Oliver's Page

Oliver Twist, one of HART's diabetic cats, recently experienced a life-threatening diabetic crisis called ketoacidosis which resulted in high blood glucose levels and dehydration from his body trying to rid itself of the excessive glucose through the kidneys. Oliver has been hospitalized at the HOPE Center since Sunday, August 9th, for intensive care to carefully lower his blood glucose levels and re-stabilize his electrolytes.

It is estimated that HART’s medical expenses for this incident will be over $7000. Oliver required nearly around-the-clock care to receive short-term acting insulin every four hours and fluids to combat the dehydration. Due to the amount of fluids needed, certain electrolyte levels in his blood dropped to dangerously low levels and began to destroy his red blood cells. He had to receive a blood transfusion to stabilize his red blood cell count. Being diabetic, Oliver is also prone to developing infections, and he has one now that is currently being treated. Although Oliver is no longer experiencing ketoacidosis, he will need at least a few more days of hospitalization to transition him back to long-acting insulin that can be administered in a home setting. Even after he goes back to a foster-care home, he will need closer veterinary of supervision of his diabetes given his history of ketoacidosis.

Oliver is a very smart, loving cat, who wants nothing more than to be near his people -- and a couple of meals a day, of course -- and comes running when he hears his name being called or when a food can opens! He remains optimistic that he'll find his own personal "BFF" to care for him.

HART's vet bills are already huge due to the large numbers of dogs and cats we rescue each and every week, but our donations are down this year due to the economy. We are asking for any amount of help you can give to assist us with Oliver's medical bills. Please consider sponsoring Oliver! Remember, your donation is tax deductable. We'll keep you posted on Oliver's progress here.

Update 9/19/09 from Oliver's foster mom: Last week I took Oliver to his first vet visit with his new vet. He was a good man, he told me that Oliver was more than 5 years old, but ah I will say he is still 5. He was not happy with the new vets, but he will get use to them. They did two urine test on him, and I am still waiting for them to come back. I will update everyone on them when they come in. He is off his meds, he is just on the liver pills and still eating the M/D food with a bit of water. Insulin is still at 3.5 units, I am waiting on the vet to tell me where I can get a monitor so I can monitor his blood, I am quite new at that aspect of the diabetes but we will get it done so he has all of his proper care! He loves to hang in his room, he has his own bed. His new thing is to hide in the shower and scare you when you go in there. He loves his brothers and sisters, today we went and got him a brother to play with. His name is Dr. Evil. He really has not payed much attention to him at the moment, but I guess that is better than fighting kitties. I will get pictures soon of Dr. Evil and Oliver.. All and all Oliver is doing extremely well in his new environment.

Update 9/15/09 from Oliver's foster mom: Oliver is doing GREAT! He loves his new room, and his bed. His new foster family loves him so much. I have fell in love with Oliver just in a weeks time. He has been such a joy to have. I wake up every morning to his purr. I always find him in a kitchen cabinet that is his favorite place to lay. He is still on 3.5 units of insulin. He is now done with his antibotic. Still on his liver pills every morning. He loves his m/d prescription food, I add a little water to it. He thinks it is so yummy. He has a appointment with his new vet, this is tomorrow. I will update everyone if any of the care changes per the vet. I am going send new pictures of him soon, always look for the updates of the precious Oliver.

Update 8/13/09 from Oliver's foster mom: Just wanted to let you know that I spoke to HOPE today (8/13) about Oliver. His electrolytes (potassium and phosphorus, specifically) are back to normal. He's about ripping the cage down when he thinks food is coming, food ought to be coming, or if someone touches his bowl to take away the immediate possibility of food coming (that is, his appetite is back to normal). I think he's trying to make up for the missed meals over the weekend when I tried all sorts of tempting treats to whet his appetite.

He is on antibiotics for his infection, and will be for about 2 weeks. They are still having issues transitioning him to a longer-term acting insulin. The first time they tried, his glucose remained high (which could lead back to ketoacidosis), so they supplemented with short-term insulin again. He dropped to a low glucose level (75, which is really too low for diabetic cats, but normal for non-diabetic cats), so they are trying the long-term acting insulin again -- 5 units, which is twice as much as he was on before and a rather high dosage for a 13 lb cat. They believe the infection and/or the antibiotic could be interfering with his ability to react properly to insulin, and they may need an internist to take a look at him to see if there is some other underlying problem. He will remain at HOPE until at least Friday, making it now 5 nights in the hospital for Oliver. Oliver really wants out of the hospital so he can sprawl out on some nice, soft carpeting or bedspread and be near his humans.

Update 8/16/09 from Oliver's foster mom: I "rescued" Oliver from the hospital today, and he's glad to be home! He seems a little tired and unsure of what's going on, but I think he'll perk up once he re-acclimates. He is on 3 different anti-biotics, 4 units of insulin, and a liver supplement. He's also now on the M/D food, so he'll need his own food prescription card from Petsmart to continue getting the M/D. He's on a very strict diet (no treats!) to make sure he regulates well on the insulin. He'll need a re-check by his regular vet in 7-10 days. The test results for the hemobart might take up to two weeks to get back. I asked about all the results in the IMED report, and the doctor didn't think that there was anything there that jumped out at him as being terribly wrong.

