Update on Chance

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Deborah & Muffy(GA) & Wendall

Deborah & Muffy(GA) & Wendall

Member Since 2010
I wanted to have good news before posting an update. Where to begin ...

After starting out promising - and confidently referring to Chance as an 'easy' cat (should have known better than to even think that) - things went downhill really fast. Last Monday his appetite was off and by Tuesday he didn't want food at all, was lethargic and looking miserable. I syringe fed and he vomited. Gave him sub-q fluids but he was still dehydrated and needed to be on IV. Wednesday he was admitted to the hospital with DKA. Based on blood panels and urinalysis, it appears he had been brewing a kidney and/or UT infection and the stress of moving to a new home tipped him over the edge. His WBC was high, potassium and sodium were really low and electrolytes, kidney and liver values were out of whack. The vet gave him a 50-50 chance of recovery. He's a sweet cat and we believed he deserved that chance, what with it being his name and all.

By Saturday he was doing somewhat better, ketones gone and blood panels improved, so that evening we went to get him. While reviewing his treatment the vet became concerned that his last BG reading was kind of low so I grabbed his meter and tested. He was 20-something so she got her meter (with similar results), a syringe of dextrose and a tech came in with food and syringe fed him. We brought him home and broke out the Karo, tested and fed until the numbers got up to a safe level. It was the first time I've had to treat a hypo and I glued his whiskers to his face.

He's been home for 48 hours now and is doing better. Still needs assistance with eating and will be getting fluids, antibiotics and supplements for awhile but last night he jumped onto a chair and took a proper cat bath. He's very particular about his appearance and spent over half an hour fixing the mess I caused.

Hopefully he's out of the woods and I'm more optimistic that he will fully recover.
 
I'm glad to hear Chance is home again and recovering from DKA.
There are several things you need to be doing...I don't' know what the vets have told .....they often don't tell caregivers what to do after DKA.

  • It is really important that you continue to test for ketones once he has come home.....you need to test daily for the time being as it is so important to catch any ketones immediately. You need a bottle of Ketostix which you can get from a pharmacy or Walmart.
  • It is Important Chance is getting his doses of insulin. Are you home testing? If not I would STRONGLY suggest you do and set up an spreadsheet and document the data.
  • Chance needs 1 and a 1/2 times the amount of calories he normally gets. This is because food acts like a medicine with recovering from DKA and it is really important he eats plenty. If he is not eating you need to get some antinausea medication such as cerenia or ondansetron.
  • Post daily and ask for help and guidance.
  • Give extra fluids...add water to the food if he will allow it.
 
Chance sounds determined to come down with every form of complication in life it seems! Really glad to hear he took the time to clean himself up - to me that's always a good sign. Hope he continues to improve!
 
Deborah, I am so sorry to hear what you and Chance went through. I am praying he continues to get better. He has been through so much and for you to do every thing you can for him is so amazing. You are one of a kind. An angel. Thank you for the update and please keep us updated.
 
Thanks for asking! Chance appears to have fully recovered from DKA. It took about a week to start eating on his own but he's making up for lost time. He has learned when it's time to be tested and to jump on the washing machine. We have 2 other diabetics and he thinks he should be first so still has to learn about seniority. He's strong enough to pry open the cabinet where the dry dog food is already (we thought) secured so we had to put a child lock thingy on it. We only had him 5 days before he got sick and now are seeing his real personality shine.

Totally unrelated, but another good thing happened this week. In September we adopted a 3 yr. old Collie, one of 90+ dogs seized from a hideous puppy mill/ hoarding situation. For months Maisie mostly hid in her crate and cowered if we tried to touch her. She was terrified of everything, didn't know how to eat out of a dish or play with toys. I started using a leash to get her up on the couch and out of her comfort zone. This week she finally had that light bulb moment where she's starting to trust, to realize that she's safe, and did it on her own. She got on the couch and put her head in my lap, a huge step for her. So it was a very good Christmas.

I survived DKA and all I got was this stupid hat ...

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Awesome news. Chance looks anything but impressed with the Santa hat on but given what he's been through, he must have a good sense of humour. May 2020 be much better!

BTW, love the bios on all of your kitties. That's quite the clan you got going there!
 
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Deborah & Muffy(GA) & Wendall said:
Thanks for asking! Chance appears to have fully recovered from DKA. It took about a week to start eating on his own but he's making up for lost time. He has learned when it's time to be tested and to jump on the washing machine. We have 2 other diabetics and he thinks he should be first so still has to learn about seniority. He's strong enough to pry open the cabinet where the dry dog food is already (we thought) secured so we had to put a child lock thingy on it. We only had him 5 days before he got sick and now are seeing his real personality shine.

Totally unrelated, but another good thing happened this week. In September we adopted a 3 yr. old Collie, one of 90+ dogs seized from a hideous puppy mill/ hoarding situation. For months Maisie mostly hid in her crate and cowered if we tried to touch her. She was terrified of everything, didn't know how to eat out of a dish or play with toys. I started using a leash to get her up on the couch and out of her comfort zone. This week she finally had that light bulb moment where she's starting to trust, to realize that she's safe, and did it on her own. She got on the couch and put her head in my lap, a huge step for her. So it was a very good Christmas.

I survived DKA and all I got was this stupid hat ...

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Oh Deborah, that's wonderful news about chance, so he thinks he can cut in front of the line to be tested lol and boy does he sound strong.
Such another wonderful thing you did adopting Maisie, that poor baby.
It makes me so happy that she is coming around and trusting you.
Aww she put her head in your lap that is a huge step for her.
That is such a cute pic of Chance.
Wishing all of you a happy and healthy new year
Kiss all your fur babies for me
 
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