Very frustrated

[Cinkitty]

My Cinder kitty was diagnosed with diabetes in July just 2 1/2 weeks after I had to have my 14 yr old arthritic dog put down. She had high maintenance issues also. I went to a vet I don't normally go to but mine did not have any "soon" appointments open. The new vet said wet food 2x's a day with shots after eating. She had to eat at least half a can in order to give her the shot. To maintain her weight [she is/was not overweight] they told me 300 calories a day which is 1 & 1/4 can 2x's a day. I can't even get her to eat a whole can at a time so far & it is almost 2 months now. She is losing weight & still has glucose #s 450 plus. They wanted me to test her once a day about 6 hrs after shot & do a curve once a week after increasing insulin. There curve was test about every 2 hrs for at least 5 tests. I called them last week about the weight loss concerns & her glucose #s not changing at all & if I should be putting my cat through all this. I was concerned about how she felt with the consistently high #s. They didn't call me back. So I called my regular vet & they were able to get me in that day. She has a totally different approach. Go back to free feeding my cat EVO dry food & do a 3 test stripe curve 1 week later. Was told don't need to test other than curve. I was excited to learn I could go back to free feeding. Starting slow but now my cat does not like the dry food. I'm very concerned about what to do with so many different opinions on how to do this. Very frustrated at this point & not sure what to do.

 

[carmen830]

Hi @Cinkitty. While I am not an expert, I have been dealing with my cat's diabetes since last October. I too have felt & still feel frustrated at times. But some of the things that I have learned are to NEVER give insulin without checking to see what the pre-shot number is. Also, my cat used to be a dry food only cat - however, since he was diagnosed, I have slowly gotten him to eat wet food a few times a day and I also feed him a low carb / high protein dry food "Dr. Elsey's CleanProtein Chicken". It is one of two "preferred" dry foods. The other is Young Again. I tried my Tigger on the YA and although I did start seeing better numbers, it gave him awful diarrhea. Just awful. So he's now on Dr. Elsey's and his tummy is tolerating it a lot better. Although there are many people that just don't recommend dry food at all. But everyone is different and in the end you just have to do what's best for your cat and yourself. As far as wet food goes, I feed Fancy Feast classic pates - Tigger eats the Turkey & Giblets and I also give him the Fancy Feast Purely White Meat Chicken in a broth trays. Feline diabetes is so incredibly frustrating at times. I just ran a curve on Tigger yesterday and I think he needs a dose adjustment - I'm waiting to hear back from his vet. Good luck with your kitty and please take things day by day. Try not to get too frustrated. The folks on this forum are so informative and knowledgeable. Hang in there.

 

[Tracey&Jones (GA)]

Very frustrated at this point & not sure what to do.

It is hard to start with. Best approach? Know Thy Cat...what does she need? Does she need kibble - there are options available. Does she need to graze...outside of 2 hours before AM&PM preshot tests...that is what she get. How many calories? What is her ideal weight? 13.5X ideal weight lbs +70 = aim for that - but know some days she will eat more and some days less. Don't panic over a day unless not eating at all, watch for trends.

 

[Cinkitty]

I have figured out by this forum that I have to decide what is best for my Cinder. I have started to let her have kibble for a few hrs after I feed her some can food. She has lost over a pound since this started. I also have her brother who I had to fight to put weight on a few yrs ago so am also worried about him. Have to start slow since she has trouble with new food. I have not tested her since I took her to my regular vet last wednesday & vet said to only test on curve days. She is on lantus & up to 3 units 2xs a day. Cin avoids me when I go to the place I test her & worried she will start hiding from me. So carmen830 do you test a couple times a day before you give the shot & before the cat eats? My vet said it did not matter when she ate & I tested for the curve. Thank you both for the advice & will try to get this under control. I guess that I expected to see better results 2 months in. I tried to stay away from reading up on the internet because there is so much confusing info out there. Glad I found this group to get info from experienced people. I think a lot of my stress & frustration comes from my father in law passed away in april, my mom in June, my dog in July & now problems with my cat. The other question I have is what is the range you give them shots such as I feed her about 10:40 till about 11:30 to get her to eat enough. I was told to give her the shot abut 15-20 min after she eats. How much wiggle room do I have to change this if needed? Say I have to go somewhere early, do I skip it or back it up an hr so I can give it to her? Thank you both for your advice, it has been very helpful!!!

 

[JanetNJ]

I test feed shoot. So if you want to shoot at 11am/pm test at 10:30-10:45, feed, then shoot. As long as the appetite seems normal you can shoot and then just leave the food down as long as you want.... Just pick it up 2 hours prior to the next preshot test. You can feed several meals a day.

 

[JanetNJ]

Which dry food are you giving? You may want to consider switching to young again zero carb or Dr elsley's clean protein chicken. They are both under 10 carb and both companies will send you a free sample of the food if you ask.

