Gary the cat - Neuropathy

[Timjs17]

Hi all,

Thankfully I've not had to use this forum too much as Gary (our 7 year old cat) has been relatively fine with his diabetes.

However, recently he has developed Neuropathy, most noticeable in his hind legs. He struggles to jump up on most things now, and his legs slip a lot when on smooth surfaces.

We have taken him to the vets and they have confirmed that his diabetes is not under control, despite us keeping strictly to the same injections he was on last year (2.5 units of PZI twice a day).

We had been having bloods taken for fructosamine checks, and his most recent results were around 750, when "normal" should be around 250 apparently.

We have upped his insulin dosage to 4 units, twice a day which will hopefully bring his BG down.

The question I had is around diet, as I know this can play an important role in diabetes. We currently feed Gary Applaws wet food (chicken with rice or tuna) which he loves, and also about 40g of Hills I/D dry food. He has this twice a day, usually in line with when we give his insulin.

Is this diet okay for a diabetic cat, or should I consider changing? He is also quiet partial to milk (we give him a small amount a few times a week) - could this have an affect on his BG levels?

Although he's not seemingly in any pain and is okay in himself, I can tell he's getting a little down not being able to move around as much as he usually can.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Tim & Gary

 

[Tanya and Ducia]

Hello Tim and Gary,
sorry to hear about the nephropathy but it is treatable condition. We have many care givers on this Forum whose kitties have the diagnose and there are many successful recoveries. You will get more responses in the morning when people start going online, so help is on its way! Have you get a chance to review THIS POST?

We had been having bloods taken for fructosamine checks, and his most recent results were around 750, when "normal" should be around 250 apparently.

Many things could have affected that number - including the stress from travel to/ being at the vet's office. Do you home test?

The question I had is around diet, as I know this can play an important role in diabetes. We currently feed Gary Applaws wet food (chicken with rice or tuna) which he loves, and also about 40g of Hills I/D dry food. He has this twice a day, usually in line with when we give his insulin.

THIS FOOD CHART composed by the feline nutritionist Dr.Pierson has info about Applaws wet food and the Hills I/D dry food...I am sorry to say but it looks like it wasn't the best choice for a diabetic kitty. But I'll leave it for you to read and decide. This food might contributing to Gary's high BG numbers. In general, you feed food which has less than 10% of carbs (you 'll find a variety of canned food in the Food Chart I linked above).

We have upped his insulin dosage to 4 units, twice a day which will hopefully bring his BG down.

I hope you testing his BG at home and will be able to share his numbers.

Please keep posting your questions and concerns, we're here to help. I hope you will receive more responses in the morning from people with nephropathy experience , I am not one of those people. I am just here to say Hi, welcome back and to wish all the best to you and Gary.


http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...europathy-weak-back-legs.178252/#post-1967581

 

[JanetNJ]

That is A HUGE dose increase. Really not safe if not home testing. We can help you with that if you are willing to learn how.

 

[Timjs17]

Thanks for the replies!

That is A HUGE dose increase. Really not safe if not home testing. We can help you with that if you are willing to learn how.

I should say that he was increased from 2.5 to 3 units about two months ago, but with no change in his Frucosamine levels, the vet has now said to up this to 4 units. Fortunatly I work from home, so I can keep my eye on him throughout the day for any signs of a hypo. We do have a home testing kit and have used it infrequently, because we find it so difficult to get any blood from him. We usually try his pads as he wriggles too much when we try to get it from his ears.

Hello Tim and Gary,
sorry to hear about the nephropathy but it is treatable condition. We have many care givers on this Forum whose kitties have the diagnose and there are many successful recoveries. You will get more responses in the morning when people start going online, so help is on its way! Have you get a chance to review THIS POST?

Many things could have affected that number - including the stress from travel to/ being at the vet's office. Do you home test?

THIS FOOD CHART composed by the feline nutritionist Dr.Pierson has info about Applaws wet food and the Hills I/D dry food...I am sorry to say but it looks like it wasn't the best choice for a diabetic kitty. But I'll leave it for you to read and decide. This food might contributing to Gary's high BG numbers. In general, you feed food which has less than 10% of carbs (you 'll find a variety of canned food in the Food Chart I linked above).

I hope you testing his BG at home and will be able to share his numbers.

Please keep posting your questions and concerns, we're here to help. I hope you will receive more responses in the morning from people with nephropathy experience , I am not one of those people. I am just here to say Hi, welcome back and to wish all the best to you and Gary.

Thank you for that link, it has some useful information. Gary is a very stress-free cat, and whilst we have tested him every now and then, we tended to stress him out a lot by trying to get a drop of blood so we don't test anymore.

That chart is amazing! I've just been going through it trying to find a new food, but I'm struggling to find one that is available in the UK - would anyone be able to recommend one for England? I always just assumed Applaws was okay as it seemed to be made from mainly natural ingredients, but obviously I was wrong!

I should also mention that over the Christmas period last year, Gary was in hospital for about 22 days with severe kidney failure (we still don't know what caused it). Whilst he has made a solid recovery, I know this may have some impact on food choice. We have been giving SubQ's at home, but we have recently just stopped this as all of the test results we've had this year have shown his creatinine and urea levels are all within normal, despite us gradually reducing his intake of fluids, which is good.

 

[Sharon14]

Try THIS one

 

[Timjs17]

Try THIS one

Thanks Sharon - that's so useful. I'm off to buy some new food tomorrow so will get some off this list. I am cautious about reducing his carb intake alongside his increase dosage of insulin - would it be wise to give him less insulin as soon as we cut out the carbs?

I understand cats with neuropathy can also benefit from having vitamin B12, specifically methylcobalamin. Would anyone know where to buy this in the U.K?

Gary also seems to be getting diarrhoea quite often now - is this a side effect of neuropathy?

Thanks in advance

 

[JanetNJ]

Thanks Sharon - that's so useful. I'm off to buy some new food tomorrow so will get some off this list. I am cautious about reducing his carb intake alongside his increase dosage of insulin - would it be wise to give him less insulin as soon as we cut out the carbs?

I understand cats with neuropathy can also benefit from having vitamin B12, specifically methylcobalamin. Would anyone know where to buy this in the U.K?

Gary also seems to be getting diarrhoea quite often now - is this a side effect of neuropathy?

Thanks in advance

If you are lowering carbs I would hold off on a dose increase.

I know you said you have had difficulty getting a bg sample but I want to assure you that after a couple of weeks of testing their ears develop new capillaries and they bleed much easier. Also be sure you are using a 26 or 28 gauge lancet as the ones that are 31 or 33 are very tiny and harder to get a sample.

For diarrhea consider sprinkling FortiFlora on his food.... It's a probiotic. It really helped one of my cats.

I buy b12 on amazon.

 

[Sharon14]

understand cats with neuropathy can also benefit from having vitamin B12, specifically methylcobalamin. Would anyone know where to buy this in the U.K?

If Zobaline is available there, it's methylcobalamine and folic acid (helps with absorption) and made specifically for diabetic cats. If not, be sure any methylB you get is free from any sugars, including artificial ones.

 

[JeffJ]

Best of luck. Good advice here in this thread. Neuropathy is a common topic..see other threads via search.

Leo had real bad neuropathy to the point where we were considering "the decision". We pushed ahead with BG regulation, and I dosed him Zobaline for 2 or 3 months. Now the neuropathy is nearly nonexistent. To recap - he almost couldn't walk....to almost fully cured of the neuropathy. It was amazing...well, actually Leo is pretty amazing.