Hello, I'm New Here

My name is Angela, and I've just joined today. Our oldest female feline, Blackie (aka Lil' Mama) has recently been diagnosed with diabetes just 2 days ago (Saturday). We've started her on Glipizide (1 pill twice a day) for the time being to see if this will help. The vet's not confident with the medicine, however has given us 2 weeks' worth to see if it'll help. She told us that with some pets it works, and with others it doesn't. We'll see.

Beginning last Thursday, I noticed Blackie going to the water bowl a lot. I'm not sure how long she had been doing this before I noticed her doing so. Thankfully, her weight hadn't decreased, so we may have caught this early (fingers crossed). The Glipizide seems to help with her drinking excessively, and it doesn't appear that she's increased her eating either before or during the medication. I also noticed her urine spot in the litter isn't nearly as big, either.

In the meantime, we're both struggling with this newfound issue, and of course, the cost factor. Thankfully, our vet has allowed us to split this visit in 2 payments (1/2 this past weekend, and 1/2 next weekend), and hopefully the Glipizide will work for Blackie and help regulate her blood sugar so that we don't need to do insulin shots (or me, rather since hubby doesn't do it).

I've had a diabetic dog at one time, and eventually he went blind. Will this eventually take over Blackie's sight, too? Or is this disease different with cats than with dogs?

This is a bit overwhelming. We're going to do whatever it takes to help her continue to live a happy and healthy life. She was a stray kitten 10 years ago, and she's our first baby. She's given us 4 beautiful babies, who are ours (I named them, and they stayed). She did have 5 in the beginning, but because it was her first litter, the little guy passed away a week later.

At this time, the diet hasn't changed... Yet. We have 8 other cats (7 more in the house, and 1 outdoor who thankfully stays close to the house). Changing their diets may also be needed to help Blackie. I don't know. There's a lot of unknowns at this time.

Regarding cataracts (which is main cause for diabetic dogs going blind), it progress very slowly in cats compared to dogs and is really not an issue with cats.

As you vet said, Glip does not work in most cats. It di not work for my Grey Ghost.

Other will be her with more info and I am only answering your questions.

I would also change to a low-carb canned food and you eluded too.

Hi! Welcome to the site. I just wanted to say others will be here shortly with more info then I can give you. I'm not familiar with what your cat is on, mocha is on lantus which is insulin given twice a day in a shot form. As I said, more people will be by shortly to help you out by answering your questions.

Hi and welcome! It is overwhelming, isn't it? But this is a great place for help with that.

I tried Glipizide for my kitty. He looked better and drank less but his BG stayed the same.

I would really encourage you to do the low-carb wet food. Take a look at my Basil's ss (link below in my signature) and look at how his numbers changed in a few days after I switched to all lc wet and an even 12/12 schedule for the Lantus. (I hade been doing 11/13 before.)

Best of luck and I DO hope the glipizide does the trick for your kitty.

Hi and welcome. There was someone who posted a little while ago that her cat did well on glip, but she's the only person I've seen say that. Did your vet want the two week trial or was that you? I know some folks are afraid of the insulin injections. I used to be, but that was a long time ago.

To save money and for the health of your kitty I would suggest you learn to hometest. This way you can tell your vet how the glip is working and save money on a curve or fructosamene test at the vet's office. If your cat did need to go on insulin, homestesting is also safer for your kitty because you know what the BG (blood glucose) is before giving insulin, but that's something for another day.

For now, look at the information we offer regarding food. I adopted a diabetic kitty in December who did not need another drop of insulin after he switched off high carb food. It's now about 3 months and he's still fine and I doubt he will need insulin again.

Best wishes to you Angela and to Blackie.

I cannot say that glip is a good idea to use. My knowledge of glip is from this board and from what I've read it doesn't really help cats and can actually cause permanent damage to the pancreas that you are trying to heal.

WELCOME, this forum is a great place to gain knowledge and really learn how to manage feline diabetes. By doing just a few things each day (that really won't take up much of your time at all), you won't need to worry about losing your precious cat, not where feline diabetes is concerned.

There are three key factors to managing diabetes: food/nutrition, home testing and insulin

1) Feline Nutrition: Now, as far as diet - definitely dump the dry food (if you are feeding any) and if the vet recommends purchasing prescription food like DM just say "no thank you". ALL cats, and especially those with diabetes, do best on a species appropriate diet that is high in protein and low in carbs. Dry food DOES NOT fit that bill and DM food, even canned, just really isn't that great as far as quality. Most here on FDMB feed low carb/high protein canned, raw bought from a pet store or they make there own.

