Lost Trust Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I found out about a month ago that my cat was diabetic, She had slowly been getting lethargic over the last year. I had just thought she was getting old (she's 15) but since I've been giving her insulin shots twice a day she's perked right back up to her old self. But this morning when I woke up she was in a state of shock... half laying out of her basket, her eyes wide open and she was rigid. I thought she'd died at first because she was cold to the touch, but then I realized she was breathing and got her to the vet. She's there now being treated, but I didn't really get any answers other than her blood glucose was extremely low and that her temperature was about 10 degrees below normal... has anyone here ever had a diabetic cat go into shock? I just don't know what to expect... Link to comment
BeStrongBeHappy Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 She got too much insulin which pulled all the sugar out of her blood. You have to feed very controlled amounts of food and monitor them carefully to make sure they don't get too much insulin or too little. It also helps to feed them smaller meals more frequently to prevent too low blood sugar drops... but you do need to consult your vet for infomration on the best way to manage a diabetic cat. Her feedings must be very regular, and careful measurement of the amount of insulin she gets and when. Link to comment
Lost Trust Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Yeah, I've been reading up on it some this morning and I'm realizing that my vet didn't really give me as much information as he should have when I started her on insulin... and I guess I should have read more about it. I've been giving her 7 units twice a day per his instructions, but they didn't say anything about her eating habits other than to make sure she eats right after giving her an injection. She's actually been eating a lot more since we started doing this, but she's also started looking a lot healthier again so I just thought she was gaining strength back. I just watched a video on youtube about how to test her blood sugar levels at home with a monitor. I'm now going to go find out how to go about getting one of those so that I can hopefully prevent something like this in the future... Link to comment
hers Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 7 units? That doesn't sound right. All diabetic cats I have experience with get no more than 2 units twice a day. That seems a little high so yes, I think the having too much insulin like BSBH said could be the cause of her shock. Link to comment
Lost Trust Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'm using a 1/2 cc syringe which was given to me by the vet, and I was told to fill it to 7 twice a day. Maybe units is the wrong word? Or maybe he told me to give her too much, I don't know now since I feel like I've gotten other bad information from him. But I've been giving it to her for close to a month now with no issues until this morning. Does that still sound like too much or was I just explaining it wrong? Also, what are the side effects of insulin shock? Like, I'm just worried that she's not going to be okay... if I got her to the vet and she started responding is this more than likely just a scare? She did start moving some after they gave her some karo syrup or something, another thing that when I called them this morning they asked if I had in the house but didn't tell me ahead of time that I should keep something like that on hand. Link to comment
hers Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I can't remember exactly, but the syringes I've used for giving my clients' cats their insulin, they had to get no more than 2 units per injection, which was 2 lines, so i think that meant 0.2 units. That's how the one client explained it to me. Link to comment
Scorpion Fury Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Poor kitty I hope she feels better soon Link to comment
Lost Trust Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 I can't remember exactly, but the syringes I've used for giving my clients' cats their insulin, they had to get no more than 2 units per injection, which was 2 lines, so i think that meant 0.2 units. That's how the one client explained it to me. Yeah, then that means that I was giving her 7 units then... which the more I read seems to be rather high... the most I've seen anyone talk about giving their cat was 6 units and that was only for a short period of time... Maybe it's time for me to seek a new vet... because when she was diagnosed diabetic he said that she needed that much because her blood sugar was so high... but it was around 350 (which I realize is high) but I'm reading here that some cats get as high as 600... and he never said to lower it or to bring her back in for a follow-up... he just made it sound like she'd be all better, which she was until this morning so I didn't question it... Poor kitty I hope she feels better soon Thank you Scorpion Fury... I hope so also. Link to comment
hers Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Definitely check into a new vet. We get second opinions all the time for our ailments, so we should do the same for cats!! I'm glad you came here to seek help--look into another vet just to be sure she's ok. I'm extremely picky when it comes to choosing vets for my dog. If they aren't personaable or their practice is too big that they ask me every time they see my dog if they've seen her before, then I don't feel comfortable. My vet back home in Florida operated his office out of a converted little cottage, and he knew her name and everything every time i saw her, even if I had to bring her in without an appointment. That impressed me so much that I've held other vets to the same standard (since I don't live in FL anymore)...my current vet remembers my dog and loves her and treats her so kindly, even just to give her shots. That's a big deal to me. Link to comment
