An update on Teddy

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shawna

shawna

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Hello friends!
I am sorry I haven't been around! The end of the school year was last week and I have had bronchitis...it's been tiring and rough! I also have been moving my classroom...I'm going to second grade with my first grade class! My heart is so happy about that. Fourteen years of stuff is no joke to move though lol. I think I'm on the mend now... Just in time for summer school lol.

I want to be here to support everyone. And I thought I'd give an update on my sweet Theodore.

He seems to be doing a little better! I haven't given him insulin in a long time. I think I am going to start taking readings with the alpha tracker instead so I can share the numbers with the vet. I know she'd be more receptive to knowing the alpha numbers. I hope I am doing everything right...but I believe his numbers have been too low to give insulin.

I stopped giving him daily Meloxidyl a couple days ago to see how he would feel and I didn't notice a change that indicated he needs the medicine? He even seemed a tiny bit more active without it.....he is still in pain with his legs and lower back. His back legs are extremely weak. So that's hard to know if I should give the medicine or not? He doesn't cry out....but he guards that area and will tremble if I touch him there. Makes me sad for him.

Does anyone know if his back legs should be or will improve? And actually it's his front paws too. He doesn't always step on the pad of his feet.
Or do some cats not improve with their legs with diabetes? He still just likes to lay on the couch mostly. He does walk around a tiny bit...more than he has since he became sick in February though! His spine and lower back are so boney and give him pain too...I have to be very careful if I touch him there. My poor boy.
Teddy and I haven't slept upstairs in my bedroom since February! We stay downstairs on the couch. Now that he uses the litter box again (thank God!) I could put a litter box upstairs and baby gate off the stairs....I'm afraid he will fall....but I'm also afraid he will fall off my bed...so for now the couch it is! The things we do for our fur babies. :)

I have given him the zobaline and I sprinkle the cosequin on his food daily. I feel these two supplements definitely are helping. I only give the natural Moves occasionally because it make sure him go but it's liquid...so I still need to figure out how he can have regular bowel movements.

Teddy is still eating the Fancy Feast classics and also the royal canon glycobalance wet food (I was going to switch that but he loves it and since his numbers seem ok I wonder if it's ok that he keeps eating it?) And once in a while I give him a FF gravy lovers because he goes bonkers for it, haha.
And he gets the natural meat treats only.
I keep trying to get him to eat more...he just seems so tiny now. But maybe with arthritis it's better that he lost some weight??

xoxoxo I hope this finds each of you and your sweet fur babies doing well!! Teddy and I send our love!
 
Thanks for the update, Shawna. You're doing everything you can for Teddy. Does he seem happy enough in spite of the mobility issues? :)
 
So glad he's showing improvement. Will you be home for the summer now? He will like that. I'm glad you started the zobaline. It takes weeks to months for big improvements of neuropathy, so just keep doing what you're doing.
 
DUDE! I just looked at your spreadsheet! After 14 days with no shots, that officially in remission!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!
 
Hi Shawna! Glad to hear from you and glad you're feeling better. Bronchitis is no fun!

As for Teddy, his numbers do look lovely! How does he seem other than the walking?
 
One caveat on that thread though: when I looked up those foods on Dr. Lisa's chart, almost all of them were well over the 10% mark - some as high as 19%, so do be careful. Getting lax about food is what brought us back here for this second round of diabetes.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Thanks for the update, Shawna. You're doing everything you can for Teddy. Does he seem happy enough in spite of the mobility issues? :)
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Hi there, yes he seems happy. At times I was worried about that, but I'm trying to make sure he get extra love and he sits in front of the breeze by the window sometimes. So I hope he is happy xoxooxxooxox
 
JanetNJ said:
So glad he's showing improvement. Will you be home for the summer now? He will like that. I'm glad you started the zobaline. It takes weeks to months for big improvements of neuropathy, so just keep doing what you're doing.
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That's good to know the zobaline can take up to months, because that gives me hope. I just hope he isn't in pain is all....he doesn't cry out at all, and he is walking around a tiny bit, so I have not been giving him the Meloxidyl daily. He hasn't had it in about four days now...and to be honest I'm not sure to give it or not, because I don't see a difference? I wish he could talk!
With the weight loss (or maybe from arthritis??) his spine is so boney. So I think that hurts him, but like I said I don't see any difference giving that pain med or not?

I started summer school today. But only 4 day weeks and I have all of July off. Then we go back Aug 3rd.
 
