Hi! New Member! Kitten with Diabetes.

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NabiGuy

NabiGuy

Member Since 2023
Hello everyone, new member here! My boy Nabi, just 11 months old, was recently diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. I'm in shock and denial, I have no idea how to handle it.

My sweet boy Nabi was diagnosed just two days ago and I don't know what to make of it. My family and I had a scary episode just this Thursday after Nabi puked several times, became lethargic, and began to breathe fast. We took him to the vet not even 30 minutes afterwards and they called back a day later saying he had juvenile diabetes after a blood test that read 324 for blood glucose. I don't know what else they did, I'm in shambles trying to parse it all out.

They gave him a ProBNP CBC SDMA test, blood test(I don't know if the latter and this are related or one and the same), Cerenia, and Barium while trying to figure out what was going on.

I'm told this is highly unusual/rare and I think I'm in denial. I want to get a second opinion from another vet and have someone tell me it's all a big misunderstanding, a misdiagnosis. We were given Lantus and 100 syringes, I tried to give him the instructed 1 unit dose of insulin earlier this evening, but I don't even know if I did it right. I was scared, and still am. Meanwhile, he's been acting like his spry and excitable self ever since Friday morning.

He's going to have another visit at the same veterinary hospital for a glucose curve-- I did some research and found out about serum fructosamine tests for felines. I don't know if they even did that, I'm just utterly confused.

I apologize for the vague, long post. This is all very new to me, I'm feeling overwhelmed at every corner.
It's 5:22am and I've been up since 6am yesterday, so I apologize if I'm not introducing any information or the likes that could help. I'll fill in info with replies eventually...

I was shocked and surprised that a forum like this existed, and honestly? I'm deathly glad, I'm hoping I can find some answers and help.
 
Hi and welcome to you and Nabi. I can understand why you are feeling overwhelmed.
Diabetes in a young kitten is quite unusual but we have had a few here diagnosed with it.
The blood tests you had for Nabi were ProBNP is to check his heart, the CBC checks his blood generally…red and white blood cells and other things and the SDMA Is a check for early kidney disease.
It would be a very good idea to get a fructosamine test done as that is a good test to do to tell if the cat has diabetes yes/no. I would get that done ASAP so you can have the diagnosis confirmed or not.
It is possible that his blood glucose rose to 324 because he was acutely u well and stressed.

Can you tell me how much Lantus you are giving please?
And can you tell me about the insulin syringes you have been given. Would you be able to take a photo of one of the syringes showing the markings on it and copy and paste it into here please?

I would go out and buy a glucose meter and start testing the blood glucose yourself. If you live in the US you can buy a meter from Walmart for $9 (ReliOn premier meter) and 100 test strips for $17.88.
You will also need a box of 100 lancets size 26 or 28 and some cotton rounds to hold behind the ear when you test.
Relying on curves done at the vet every so many weeks is not a safe way to manage feline diabetes. So I would strongly recommend you look at home testing. I will give you a link about it below.
I would also start feeding him low carb foods….no dry foods at all…I will give you a link to that as well. Look for foods that are 10% or under carbs.
Make sure you are giving him plenty of food. You feed before the shots and then again a few times during the cycles.

I would also make sure you have a hypo kit set up with some honey or Karo and some high carb foods incase of a hypo event. you can find canned foods that are over 10% and up to 23% carbs for the hypo kit.
keep posting and asking questions, we are very happy to answer them all and hopefully help you. You have come to the best place if he is indeed a diabetic.

FOOD CHART. Low carb under 10%, medium carb 11 to 15% and high carb 16% and over.

HELP US HELP YOU can information for new members

HOMETESTING HINTS AND LINKS
Bron
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi and welcome to you and Nabi. I can understand why you are feeling overwhelmed.
Diabetes in a young kitten is quite unusual but we have had a few here diagnosed with it.
The blood tests you had for Nabi were ProBNP is to check his heart, the CBC checks his blood generally…red and white blood cells and other things and the SDMA Is a check for early kidney disease.
It would be a very good idea to get a fructosamine test done as that is a good test to do to tell if the cat has diabetes yes/no. I would get that done ASAP so you can have the diagnosis confirmed or not.
It is possible that his blood glucose rose to 324 because he was acutely u well and stressed.

Can you tell me how much Lantus you are giving please?
And can you tell me about the insulin syringes you have been given. Would you be able to take a photo of one of the syringes showing the markings on it and copy and paste it into here please?

