Help - Ketones & DKA

Hello -

I have a diabetic cat, she has been diabetic for 4 years. She is 10 yrs old and over the last couple weeks we have struggled to stabilize her, she had two episodes of hypoglycemia. Today, the vet advised me her Ketones levels are high and she has been admitted to ER care for fluids and monitoring. I am confused and do not want to risk DKA.

I was advised my kitty will need 24 hour care for the next several days. The treatment is very expensive and there are no guarantees.

Can anyone share with me,if your cat has high Ketone trace/levels and the success with treatments? PLEASE?!

I don't want to lost my kitty...she is very special to me.

THANK YOU!

I'm so sorry you're having such a hard time, Smacker. I never had that problem, but I'm sure several of us have and I'm sure they'll reply when they see you here. From what little I do know about it though, I think kitty will be fine. John

I have my fingers crossed that all goes well and settles down pretty quick.

In my experience, a cat can be steadied and stablized, the problem is, its not just vets that have to do it.

Firstly, there are several treatments available, so one should be suitable, but which one??

Some people use tablets, some food alone and last but not least by using injections.

I started at the top of the above list and ended up with 2 injections of insulin a day. This we did for over 3 years, my big boy Bandits life was a full as any non diabetic cat and with the little extra care (about 10 mins a day) he was a very loyal, loving cat with the biggest heart for us that any cat could have given.

He did have a few probelms with regulating his needs, but with blood test being done with a human blood glucose kit, it could be maintained by us at home on a regular basis, with no cost of vet fee's.

Hw went hypo 2 times in those years, yet a simple very high in sugar syrup drink, he recovered each time in about 5 minutes.

He also went hyper as well, once we noticed a drinking change and food chane, we checked his levels and took action accordingly.

It seems at first to be a thankless task, but when your fur kid steadies and returns to his before diabetes normal slef with the aid of meds, they know how hard you have worked and repay you in more than one enjoyable way.

I am sure your vet will stablize your fur kid, the rest will be down to you to help him, but I know you will be able to cope.

I expect one of the other sugarcat members will be along soon to give more advice. As I am in the uk, numbers ect as not the same as the rest of the world, yet the treatment is all the same.

Vivien

Been there, and recently.

Here's the very first thing you do, before continuing with this message: get your vet's emergency phone number for the weekend. Or have him/her promise to call you twice on Sunday. One or the other.

Eddie has been diabetic since Sept. 2004, and last June he had an intestinal problem that escalated into cascading system failures, with very high ketones. After bringing him home and taking him back for a few overnights, I took him in at 7 on a Monday morning to start fluids before the vet arrived. She was to call me at 10, and based on our weekend conversations, I expected to return in order to put Eddie to sleep.

The vet didn't call me until noon, and then she said she had him stabilized, and we had to figure out what to do. Eddie was there through that Friday morning, when he'd finally gone 24 hours with no ketones. He'd lost 2 pounds and was otherwise in bad shape. I ended up tube-feeding him for a month. Now he's back to normal weight and there's no indication there was ever anything wrong with him. I am thrilled with how well it went.

It was horribly expensive, more than I could really afford, but it worked. One thing Dr. C and I discussed was how I would feel if he died anyway, and I decided I wanted to try. But if that's not the right decision for you, you will know.

I blogged about my tube-feeding experience. [url]http://esheley.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/tube-feeding-a-sick-cat/[/url] There are some other entries, too, but there are a lot of comments on this entry that come from other people who've had to tube-feed for one reason or another.

Go with your gut on this. I realize I'm talking more about your role in caring for your cat, but really, that's the decision you have to make. Your vet will cover the medical part.

If you want to e-mail me, you can comment on my blog and then I can take it to e-mail.

Good luck with whatever you do!

You should really pay a visit to the FDMB (Feline Diabetes Message Board) where there are always posters around, and someone will be able to give you good advice or point you to resources to help you make up your own mind on the way forward.

Sheila x x x

Thank you John for your response...its been a long weekend at the ER clinic. Kitty is home, but her diabetic state is still not stable. I am searching to find a Board Certified Feline Internal Medical Specialist - Vet, in Arizona. If you know of any or any sites to research - please share. Thank you again!

I never had this problem with any of my three, but from reading (FDMB) I think you can give fluids at home, called SUB-Q, which is putting fluids in under the skin. This tends to wash the ketones out.

Then you will need to home test, if you arent already doing this as you may have to adjust insulin dosage

Good Luck

Mary(UK)