Hi I'm new, my cat Tinka just got diagnosed

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TanyaG

TanyaG

Member Since 2016
Hi everyone so glad to have found this forum! Its been an overwhelming past few days. My 7 year old cat just got diagnosed yesterday with Type 2 Diabetes. Her BG today at the diabetic vet consultation tested either 18 or 15. Vet and vet nurse gave me different results. May have been higher as she was stressed at the vets. I can attach her blood work if that helps. Vet has recommend starting on a very low dose he said of insulin called Lantus, 1 unit twice daily 8 hours apart. I have to give her first insulin shot in the morning. It is evening here now in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Vet said low dose for now because she is not eating much as she's feeling so poorly. She is quite weak, depressed, likely a bit dehydrated as not drinking much, neuropathy in back legs, high ketones but not emergency case vet said, loss of appetitie, weight loss, hiding under the bed, just not herself at all, won't play etc. Her diet has been pretty low carb the past year with home cooked diet. I only switched to Rayne canned two months ago and thats when she started with all these symptoms and slowly was deteriorating. We had blood and urine tests yest and found out it was diabetes which was a shock as vet gave no indication of that. Vet said the ketones indicate she's probably had it quite some time. Past few days I had to give her something she'd eat as she wouldn't eat barely anything home cooked, tried some raw which she wouldn't eat too and she's gone off the Rayne canned. Vet gave her Royal canine hypallergenic which I did not like but she ate it, not that much, but more than she has in days. This is not a low carb diet though and vet said I need to find something else. Thankfully she didn't suggest Hills w/d as she has a chicken allergy as my understanding is that its not that low carb anyways. Can anyone recommend which canned foods are best?

Tonight I gave her Instinct 95% meat, the venison one and she ate it which I'm so pleased about. Still less than she would normally would. I plan to give her a bit more before bed and for breakfast and lunch tomorrow then switch to a different flavour but same type. She ate one can of the Royal canine hypallergic in total from yesterday till lunch today. I know its not low carb but not sure how high carbs were? Now she eating lower carbs. Prior to that she was mostly on canned salmon and home cooked pork so that was pretty low carb, high protein too. She was on some Rayne kanagaroo maintainance last week and for past month which was not low carb. Should I stick with the 1 unit of insulin vet recommended for first dose tomorrow and going forward? Vet said to only test BG 6 hrs after but I'm assuming I should test before. Would I need to lower insulin all if her BG is less than 15/18? As she's had a little less carbs tonight and tomorrow morn then she did yesterday and this morn before she had her BG tested. But as mentioned past week has been pretty low carb just not yesterday and this morn. Just want to get our Tinka feeling better and well again! She is on 1/8 steroid for skin issues so planning to wean her off that once she stabilises. Thanks for all the help!!

A bit of further background info:

She has been poorly for about a month slowly getting worse. First I thought she was just being picky about food changes and had lost weight from being on a lean Rayne rabbit diagnostic food no vitamins or minerals for a month, but then noticed her back legs lower and walking strangely (found out today this neuropathy), loss of appetite which is very uncharacteristic, she usually loves food and is food movtivated. I have been unable to get her to eat her usual home cooked foods on Hilary's diet recipes like pork, salmon etc. I believe she has had diabetes quite a while as she was overweight past 6 years and 5 of which she was on kibble. I switched her to home cooked a year ago and she was doing fine. The only noted health issues we have had the past 7 years has been skin issues - stratching, ithcying, licking and biting her skin especially more recently her left side of her face and ears. Vets just treated with steroids a few times a year which I did not like but she ripped her skin off so I didn't know what else to do. The latest holistic vet thought its food allergies so we have been doing a novel home cooked diet. She is still on steroids, a low dose of 1/8 per day. She scratches a little on this but not much. We will try to wean her off completely. Hoping with all the new foods that she doesn't flare up again as we can't reach for steroids like we have in the past. So much to learn!!
 