I would go out and buy a glucose meter and start testing the blood glucose yourself. If you live in the US you can buy a meter from Walmart for $9 (ReliOn premier meter) and 100 test strips for $17.88.
You will also need a box of 100 lancets size 26 or 28 and some cotton rounds to hold behind the ear when you test.
Relying on curves done at the vet every so many weeks is not a safe way to manage feline diabetes. So I would strongly recommend you look at home testing. I will give you a link about it below.
I would also start feeding him low carb foods….no dry foods at all…I will give you a link to that as well. Look for foods that are 10% or under carbs.
Make sure you are giving him plenty of food. You feed before the shots and then again a few times during the cycles.

I would also make sure you have a hypo kit set up with some honey or Karo and some high carb foods incase of a hypo event. you can find canned foods that are over 10% and up to 23% carbs for the hypo kit.
keep posting and asking questions, we are very happy to answer them all and hopefully help you. You have come to the best place if he is indeed a diabetic.

FOOD CHART. Low carb under 10%, medium carb 11 to 15% and high carb 16% and over.

HELP US HELP YOU can information for new members

HOMETESTING HINTS AND LINKS
Bron
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the info.

Currently the veterinarian instructed to do 1u of Lantus after feeding, and .5 if he hasn't touched his food at all. The timing's spaced apart 12 hours each, 8:30 in the morning and 8:30 in the evening.

Vet Visit:
https://i.imgur.com/MEDnRee.png

Syringe BOX photos:
https://i.imgur.com/2dg2mSf.png

Syringe photos:
https://i.imgur.com/IwMlqt5.png
https://i.imgur.com/8NbrFpJ.png

As a clarification, I was told his throat was inflammed from his puking and due to that, he also became dehydrated. It happened suddenly and out of nowhere, but the next day(Friday) he was back to his old self. He's never thrown up like this before and was just tired from the whole ordeal.

I'm going back to the veterinarian's office today to return some food, so I'll have the opportunity to ask in the meantime as well as hopefully grab a glucose meter.
The past two days substantially drained my bank account(and my soul), so I'll try to grab the aforementioned supplies on the way home!

Again, thank you for the help and I'll post more information as needed.
 
Also, as for foods I'm feeding him (which I'll swap off accordingly) is Royal Canin Glycobalance wet and dry.

Before, he was being fed Raw Instinct Kitten food as well as Orijen (dry) for about 4-5 months. Before that, it was Weruva Kitten food (wet) for about 3-4 months.
 
I would not buy a pet meter as they are too expensive to run. The test strips are $1 each.
Yes those syringes are OK and the correct size.
I like the 30 or 31gauge better than the 29 gauge as it is thinner. But what you have is OK.
It looks like they gave you science diet food. Is that correct? that is too high carb. You need low carb food and canned not dry.
But I would not do any changes with the food until you are able to test the blood glucose as changing the food over to a low carb food can drop the BGs substantially.
[QUOTE="NabiGuy, post: 3062284, member: 37803"]Also, as for foods I'm feeding him (which I'll swap off accordingly) is Royal Canin Glycobalance wet and dry.[/QUOTE]
The dry food is 23.5% carbs so very high carb. I think the canned food is 14% but I will stand corrected on that.
Either way they are too high carb for any cat. But as I said above, please don’t change over before you are testing the BGs.
NabiGuy said:
Currently the veterinarian instructed to do 1u of Lantus after feeding, and .5 if he hasn't touched his food at all. The timing's spaced apart 12 hours each, 8:30 in the morning and 8:30 in the evening.
Click to expand...
Without testing it is impossible to tell if the dose is too high or not.
I would be inclined to reduce it to 1/2 unit twice a day until you are testing the BGs.
How is his appetite?
I love the photo…he is such a Cutie!
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I would not buy a pet meter as they are too expensive to run. The test strips are $1 each.
Yes those syringes are OK and the correct size.
I like the 30 or 31gauge better than the 29 gauge as it is thinner. But what you have is OK.
It looks like they gave you science diet food. Is that correct? that is too high carb. You need low carb food and canned not dry.
But I would not do any changes with the food until you are able to test the blood glucose as changing the food over to a low carb food can drop the BGs substantially.
[QUOTE="NabiGuy, post: 3062284, member: 37803"]Also, as for foods I'm feeding him (which I'll swap off accordingly) is Royal Canin Glycobalance wet and dry.
Click to expand...
The dry food is 23.5% carbs so very high carb. I think the canned food is 14% but I will stand corrected on that.
Either way they are too high carb for any cat. But as I said above, please don’t change over before you are testing the BGs.

