Hello, I just got a diabetic foster cat

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Marion and Cotton

Member Since 2015
My name is Marion and I went and picked up a new foster cat last Friday. His name is Cotton and he was diagnosed some months ago with diabetes. Unfortunately his people chose not to treat him. When he was scheduled for euthanasia our rescue group took him in. He came to my house because I sometimes babysit a diabetic cat and have done injections before. Cotton and I are starting this journey together as I have never had to do testing before. Nor have I ever dealt with Neuropathy. Here is Cotton:

I am testing his blood every day. I also give him 2000 units methylcobalamine each day and 2 units Lantus BID. I am praying he will return to the beautiful majestic cat that I can tell he once was.
 
Bless you for taking in this sugar baby. I am a failed foster of two sugar babies. But don't worry, that is a good thing. It means that I decided to adopt them myself.

So far you are off to a good start. Lantus is a good insulin and you are hometesting. A good low carb/high protein diet will also be helpful in managing Cotton's glucose levels. Many of us feed our cats either Fancy Feast or Friskies canned food. Pate flavors are lower in carbs - avoid food with gravy in them. You want to remove dry food from his diet since it is high in carbs.

The methyl B12 will also help with the neuropathy. The good thing is that it is usually reversable. When I adopted Spot, she had very severe neuropathy, much worse than Cotton's. She was also an untreated diabetic. When I took her in, she could barely walk at all. Within a few weeks of the proper treatment she was able to walk and in less than 6 months was running and jumping all over the place.
 
Also, find out if the potassium was tested. Low levels of potassium look very much like diabetic neuropathy, and may happen at the same time.
 
Thanks all for your responses. I was handed DM food at the vet office when I picked up this fellow. I do see on here that Fancy Feast is a good food and I happen to buy cases of the pate stuff for my kitties and the fosters who pass through here. So far I haven't found a flavour that Cotton likes but I will keep trying and maybe "dress" it up a bit with the vet stuff that he seems to like. I downloaded the spreadsheet but need to sit down for a bit and figure it all out. It's a fantastic idea so thanks for that! I am also encouraged that you think his neuropathy may reverse. It's something I am praying for. Today Cotton managed to get from one end of my house to the other which is a first for him. He seems to have more energy today and is very interested in what's going on in the house. He is still leery of my dogs but he doesn't freak out and I think soon he will be out and about with them. :)
 
Thank you Aine for that video. It is really amazing to see that reversal. Do cats with this neuropathy remain on Methylcobalamin for the rest of their lives?
 
That I couldn't tell you, Marion. Hopefully other members will be able to give you a better idea.

Glad the video gave you some reassurance of what's possible. There are several on Youtube and it's wonderful to see the kitties recover. :)
 
No, Cotton should not need to stay on the methyl B12 for life. It will not hurt him, but most of us discontinue it once the neuropathy has been reversed.
 
Well, Cotton may be a foster kitty now, but if he worms his way into your heart like Wink did into mine, he may not remain a foster kitty for long.

Wink had horrible diabetic neuropathy when I first took him in. Getting his BG (blood glucose) levels under control in combination with the methyl B-12 dramatically reversed those effects. He can run and jump everywhere when he could barely walk 3-4 steps before. Wink only needed the methyl B-12 for 2-3 months. He hasn't had any for the last 20 months or so.

Hang in there. You're already seeing signs of improvement.
 
Welcome Marion and huge, huge kudos to you and your rescue group for taking on this extra-sweet baby. I foster for a rescue group as well, and I'm afraid that most groups rarely pull diabetics....Cotton hit the lottery with you!!

I don't have a lot to add, as you've already been given some excellent info, other than it sounds like you're off to a great start! Good insulin: check! Hometesting: check! Treating the neuropathy: check! Once you get your bearings about you, you can begin posting for specific help, support and advice in the main Health area of the board, or, once you've got your spreadsheet up and running, you may want to consider posting in the Lantus/Levemir Insulin Support Area of the board for specific information regarding the different protocols that are used with Lantus, and for specific guidance with dosing. I'm assuming (hoping) that your rescue covers the medical costs, and one major cost saving measure is to do dosing adjustments at home based on one of the accepted Lantus protocols. Saves the cost and time of doing curves and fructosamines at the vets office. Once you're collecting data via home testing, there's no need to do in office curves or fructosamine testing.

Welcome again to you and Cotton!
 
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