Help and advice for kitten with DKA

Hi guys, I found this forum by doing a google search for my sick car that is only 8 months old. I noticed that some of the posters here are very insightful and could use some help and advice with our cats situation. I have started a fund raiser to help pay some of the bills for her condition. Below is the link to my page with more information on her condition.

Any advice as well would be very very much appreciated,



I have an 8 month old kitten named bear that i took in from an animal shelter when she was only 3 months old. since then my daughter lily and our new family member bear have been best pals. we are in need of your help to get our bear the medical care she needs. bear has been in intensive care at our local vet clinic for the past few days. She was very ill this weekend and we made an emergency visit to the vet when she began to become very ill. The vet diagnosed her with Diabetes and she was in a state of DKA (DiabeticKetoAcidosis). She has been given around the clock care at the clinic so far to keep her alive. The bills have been far too much for me as a single parent to take on, and I am forced with the decision to put the cat down and break my daughters heart or, continue to pay for the care Bear needs to recover from this condition. We are asking for your help to bring our precious kitten home to us. Thank you and god bless.

http://www.gofundme.com/saving-Bear

This note is posted on all pleas for money and is not directed toward anyone personally.

From the Mod Team Regarding Pleas for money:

Cats are a huge responsibility. Anyone who thinks otherwise, should not have one in their life. They are dependent on us for everything from providing a place to eat, to also providing vet care.

Anyone who has cats knows that they can and do get ill. Your best defense is to plan for that to happen before it does, and store monies away in preparation.

If you read about a plight of an animal on the internet and your heart is drawn to help. Check out the story thoroughly. Google the vet's name or call Directory Assistance in the city and be sure this is a legitimate claim.

Do not blindly send money into a paypal account no matter how heart-wrenching the story. Instead reach out to the member and ask for the vet's name and phone number, and arrange to send the money there for the specific needs of the cat in question.

If that information cannot be provided- you have your answer. Report the post to a moderator so that it can be removed for not being on the level.

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Rob, are you sharing this fund raiser with everyone you know, all your Facebook friends, etc?  You need to really get the word out! 

How on earth did an 8 month old kitten get diabetes?  I've never heard of a cat that young having it, but then again, I'm really not that versed in diabetes, thankfully.  But I thought it came from years of being on kibble, mainly.  (all those carbs )

Poor Bear, and poor Lily .  I sure hope you are able to save Bear

Ok I kicked it off with a small donation. I wish I could help more. Hope things go well

I just wanted to say thank you to Asherdash for the support every little bit counts.

The vet said Bear most likely developed diabetes so early because of a likely heridetary(spelling?) condition. I too was shocked that even animals in General could develop this horrible disease. We all know how life threatening can be in humans and it's the same in animals as well I have learned.

I do not take pride in asking for charity but myself and my daughter really have fallen in live with this cat and we will do every/anything to keep her with us. She is the best cat I have ever had and she follows Lily everywhere she goes around the house. Bear even runs to her whenever she calls her name. She is almost like a dog or human, very unique cat and I can't imagine having to put her down and trying to replace her with a "new" cat as some have suggested to me through email. We love our Bear and hopefully with the help of the vets an generous people like yourself we will get her back healthy again.

Any advice from anyone that has had to care for a car with diabetes at home would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks to all and god bless

Rob and Lily

You might want to start up a thread in the Health Forum about how to "treat" the Diabetes, although I think you will handle it the same way as humans do.   Check for insulin via a needle prick (possibly to their ear) and use the litmus paper, then give insulin via a shot.  I THINK.  But, diet is very important too.  You want to stay away from carbs, which means she will need to be on canned food, grain free and lowest carb, or possibly raw (we have a forum for nutrition too, so can help you out there once she gets over this crisis)

Thank you kindly for the advice. The vet reiterated what you said pretty much. I guess the insulin bottles are pretty expensive at $100/bottle. Bear may be released as early as Monday if she keeps improving. I am honestly not sure what to do at this point. Should I keep putting money into her that I don't have or have her put down? When I first took her in I did not expect it to be so serious and cost so much. Too bad I never went to school to be a vet, could if saved a few thousand.

I think your quote of $100/bottle is extremely high!  You can even get it a Walmart, and I know Walgreens has pet insurance you can get for their pharmacy where you can get stuff like this for really inexpensive.  You just need to check with them to see what it would be.  I think the actual pet insurance runs about $10/year!  (or it did just a year ago).  Most Vets charge much more for prescription drugs than you can get if you shop around.  You'll just need them to write the prescription, then take it elsewhere, sometimes even via the internet.

Which insulin is it? Prozinc is a good insulin but geez was it expensive!

Have you checked out www.felinediabetes.com? They have a forum there with lots of experienced people willing to help you with anything from the long-acting to immediate-acting insulins. They'll help with diet and glucose curves too, obviously.