Without testing it is impossible to tell if the dose is too high or not.
I would be inclined to reduce it to 1/2 unit twice a day until you are testing the BGs.
How is his appetite?
I love the photo…he is such a Cutie![/QUOTE]

Thank you very much! And I won't, I'll be sure to check the BGs once I'm able.

His appetite has been straight back to normal since yesterday! He's drinking water and eating as normal.

I've just called my vet 10 minutes ago and they've confirmed that they haven't done a fructosamine serum test, nor have they done the glucose curve yet.

All they've confirmed so far would be the blood panel.
 
NabiGuy said:
The dry food is 23.5% carbs so very high carb. I think the canned food is 14% but I will stand corrected on that.
Either way they are too high carb for any cat. But as I said above, please don’t change over before you are testing the BGs.

Without testing it is impossible to tell if the dose is too high or not.
I would be inclined to reduce it to 1/2 unit twice a day until you are testing the BGs.
How is his appetite?
I love the photo…he is such a Cutie!
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! And I won't, I'll be sure to check the BGs once I'm able.

His appetite has been straight back to normal since yesterday! He's drinking water and eating as normal.

I've just called my vet 10 minutes ago and they've confirmed that they haven't done a fructosamine serum test, nor have they done the glucose curve yet.

All they've confirmed so far would be the blood panel.[/QUOTE]
Once you start hometesting, you can do the curve yourself. It’s very easy and will save you a lot of money. And much better for Nabi as he will be in his home environment and not stressed at the vet. But I would insist on a fructosamine test ASAP.

That is excellent his appetite is back to normal.

With the lancets you buy that prick the ear I didn’t say that the 26 or 28 is the gauge you need. I forgot to mention the numbers referred to the size of the gauge.
 
wow 11 months old, I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles

that is certainly extremely young for diabetes but not impossible. Hopefully the young age also gives you a great chance at regulation/recovery and a long life ahead.
 
I’m so sorry and I agree with everything Bron said. You need a fructosamine test especially if he’s that young to confirm the diagnosis since it will give you a 3- week average of his blood glucose. You don’t need an expensive pet meter, which is likely what your vet office sells if they sell any at all, and you don’t need expensive food. Most of us feed fancy feast classic which is low in carbs. And most of us use ReliOn meter from Walmart which has the most budget friendly test strips. You can buy it at any Walmart as it doesn’t require a prescription.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Thank you very much! And I won't, I'll be sure to check the BGs once I'm able.

His appetite has been straight back to normal since yesterday! He's drinking water and eating as normal.

I've just called my vet 10 minutes ago and they've confirmed that they haven't done a fructosamine serum test, nor have they done the glucose curve yet.

All they've confirmed so far would be the blood panel.
Click to expand...
Once you start hometesting, you can do the curve yourself. It’s very easy and will save you a lot of money. And much better for Nabi as he will be in his home environment and not stressed at the vet. But I would insist on a fructosamine test ASAP.

That is excellent his appetite is back to normal.

With the lancets you buy that prick the ear I didn’t say that the 26 or 28 is the gauge you need. I forgot to mention the numbers referred to the size of the gauge.[/QUOTE]


I'll look into the 26/28 gauge as well, I've looked up a few videos on how to do all of this and am hoping I can get it right without bothering him too much.

Planning to buy the supplies tomorrow! Today was a bit tiring, again, thank you so much for the help.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
wow 11 months old, I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles

that is certainly extremely young for diabetes but not impossible. Hopefully the young age also gives you a great chance at regulation/recovery and a long life ahead.
Click to expand...


It is, which is what had me absolutely freaked out! I do hope we can get this figured out..
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
I’m so sorry and I agree with everything Bron said. You need a fructosamine test especially if he’s that young to confirm the diagnosis since it will give you a 3- week average of his blood glucose. You don’t need an expensive pet meter, which is likely what your vet office sells if they sell any at all, and you don’t need expensive food. Most of us feed fancy feast classic which is low in carbs. And most of us use ReliOn meter from Walmart which has the most budget friendly test strips. You can buy it at any Walmart as it doesn’t require a prescription.
Click to expand...

I pushed for a fructosamine test right away for Nabi, and it looks like my vet wants to talk about it this coming Monday. If she's partial to it, I'm going to look for a second opinion as well from a feline specialist near me.