JanetNJ said:
DUDE! I just looked at your spreadsheet! After 14 days with no shots, that officially in remission!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!
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That is great! I need to start doing the alpha numbers so I can talk to his Vet.
Should his numbers be lower or anything under 120 is healthy??
 
Rachel said:
Hi Shawna! Glad to hear from you and glad you're feeling better. Bronchitis is no fun!

As for Teddy, his numbers do look lovely! How does he seem other than the walking?
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Other than walking and feeling super boney on his lower spine....he's just still having constipation issues. Otherwise he is good! He is looking a little better too..his fur is looking better.
I use that PetAlive Natural Move but it gives him diarrhea..even at lower doses and it has such a strong smell that it's just not easy to give him.
Otherwise he's ok though!!!!
My little love bug will be 14 years old on June 20th SMILE!! xoxo
 
shawna said:
That is great! I need to start doing the alpha numbers so I can talk to his Vet.
Should his numbers be lower or anything under 120 is healthy??
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Normal range on AT2 is 68 - 150. Seems like most Vets are fine with numbers on the higher end of the range while on insulin so he if naturally throws them the lower end without insulin, can't really be mad at the kitty for naturally being that way :smuggrin:
 
Yong said:
Thanks for update, Shawna :)
One other side note for Teddy, instead of FF gravy lovers you might want to try a lower carb option with sauce for a treat from his pate. Another member had a kitty who loved sauce/gravy foods and she found some that were <10%. Here's the thread with pictures http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/angel-amps-298.176590/#post-1943447
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Oh thanks so much!!!
I wasn't giving him the gravy lovers at all - but when his numbers seemed ok and he LOVES that kind so much that I'd give it a couple times and his numbers stayed down so I just sorta kept giving it. Only one tiny can a day though, the other food is the royal canon glycobalance (which I don't think was good carb but my vet tells me to give it to him??) and he likes it - and the fancy feast classic, but he isn't eating that as happily anymore and won't eat a lot of it. He is one picky eater!

Thanks :)
 
Just note Djamila and I found some of those flavours a bit higher carb then the app used to determine them on Dr. Pierson's food chart. But there are some of the Purina ProPlan "saucey" flavours that are lower carb. :)
 
Djamila said:
One caveat on that thread though: when I looked up those foods on Dr. Lisa's chart, almost all of them were well over the 10% mark - some as high as 19%, so do be careful. Getting lax about food is what brought us back here for this second round of diabetes.
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Yeah I don't want to cause him more problems...he just loves it so much. I can definitely keep trying to get him to eat the FF classics though.

What does your cat eat? And how much a day? I can't get teddy to eat more than 2 tiny cans a day.....? He isn't losing weight but he is staying at 12 pounds. Before he got sick he was 15. And before that he had always been 16/17 pounds his whole adult life.
 
The bony spine is likely weight loss and/or muscle wastage related to the diabetes. As worrying as it is to feel, it's sadly pretty typical. He may just need to eat more than usual as you continue with treatment in order to get back to a good condition. The diabetes makes them unable to retain nutrients like they should. Freya's spine felt terrible for a while too. :( But now I can stroke her back without feeling every single vertebra. Does he seem to be hungry a lot?
 
Yong said:
Normal range on AT2 is 68 - 150. Seems like most Vets are fine with numbers on the higher end of the range while on insulin so he if naturally throws them the lower end without insulin, can't really be mad at the kitty for naturally being that way :smuggrin:
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Is the normal range for the human meter up to 120? Do Teddy's numbers now (human meter on chart) look like that of a cat who wouldn't have diabetes?

I need to do a week of testing with the alpha before I talk to his vet about his numbers
 
Yong said:
Just note Djamila and I found some of those flavours a bit higher carb then the app used to determine them on Dr. Pierson's food chart. But there are some of the Purina ProPlan "saucey" flavours that are lower carb. :)
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Ok great, thanks !!
 
Blair & Freya said:
The bony spine is likely weight loss and/or muscle wastage related to the diabetes. As worrying as it is to feel, it's sadly pretty typical. He may just need to eat more than usual as you continue with treatment in order to get back to a good condition. The diabetes makes them unable to retain nutrients like they should. Freya's spine felt terrible for a while too. :( But now I can stroke her back without feeling every single vertebra. Does he seem to be hungry a lot?
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Oh that is actually a little relief to know this is normal because it really scares me to feel his spine!
He doesn't ever seek out food (although in the morning if I don't get up at exact time he wakes me now which I find adorable!!)
But any time I offer him food he will eat it. I can't get him to eat as much as I'd like though. I really don't know how much he should eat / should weigh. He is down to 12 pounds now (I make sure he doesn't go any lower) and I'm trying to get him at least back to 13.
 
