08/21 - Introducing myself: Alice & Bendrix

AliceCC

AliceCC

New Member
Hello,

My beautiful orange boy Bendrix (5 years old, neutered, house cat) has just been diagnosed with diabetes. He has no ketones in his urine so the vet has prescribed Senvelgo. The medicine will arrive next week and I am keen to get him started and measuring his urine, which I feel quite daunted by.

The vet has advised transitioning him to diabetic cat food but I'm reading that that might not be the best option and instead a low carb diet is preferable. I would appreciate any advice on this or links to any previous advice as I am sure there is plenty!

Thank you for having me as part of this community!
 
Hello and welcome. 5 years old is a bit young for a diabetes diagnosis, but not unheard of. Does Bendrix have any other medical conditions? Just trying to figure out how the diabetes was diagnosed. Was a fructosamine test done? What was his blood sugar level?

Make sure you read this post: New Treatments for Feline Diabetes for more information on Senvelgo and any possibly contraindications.

Not all "prescription diabetic" cat food is actually suitable for diabetics, or good quality ingredients. Can you tell me what country you are in? And what food he's eating now. That'll help us give you suggestions on food and testing equipment. For a cat on Senvelgo, a blood meter is actually a better choice for testing ketones. There are some that do test blood as well as ketones.
 
Hello,

Bendrix is otherwise healthy, a bit of an anxious cat generally though. He was drinking lots of water and weeing a lot, which is why I took him to the vet and they did the blood tests to check. I can ask the vet what his blood sugar level is.

We are based in the UK and his vet clinic are lovely. He currently gets a small portion of Lily's dry cat food in the morning and evening and about 1/3 of a tin of Lily's wet fish fillets at the same time. The vet has advised slowly moving him onto diabetic cat food.

About the testing, the vet has said "Once started it is very important that you check his urine every 1-2 days for the first 2 weeks for the presence of ketones. You will need to purchase urine dipsticks (+-collection kits) for this from us or online. He was negative for ketones when I checked his urine, but he can become positive during treatment and this can lead to him becoming very unwell, so it is very important to check regularly. In the future if Bendrix ever shows signs of illness his urine should be checked for ketones as soon as possible. Unfortuantely if he does develop ketonuria this would mean that Senvelgo is not suitable and we will have to re-discuss management."
 
Here is some information specifically for the UK that may be of help for you. The food lists tell you which are low carb. What we consider low carb is under 10% carbs. You change food slowly so as to not cause tummy upset.
The vet is right that you need to test regularly for ketones. More tips here: Tips to catch and test a urine sample Blood ketone testers are an option too, and they actually test for more types of ketones.
 
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