Fancy feast is something I've read/heard about several times now, and I think I'll buy some tomorrow. We've already begun to transition off of dry food with Royal Canin wet, but I'll pick up Fancy Feast and see how he likes it as well!

Wet food tasting, here we go.
 
we used Fancy Feast to get our kibble-addicted multi-cat household off of the dry and accustomed to a wet or raw food diet. Now we feed only low-carb canned food (Weruva, Tiki, some Fancy Feast and Friskies) and raw homemade food.
 
Last edited:
NabiGuy said:
I pushed for a fructosamine test right away for Nabi, and it looks like my vet wants to talk about it this coming Monday. If she's partial to it, I'm going to look for a second opinion as well from a feline specialist near me.

Fancy feast is something I've read/heard about several times now, and I think I'll buy some tomorrow. We've already begun to transition off of dry food with Royal Canin wet, but I'll pick up Fancy Feast and see how he likes it as well!

Wet food tasting, here we go.
Click to expand...
Just so you know the Royal Canin wet is still higher carbs than what’s ideal for a diabetic cat. I believe it’s medium carbs.
 
NabiGuy said:
pushed for a fructosamine test right away for Nabi, and it looks like my vet wants to talk about it this coming Monday
Click to expand...
Most vets want to do a fructosamine test so I would be surprised if she didn’t. Just say you want it done.
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
Just so you know the Royal Canin wet is still higher carbs than what’s ideal for a diabetic cat. I believe it’s medium carbs.
Click to expand...
Until Nabi is being home tested to check his BGs we don’t want him changing over to a lower carb food.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Most vets want to do a fructosamine test so I would be surprised if she didn’t. Just say you want it done.

Until Nabi is being home tested to check his BGs we don’t want him changing over to a lower carb food.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I found it quite odd. When I called the hospital, they told me they didn't do one at all. In fact, I'm beginning to feel a little concerned over what they haven't done so far. I think a different vet with another opinion might help here.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
we used Fancy Feast to get our kibble-addicted multi-cat household off of the dry and accustomed to a wet or raw food diet. Now we feed only canned food (Weruva, Tiki, some Fancy Feast and Friskies) and raw homemade food.
Click to expand...


Luckily Nabi's fairly accustomed to wet food, as that's what I fed him for a couple of months before going to dry. Weruva was the big one, and he loved it.
 
Like everyone has noted, the fructosamine test is diagnostic for feline diabetes. The issue, at least as I see it, Nabi's blood glucose levels at the vet may have been elevated due to stress. Between whatever was causing him to vomit coupled with travel to and being at the vet's office could easily have caused stress hyperglycemia (i.e., blood glucose levels skyrocketing due to stress). The fructosamine test will let you know an average value over the span of several weeks. (It's similar to a hemoglobin A1c in humans.)

It's also quite curious that the vet ran a senior panel on a young cat. The IDEXX senior/gero panel automatically includes tests for SDMA and BNP. Your vet may run these automatically but it's a way to jack up the price for the tests by running a panel that typically is ordered for a cat that's 8 - 10 years old. (You could argue that it tells you if there's something potentially brewing but IMHO it seems excessive.)

I also think that a 1.0u dose may be too much. The high carb food may be countering the insulin but until you can test, I'd encourage sticking with a 0.5u dose and err on the safe side.
 
I agree that the dose may be too high. Stress and an infection can both cause elevated glucose levels. You really need to start testing Nabi's glucose immediately before giving insulin. If he is on any antibiotic or changes to a canned food diet, these are going to lower his glucose levels. You do not want to give insulin if his levels drop, that would be extremely dangerous and could cause hypoglycemia. By testing before each shot you will know if the dose is needed. For new members we recommend that you use a reading of 200 as your "don't shoot" number. Anything below that skip the dose.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Like everyone has noted, the fructosamine test is diagnostic for feline diabetes. The issue, at least as I see it, Nabi's blood glucose levels at the vet may have been elevated due to stress. Between whatever was causing him to vomit coupled with travel to and being at the vet's office could easily have caused stress hyperglycemia (i.e., blood glucose levels skyrocketing due to stress). The fructosamine test will let you know an average value over the span of several weeks. (It's similar to a hemoglobin A1c in humans.)

It's also quite curious that the vet ran a senior panel on a young cat. The IDEXX senior/gero panel automatically includes tests for SDMA and BNP. Your vet may run these automatically but it's a way to jack up the price for the tests by running a panel that typically is ordered for a cat that's 8 - 10 years old. (You could argue that it tells you if there's something potentially brewing but IMHO it seems excessive.)