Oliver will have to be monitored for ketones (I think I got a plan for that!) and for his blood glucose. For the rest of this week, I'll test his BG twice a day to see how stable it is. He looks a little funny right now -- they shaved his belly (I believe the IMED tests were done as ultra sounds) and they shaved part of his front forelegs (looks a little like a poodle!), so it will take a couple of months before he looks normal again.

Update 8/18/09 from Oliver's foster mom: Oliver is settling in at home nicely. His appetite is back, but he's still a little skittish and growly -- I reckon he's about had it with being poked and prodded! He takes his medicine like a CHAMP! He loves the pill pockets and never notices that there is a pill inside, so administering the antibiotics has been very, very easy. His blood glucose numbers are still somewhat inconsistent. I am checking him twice a day before I give any insulin. Last night he was down in the 40's and 60's (even after eating), which is way too low to give any insulin. I rechecked him around 10 pm and he was finally curving upwards, so I was able to give him a small insulin dose. This morning he was back in the 400's, so he's "see-sawing" (low at the start of one 12-hour cycle and high at the start of the next 12-hour cycle instead of being at a nice, medium number). This happens in trying to regulate the levels, so it's important to test before giving the insulin. I think in a couple of weeks he'll probably even out at around 3 to 3 1/2 units of insulin; it'll just take a little time. I just hope that by Sep 4th (when I go on vacation and have to hand him off) that he is producing consistent numbers.

Update 8/24/09 from Oliver's foster mom: Oliver is doing very well. He's eating like a demon and actually BEGS for his medication (in the pill pockets, of course!) He's still not totally regulated on his insulin yet, but it's only been a week since he's been back on the long-acting insulin. It may take two to three weeks for him to totally stabilize. Even then, I would recommend testing his blood glucose levels twice a day (before giving insulin) to make sure he stays regulated. He's getting along very well with his "cousin" Punkin (my own diabetic cat) and they seem to be coordinating getting into trouble. Today they tried to rip into a bag of cat food -- luckily we caught them before they could start eating it! Oliver also had a nice visit with my parents this weekend, and he took quite a liking to my Mom. She talked to him, and he loves that. He's not so much into being picked up and petted, but he adores sitting (or laying) near his humans and having them talk to him. He's very inquisitive, especially when there is another cat (Punkin!) to be inquisitive with (just in case he'd get into trouble, there'd be someone else to share the blame!). In all, I think he's recovering nicely his ordeal -- now, if only he'd regrow the fur on his front legs so he didn't look so much like a poodle!

Update 8/30/09 from Oliver's foster mom: Just wanted to update you on Oliver's follow-up visit to the Vet at Burke Parkway on Thursday.

The vet I saw wants me to do a glucose curve on Oliver on Sunday and call him with the results on Monday. He wants to stabilize Oliver at 3.5U of insulin. I don't think he saw the need to check Oliver's glucose levels on a daily basis, so this may just be my neurosis, and whomever takes over Oliver's care next should just have to worry about checking for the outward signs of diabetic complications: peeing a lot and/or not eating. If either of those things happen, I would rush Oliver to the vet immediately.

The vet wasn't sure what Hope wanted him to check, so I asked him just to check for ketones since it's very hard to catch Oliver in the act of peeing!. Oliver is still negative on ketones (yah!), but he will need a urine test when he is done with his Baytril (antibiotic) to check for any lingering infection. This should be sometime in mid-Sept. The vet wants to keep Oliver on the denamarin supplement for his liver for the time being. This has to be given on an empty stomach an hour before he eats, and the vet gave me enough pills for a month. Luckily, Oliver loves taking his pills in the pill pockets, so it's a total treat for him. The vet also wants to stabilize the food -- I'm feeding him 1/4 cup of dry prescription M/D twice a day (with water added, to make it easier for Oliver to digest it), and I'll be getting Oliver a prescription card from PetSmart to make it easier to get the food. The vet is okay with this food and schedule -- in fact, Oliver has gained a few ounces since he was sick -- a sure sign he is getting better and that the diabetes is under control (gaining weight means he is metabolizing his food and USING it, which is what diabetes prevents you from doing).

Oliver has been a pleasure to take care of -- he just enjoys being with people. He doesn't really want to be held, but he'll lay on the bed with you, follow you around, conspire with your other pets, and occasionally talk to you. He does like to lie on the arm of the sofa, or in windows, but he's still not much of a furniture cat. When he is picked up on put down, he doesn't put his claws into you -- but watch out for the teeth when you're giving him a treat! Oliver wants to make sure he gets whatever food is offered to him!

Update 9/13/09 from Oliver's new foster mom: Oliver is doing GREAT! He loves his new room, and his bed. His new foster family loves him so much. I have fallen in love with Oliver just in a weeks time. He has been such a joy to have. I wake up every morning to his purr. I always find him in a kitchen cabinet that is his favorite place to lay. He is still on 3.5 units of insulin. He is now done with his antibotic. Still on his liver pills every morning. He loves his m/d prescription food, I add a little water to it. He thinks it is so yummy. He has a appointment with his new vet, this is tomorrow. I will update everyone if any of the care changes per the vet. I am going send new pictures of him soon, always look for the updates of the precious Oliver.

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