 

[carmen830]

I have figured out by this forum that I have to decide what is best for my Cinder. I have started to let her have kibble for a few hrs after I feed her some can food. She has lost over a pound since this started. I also have her brother who I had to fight to put weight on a few yrs ago so am also worried about him. Have to start slow since she has trouble with new food. I have not tested her since I took her to my regular vet last wednesday & vet said to only test on curve days. She is on lantus & up to 3 units 2xs a day. Cin avoids me when I go to the place I test her & worried she will start hiding from me. So carmen830 do you test a couple times a day before you give the shot & before the cat eats? My vet said it did not matter when she ate & I tested for the curve. Thank you both for the advice & will try to get this under control. I guess that I expected to see better results 2 months in. I tried to stay away from reading up on the internet because there is so much confusing info out there. Glad I found this group to get info from experienced people. I think a lot of my stress & frustration comes from my father in law passed away in april, my mom in June, my dog in July & now problems with my cat. The other question I have is what is the range you give them shots such as I feed her about 10:40 till about 11:30 to get her to eat enough. I was told to give her the shot abut 15-20 min after she eats. How much wiggle room do I have to change this if needed? Say I have to go somewhere early, do I skip it or back it up an hr so I can give it to her? Thank you both for your advice, it has been very helpful!!!

I too struggle from time to time and also get frustrated that with all that I am doing he still hasn't regulated as I had hoped for. But all cats are different and all respond differently. I personally never ever give insulin without getting a reading first. I have learned from this group to wait 2 hours after he eats to run a test. However my schedule has been to feed him every 4-5 hours some wet food. I bought an automatic feeder and it has been a help. Especially when I am out for the day. My routine with Tigger in regards to insulin has been to test him when i wake up which is around 7am, I feed him and then give him insulin at around 8am. The reason I don't shoot right away is because sometimes he throws up so I just allow him some time to digest a bit. Before I leave the house I leave him with some kibble (Dr Elseys) and then the feeder comes on again at around 12pm and again at 5pm. I'm actually waiting to hear from his vet because I just ran a curve and his numbers weren't great. But then he will have days when they are good so it's just a yo-yo. Hang in there, it will get easier.

 

[Cinkitty]

I did the test, feed, shot this morning & her # was 610. Left some dry food out but I bought EVO turkey on the advise of my vet. $60 for 15.4 lbs bag. Mixing it with her old dry of natural balance. Wet food I'm feeding is BFF. I looked it up & the carbs are 2.3%. She eats more of this then the dry right now. Have to go slow with any food I feed her as she gets diarrhea at the drop of a hat but is my chow hound kitty. Never had a cat beg when I am eating like she does.

 

[JanetNJ]

I did the test, feed, shot this morning & her # was 610. Left some dry food out but I bought EVO turkey on the advise of my vet. $60 for 15.4 lbs bag. Mixing it with her old dry of natural balance. Wet food I'm feeding is BFF. I looked it up & the carbs are 2.3%. She eats more of this then the dry right now. Have to go slow with any food I feed her as she gets diarrhea at the drop of a hat but is my chow hound kitty. Never had a cat beg when I am eating like she does.

Bff is good. Evo is ok... About 8%. Natural Balance is a whooping 29%! I'd skip that. Give it to a friend. Lol

 

[Cinkitty]

Bff is good. Evo is ok... About 8%. Natural Balance is a whooping 29%! I'd skip that. Give it to a friend. Lol

I'm using the very last of the natural balance just because her body is use to it & if I give her straight EVO she will get diarrhea. Think I should just chance it & go straight to the EVO? I do have 1 other cat that is new I could give the natural balance to. I know about stress & now a new cat but she was a rescue. I took her before cinder got sick. I can't find the new kitty a home. She was dumped, very friendly for the most part but is scared of everything in the house. So far she has very little interaction with cinder, although am trying to let them get acquainted in small doses. Thanks for all your help!! What do you think of the 610# before I fed her? Is that kinda normal for it to be that high? I use to only test about 6 hrs after the shot.

 

[JanetNJ]

I'm using the very last of the natural balance just because her body is use to it & if I give her straight EVO she will get diarrhea. Think I should just chance it & go straight to the EVO? I do have 1 other cat that is new I could give the natural balance to. I know about stress & now a new cat but she was a rescue. I took her before cinder got sick. I can't find the new kitty a home. She was dumped, very friendly for the most part but is scared of everything in the house. So far she has very little interaction with cinder, although am trying to let them get acquainted in small doses. Thanks for all your help!! What do you think of the 610# before I fed her? Is that kinda normal for it to be that high? I use to only test about 6 hrs after the shot.

If she tends to get tummy upset from food changes you could do it gradually... But do definitely get it out of the diet.

It would be helpful if you could set up a signature. Click on your name at the top right corner and choose signature. Add info such as your pets name, date diagnosed, insulin type, dose, food you're feeding, and any other health concerns. This way we can stop asking you the same questions over and over.

610 is high. Test again mid cycle. If it drops a lot we may be seeing a bounce and that's why the preshot is so high.

 

[Cinkitty]

Sorry still trying to figure this site out. I thought I saw it somewhere but when I went to look for it last night could not find it. Thanks! Will do it soon!