I also think that a 1.0u dose may be too much. The high carb food may be countering the insulin but until you can test, I'd encourage sticking with a 0.5u dose and err on the safe side.
Click to expand...


Hi!

As of yesterday(Saturday), I've been giving Nabi .5u shots of insulin like you guys have cautioned. I'll be able to concretely test his BGL on Monday, as that's when I'll have enough funds available to get some more supplies.

I'm actually shocked to know that for the IDEXX test, this is typically performed on more senior cats. I scratched my head a bit. The only things they were able to tell from it, as everything else came back normal, was that his BGL was high and he had +3 glucose in his urine with absolutely no ketones. His CBC came back completely normal as well.
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
I agree that the dose may be too high. Stress and an infection can both cause elevated glucose levels. You really need to start testing Nabi's glucose immediately before giving insulin. If he is on any antibiotic or changes to a canned food diet, these are going to lower his glucose levels. You do not want to give insulin if his levels drop, that would be extremely dangerous and could cause hypoglycemia. By testing before each shot you will know if the dose is needed. For new members we recommend that you use a reading of 200 as your "don't shoot" number. Anything below that skip the dose.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the warning-- Yeah, the only thing that's changed to his daily routine is the canned food/wet food diet change. I've been slowly mixing in wet food to dry food to transition him back to eating wet.

Taking note of what everyone mentioned, I think I may have to try and buy a BG reader today before giving him his shot this evening.

I appreciate the immensely helpful information everyone's presented so far, and as for the fructosamine test I'm trying to go and get an appointment made at a different vet Monday so I can double check.
 
Very small update: A relative is going to help me purchase a BG reader tomorrow so I can test his BGL as well as take him to a vet to get a Fructosamine test done.

In the meantime, I'm going to maintain him on .5u of insulin and monitor him very closely.
 
NabiGuy said:
Very small update: A relative is going to help me purchase a BG reader tomorrow so I can test his BGL as well as take him to a vet to get a Fructosamine test done.

In the meantime, I'm going to maintain him on .5u of insulin and monitor him very closely.
Click to expand...
A good meter that is not expensive to use is Walmart's Relion glucose meters. The strips for these meters are not expensive. Many of us use these meters
 
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197
Lancets get 26 or 28 gauge lancets any brand will do
Some cotton rounds to put behind the ear so you don't poke yourself then fold it over the cats ear to stop the bleeding for about 10 seconds
I have never used a lancing device ,a lot of us freehand , I feel like you can see better where you are aiming for the sweet spot to poke
 
Hi guys, update today from the vet's office. Today we took a Fructosamine test, a BGL test and we're considering a Libre (I think that's what they called it), depending on the outcome of the fructosamine test.

The veterinarian suggested we stay off the Insulin until they can get the results back in, and to maintain him on his current diet as it seems to be doing well for him BG levels. (We didn't give him Insulin this morning, so I don't know if that impacted the tests at all.) His BGL was at 99.

Will give further updates as time goes by, I've picked up a ReliOn Glucose tester and some strips.
 
The Libre can end up being fairly expensive. While the sensor is supposed to stay on for 2 weeks, cats can cleverly remove them. And, they need to be replaced every 2 weeks. The initial cost for a Libre varies -- at least $115 to $150 (look at online prices) and a box of 2 sensors for the Libre 2 is around $199. The cost of a glucometer and strips is far less.

Vets are typically clueless about the costs of materials but make recommendations that can put a strain on finances.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
The Libre can end up being fairly expensive. While the sensor is supposed to stay on for 2 weeks, cats can cleverly remove them. And, they need to be replaced every 2 weeks. The initial cost for a Libre varies -- at least $115 to $150 (look at online prices) and a box of 2 sensors for the Libre 2 is around $199. The cost of a glucometer and strips is far less.

Vets are typically clueless about the costs of materials but make recommendations that can put a strain on finances.
Click to expand...


Understood, I'm glad I bought the supplies then. I'll skip on the Libre then, it's a bummer that it's so expensive as the convenience itself seemed quite nice.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
The initial cost for a Libre varies -- at least $115 to $150 (look at online prices) and a box of 2 sensors for the Libre 2 is around $199.
Click to expand...
I am in the US go to Harris Tweeter and can get a Libre 2 for ~$38. The GoodRx coupon was was ~$76 but the pharmacist got it for the ~$38. Other in the Libre for Dogs and Cats FB group bought them for about the same (in US).
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2894089194158745
 
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