Milo - Update - 7 weeks on...

Hello to the wonderful people of FDMB!

It has been seven weeks since Milo & I joined this fantastic forum. When we joined, Milo was recovering from ketosis, was severely underweight & had neuropathy in his hind legs. I didn't think he would still be alive by now.

He was on Caninsulin & was being transitioned to a wet food diet. His insulin wasn't lasting long enough in his system, and he was rebounding on doses that the vet wanted to simply increase. At this stage he could hardly walk & I had to carry him to his litter box on a few occasions.

Since joining this place, I have learned a great deal & met some wonderful selfless people who have taught me how to home test. On the basis of what I learnt, I persuaded the vet to prescribe a longer lasting insulin & since then (4 weeks ago), we have got Milo's BG regulated, he has put on weight, his neuropathy has almost disappeared.

Last night he went for a check up with the Vet who had wanted to increase his Caninsulin dose to 6U twice a day. I didn't realise that the appointment was going to be with her & my heart sank.

I had printed out Milo's BG spreadsheet, plus a couple of the dosing protocols & feline diabetes papers from Rand etc. To my surprise she was utterly elated! We went through the data together (whilst Milo waited patiently!) & then we went through the Roomp & Rand protocol, which I had been using as a guide for Milo's dosing.

She was amazed & excited by it all (we were dancing round the examination table!) & is hoping that Milo will soon be in remission. dancing_cat

As it turns out, she is currently doing a refresher course at the Royal Veterinary College. It is designed to remind establish vets not to try & spot patterns during diagnosis & not to cut corners, but to treat cases as individuals. It is case study-based learning online & fellow vets have the opportunity to comment on the cases. She wants to use Milo as her next case! :shock: Apparently, feline diabetic remission is still treated with extreme skepticism by UK vets, and she thinks that not many of her colleagues will have come across it before. She only knows of one other case, and that was at her previous clinic in her last post.

I don't want to jump the gun & jinx Milo's progression, but she will be using him & his owner as a case study, anyway. Not many UK vets have come across well regulated feline diabetes cases that are monitored with home testing. Thanks to you lot, we have some really positive outcomes:

1. Milo is, once again, a healthy & happy cat.
2. His Mum is much happier too!
3. Milo's sister, Lola, has lost weight & her skin has cleared up on the new wet food diet.
3. Home-testing & the use of long-lasting insulins in the treatment of feline DM will be flagged up to the Royal Veterinary College in the UK!!

Thank you all so much for this message board & your tireless efforts to help more sick kitties & their owners.

If I could kiss you all, I would.

Juliet & Milo.

cat_pet_icon

 

Juliet, this post is brilliant - and for SO many reasons that I don't think I could even try to list them all!

Amazing stuff...and very, very moving actually... <Eliz sniffs and reaches for handkerchief...>

Eliz x

 

Great news!

If you're so inclined ... spread the word to lay folk! Are there any local papers where you might submit an article?

 

I agree with BJM. Would be great to spread the word... A magazine that immediately comes to mind is the one produced by 'Cat's Protection'. Details are here:
http://www.cats.org.uk/support-us/cat-magazine-menu/about-cat-magazine-menu

Cat's Protection also have a register of people who have diabetic cats and who are willing to offer support to others, and they may be able to use your story to publicise that register too...

 

Oh, what a great success story -- and Milo isn't even in remission yet! And kudos to your vet for being open to listening to your experience.

Keep us posted and keep up the good work!

 

OK - so you drank our koolaide! and your vet drank our koolaide! This is great! Soon we will rule the world! :lol:

Seriously, this is great news on so many levels. Milo is doing well and improved greatly and in less than 2 months you have paid it forward, educated a UK vet, and this will hopefully educate many more UK and hopefully European vets, which in turn will help who knows how many kitties!

The protocols, long lasting insulin, home testing and diet! Whoopee! I am elated by this news.

Don't you love that your non-FD cat has benefited from this too. Sadly, my non-FD remains as fluffy as ever from the diet! :lol: :lol: Oh well, there is just that much more to love!

 

Thats so great! And its great he is doing well. However. (sorry) I am not sure he is ready for OTJ with those yellow numbers you are still seeing.. he is close though!

 

This is a marvellous plan! I will look into it. I'll also stick my name on that register too. I'll ask the vet & see if she would mind taking part in some PR. :thumbup

Wendy&Tiggy - I know.... nailbite_smile ....... close, but no cigar. Yet. Here's hopin'.

 

What a great story and great news about Milo's improvements.

It just shows you what us beans can do and that feline diabeties is manageable.

 

Milo's Mum has just registered with the Cats Protection League as a Feline Diabetes Supporter/helper whatevertheycallit.