Lost Trust Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Yeah, I have already decided that I'm going to be seeking a new vet after the research I've done this morning... I should have done this a month ago, I'm kicking myself now. Even the kind of insulin he had her on isn't considered the right insulin for cats anymore... it's all so frustrating... I just got off the phone with them and she's had to have an IV and catheter put in her to get some sugar into her. Her glucose levels are getting back up, but her temperature is still low. She also had a seizure and they had to give her valium to calm her... She's a pretty old kitty so I'm hoping that this wasn't too much of a shock on her... Link to comment
hers Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Hm, I wonder if it's possible that since he put her on the wrong insulin and too much of it, if they are doing hte right care for her right now? Can you call a different vet in the area and ask for advice possibly? Ask if your current vet is doing things properly? Link to comment
Lost Trust Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Just an update for you guys... Just got back from the vet and she's doing much better, but they're going to have to keep her overnight. They were a lot more frank with me now that she is doing better. Her blood glucose was probably zero when I brought her in (they said their meter goes down to 2 and it couldn't get a reading) but is now back to normal. Her temperature is also back to normal (supposed to be about 100.3 and it was 90.5) The vet technician said that those numbers are "not compatible with life" and that she's a tough cat to have pulled through this because she really shouldn't have. She's up and walking again but still looked really tired. The great news is that she should be able to come home in the morning. I have a nice new ReliOn Micro to test her blood sugar now, and a lot more information after doing research along with talking to you guys. I will be looking for a new vet next week. I wanted to thank you guys that posted this morning... I needed someone to talk to and it was nice that you were there. It was such a stressful morning that I had actually forgotten it was my birthday today. This has turned out to be much better than it started. Thanks again and I'll let you guys know how she's doing once she's home. Link to comment
hers Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'm glad she's doing better. Keep us posted & make sure to try another vet just in case. And happy birthday!!! Link to comment
tamachan09 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 First, hang in there...! I can understand totally how hard it is to see your baby in distress... Your girl is tough, nonetheless, try to be strong and be her advocate. I agree with others about finding a new vet... And I would try to find a feline specialty hospital. Or find a practice that has someone who is boarded in feline medicine. I would highly recommend taking a look at the following sites if you haven't come accross in your research. I know not all things on the internet is 100% correct, but these sites are very good resources for moms and dads that have cats with diabetes: link removed link removed link removed I used to work in the veterinary profession as a licensed vet tech (I am in human healthcare now). And I have worked with many vets who treat cats as small dogs in many diseases. And cats are NOT small dogs by any means! Once she is stablized, I would make an appt with the new vet. But keep your communications open with the current place who is treating her. Are you able to visit her? Is this place a 24 hrs hospital? Hang in there and keep us in touch! Link to comment
Lost Trust Posted March 21, 2009 Author Share Posted March 21, 2009 Another Update: I was supposed to go in to get her this morning but since they got in at seven she's had four seizures (this was as of 8:30)... which sounds to me like she may have been seizing all night... Her blood glucose is up to 471 now, which is high but better than zero since everything I've read says high is better than low, so I think that's less of an issue. I've also read that seizures can be a side effect of a hypoglycemic episode so I'm hoping that this is something that can be treated, his suggestion was phenobarbital of which I'm going to be doing some reading about here as soon as I post this. Are you able to visit her? Is this place a 24 hrs hospital? It is not 24 hours, but I'm supposed to be calling back at noon (when they close on Sat's) to see how she's doing. I'm going to call about a half hour early and see if I can take her home since I'd rather be monitoring her myself than leaving her all alone for another night... Thank you very much for the links and insight. I had found the first two, but not the third and any information is very helpful right now. I wish there was a specialty place here but there isn't anyone that specializes anywhere close to where I live. Thankfully I do have other vet options though, and now that I have so much information about feline diabetes I can goto them and ask questions and assess which ones seem to know what their talking about and make my choice then. Link to comment
tamachan09 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I'm glad you are getting good news. Where do you live? You could look up if there are any feline specialists in your area: link removed I am bit concerned that this place has not referred you to take your kitty to a 24-hr critical care/emergency hospital... If she is having seizures, someone needs to be there... It is never good that a cat having seizures all night... Link to comment
