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Gwaihir71

Gwaihir71

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My Petey was just diagnosed with Diabetes and the vet really made me drink from the firehouse when she was telling me the symptoms, medications, proper food to eat etc. It was VERY overwhelming. I know insulin is an option but is anyone using any other medication? I'm concerned with Petey because he never was a huge eater. He pretty much grazes, eating little here and there. He is not on insulin yet so I don't know how he'll respond but was curious about other meds. I've had him for 15 years so needless to say I'm quite saddened about it. Any encouraging words would be greatly appreciated!
 
Gwaihir71 said:
My Petey was just diagnosed with Diabetes and the vet really made me drink from the firehouse when she was telling me the symptoms, medications, proper food to eat etc. It was VERY overwhelming. I know insulin is an option but is anyone using any other medication? I'm concerned with Petey because he never was a huge eater. He pretty much grazes, eating little here and there. He is not on insulin yet so I don't know how he'll respond but was curious about other meds. I've had him for 15 years so needless to say I'm quite saddened about it. Any encouraging words would be greatly appreciated!
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@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

gab
 
Hello and welcome. You didn't do anything wrong. Some people like to copy entire posts, not sure why.

There are two new medications people are using for diabetic cats, more information in this post:
New Treatments for Feline Diabetes There are some conditions where Bexacat and Senvelgo (the two new medications) are contra-indicated. Read that post and make sure none of them apply to Petey. We have only seen a handful of people use them here, a couple successfully, a couple with the contra-indications that didn't end well. And also a couple where the drugs didn't work and they had to switch to insulin. These are very new drugs, it's possible the vet hasn't much familiarity with them yet?

We have plenty of cats here on insulin that are grazers. That's OK. Human diabetics eat many small meals too.

What did the vet say about possible insulin type (I presume that was suggested) and type of food to feed? We strongly believe in a low carb wet or raw food for diabetics. There are plenty of options on the pet store shelves that work - you don't have to buy from the vet. Frankly, often the vet products are poorer quality.

As far as having an older cat on insulin, we see lots of them here. Even some that go into remission. We had one member who's 25 year old cat who had been on insulin but in diabetic remission, recently passed away. Not from diabetes. 25 is a bit rare, but I've seen plenty of older cats do well on insulin or even no longer on insulin.
 
Thank you for the info!! The vet did explain that she wasn't too keen on the other meds because of the requirements and additional testing. She did send me the food chart and luckily Petey has been on fancy feast pate for a long time but I'm convinced he'll need insulin because hes on good food already. She wants an ultrasound done but I haven't read any other comments about other fur babies doing this. This will cost me over $500. Does this sound normal to you? She told me to get Purina DM canned or dry. I spent $80 on the dry to find out that is no good. I can return it though which is good. Now I would spend thousands on my boy that's not the problem but my trust is just not there after I've read the info on this site. I'm freaking out because he's been with me for 15 years. He's 16 and only had skin issues...that's it. However he was on and off a steroid, Pred, due to the skin problems. He's off of it now but his eating has really declined since. Thoughts? I really like the vet office but this new vet I saw...just not happy with her. If I go to another vet in the same office would they really tell me anything different?? Sorry for the long chat. I just want to do this right. THANK YOU for listening and helping. Praying my boy will be ok.
 
Gwaihir71 said:
She wants an ultrasound done but I haven't read any other comments about other fur babies doing this. This will cost me over $500. Does this sound normal to you?
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Price is quite reasonable for an ultrasound, but I'd want a solid reason why it needs to be done. Did she say why? "just looking" isn't a reason. Is it possible she's looking for a reason his appetite has trailed off?

The prednisolone/steroid may have contributed to the diabetes. What sort of skin issues does he have?
 
I'll give them a call today to find out about the ultrasound. I know she explained it but again she crammed alot of info in on a 15 minute call. The skin issues were never truly figured out but I know it wasn't the food. I think it was seasonal allergies because it seemed to happen every time I closed up the house to turn on air/heat. Petey would clean himself nonstop until it turned into sores. I got air purifiers in every bigger room of the house. Covenia (spelling) worked really well so no skin issues at the moment. The pred was used only when his skin was bad so that's what I meant about on/off if that makes sense. Last night was better. He ate his dinner completely and was more alert.

I am so happy to be a part of this group. I definitely feel more empowered to make the right decisions for my boy. Thank you!
 
Hey, new member here too. I just want to say I would be EXTREMELY cautious of trying Bexacat. It sounds great for the cats it works for but if Petey has any ketones in his blood at all, I would advise staying far away from Bexacat. My girl, Elsie, got diagnosed 10 days ago and we chose to try the Bexacat route and she is now in a critical state with the vet taking about the worst… I don’t even want to say it.

I’ve only given Elsie 3 insulin injections so far but they were very easy to do. Actually easier than it was to feed her the Bexacat pill in her food… if your cat is already a grazer, I don’t think you want to rely on him eating up all his medication each time. Bexacat also made my girl stop eating and I haven’t really been able to get her to eat still. I hope the best for Petey and really don’t want you guys to be where we are now.
 
I am SINCERELY sorry to hear about Elsie. It breaks my heart to hear about any parent having to discuss the "worst" I wasn't too thrilled about the meds besides insulin of course. I'm glad to hear you feel it's easier to administer. My boy is NOT used to me being all up in his business but I'll do what I have too. I will add you and Elsie to my prayers for sure! Thank you for your thoughts!
 
We appreciate it. My girl is very calm in general so that helps with the administration. And unfortunately at the moment she just doesn’t have the energy to care. Hopefully you will be able to find a way to administer insulin to Petey without too much hassle. Also, I just noticed that Petey and Elsie look very similar. How cute.
 
Yes they do! She really is beautiful. Please give her extra smooches for me. I know we just "met" but like I said it just breaks me to see babies not doing well especially when they have great moms :)
 
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