8/25/25-New to site & fostering geriatric kitty w/ diabetes

L

LiveLongAndProsper

New Member
Hello everyone! I'm so thankful to have found this board. I had a 16 yo kitty with diabetes some years ago and he did very well with 2x day insulin and lived a very healthy life until he sadly passed at 19. Now I am in a new town and volunteering as a foster at my local shelter. Before I fully unpacked, they called and said we have a litter of 4 kittens with no mom and they are 5 weeks old. Of course I dropped everything and picked them up. They are doing very well and growing like little weedy terrorists, lol (at least to look at my multi-punctured legs ;-)

Long story short, one of the shelter staff said she was super concerned about a geriatric boy (17 yo) who had been declining for a month, losing significant weight, and the manager dragged her heels on getting him seen by the vet. He had finally been diagnosed with diabetes on a Thursday, but 4 days later, still no Rx or insulin. I said let me take him home for some TLC and let's push for that script and get him started on insulin! Omg, he was/is just emaciated. I was heartbroken. They sent me home with dry kibble and Friskies shreds in GRAVY. I was so blown away, I went and immediately got some Fancy Feast chicken and got him to eat a little every hour or so of warmed up paté with water. I won't go into some of the more egregious things the manager had to say as it will just make everyone as angry and frustrated as I was.

The one staff and I tag-teamed her to get the stinking Rx so we could get him his insulin! It tool OVER A WEEK. Finally on Friday, I gave him his first dose. He seems brighter, more comfortable, and eating better about 6 times per day. My 13 year old sturdy tuxedo has been a rock star, I have to say. First the kittens and now someone else in his territory getting yummy smelly noms when he is on a strict z/d hydrolyzed protein diet due to being allergic to...protein, yeah. Well at least Royal Canin makes a hydrolyzed protein treat that he can have. :-)

Other than introducing this crazy cat house, I was curious about a case of Science Diet k/d canned tuna/veg that the shelter gave me. I don't have a vet-specified carb % to keep him under, I am just going by the seat of my pants here. I saw a post that that k/d has a higher dry matter carb amount (still learning about all this). What say you? Is this something I should pass on to someone else and stick with the FF for now? Thank you!
 
About the K/D food the shelter gave you

Hi , I just looked on the Chewy site where people ask questions and found this

What is the carb% in this food on a dry matter basis?​

Answer by • Apr 30, 2024
This formula contains approximately 37.5% Carbohydrates on a dry matter basis.


It's too high in carbs I would stay with the Fancy Feast, you can even try Friskies
We like to feed 10% carbs and under
Most feed 6% and under
Here is our food chart


https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-

Does he have kidney disease , only asking because of the K/D food they want to give you

If you would like to set up your signature

Here is the information we need for your signature
Just click on your name up top and then tap signature and add this information. It's at the end of everyone's post in gray letters
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Bexacat or Senvelgo (if applicable) and dates
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.





Here is the link to set up our spreadsheet, where you can track your cats BG numbers, it also explains how to use it. You can look at anyone's spreadsheet to see what it looks like
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

Thank you for taking the 4 kittens and especially the diabetic kitty. 😊
 
Last edited:
Diane Tyler's Mom GA said:
About the K/D food the shelter gave you

Hi , I just looked on the Chewy site where people ask questions and found this

What is the carb% in this food on a dry matter basis?​

Answer by • Apr 30, 2024
This formula contains approximately 37.5% Carbohydrates on a dry matter basis.


It's too high in carbs I would stay with the Fancy Feast, you can even try Friskies
We like to feed 10% carbs and under
Most feed 6% and under
Here is our food chart


https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-

Does he have kidney disease , only asking because of the K/D food they want to give you

If you would like to set up your signature

Here is the information we need for your signature
Just click on your name up top and then tap signature and add this information. It's at the end of everyone's post in gray letters
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Bexacat or Senvelgo (if applicable) and dates
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.





Here is the link to set up our spreadsheet, where you can track your cats BG numbers, it also explains how to use it. You can look at anyone's spreadsheet to see what it looks like
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

Thank you for taking the 4 kittens and especially the diabetic kitty. 😊
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information and letting me know about the signature. I will read all of this carefully and be able to add most of this info, I hope. I appreciate the % generally used. When I had my kitty years ago, I think he was just on straight m/d so I didn't learn this. The vet also never told me about doing glucose readings or followed up about this. Having Type II diabetes myself now, it all makes more sense to me.

As far as I know, he doesn't have kidney disease, *however* I have not seen his medical record or been able to talk to the vet, which I feel is needed. They assumed that because I was fostering him, he was "adopted." Kinda messed up chaotic place, imo. The fact that he is a cat and 17 means there is a good chance he has some renal deterioration, which is one reason I was so incensed about the delay in dx and tx for him as the kidneys are SO sensitive to damage from too much glucose in those tiny vessels. Thanks again! More to come as I find out more from the shelter this week...if they cooperate. 🤨
 
If kidney disease is present, there is a list of kidney and diabetes friendly foods here: CKD food Chart Fancy Feast tends to be higher in phosphorus so not the best choice if kidneys are a concern.

Thank you so much for stepping in and helping this old man cat.

On an unrelated note, there are more brands of hydrolyzed food out there now. I am feeding a Farmina HP Derma food to my IBD kitty.
 
If he does have kidney disease you can feed these
You might want to try Weruva Pates
low carb/ low phosphorus
if you tap on this link and look at post #32 I listed some Weruva pates for another member that's low carb/ low phosphorus with kitties with CKD and diabetes
New member 11/8 and I am tired

You want the metabolizable energy profile percentage of carbs to be less than 10%, and the phosphorus which Weruva lists in Minerals to be less than 250 mg per 100 cals. So you have to look at two different places in the Weruva charts. This is where I was told where to look by a member


You can even check out the soulistic pates
PÂTÉ — Soulistic Pet
When you click in one of the flavors then click on
COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (link to page)
and look at the same two places like on the weruva
@LiveLongAndProsper
 
Wendy&Neko said:
If kidney disease is present, there is a list of kidney and diabetes friendly foods here: CKD food ChartFancy Feast tends to be higher in phosphorus so not the best choice if kidneys are a concern.

Thank you so much for stepping in and helping this old man cat.

On an unrelated note, there are more brands of hydrolyzed food out there now. I am feeding a Farmina HP Derma food to my IBD kitty.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much, Wendy&Niko! I'll check out the Farmina HP Derma. Nice to see another alternative!

I will get hold of the vet records to see about any available kidney issues, even if I have to go around the shelter mgr, which I don't want to do, but really. Sometimes I despise people, just sayin.
 
Diane Tyler's Mom GA said:
If he does have kidney disease you can feed these
You might want to try Weruva Pates
low carb/ low phosphorus
if you tap on this link and look at post #32 I listed some Weruva pates for another member that's low carb/ low phosphorus with kitties with CKD and diabetes
New member 11/8 and I am tired

You want the metabolizable energy profile percentage of carbs to be less than 10%, and the phosphorus which Weruva lists in Minerals to be less than 250 mg per 100 cals. So you have to look at two different places in the Weruva charts. This is where I was told where to look by a member


You can even check out the soulistic pates
PÂTÉ — Soulistic Pet
When you click in one of the flavors then click on
COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (link to page)
and look at the same two places like on the weruva
@LiveLongAndProsper
Click to expand...
Oh, thank you, @Diane Tyler's Mom GA !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top