Yeah, weight loss is one of the main symptoms of FD. It's so hard to see them looking skinny and pick them up and feel like they're frail, but Teddy is definitely not alone in that. All that can really be done is to get the diabetes under control and get them eating more calories. I think if I remember right, @Yong is good at figuring out the correct amount to eat for weight gain. (?)

It also seems like the lower spine/hip area is one of the last to put on weight -- or that's been my experience, at least. I've been keeping an eye on Freya's hipbones and think I might soon have to start feeding her more again, too. It's just kind of an ongoing thing you might have to monitor and adapt to as the cat's nutrition needs change with the diabetes.
 
Human meter normal range is 50 - 120.

Yes Blair, I can figure out a caloric intake for weight gain, weight loss, or maintaining :). Shawna, keep in mind some of his weight loss if he has neuroapthy may be muscle loss. How much would you like Teddy to weigh?
 
Blair & Freya said:
Yeah, weight loss is one of the main symptoms of FD. It's so hard to see them looking skinny and pick them up and feel like they're frail, but Teddy is definitely not alone in that. All that can really be done is to get the diabetes under control and get them eating more calories. I think if I remember right, @Yong is good at figuring out the correct amount to eat for weight gain. (?)

It also seems like the lower spine/hip area is one of the last to put on weight -- or that's been my experience, at least. I've been keeping an eye on Freya's hipbones and think I might soon have to start feeding her more again, too. It's just kind of an ongoing thing you might have to monitor and adapt to as the cat's nutrition needs change with the diabetes.
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You are all the best!!!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me all this helpful, useful and reassuring information!!!
 
Yong said:
Human meter normal range is 50 - 120.

Yes Blair, I can figure out a caloric intake for weight gain, weight loss, or maintaining :). Shawna, keep in mind some of his weight loss if he has neuroapthy may be muscle loss. How much would you like Teddy to weigh?
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Ok so as long as he is under 120 and he almost always is, well with the variance I'm not sure, but from the numbers I have gotten anyways.

Oh great! Well I am not sure what he should weigh? He was always a big cat, 16 pounds was his normal adult weight. When he got sick he went to 14. And now he is 12. He isn't losing more, but I feel 12 is too little. Or maybe it's good since he has arthritis? I just wish I knew.
But I think I'd want him to weigh 13 or 14.
And yes his back legs/area definitely lost muscle and he looks real fragile back there.
 
I calculated for 13.5lbs ;). You'll want to aim for 228 calories per day so divide that by how many meals you feed him. I hope you can get some weight back on him :). Almost 6 months and Maury has put on 3lbs and some of that is muscle :cat:
 
The muscle wastage is so frustrating. I think mine has some slight neuropathy, but it hasn't developed to the point Teddy's has. Once Teddy's able to walk better and has gained a little weight, he might feel up to being more active and building up strength again. Try reading the section on exercise here:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/dummies.htm

There are some suggestions there for getting those legs stronger. Even little stuff like that could help him over time.
 
Yong said:
I calculated for 13.5lbs ;). You'll want to aim for 228 calories per day so divide that by how many meals you feed him. I hope you can get some weight back on him :). Almost 6 months and Maury has put on 3lbs and some of that is muscle :cat:
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Thank you so much!!!! Oh I am so thankful! You are an angel :rolleyes:
The FF says 98 kcal, and the gravy lovers only says 66kcal! And the royal can glyco is only 61 kcal.

So I'm really going to have to get him to eat more. Or maybe I can find more calorie food?? Or 2 FF classics, but I can't get him to eat a whole can.
He is picky and when he is "done" he will turn his head away LOL until I move his bowel. haha

Thanks for the info, I'm going to come up with a plan for my sweet Ted!
 
Blair & Freya said:
The muscle wastage is so frustrating. I think mine has some slight neuropathy, but it hasn't developed to the point Teddy's has. Once Teddy's able to walk better and has gained a little weight, he might feel up to being more active and building up strength again. Try reading the section on exercise here:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/dummies.htm

There are some suggestions there for getting those legs stronger. Even little stuff like that could help him over time.
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Oh awesome!! Thanks! His back area/legs are the problem but something also happened to his front paws. His front legs seem ok but his paws it's like he doesn't always walk on them normally (like with paw down) he bends them and they do strange things, almost like he can't always feel them?
I'm being faithful with the zobaline and cosequin so I hope it helps.
And I'll check out the exercise link , that's awesome!