Milo's just had his first injection-free 24 hours. Now 28 hours....and his Mum is as nervous as a nervous thing! nailbite_smile nailbite_smile

 

Looking good, Juliet!

Frequent small/snack-sized meals, rather than large meals, will help Milo's pancreas to motor along without being overwhelmed with too much to do at any one time. And maybe this is the time to pull out the lowest carb food that you have in the house...?

Go, Milo! :RAHCAT

Oh, and well done, you, for registering with Cat's Protection. :thumbup

 

Yesterday, he nibbled all day as usual. In the evening his BG started to rise a teeny bit, and then someone stole a catnip mouse from the coffee table (freebie from a food delivery) & demolished it overnight. It now resembles a furball. My bad.
This morning he was 9.2 (166), so still comfortably in the blue, but I gave him 0.25U to give his newly awoken Beta cells a lil break.

He's doing well. cat_pet_icon

 

Someone stole a catnip mouse! Hmmm was it you? And isn't stole a harsh word? Maybe someone borrowed it, or tested it out, or looked at it and it broke apart!

:lol: :lol:

 

I'm sure that - had I not caught him in the act of thieving my hair bands this morning - he would claim that "A BIG cat did it and then ran away..." :lol:

He just climbed up on the table, knocked them onto the floor, jumped down, picked them up in his mouth & carried them off to a 'safe' place!! :shock: I'm so glad he's back to his old self, even if I have to hide things from him again! :mrgreen:

EDIT: His AMPS was 4.9 (88) this morning, despite quite a bit to eat. He so clever!

 

Lovely stuff! flip_cat

 

Greeeeaaaaaaaaaat stuff! \M/

 

Nice AM BG! Keep it up or rather down Milo and soon you may be in remission.

Oh and Milo, the trick to stealing - is not to get caught red-pawed!

 

Second day in a row with no Moo Juice. nailbite_smile

His AMPS was 3.6 (65)!

Both kitties have been eating Christopherus (German brand) which is 0% carbs. It's 11.5% protein & seems to be quite 'hefty'. They seem to like it, but they're not getting through the volume of food they were a week ago. One & a half tins or 300g (10.5oz?) seems to be enough for both kitties in a 24 hour period. It seems to be a big drop in appetite, but they are both indoor & quite inactive cats, so I'm not worrying at the moment....

 

48 hours since last shot.... Oooh..... And a beautiful 3.6 this morning... Keep going Milo! :RAHCAT

Re the food, Juliet. Is it just this food that they're not so keen on? Or do they have reduced appetite generally?

 

To be honest, Eliz, I don't really know. They've tried 3 flavours of Christopherus & it has all disappeared, just not at the rate that they eat Ziwipeak. If they don't like a food, they just won't eat it at all & will get very upset, so I am assuming it's decreased appetite. I know Lola's fighting a furball at the moment, so she's not scoffing so much. They nibble, then walk away, then come back & nibble more, just not as much as they were....

 

"...And on the third day, he rose again, in accordance with The Scriptures...." Well, true to a certain extent, but still in the green! No stabbies for Milo again! :mrgreen:

 

Looking SO good Juliet....

 

Thanks for the tip about finding the lowest carb food for his weaning/healing process, Eliz. We still have a couple of tins of zero carb left, and we have a dozen tins of <2%, so *fingers crossed* he shouldn't meet too much of a challenge over the next few days or so.

 

One day at a time. It makes it easier to deal with. And Maui went through 2 trials before becoming OTJ. Mainly because during the first one, she got her paws on dry food. So, a couple more days on juice and then trial 2 and success.

Greens are good.. :mrgreen:

 

Yes, but.....I AM AN IMPATIENT PERSON!! *stamps foot & shakes fist* :lol:

Greens are indeed good. He can't get his filthy mitts on any dry stuff now, 'cos there ain't any in the house. I am starting to be paranoid about bits of hoomin food dropping to the floor only to be hoovered up by him, though. He's a dairy fiend :roll: . Anything that has even been waved near cheese will be pounced upon.

Did you ever stop testing Maui, Hillary? I see from her SS that the last entry is 2010. Do you still test her regularly, or only if she's behaving weirdly?

 

After going OTJ, I tested weekly, and now, I only test if something seems weird or the mood strikes. I haven't updated her numbers, as they have been in the 70's when I have tested and at this point, don't have any concerns.

table droppings are fine - as long as it's low carb - my civvie, loves to share any meat that I am eating, especially chicken, bacon, pork, etc. None of mine really like cheese, so I don't have to share that. with cheese, you just need to be sure it's low carb and some cats are lactose intolerant, so that could be an issue.

and yes I understand the impatience, but just let it happen and when it does, it will be such fun - be sure that you and Milo celebrate the day!