Welcome! There's a lot of good info here and experienced people to help you. If you repost on the main health forum more people will see this and answer your questions.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Welcome! There's a lot of good info here and experienced people to help you. If you repost on the main health forum more people will see this and answer your questions.
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Thanks so much for the welcome and info I shall do that:) Where about can I find info on recommended canned food options? or even freeze dried or raw? And there carb and protein content? Thanks so much!!
 
TanyaG said:
Thanks so much for the welcome and info I shall do that:) Where about can I find info on recommended canned food options? or even freeze dried or raw? And there carb and protein content? Thanks so much!!
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Many of us feed grocery store brands like Friskies or Fancy Feast pates only, not gravy/sauce types. I see that Tinka has food sensitivities, though. One of mine (non-diabetic) eats the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic and does well on it. I suspect its carb content is too high for a diabetic though.

There are people working on compiling a food analysis list for a variety of cat foods but the list is American. I see you're in Alberta (I'm a fellow Canadian!). There are also people here who make their own raw food mixes for their kitties. You could try posting separate questions on the main health forum asking about these issues.
 
Hi Tanya, and welcome to you and Tinka. I'm sorry she's feeling so poorly; she's got a lot of things going on.

First up, I'm concerned that your vet advised you to dose Lantus every 8 hours. It is normally dosed every twelve hours. To reassure you that this is not the suggestion of some random crank on the internet I've attached below a published, peer-reviewed study co-authored by Dr Rand of the University of Queensland. Dr Rand is a world authority on feline diabetes. If you read through the document you will see that it advises dosing Lantus every 12 hours. Lantus is a very good insulin for cats.

We have a lot of educational resources about Lantus which we can direct you to in due course.

TanyaG said:
high ketones but not emergency case vet said, loss of appetitie, weight loss,
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I need to post a big RED FLAG about this: if your cat has high ketones she needs specialist treatment by a vet now. Based on all I've learned here about DKA I feel that your vet has NOT given you sound advice here (and that's on top of the questionable dosing recommendation for Lantus). A diabetic producing high levels of ketones needs IMMEDIATE veterinary attention - even more so when the cat has not been eating enough and/or is not getting appropriate levels of insulin, as is the case with Tinka right now.

Ketosis is a medical emergency that requires treatment in a hospital setting. If the ketones aren't addressed straight away a kitty can very quickly go on to develop diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes. (Very hard on the cat and very expensive to treat.) Prompt treatment of ketones can prevent DKA.

I recommend in the strongest terms that you get a second opinion from another vet as a matter of great urgency - tonight. Find somewhere where the vet(s) understand the urgency of the situation, who are familiar with treating ketosis/DKA successfully, and who are willing to bring her in quickly for assessment and immediate treatment (intensive insulin therapy with blood glucose and ketone monitoring (with a dextrose drip if required); fluids to keep her properly hydrated and help flush out the ketones; nutritional support (assist feeding if necessary), plus monitoring of electrolytes if required). If she shows signs of deterioration don't wait; either call your own vet's out of hours service or get her to an ER.

While you're sorting out appropriate and timely veterinary support feed Tinka anything she will readily eat. Don't worry about the carb side of things right now - it is vital that she gets plenty of calories. Also do what you can to encourage her to drink (helps flush out ketones). She will also need insulin but I think if you get her to a vet quickly they can start her treatment there.

If you have trouble getting veterinary support post on Feline Health for help and we'll help you as best we can in the meantime.

Once you get the ketone problems sorted we can help you with all the general FD and dietary side of things in due course.

Here is a forum sticky with some DKA information:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...oacidosis-dka-and-blood-ketone-meters.135952/

Please contact a vet with good knowledge of feline diabetes and ketosis/DKA treatment as soon as you possibly can. Let us know how you get on when you get a chance.

:bighug:


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@MrWorfMen's Mom - Linda, if you're online can you please keep an eye out for Tanya and Tinka. (I've taken sleep meds so will be offline very shortly.)


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She posted in Health and I just responded to Tanya a moment ago and Chris was there too. I really think she needs to get a second opinion and should take the cat to the ER given the info she has provided. I'll keep an eye on her. You go get some rest and cuddle the Noodler. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
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