Newly Diagnosed

[DebbieM]

I have a 20 year old cat the was recently diagnosed with Diabetes, otherwise still very healthy. He has been on 2 units of insulin twice a day for about 12 days.

Today he is constipated. He has produced two very small amounts, but he is also throwing up and, of course, it is Saturday and the vet is closed.

Wondering if I should not give him his insulin tonight. The vet did say that if he did not eat to cut it to 1 unit. But he has been eating fine and drinking.

A bit more information, Bud, was a feral cat, born in Florida, feral until about seven years ago when we moved to SC. He is finely domesticated enough to be able to handle.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

Hi and welcome to the FDMB! I'm sorry to hear your boy is constipated today and vomiting some.

I always did my best not to skip giving insulin if at all possible, but sometimes you have to. A reduced dose is often better than a skip, but ultimately it's your decision, and your cat.

Did the vet mention ketones? It can be a good idea to test for ketones, especially if a shot was skipped. Some people use ketostix and dip them in a urine spot in the litter box. It can help you keep an eye on the ketones and take action if they trend upward. When a diabetic kitty doesn't get enough insulin, food, and water then can develop too high a ketone level and it becomes toxic and dangerous.

How much are you feeding, what kind of food (canned/dry/what brands) and how often? Low-carb canned food is best for a diabetic kitty. We eliminated all the dry food when my boy Hendrick got diabetes.

A tracking spreadsheet for the insulin dosing can be really helpful, consider setting one up and tracking the insulin doses, highly recommended.

-Kyle

 

[CORKY]

Hi and welcome to the FDMB! I'm sorry to hear your boy is constipated today and vomiting some.

I always did my best not to skip giving insulin if at all possible, but sometimes you have to. A reduced dose is often better than a skip, but ultimately it's your decision, and your cat.

Did the vet mention ketones? It can be a good idea to test for ketones, especially if a shot was skipped. Some people use ketostix and dip them in a urine spot in the litter box. It can help you keep an eye on the ketones and take action if they trend upward. When a diabetic kitty doesn't get enough insulin, food, and water then can develop too high a ketone level and it becomes toxic and dangerous.

How much are you feeding, what kind of food (canned/dry/what brands) and how often? Low-carb canned food is best for a diabetic kitty. We eliminated all the dry food when my boy Hendrick got diabetes.

A tracking spreadsheet for the insulin dosing can be really helpful, consider setting one up and tracking the insulin doses, highly recommended.

-Kyle

@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB.

It would be helpful to know if you made a diet change with your kitty. If you switched to a low carb diet, there's a chance that if you did this quickly, it may account for the constipation. One easy option is to add water to your cat's food. Also, a bit of oil or butter may help. (Just don't overdo the oil or you can end up with the opposite problem!) The vomiting can be related to the constipation if your cat is straining in the litter box. Another explanation may be related to any diet change. This may be particularly the case if your vet suggested feeding your cat prescription food included dry food -- especially if your cat wasn't eating dry food previously.

Which insulin are you using? Quite honestly, unless you have a very large cat, 2.0u is a large starting dose. Are you home testing? Getting blood glucose readings at home is the best way to ensure your cat is in safe numbers.