At my wit's end

Hi there,

I am brand new to this forum. Looking to touch base with anyone who has gone through anything remotely similar to what I'm about to describe. I say this all with the recent sadness of losing 18 year old Zoe last December to kidney disease and 16 year old Laney just 3 days ago to IBS.

Cinnamon is our approximately 8 year old diabetic cutie. We got her as a stray when she showed up on our doorstep terribly sick almost 5 years ago. Got the diagnosis of diabetes almost right away, and after a tumultuous first year of getting her stabilIzed, she had been doing great for the past for years. Diabetes was in check (3.5 units of NPH morning and night with no trouble).

Fast forward to December 2014. Had some kind of gastrointestinal event that lasted about a week. Had her at emergency vet for 3 days, when we brought her home she bounced back well. Decided it was time for a dental cleaning in late February 2015. Did the dental, and she hasn't been the same since. [emoji]128542[/emoji].

She had one extraction during the dental. Brought her home and she drooled terribly. It never stopped. It soon turned brown and she got it all over her mouth and paws. Took her back to vet; they diagnosed her with acne. Gave her antibiotics and Stridex pads for a week. She got worse. Eating was so challenging, she was developing an aversion and if she did manage to eat, acted like it was a big effort. No foul smell from her mouth, which made any diagnosis puzzling. She finally stopped eating altogether. Took her back to vet. Vet said take her to neurologist. We did; initially he found nothing. We took her home, only to have her crash a day later. Took her to ER vet; they also found nothing and just got her blood sugar raised back up. Took her back to neurologist who put her under this past Monday and finally found an ulcer under her tongue. It was swollen and bleeding. He gave her a convenia injection and told us to syringe feed til she got better.

She did not handle syringe feeding well. Took her back to vet, who said she would probably be better off with feeding tube. She just got it last night. We have no idea what to expect.

We are $4500 in since December. We are not rich; this is crippling. We can't lose her since we just lost our other two babies. We've come so far.

What could have caused this? Seems it happened during the dental but vet doesn't remember anything unusual during the surgery. Is she just susceptible to more infection since she's diabetic? Has anyone else had a diabetic with a mouth ulcer? How long should this take to heal? Is the feeding tube the beginning of the end, or is it temporary so she can bounce back? How challenging is a feeding tube, especially for two kitty parents who work full time? I feel like we rushed into this but she was deteriorating so quickly. She had been in fairly good spirits through it all but I know without adequate nutrition she wouldn't have lasted long.

Any advice or feedback you can give about where this sweet baby might be headed would be helpful. Thank your for your support.

Becky

Becky - it is very hard to tell where all of this began as you have no prior knowledge of where this stray has been or what he was into. Strays live a hard live as they are often hungry if there is not enough food supply. I know it is hard to see this happen. You can only take it one day at a time. This is not a easy thing to do - Cinnamon is now part of your family. You want what is best for her. It is not easy to decide what to do at this point - keep her alive or let her go. Let her go naturally or put her to sleep to end the pain she is in. How active is she? No one likes to see an animal suffer and the closer we are to that animal we suffer too. You see animals that have been with us for quite some time also have an emotional bond with us - they show it to us by their actions and their voices. Is she crying out in pain or is she quiet?  A few pictures of her may help others determine what is the best thing to do. At this point it is one day at a time. 

Thanks for your reply. Certainly we don't know her history before we had her but we've had her for five years now and she has been doing great for the past four. A few more details:

She has for the most part remained very good natured. We've had her on lots of meds the past few weeks, and there was of course the crash but she has remained active and happy. The only part she has not liked are the syringe feedings (heck, I wouldn't either!). Also, vet did bloodwork just yesterday and all checks out great. We are ceasing insulin at this time until she gets to a point where she can eat fairly normally again. We'll monitor her blood sugar as best we can to make sure it doesn't get too high.

Just really wish I knew more about mouth ulcers and why it's taking so long to heal and how it got there? Vet is puzzled as to why it's taking so long, if it did indeed occur during the dental cleaning. She is thinking that her diabetes are contributing to the delayed healing process. Since I've never had a cat with a mouth ulcer, I have no idea.

Praying that the feeding tube process will go well, I just hope it's not permanent. I feel so bad for her. She's been through so much!

I certainly don't want to scare you and I am not a vet or vet tech but has cancer been ruled out?  There are some viruses that cause mouth ulcers, have those been ruled out. 

Don't be afraid you are at the end because of the feeding tube.  My kitty was on a feeding tube a little over 4 years ago because of fatty liver and he is still here going strong.  We tend to think it's the end when a tube is inserted because that is when it is used for people but kitties are different.  A kitty won't eat when they are sick or their mouth is very sore whereas people can go ahead and eat because they know they have to.

I know diabetic humans can heal less well and be more prone to ulcers. It possible the same applies to cats. I can't offer any advice that hasn't been given already. I hope she heals soon

I'm
Hoping everything goes well

So you said he is remaining active and happy?  So he still does his normal activities etc?  Does he lay around a lot?

I'm in a similar situation, but due to feline asthma.  Mine isn't active and happy though, far from it.  I don't want to see him go by any means.  My kitty hasn't been on meds too long, but its making me crazy watching him suffer.

I feel for you.  Our bills are over 1200.00 right now and that is just since the end of March.  I dont' know how much more we can do.  Luckily I have meds purchased for now.

Hope he improves.

Ho

MerlinsMom said:

So you said he is remaining active and happy?  So he still does his normal activities etc?  Does he lay around a lot?

I'm in a similar situation, but due to feline asthma.  Mine isn't active and happy though, far from it.  I don't want to see him go by any means.  My kitty hasn't been on meds too long, but its making me crazy watching him suffer.

I feel for you.  Our bills are over 1200.00 right now and that is just since the end of March.  I dont' know how much more we can do.  Luckily I have meds purchased for now.

Hope he improves.

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how old?

14.5 nearly 15.  He has had asthma symptoms off and on for years, but never this bad.

Thanks all. We estimate that she's about 8 years old. The vet did take pity on us for all we've been through and did a biopsy for free 2 days ago, so we'll find out in about 5 more days what the results are. I am praying it's not cancer, otherwise we've got a whole different ballgame.

Thank you for the reply about the feeding tube. That is my main concern at the moment. Seems like such a big change. Yes, my kitty's temperament is normal right now; she just refuses to eat (understandably) and is still drooling brown slime.

So unfortunately we received the results of the biopsy today. It is cancer, and she only has a few more weeks with us at best. While I am devastated at the news, I am glad we have answers. Going to try to give her as much love in the next few weeks as possible. [emoji]128542[/emoji]

I'm so sorry. Nothing anyone can say will make it easier. Give her all the love you can. I hope she passes peacefully when it's time.

Im so sorry. I had a kitty with feline luekemia. His kidneys failed and we had to put him down. Hold him close

MerlinsMom said:

 
I'm so sorry

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I'm very sorry.

So sorry to hear this.  

I am so very sorry.

Very sorry!