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Posted by Charla Dawson Sep 18, 2006 |
Hypoglycemia can be very scary. Last week I came into work to find one of our boarding patients comatose. To be honest at first glance I mistakenly thought the cat was deceased.
I pulled the cat from the cage to confirm, and one leg twitched. The cats gum color was still nice and pink and I noticed the cat was breathing, but barely. I had a receptionist call for the doctor while I checked the cats blood sugar, which of course was very low - 41, so I started to set an IV catheter. I also rubbed some sugar water on the cats gums, when it swallowed I gave several syringes full orally. When the doctor arrived he gave the cat dextrose (sugar) through the IV. The cat came around quickly and is doing well, but if I had not arrived to work early that day, the cat very well could have died.
Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, is very dangerous. Pet owners should know what to do at home to help increase the chances of their pets survival.