Wheels fell off

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JeanW

JeanW

Member Since 2017
I've been away from FDMB while dealing with my own problems - after effects of a concussion due to auto accident this year (recently dx as a closed head injury), unemployment, my parents on hospice, major leaks in the roof of my house, and more, depression due to all of the above. Having difficulty coping. I'm a terrible pet parent.

I ran out of test strips and had to do without for a while until I could buy some more. I had to buy different food for a while - still mostly low carb. I've been giving insulin all along and testing again now for about a week - but haven't been keeping the spreadsheet. Pretty Girl's numbers have been high and today I increased to 1.75u.

Pretty Girl didn't seem too good yesterday. Late last night I tested for ketones using the new blood ketone meter and it showed 2.2. I called the ER (3-1/2 hours away) and they recommended to monitor and test again in a few hours. I gave Pretty Girl some water with a bit of tuna juice mixed in and she drank it and seemed to feel better.

Then I mixed much more water than usual in her food - currently Nature's Variety Instinct Original Chicken - and she ate really well like she was very hungry. She drank more water and I saw her drinking water several times through the night. She ate a decent amount this morning and I've seen her use the litter box a few times. She seems some better this morning but when I tested for ketones again this morning it showed 2.7. We are headed to the vet soon (also 3-1/2 hours away and we are having a tropical storm). Is there anything I should be doing now before going to the vet?

Please give me your advice. I got almost no sleep last night due to the worry.
 
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I'm sorry you have so much on your plate. Life can be very cruel at times. :(:bighug:

I think getting her to the vet is wise. She's just on the edge ketone wise. All the extra fluid is helpful. She might have a UTI or dental issue driving the ketone development. Let us know what happens.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
I'm sorry you have so much on your plate. Life can be very cruel at times. :(:bighug:

I think getting her to the vet is wise. She's just on the edge ketone wise. All the extra fluid is helpful. She might have a UTI or dental issue driving the ketone development. Let us know what happens.
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Thank you. :bighug::bighug: I will let you know.
 
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I called the vet's office before going there - don't want to make 3-1/2 trip unless I'm sure they can see us.

The vet - Dr Hoppe - strongly recommended doing a BG curve in the first half of the day before going in.

When I tested Pretty Girl's BG 2 hours after the shot, her BG was down 130 points. I tested again at the same time with the ketone meter and the result was 1.0 (down 1.7 from earlier). Will check again in an hour or two.

She is eating well this morning since the shot.
 
An update - not a lot happened yesterday. But Pretty Girl is doing quite a bit better.

Apparently my vet doesn't have a lot of confidence in blood ketone meters. :confused: She didn't feel it was necessary for me to bring Pretty Girl in and after the much improved ketone reading (see above) I agreed.

Pretty Girl was much better in the last half of the day yesterday - nearly normal - eating, drinking, active and interacting with me and the other cats. She's not quite as good this morning but is doing ok - clearly much better than yesterday. Her appetite is great and she is busy grooming herself.

The vet had a tech call me back and tell me to increase the insulin by another full unit on top of the .25 increase yesterday. I will do the increases in .25 increments.

Thanks @Kris & Teasel for the info and moral support yesterday. :bighug:
 
God bless I'm glad your baby is doing better, and I hope you will be soon too! :bighug:

Can I ask though, I thought the blood ketone meters were just as good as the strips? I've been using strips myself until I can order a meter but I don't like them as much because it's a challenge to catch my baby peeing let alone grab the strip and pray it works when I slip it under her, etc. so I thought the meter would be helpful for when using the strips aren't.

Did the vet explain their opinion, or..?
 
Candy&Company said:
God bless I'm glad your baby is doing better, and I hope you will be soon too! :bighug:

Can I ask though, I thought the blood ketone meters were just as good as the strips? I've been using strips myself until I can order a meter but I don't like them as much because it's a challenge to catch my baby peeing let alone grab the strip and pray it works when I slip it under her, etc. so I thought the meter would be helpful for when using the strips aren't.

Did the vet explain their opinion, or..?
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Thank you for the good wishes.

Actually I think it was really that the vet doesn't know much about blood ketone meters. When I called the ER the night before they totally knew what I was talking about and could give me feedback right away. I use the meter because she will never let me near her while she is peeing - hopeless to try.
 
krazy4kritters said:
Sure doesn’t seem like your a terrible pet parent. Glad to see kitty is feeling better. :bighug:
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Thank you. I am just used to being much more diligent with my spreadsheet and paying attention to the numbers. She is doing much better tonight.
 
So glad the ketones are coming down. On a ketone meter trace Ketones start at 2.4. Sounds like the dose increase and extra water are helping.
 
JeanW said:
Thank you for the good wishes.

Actually I think it was really that the vet doesn't know much about blood ketone meters. When I called the ER the night before they totally knew what I was talking about and could give me feedback right away. I use the meter because she will never let me near her while she is peeing - hopeless to try.
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Ooh okay that makes me feel a bit better, LOL. Yeah mine ketone strip testing is hit or miss - Fena doesn't mind me doing it, but it's not always easy to catch her even with the strip bottle left in easy reach, etc. And with the cling-wrap in the litter box they've started to switch out their usual positions so I'm never sure if I AM late what's Fena's, what's Mao's, if it's mixed... grrr.
 
Candy&Company said:
Can I ask though, I thought the blood ketone meters were just as good as the strips? I've been using strips myself until I can order a meter but I don't like them as much because it's a challenge to catch my baby peeing let alone grab the strip and pray it works when I slip it under her, etc. so I thought the meter would be helpful for when using the strips aren't.

Did the vet explain their opinion, or..?
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While I can't speak for the vet, I would assume they were not familiar with using the blood ketone meter on a cat. Overall, the blood ketone test is actually more accurate than the urine strip test. It's also my understanding that you can see ketones sooner in the blood versus urine. And then there's the obvious positive of being able to test whenever you need instead of waiting for your kitty to pee. ;)
 
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