Yoda not feeling well - glucose jumped, temp 103.1

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Kelly & Oscar

Kelly & Oscar

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Some back history first. Yoda has been OTJ since September. He was a steroid induced diabetic due to the depo shots for his stomatitis. He is now on a stomatitis cocktail of drugs developed by the late Dr. Wiggs at the Dallas Animal Dental Clinic. He started this cocktail on 3/7 and within 4 days was back to eating his regular food. His mouth inflammation has gone down, but is still apparent and his jaw lymph nodes are still slightly swollen. Blood work from mid February came back completely normal. This is an experimental drug, and I do not know the exact contents except for the fact it does not include steroids or NSAIDs. There are no sugars in the compounded liquid. They have been giving the cocktail to their clients for several years with a good success rate.

He started really really shedding on Friday I believe. He is an indoor kitty, so there is no winter coat to shed. Threw up his raw food Friday night, no hair ball. Threw up Saturday morning a regular sized hair ball, figured it was due to the shedding. Started hanging out upstairs in the office for some reason, just kinda staring off into space. Slept with me last night like usual. Threw up a gigantic hair ball this morning, at least 3 or 4 inches long. Wouldn't eat, no matter what I did. Went out and got some low carb canned food, he woofed down the salmon Blue Wilderness flavor. Has an odd meow, more of a cry than "I am talking to you, darn it!" classic siamese meow. Feels a little warm to me. Tried to take his temp but he wasn't too fond of the method. Temp got to 102.1 before he bolted. At food time he tested 133. 3 hours later he tested 189 and ate some raw food. When ever I bring him down stairs he runs to go back up stairs. Half of the time I go up there he is just standing on the book shelf, or standing on my husband's chest of drawers. Usually he is on my husband's stuff for some reason. I have poked his belly and he doesn't seem tender. His normally white, kinda pinkish skin is now very pink.

I am really wondering if he doesn't have a hair ball that is not passing very well. I witnessed him peeing earlier today, so I know that is not it. Should I give him a small dose of insulin tonight? We will obviously be going to the vet first thing in the morning. Should I wait until then for insulin? Could discomfort cause the glucose to raise *this* much? What on earth could this be?
 
Re: Yoda not feeling well - glucose jumped out of the blue

I would not give the insulin. 189 is high for a non-diabetic cat, but since it is after food and he is not feeling well, not unexpected.
 
Re: Yoda not feeling well - glucose jumped out of the blue

Hi Kelly,
Well, my bad. I just realized you're posting about Yoda here, not Oscar! So I'm no help at all.
Glad you're taking Yoda in to see the vet tomorrow morning. I know it's rough when they don't feel well and you have to wait to find out what's wrong.
Will be thinking of you and Yoda and Oscar!
 
Re: Yoda not feeling well - glucose jumped out of the blue

Hi Vicky! I have two diabetics actually - Oscar is the one that took a nose dive today. Yoda hasn't been on insulin since September actually.

What worries me is that the shedding came on all of a sudden, he is standing on the bookshelf in one place for hours, his skin is now bright pink, and his neck/head feel warm to the touch. I'll check his glucose here in a few min and see where it is at.
 
Re: Yoda not feeling well - glucose jumped out of the blue

His glucose has gone down to 110, but his temperature is 103.1. I am going to call the ER clinic up in Indianapolis to see if that is a temp we need to bring him in at.
 
Re: Yoda not feeling well - glucose jumped out of the blue

Thanks Kelly. Has anything changed at home recently? The skin changes and sudden shedding make me think of allergy. Have you used any new cleaning products or new detergent recently? If there is anything new, you might want to mention it to the vet.
Is he scratching or licking himself more than usual? Not sure what you could do in the meantime to make him more comfortable. His BG is probably going up because he's stressed. It should be temporary once he feels better.

Yeah, that's a good idea about calling the clinic, especially with a temp going up. Poor guy. Let us know what you find out.
 
Nothing new in the environment. He got the Blue Wilderness food at 6pm today, but he was showing the very pink skin and all the other symptoms before that. I think the warm/pink skin is due to his slight temperature he is running.

