5/3 Comet AMPS 293: UTI and possible Kidney disease

[Hales + Comet]

We just got back from our vet for a checkup after moving. This was our first visit with her since Comet has had diabetes. We found out he has a UTI and possibly stage 2 renal disease as his kidney levels were high. The vet gave us some diabetes management dry food since comet won't stay out of the normal dry food ou other kitties eat. I'v read that even the DM food isnt the best option and I should avoid all dry food is that true? also, she didn't seem thrilled that I have him on FF but it has worked for us so far. I'm not sure she wanted us to switch completely to dry food or if it was just for when he tries to eat the normal food. His numbers have been elevated (which may be stress, the UTI, and the dry food) so we are going back up to 1U for now. All of this is so unexpected and sudden its overwhelming

 

[Wendy&Neko]

First off, dry food is bad for cats in general, but especially so for cats with diabetes and/or chronic kidney disease, it is also bad for kitties with cancer, as cancer likes carbs. Any chance of transitioning the other cats? It will be better for them too. Unfortunately the vet is also right about Fancy Feast, as it is rather high in phosphorus and cats with renal disease should stay away from high phosphorus diets. There are commercially available canned foods or raw that are both low carb and low phosphorus.

Rather than jumping all the way to 1 unit of Lantus, it would be safer to try a 0.75 unit dose. Cats are sensitive to very small changes in dose. In addition, I don’t see many mid cycle tests. It would have been better to do a curve before increasing.

Here is your last post here, for continuity http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...-197-moving-and-unpredictable-numbers.213829/

 

[Hales + Comet]

Unfortunately the vet is also right about Fancy Feast, as it is rather high in phosphorus and cats with renal disease should stay away from high phosphorus diets. There are commercially available canned foods or raw that are both low carb and low phosphorus.

Thank you that is good news I will do my best to keep him out of the dry food. We tried switching the upstairs feeder (Comet doesn't like to go downstairs) to the DM food in hopes that if Comet eats out of it he will be less impacted. Unfortunately, it isn't feasible to switch all cats to wet food or a timed feed diet. Also, since his numbers have been near 300 for about a week and he is pretty easily regulated the vet feels ok about jumping to 1U.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I'm in agreement with Wendy. Dry food is a poor option for any cat and this is especially the case for diabetic cats and cats with kidney issues. Hydration is critical for a cat with kidney issues and dry food has very limited moisture content. The ingredients of DM are also awful -- poultry by-products rather than muscle meat, gluten which many cats are allergic or sensitive to, and powdered cellulose which is another name for sawdust.

A jump to 1.0u is a big dose increase. The dosing methods we use both involve small, systematic increases so you don't go flying past what could be a good dose and inadvertently overdose your cat. Lantus dosing is based on the lowest number in the cycle -- the nadir -- and not on pre-shot numbers. Without knowing how low any of the doses were bringing Comet's numbers, you don't know if his mid-cycle was in blue or green numbers.

Aside from the dosing issue, did your vet put Comet on antibiotics for the UTI? If so, please monitor carefully. As the UTI clears, numbers could quickly drop back to what you were seeing previously. It's another reason I would urge caution with a large dose increase -- infection raises BG numbers. Comet's SS looks like one of a cat that has something medical going on.

 

[Hales + Comet]

Yes, Comet is on antibiotics so I will be monitoring him closely over the next few weeks also he already has a few vet appointments scheduled in advance to ensure everything is going smoothly. The vet felt that with the few numbers I got midday at the time Comet always has his lowest reading they were high enough to jump. Comet is luckily a fairly predictable cat and I'm around him enough to catch any hypo early so we are not too worried about a .5 Unit jump. But I will definitely keep a close eye on him and see what I can do about keeping him away from the dry food.