food in you & get better so you can come home! Team Luna is rooting for you!
 
Hi Dan :bighug::bighug::bighug:

I’m glad Luna’s numbers are going up.

Was the ultrasound done with a radiologist? Ultrasounds is a good way to check for pancreatitis. But normal blood labs won’t be able to tell you it there’s pancreatitis (you can guess but usually the most definitive answer is the specific snapFPL or specFPL test and ultrasound).

But they’re already probably treating for pancreatitis hopefully. The biggest component is getting ahead of pain and nausea so I’d ask about that. In desperate cases, drugs for inflammation is next and the most effective choice is probably a steroid. When Ming was in DKA with pancreatitis (they saw necrotic cysts in his ultrasound), my vet asked if I was open to giving a dexamethasone shot. It’s not the first choice especially because of the diabetes. But it did the trick for Ming.

Are they checking ketones regularly?

I’m glad Luna is getting a feeding tube in. Food is so important when treating all the suspected issues she’s been diagnosed with.
 
The in-house test for pancreatitis is a Snap fPL. It reads like a pregnancy test -- either a + or a -. For actual numbers, they vet needs to send out the blood for a Spec fPL. This is a link to the Primer on Pancreatits that Marje (Marje and Gracie) put together.

When Gabby was diagnosed with DKA, she also had pancreatitis and fatty liver. Like I said previously, she overcame those obstacles.
 
Hi Dan, I am very sorry to hear what you, your wife, and dear Luna have been going through. Lots of healing vines and good thoughts for a swift recovery are heading your way. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
Back in the "old days" there was a Yahoo assisted feeding group, but Yahoo no longer supports it's former groups and I could not find if it has moved to another server. Another of the Yahoo groups, the highly regarded Feline Pancreatitis support group, has just moved its site to a new server: https://groups.io/g/FelinePancreatitisSupport.

Has anyone given you the recipe for the "Liver Shake for Sick Cats"? Might be worth a try:

"THE '~LIVER SHAKE~' FOR SICK CATS

This liquid food is appropriate for cats suffering from conditions where they are eating very little or not at all such as anemias, leukemias, deficiency states with symptoms of lethargy, listlessness, and weakness.


1 cup RAW LIVER (BEEF, or CHICKEN)

1 cup FRESH CARROT JUICE or V-8, or Tomatoe Juice

1/4 cup *FRESH FILTERED WATER

1 RAW EGG YOLK

1 tsp.KELP POWDER OR SPIRULINA



COMBINE AND MIX IN A BLENDER UNTIL LIQUEFIED. (Note: it will be frothy)


Dosage:


Administer 10cc daily 3-6 times a day. (6Occ per day max)


Some cats will need to be force-fed with a syringe, while others will drink it out of a bowl.


This food has a sweet and salty taste, and the energetic properties of tonifying (energy boosting), warming and stimulating and supports the kidneys, spleen, liver and stomach.


This drink is a complete dinner for a sick cat until they feel good enough to eat by themselves again.


*Substitute rice water if the cat has diarrhea. Rice water

is made by boiling white rice (2 Tbsp) with water (1cup) for 30 minutes.

This liquid aids digestion and assimilation and inhibits the symptoms of diarrhea."

I hope that today will be a good day for Luna.
 
Dan,

My boy has chronic pancreatitis & has had a history of the liver becoming inflamed as well. Pain management is crucial, fluids & sometimes there is also a need for antibiotics in addition to a steroid. The Spec fPLI is important not only for diagnosis but also to be able to check on the pancreatic lipase level later. Does the problem resolve & the numbers return to normal? If so it is hopefully an acute case. If the cat continues to have issues & the vet repeats the Spec fPLI, they are able to get an idea of if the problem is staying the same or worsening. Having this test repeated at different points in time is helpful & is an important additional piece of information that can be used to help with treatment decisions down the road if pancreatitis is the issue for Luna. In addition to the Spec fPLI, a full GI panel can be ordered & that will check folate, cobalamin, TLI. All of these help with determining if there is potentially some IBD involved-specifically Folate & Cobalamin. However, you will most likely be told that without more invasive studies to do biopsies, a definitive diagnosis of IBD is unable to be made. The TLI level determines if there is any Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency occurring which is a when the pancreas fails to produce enough digestive enzymes. Recent studies have shown that pancreatitis is generally associated with other inflammatory conditions, particularly IBD, so hopefully, if the vets are going down the pancreatitis path, they are also looking for the other issues as well.

Happy to hear there is continued progress!
 
We got a call this morning that she crashed after they brought her out of anesthesia. We told them to continue CPR until we got there. We prepared for the worst but she was awake on the table when we got there. Next few hours are critical. If everything is quiet, the plan is to feed tonight after consult with nutritionist. It's been a tough few days but she's not ready yet. We're not leaving here anytime soon
 
Dan I just posted & then saw this latest update. My heart sank. I am so sorry to hear this happened but relieved to hear she is awake. Prayers to you & Luna. I am sure she is happy you are there.
 
Oh Dan! My heart was on the floor reading your update. So glad you are there with her at this critical time. She does not want to leave you!! Sending more prayers & vines!
 
Luna, you are so strong. Dan, I am so sorry this is happening. You know what's best for Luna and it's clear she is still fighting to stay with you and your family. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Oh Luna! I have a pain chest after reading your update. I am so relieved she is awake. Yes she is critical but she is a fighter. Sending more prayers.
 
Luna is a fighter! I agree Dan, she isn’t done yet!!

come on Luna Girl, you’re doing great, let’s see you get through this!

healing thoughts vines and extra prayers for sweet Luna, I believe you can pull through this Luna! We’re cheering you on!!

Hang in there Dan, you’re doing a great job being there for your girl :bighug:
 
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