The lady at the clinic said that it is a temperature to keep a check on. Anything over 104 would warrant a ER visit tonight. As it is right now, she would definitely recommend him be seen tomorrow, but it was up to me about tonight.
 
I am taking the 911 icon off since it isn't an emergency situation right now. I think we are going to ride out the night for now. If anything changes, I'll post up.
 
Do you have a rice or wheat bag that you can put in the freezer and hold him in to bring that temp down some? Does he mind baths? You might also try a cool water bath.

Do you suspect this might be a reaction to his cocktail? Specifically, do you think the shedding is? It seems to me, as I read through the story that his shedding might have led to stomach upset which led to feeling lousy. I don't know that stomach upset leads to a high temp, though. And, yes, the stress of not feeling well would bring his BG level up that high.

Poor Yoda baby. I use mineral oil for hair balls. Ennis use to get them a lot, back before he retired and still groomed himself. 1/2 to 1 ml every day for 3 days usually cleared him out. Any more than 3 days would lead to loose stool.

I know how worried you are, Kelly. Please let us know how this goes.
 
Thanks for the ideas Venita. I may try a cool wash cloth bath since I really doubt he would tolerate a full bath! He has been on the cocktail for 2 weeks now, so I am unsure if this really could be a side effect. I have a friend on the stomatitis list that has Jim Seahorn's personal contact info from the clinic and she texted him our situation. At the very least, either myself or my vet will call them in the morning.

My gut is telling me that this is connected to a hair ball someway. I was thinking about using mineral oil earlier today, bit wasn't sure since he already expelled that 4 inch piece earlier. I know that mineral oil is a main component of the hair ball remedies vets and pet stores sell. Its the temp that I can't put my finger on either. Hopefully we will have a better idea of everything tomorrow morning. I will have a call in to my vet's office first thing in the morning. Hopefully it will be a day that they have a vet on site - they don't have one there every day of the week sometimes.
 
I was thinking the mineral oil or some other hairball remedy might be called for given all the shedding. There might be hair "stuck" or at least slowing down his digestive system, even though he threw up that monster record hairball.
 
I am sorry you and your Yoda are going through this. Dang, if you don't have enough to worry about with Oscar!

You didn't mention if he has had a bowel movement recently. Can it just be that he is constipated (kind of along the same lines that Venita is suggesting)? Maybe a side-effect of whatever drug they are using?

Let us know what you find out Kelly. I hope he feels better soon. Maybe ask them what exactly is in the drug. But since it is a trial, maybe they won't tell you? :(
 
Don't know anything yet. Glucose this morning was 101 before eating a little bit. Still wanting to hide upstairs. Unfortunately our vet isn't in today - only the vet techs. He is at the office right now. His glucose there with the alpha trak meter was 135, his heart rate was elevated (was here too while sleeping), and his temp was 102.8. They are letting him calm down and will take a blood pressure reading soon. If they can't figure it out, then we will be referred to another practice here in town that can see us.
 
Thanks Venita :YMHUG:

I talked to the Dallas clinic that gave us the stomatitis drugs. Elevated heart rate and slight fever is not a side effect they have seen to date. It is very unlikely it is due to the meds specifically since the meds are a very low dose of antibiotics coupled with "other things". Common side effects are over grooming, hairballs, and constipation. I am wondering if he isn't just clogged up.
 
His blood pressure is normal. The Dallas clinic thinks it is something to do with hair balls- whether one doesn't want to pass through the stomach, or he is constipated. He is still at the vet office - she thinks that he looks less red than he did earlier today. We are going to give him an enema to try to clear his bowels and start him on some petroleum jelly tonight to help clear the hair balls. Hopefully we will see a significant difference in him in a day or so. If not, back to the vet he will go @-)
 
Venita and The Boyz said:
Smooth passage, Yoda!!
Click to expand...

funny-pictures-cat-laughs-hard.jpg


Well the enema produced a bunch of fur filled poo, and he threw up another hair ball upon coming home. Sounds like it is a hair ball problem. He is going to get Vaseline 3 times a day for the next three days, and that should help things move along. He already seemed to feel better on the way home, was yelling at me the whole time ;-)

And just because this now seems fitting:

funny-pictures-cat-realizes-where-the-thermometer-goes.jpg
 
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