:bighug: xoxoxoxo
 
shawna said:
Yeah I don't want to cause him more problems...he just loves it so much. I can definitely keep trying to get him to eat the FF classics though.

What does your cat eat? And how much a day? I can't get teddy to eat more than 2 tiny cans a day.....? He isn't losing weight but he is staying at 12 pounds. Before he got sick he was 15. And before that he had always been 16/17 pounds his whole adult life.
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Sam is going through a picky phase right now. His current food is ProPlan UTI beef and chicken, Primal Turkey, and Nature's Instinct Rabbit (frozen raw). He used to eat Fancy Feast Classics with a little fortiflora mixed in, but he's refused that for the past month and I haven't quite figured out what he wants. He would eat a little less than two small cans/day, but he lives in a very small condo and is super lazy (so low activity) and he is smaller than Teddy. The most he weighed was 13.5 and was CHUBBY at that weight. He's at 11 right now and I like him at that weight. The vet says he could probably lose a tiny bit more even, but I think he's plenty bony at this point.
 
shawna said:
That is great! I need to start doing the alpha numbers so I can talk to his Vet.
Should his numbers be lower or anything under 120 is healthy??
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Anything under 120 on the human meter, and under 150 on alphatrak!


Do you give any omega3 supplements? That may help lubricant the joints as well.
 
shawna said:
Oh thanks so much!!!
I wasn't giving him the gravy lovers at all - but when his numbers seemed ok and he LOVES that kind so much that I'd give it a couple times and his numbers stayed down so I just sorta kept giving it. Only one tiny can a day though, the other food is the royal canon glycobalance (which I don't think was good carb but my vet tells me to give it to him??) and he likes it - and the fancy feast classic, but he isn't eating that as happily anymore and won't eat a lot of it. He is one picky eater!

Thanks :)
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I wouldn't risk slacking in the foodepartment... Keep those carbs down. If you want extra calories you could maybe try kitten food.
 
shawna said:
Oh that is actually a little relief to know this is normal because it really scares me to feel his spine!
He doesn't ever seek out food (although in the morning if I don't get up at exact time he wakes me now which I find adorable!!)
But any time I offer him food he will eat it. I can't get him to eat as much as I'd like though. I really don't know how much he should eat / should weigh. He is down to 12 pounds now (I make sure he doesn't go any lower) and I'm trying to get him at least back to 13.
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Have you tried sprinkling FortiFlora on his food? It's like cat Crack! I have an underweight cat, Julie, who I could feel her spine. She must weight about 5 lbs, but barely eats.... Has always been like this. I suspect that she has IBS... Anyway about 6 weeks ago I started putting FortiFlora on her food and it definitely entices her to eat more where I can visually see she put on a bit of weight and I don't feel every bone in her spine.... And her back legs look stronger /more muscle than before.
 
Shawna, have you tried those Fancy Feast Purely naturals? They're flaked like meat in a broth, which can be more appealing to non-pate lovers and are listed as 0% carb.
61zc7WQl1RL._AC_UL320_SR312,320_.jpg
 
JanetNJ said:
Have you tried sprinkling FortiFlora on his food? It's like cat Crack! I have an underweight cat, Julie, who I could feel her spine. She must weight about 5 lbs, but barely eats.... Has always been like this. I suspect that she has IBS... Anyway about 6 weeks ago I started putting FortiFlora on her food and it definitely entices her to eat more where I can visually see she put on a bit of weight and I don't feel every bone in her spine.... And her back legs look stronger /more muscle than before.
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Oh wow thank you for letting me know about the fortiflora! I ordered it from Amazon and last night he ate his whole bowl of food he normally just eats a little of! This morning he isn't eating much, but I can definitely tell it is helping, so thank you!!
 
Yong said:
Shawna, have you tried those Fancy Feast Purely naturals? They're flaked like meat in a broth, which can be more appealing to non-pate lovers and are listed as 0% carb.
61zc7WQl1RL._AC_UL320_SR312,320_.jpg
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Thanks! Yes I tried them but he doesn't like the ones I tried...maybe I'll try a couple others just to make sure! Thank you so much though, Teddy is so picky now! Before he only ate one dry food his whole life so he probably didn't know there were other flavors to be picky with lol
 
JanetNJ said:
I wouldn't risk slacking in the foodepartment... Keep those carbs down. If you want extra calories you could maybe try kitten food.
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Thanks!! I'm going to try the kitten food just as an addition...aww kitten food for my teddy lol. fancy feast kitten food?
 
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