Wodens intro. (new cat here)

[Woden's_mom]

Allright better to get the bad out of the way, My boy as of 8/1 was brought home from the E-vet where he had a five day stay due to ketoacidosis. As of when we had to bring him home due to running out of funds (we never recovered from the inital diagnosis of diabetes) he still had slightly elivated ketones. He was diagnosed with the beeties about three weeks ago. If I had the money to continue he would still be in the vets office. They are thinking he might also have liver damage or some other issue but sence we used our $2300 budget were kinda stuck haveing to save more.

My biggest fear is he is going to get worse here at home. He is still on a feeding tube as he does not want to eat at all. I have tried watering down pate, offering fresh meat, treats, gravy canned that he loves and even the dreaded dry kibble he used to be on. Nothing works yet. But I am not going to stop trying. I have canned liquid diet the vet gave us as well as the pepcid, amoxicillin and potasium supplement they gave me along with his doseing instuctions. We are useing Lantis as our insulin and are and have been doing home testing. I will work on getting my spreadsheat up soon.

We started with 1u of lantis 2x a day and most times at his half way point he was still hovering around 200. After comming back from the hospital we are at .5u and the first midway test was at 252.

My vet was delighted to know I had a meter for myself and showed me how to test him and we were working on getting his doses right before he was hospitilised. I will be calling here today once they open for her input on what the heck I should be doing to get him better.

Once I have him eating again I have selected some pates from fancy feast as our normal diet. Unfortunatly he is a pretty picky guy and will not eat anything without a sauce. I was hopeing some home made chicken broth (used thighs and water) thickend with Knox will work as a gravy subsitute for him. Please correct me if that will not work.

Right now he is sleeping under my computer desk and I keep fretting that he will crash and become lethargic and unresponcive again. I have to resist the urge to wake him up every 15 min. Our next dose of insulin is comming up at a lovely 3 am I will test before hand and give him some more liquid food after offering something else.

Well that's about it, My Woden who is only 7 got beeties as a birthday gift. I have had him sence he was born when I saved his mom from liveing on the streets hungery and wet. I also have his Brother Loki as well. There are my furkids and I am not going to give up without a fight.

 

[Pam and Layla]

Re: New cat here.

Hi, sorry your Woden got such a terrible birthday present. There are many here on the board whose cats had a rough beginning with diabetes. My own Layla was only 8 when diagnosed - with DKA. We had a very rough time but with some encouragement and a lot of reading/learning about feline diabetes, we made it through the rough spots. Layla's had diabetes for 6 years now.

You have a feeding tube - that is a great tool to have with a cat that won't eat. Here is a link to the yahoo feline assisted feeding group - wonderful support group full of people with experience in tube feeding. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feli ... d-Feeding/

My advice on the tube feeding, is that it is very important to keep track of how much you are giving Woden over the course of the day, and make sure he is getting the minimum amount of food suggested by your vet. I fed Layla 180ml/day, plus whatever I could get her to eat on her own out of a dish. Mine did better with several small tube feedings rather that 3 big ones, but it is up to you and your cat.

Regarding gravy for the pate cat food, I just take some of the pate and mix with water, and pour that over the food. Layla eats the pretend gravy before she eats the chuck of food. You might try this - I'm not sure about adding gelatin.

Lantus is a great insulin to start on so I'm sure some from the Lantus group will chime in, but here is a link for the Tilly's protocol http://www.tillydiabetes.net/en_index.htm


Ask your vet about an appetite stimulent to use with Woden. I used this in conjunction with the feeding tube. I like Mirtazapine, because you only give 1/4 pill every 3 days,, http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2552

Some prefer cyproheptadine http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_cy ... adine.html

Check with your vet on getting one of these for Woden. He can call in the rx to Walgreen's or CVS, etc., an they aren't very expensive.


Ask questions and hang in there.
Best,
Pam & Layla

 

[Venita]

Re: New cat here.

Hi Woden, welcome Mom.

Great advice from Pam. I don't have much to add except:

1. Hills canned A/D, a prescription food that you get from the vet, is a great choice for a feeding tube. It is very smooth and purees nicely. It might cost as much as $1.80 a can. It's maybe a 5oz can.

2. You should pick up some Ketostix (tests urine for ketones) or Ketodiastix (tests urine for both ketones and sugar) at the pharmacy. They cost $8-$14 for 50 strips. Given Woden was sent home with ketones, it's important to check for them.

3. You might want to ask the vet about doing sub-Q fluids on Woden, both for hydration and for ketones. The cost of a 1000ml bag, the administration line, and the needles really varies from vet to vet. It could be as high as $40, but if you plead for a discount and they know the situation, you might get away with it at their cost or slightly over, which would be about maybe $8.

We can give you guidance on using the ketostix and the fluids.

My best to you and to Woden.

V