Lost Trust Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 Very sad news today... Tori's kidneys began to fail and she slipped back into a coma... She died this morning in my arms at the vets office. The rest of this is probably more for my benefit than anything... but I'd like to share her story with you all... I first found Tori when I was 13 years old. I was on a car trip with my family where we drove from Vermont out as far as Utah and back over 2.5 months. We had brought our dog with us, but we had to board her one day in Wyoming because we were going to be visiting sites where she couldn't come and we didn't want to leave her in the car all day. The boarding place also happened to be a pet store... so while my mom was taking care of the paperwork, I wandered over to the kitten display and asked if I could open the cage. I blocked the opening with my body so none of them could get out, but one very determined kitten decided that I wasn't enough of an obstacle for her! She climbed up my shirt and I thought for sure she was going to hop right off my shoulder and start running around the shop, and I couldn't stop her because moving would mean a bunch of kittens would get out... but when she got to my shoulder she just sat there and started kissing my ear. I've always felt that Tori chose me. I asked my mom if I could get her, that I'd pay the $20 out of my own money (which was a very large portion of the money I'd saved up for our trip). After a long discussion about how she didn't want to have to deal with a cat for another month of driving she finally gave in. Tori joined us on our adventure, and thankfully our dog Goldie was a very mellow dog, and they got along really well. I remember anytime we'd go for a walk while on that trip, Goldie would lead the way with Tori following right behind... it was so adorable... Tori was always like that though... We took her camping in Rhode Island once and we were at a KoA or something like that in a tent, and she came with us and would wander around and come back. She always knew where home was. Even once when we moved from one apartment to another around when I was 17, she got outside before we'd really moved in and she found her way accross town back to our old house... which is where I went to look for her once she didn't come home. She never left home again, even though we had to move more than a couple times after that. She use to eat corn on the cob until she got older... I'll never forget the first time she was sniffing it, and I offered it to her with the sarcastic "I don't think you're going to really want this Tori" but sure enough, she started to naw the kernels right off the cob. She was definitely the quirkiest cat I ever knew when it came to food... As she got older she didn't go outside as much. She would follow me around the house anytime I got up to get a drink or something and she'd sit in my lap while I worked on my computer and give me that look as if to say "Come on, look how cute I am. Do you really want to be doing anything but petting me right now?" If I'd continue working she'd sometimes start to meow at me until I spent a couple minutes giving her the attention she wanted... I'm really going to miss having her there. My Tori Munchkin was with me 2 years longer than I'd even been alive when I got her... She was my little baby... and I'll miss her so very much. I just want to thank all of you that gave me information and well wishing over the past couple of days. It's comforting to know that I can reach out here when I need to. I thought I'd share a couple pictures of Tori so that you can all get to see her... I need to go clean up now cause my face is a mess after writing all that. She was the best little companion I could have asked for... Link to comment
hers Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Oh I'm so sorry to hear that she died. I can't imagine how hard this is for you. What a wonderful story you shared w/ us. She mustve been a really great cat. Feel free to share pictures & anything else of her you want with us. Hugs. Link to comment
dragon lady Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Lost trust, I am so sorry Tori didn't make it. She sounds like she was a beautiful, loving cat. Link to comment
hers Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Oh I just saw the pictures. Thank you for posting those. What a beautiful cat. Link to comment
Lost Trust Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 Thank you for your condolences. It's been a really hard day and it's nice to come back here and see that some people enjoyed hearing about her life. Link to comment
tamachan09 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I am so sorry about your loss... And what a great tribute you wrote about her. We all know how much she means to you... HUGS to you... Link to comment
thejigsup Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I know how much it hurts to lose a much loved cat. I lost two of my kitties last year. The pain passes in time and we then smile and remember them fondly. We now have two new kitties to love and share our lives with. And while these kitties can never replace our others, they make us smile and love them just the same. I feel for you in your loss and hope the pain passes quickly for you. Link to comment
Scorpion Fury Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I'm sorry for your loss poor baby, but I'm glad you were there holding her when she died, and she didn't die alone. That must have been so comforting to her. Sounds she had a great and long life, 15 years with you. I'm so sorry, at least now she is smiling down on you and is no longer in pain Link to comment
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