 

Thanks Hillary.
I am sooo trying to be patient.

Day 5 with no Moo Juice.

He's a happy, fluffy, energetic kitty who has been racing round the house like a loon. He ran up the stairs & waited for his test expectantly this morning. We did it so quickly that his sister missed the opportunity for her morning liver treat, as she was busy in the litter box. She's devastated & is currently sitting on the spare bed, staring up at the treats on the top shelf & crying as only tortie/calicos know how. :roll:

AMPS: 4.8 (87)

 

Give the girl a treat! :lol:

Great BG for Milo, again. (We is green with envy, ain't we Bertie? :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: )

 

Is cheese bad for cats? All cats or diabetic cats? I give mine a little sliver every now and then.

I'm just starting this journey and it's so lovely to hear about your cat's improvement. Congratulations.

 

She had to settle for a cuddle instead!

Say 'Brrreeeeow' to Bert from Milo, for us, please?!

Hello! I hope yours goes through the same healing process too.
Cheese every now & then as a treat is fine. Most cats are lactose intolerant, so larger amounts of dairy gives 'em belly troubles - which can either lead to being bunged up, or too *ahem* free flowing - eeeeeps! Saying that harder, matured cheese contains very little lactose (most of it is discarded when the curds are separated from the whey), so I wouldn't worry about the occasional treat.

With mine, although he loves cheese & milk, he will swim through volcanic lava to get hold of vanilla icecream or white chocolate. I'm just paranoid about him getting his furry mitts on ANYTHING with carbs in it at the moment as he's just coming off insulin (hopefully) *crosses fingers, touches wood & prays to sky pixie*.... nailbite_smile

 

Interesting, Maui was all about ice cream too. This was before FD. Now, she could care less. Which makes me wonder if she was supplementing her FD with the sugar/carbs in ice cream. I wonder if yours will turn up ice cream now too.

Don't you just love how Milo has trained you to give him treats on demand! See we told you that he would soon associate testing with treats and know what time they were and wait for you. Cool huh.....

 

Mmmm. Interesting! That might well be the case (eventually), although he did try & throw himself at my other half's bowl breakfast cereal 'n' milk last week.

Ha haaa! His sister is normally the timekeeper and siren. We get up at 6am during the week. Nowadays, post-FD, Lola gets up at 5.30am every day, just to warm up her vocal cords properly prior to test time. She's louder than our neighbour's 6 month old baby! @-) I'm trying to wean her off the liver treats! Milo, on the other hand, is being as good as gold, alarm clock-wise.

 

Ah, but Bertie is doing pretty darned well too, thanks to the dedication of his lovely mum! :smile:
Hugs to you, Eliz!
x

 

Seconded!

 

Day 8 of the OTJ trial! Way to go Milo!

 

Oooh, exciting stuff..... nailbite_smile

Go, Milo!!! bcatrun_gif

 

I always laugh at this smilie - it looks exactly like my little Sapphire! Two years old and more energy than the Duracell bunny!

bcatrun_gif bcatrun_gif bcatrun_gif bcatrun_gif bcatrun_gif bcatrun_gif bcatrun_gif

 

It looks like our old cat 'Sabbath' who now lives on the allotments in his own shed!

Milo's doing soooo well. He's well and happy, eating loads again (he likes German cat fud!). His back legs are still weak due to muscle loss, but he's dealing with it.

His Mum is still nervous and not counting her chickens.

 

You may not have 'counted those chickens' exactly, Juliet, but I bet you've made a pretty good estimate of how many there are! :lol:

And hurrah for katzenfutter! It's a bit hit in our house too. :smile:

I feel sure the strength in Milo's legs will return. But nerve damage is slow to heal. (Sending well wishes for those ickle fwuffy legs of his...)

 

Some of them might be ducks. Or lizards. Or turtles!

He's still on the methylcobalamin & I'm trying to get him to use them a bit more that usual. We run up & downstairs together - catnip helps with convincing him this is fun. And I've persuaded my other half that whenever we have to go upstairs for some other reason, we put him in the laundry basket. It means he has to jump out, which is about a 2 foot launch from standing still. :lol: We need to get those springs a-boinging! I don't know what other physio I can give him really. He ignores the laser pointer, and the Slim Cat feeding ball just turns him into a snuffling pig, rather than gets him running around!

 

Day 12 of OTJ trial for my lil old man.

Milo is a health happy boycat. The roles our two cats have seem to have reversed over the past few days. Now Milo is looking after our civvie, Lola, who is a bit bunged up with furballs. She's eating, and I've tried pumpkin, but nothing came out t'other end. Last night she had some olive oil. Milo's desperately trying to wash & groom her, bless him.

 

Aww poor thing. I hope she passes the hairball soon!