Michelle & Tyger
Member Since 2015
Hello, everyone! I'm hoping you may be able to offer me some advice, guidance, or any suggestions that might make this a little easier to deal with. I apologize in advance for this being so long!
My 15 yr old brown tabby Tyger was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. For several months he was vomiting up his food regularly, scratching at his ears, and not eating enough. His weight dropped from his normal 10 lbs to 7.8 lbs. I brought him to the vet, who suspected IBD and put him on 5 mg Prednisolone once a day (in February). Tyger's vomiting and scratching stopped, and he was eating much better. But his weight was not increasing and he started peeing a lot. I thought it was a side effect of the Prednisolone but last week when he started walking with his legs spread and seemed unsteady and somewhat lethargic, I bought him in and after bloodwork, Xrays, an ultrasound (at first they thought he had fluid in the abdomen - he didn't), and a urinalysis, he was diagnosed with diabetes.
From the vet's discharge notes:
His urinalysis was negative for ketones, 1000 glucose and no evidence of a UTI. Blood glucose today (Alphatrak) was 366 g/dL. The prednisolone should be discontinued. I recommend we start today with SQ fluids, Tumil K and Prozinc insulin.
Discharge Instructions:
1. Prozinc insulin: 1 unit SQ twice a day
2. Tumil K: 2 mEq orally twice a day (this is for low potassium levels)
3. Prednisolone: discontinue
Recheck a blood glucose later this week (I have an appt. this Monday afternoon)
They had me give him his first insulin shot in the office that day, which I did perfectly! I also did well giving him his shot that night. But I did poorly with his shot this morning, I accidentally pushed the needle through to the other side of his skin, he yelped and I felt terrible and cried! I felt wetness so I know I didn't get any insulin in him, but didn't try again as the vet tech told me better to give him too little than too much. I was able to give him his shot tonight successfully. Yay!
Tyger is a grazer when he eats, so they told me to feed him in the morning, give him his shot about a 1/2 hour afterwards, and leave his food out for the day (what I normally do). Then feed him again when I get home and a shot 1/2 hour later. They told me to stop giving him food in the middle of the night. He has been eating a variety of different canned foods each day, mostly Fancy Feast Chicken or Turkey with gravy, or the classic versions, but also others like Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Turkey or Duck. He won't eat one food for long, so I have to rotate daily. I also leave a small amount of Nutro Natural Choice Grain Free Dry food in Duck & Potato because he will eat that if nothing else. But the majority of what he eats is canned.
So - how should I continue to feed him before his appointment on Monday? Should I just keep doing what I'm doing? Is it okay for him to continue eating after he's had his shot, or should I take the food away from him until his next shot? Since he's a grazer I'm afraid to do that for fear he will lose even more weight. :-( From reading here it sounds like I should be switching him to just the FF classics, but also that I shouldn't switch abruptly to a low card diet while he's on insulin. I'm so afraid I'm going to cause him to have a seizure or crash every time I give him his insulin! At first I thought just giving him a shot twice a day was going to be the hard part; now that seems like the least of my worries. :-(
I'm also unsure about the Tumil K, the vet said I can give it to him at the same time I give him his shot. It's in a fish suspension, should I give it to him before or after the shot? Also, I'm wondering if the fish suspension will trigger his IBD now that he's no longer on the Prednisolone.
So, here I am... feeling very overwhelmed and stressed, and full of worry. Any help you can give me would be wonderful!
Thanks so much,
Michelle & Tyger
My 15 yr old brown tabby Tyger was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. For several months he was vomiting up his food regularly, scratching at his ears, and not eating enough. His weight dropped from his normal 10 lbs to 7.8 lbs. I brought him to the vet, who suspected IBD and put him on 5 mg Prednisolone once a day (in February). Tyger's vomiting and scratching stopped, and he was eating much better. But his weight was not increasing and he started peeing a lot. I thought it was a side effect of the Prednisolone but last week when he started walking with his legs spread and seemed unsteady and somewhat lethargic, I bought him in and after bloodwork, Xrays, an ultrasound (at first they thought he had fluid in the abdomen - he didn't), and a urinalysis, he was diagnosed with diabetes.
From the vet's discharge notes:
His urinalysis was negative for ketones, 1000 glucose and no evidence of a UTI. Blood glucose today (Alphatrak) was 366 g/dL. The prednisolone should be discontinued. I recommend we start today with SQ fluids, Tumil K and Prozinc insulin.
Discharge Instructions:
1. Prozinc insulin: 1 unit SQ twice a day
2. Tumil K: 2 mEq orally twice a day (this is for low potassium levels)
3. Prednisolone: discontinue
Recheck a blood glucose later this week (I have an appt. this Monday afternoon)
They had me give him his first insulin shot in the office that day, which I did perfectly! I also did well giving him his shot that night. But I did poorly with his shot this morning, I accidentally pushed the needle through to the other side of his skin, he yelped and I felt terrible and cried! I felt wetness so I know I didn't get any insulin in him, but didn't try again as the vet tech told me better to give him too little than too much. I was able to give him his shot tonight successfully. Yay!
Tyger is a grazer when he eats, so they told me to feed him in the morning, give him his shot about a 1/2 hour afterwards, and leave his food out for the day (what I normally do). Then feed him again when I get home and a shot 1/2 hour later. They told me to stop giving him food in the middle of the night. He has been eating a variety of different canned foods each day, mostly Fancy Feast Chicken or Turkey with gravy, or the classic versions, but also others like Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Turkey or Duck. He won't eat one food for long, so I have to rotate daily. I also leave a small amount of Nutro Natural Choice Grain Free Dry food in Duck & Potato because he will eat that if nothing else. But the majority of what he eats is canned.
So - how should I continue to feed him before his appointment on Monday? Should I just keep doing what I'm doing? Is it okay for him to continue eating after he's had his shot, or should I take the food away from him until his next shot? Since he's a grazer I'm afraid to do that for fear he will lose even more weight. :-( From reading here it sounds like I should be switching him to just the FF classics, but also that I shouldn't switch abruptly to a low card diet while he's on insulin. I'm so afraid I'm going to cause him to have a seizure or crash every time I give him his insulin! At first I thought just giving him a shot twice a day was going to be the hard part; now that seems like the least of my worries. :-(
I'm also unsure about the Tumil K, the vet said I can give it to him at the same time I give him his shot. It's in a fish suspension, should I give it to him before or after the shot? Also, I'm wondering if the fish suspension will trigger his IBD now that he's no longer on the Prednisolone.
So, here I am... feeling very overwhelmed and stressed, and full of worry. Any help you can give me would be wonderful!
Thanks so much,
Michelle & Tyger