Here great links, one is to a food chart put together by one of our board members that breaks down the carb % and protein % of most of the commercial brand foods. You want to keep the carb % below 10% and around 7% is great. The other link is to a site by a vet "Dr. Lisa DVM" ... who also posts on this board from time to time ... there is in-depth info. there about many things, including nutrition and how to make raw food.
Nutrition/food info

The good thing with feeding your diabetic cat this way, is that it is ALSO good for any non-diabetic cat too. All your cats can safely eat the same food without worry and it may save you some costs and headaches of having to do separate feedings and keeping track of what they are eating.


2. Home testing: It is impossible to convey the value of testing your cat's BG (blood glucose) level at home. Some vets will "suggest" this, but most won't even mention it. They will send you home with insulin and an amount to shoot and maybe some instructions about hypoglycemia (blood sugar dropping to a dangerously low level).

Well, the thing is, human diabetics don't EVER give themselves insulin without checking there BG to make sure it is safe to do so, so why shouldn't it be the same for our kitties. Here on FDMB it is. You will notice that the vast majority of people here test their cat's BG at least 2x/day (before giving each shot to make sure the level is safe enough) and periodically at other times to see how the cat is responding to the current dose. We use a human glucometer, test strips and lancets - which are all very readily available and easy to use.

Our kitties get lots of love and treats for "putting up" with this and most of them actually come out to be tested on their own 'cause they want those treats . Here is a collection of great links that "Carolyn and Spot" pulled together about hometesting. See what you think ... it truly is the best way to not only keep Your cat safe but also really get a handle on this disease and help him to live a healthy life with FD (feline diabetes).

Home testing Links

3. Insulin: There are several types of insulin available. Many people, myself included use Lantus or Levimer both of which are great insulins. They are gentle insulin and given twice (BID) per day in 12 hour increments. There is also a third insulin called Prozinc - I am not as familiar with this insulin as the L's.

Please read up on the insulins available, here is a link to the Insulin Support Groups:

Insulin Support Groups

However, one caveat and again this shows how these three things are inter-related:

If you are feeding dry food or even a high carb food, BEFORE removing these foods, please make sure of your insulin dose as it will most likely need to be reduced, so as to avoid a possible hypoglycemic situation due to the removal of the dry/high carb foods that will lower the BG’s and reduce the amount of insulin required. Again, another reason why home testing is important.

I know this all seems like a lot, and that's because it is ... there is a learning curve here. But as long as you are determined and keep at it, you will have it down before you know it and you'll be seeing the results in Your cat' overall health and happiness. Ask all the questions you can think of - that's why we are here!

Also, if you haven't done it yet, take the time and fill out your profile. It will help when others come on and read this. Also, let us know where you live - city/state as there are probably people in your area who can provide on the ground support and help you to learn home testing, etc.

Angela-
Hello, and welcome. A new diagnosis is often very overwhelming, but with all the resources on this site, you will be able to do what's best for your kitty. I'm not going to address any specific issues-there are many here who know much more than I do.
There is a lot to learn, take your time and read as much as you can. There are many knowledgeable and helpful people on this site. We have all been where you are once, and with time, patience, and some new info--things become very manageable.

If you haven't yet, read the FAQ's for beginners:
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/faq.html

There's a wealth of information that will help you make the best decisions possible for the health of your cat.

Good luck, and keep posting questions.

Hi Angela, and welcome!

I'm going to suggest that you educate yourself about the various insulins available. There are pages on each one in the pet diabetes wiki and the Insulin Support Groups Forum here is a good place to see how many cats are doing on the different insulins. Then I suggest you pick one, get it, and dump the glip.

Glipizide works by forcing the pancreas to produce insulin. Blackie's pancreas does not need to be stressed, it needs a chance to heal and regenerate so it can do its job again. Insulin supports the pancreas and we have found that a short course of insulin coupled with a change to a species appropriate diet is the shortest path to remission. This happened to me 10 years ago, the course of action was 32 days, it is happening here frequently, but never on glip.

In addition to learning about insulins read our FAQs for an overview of FD and its treatment and read http://www.catinfo.org more than once for the best, unbiased feline nutrition available anywhere.

Please come back with any questions or comments. We're always here.

Gia & Quirk (GA)

Guilt trips are a detour from life

Hello, sorry your cat has become diabetic but the good news is that after u get the swing of things managing diabetes becomes pretty simple. Thought you'd like to hear that my cat has been on the same med. glipizide for 5 years & I've been very happy with the results. I just recently switched to a lowercarb diet (I use Evo by Innova wet along with evo dry at times which are both only 7% carb, prescription diabetic foods like what my cat was on previously arnt as low plus more expensive) Since the diet change his numbers have been so low that he hasn't needed the glipizide for 2 days now, im hopefull this will continue. Low carb is a healthier diet for any cat so all your cats can eat the same food. Luckily I just started home testing as well and was able to avoid a hypo situation as a result. Hometesting was also ALOT easier then I was expecting, my cat doesn't even seem to notice when I poke him, just wish I started years ago. Hope everthing goes smoothly for you and your cat : )

-Laura & Tigger