Hello all!
I am new to the forum, but my cat, Rosie, has been battling diabetes since 2017. I have recently taken over her care and I wanted some advice on how I can improve her symptoms. This has been a long journey so I will try to be as brief as possible while also providing the most information as possible.
At the time of her initial diagnosis, I was in college and my mom was taking care of her. After her initial diagnosis, she was fed Purina DM dry and given 2U of Novolin N NPH insulin every 12 hours. After starting this treatment, she was stable and remained at a normal weight for 3 years. In August 2020, I stayed at my mom's house and took care of her while she was out of town. While there, I noticed her diabetes was not well controlled. I work as an EMT, so I know the signs all too well. Turns out my mom accidentally let the insulin expire, and after making sure she kept track of when to buy new insulin I assumed Rosie would improve.
Long story short, she did not, and by November 2020, my mom was no longer able to take care of her, so we moved her to my apartment so I could take care of her myself. After doing some research, I bought the iPet Pro glucometer and I switched her to the Fancy Feast Classic Pate Tender Liver and Chicken Feast (w/ 1 tbsp of Purina DM dry on top because she was a dry food addict it helps her to eat). I completely restarted her insulin at 0.5U, making sure to perform glucose curves often and increasing her insulin very carefully. After a few weeks, after increasing to 2U of insulin, her nadir was around 100 so I was satisfied. For the next few months, all of her clinical signs except for her weight improved. I was hoping that the diet change would put some weight on her, but it didn't.
Fast-forward to a few weeks ago. I took her to the vet for a checkup that was long overdue and explained the changes I had made and that I was concerned about her weight. Full CBC and urinalysis were performed just in case, and it all came back clear. The fructosamine indicated "fair" control of her sugars, so I was told to maintain the dosage. In an attempt to help her gain weight, I was told to increase the amount of food at meal time and to let her eat for 60 minutes and then give insulin around 30 minutes after the initial feeding time (I was previously told to only let her eat for 30 min). She was eating well until last Friday, when she started vomiting. She vomited 6x in a 12 hour period. She ate half of her food in the morning, and my bf gave her the normal insulin dosage. She ate half again at the evening meal and again I gave the normal dose. After vomiting, her BG was 54, so I gave her small meals and continued to check until it increased to 134. A few hours later, I checked it again after she vomited again, and it was 422. She would not eat her morning meal so I took her to the vet and she was admitted. They gave her fluids, anti-nausea medication, and tried to get her glucose under control.
I will be picking her up tonight and I wanted to ask some advice about what they told me. My biggest concern is what they suggested about food. They said they were feeding her the Hill's w/d diet and that she was tolerating it well, so they suggested I begin feeding her that. But I have read on here that the food is nearly 25% carbs, which is way higher than the 10% threshold I had read about. They also said they were able to regulate her BG a little better, but that it was "jumping around", with a nadir of around 100 and then a few hours later jumping to 4 or 500. They suggested I do a home glucose curve in a few days and send it to them to make sure the high levels weren't a result of stress. My question is, should I feed her the Hill's w/d like they suggested, or should I keep feeding her the Fancy Feast Classic Pate? I would rather not spend the money on prescription food, but I also really want her to gain weight because she is only 5.3 lbs right now...
Thank you so much!
TLDR: My 15 yo diabetic cat was admitted to the vet over the weekend because she was vomiting and not eating. I have been feeding her the Fancy Feast Classic Pate Tender Liver and Chicken Feast (w/ 1 tbsp of Purina DM dry on top because she was a dry food addict it helps her to eat) and giving 2U of Novolin N NPH insulin every 12 hours. I will be picking her up today and I wanted advice about their suggestion that I switch her food to Hill's w/d, which people say on here is high in carbs. She is currently really skinny (only 5.3 lbs) but the last fructosamine (2 weeks ago) revealed "fair" control of her diabetes. Should I listen to their suggestion, because they may know better about what food will help her gain weight, or should I continue with the Fancy Feast, perform a glucose curve and see for myself if that food works fine? Thanks!
I am new to the forum, but my cat, Rosie, has been battling diabetes since 2017. I have recently taken over her care and I wanted some advice on how I can improve her symptoms. This has been a long journey so I will try to be as brief as possible while also providing the most information as possible.
At the time of her initial diagnosis, I was in college and my mom was taking care of her. After her initial diagnosis, she was fed Purina DM dry and given 2U of Novolin N NPH insulin every 12 hours. After starting this treatment, she was stable and remained at a normal weight for 3 years. In August 2020, I stayed at my mom's house and took care of her while she was out of town. While there, I noticed her diabetes was not well controlled. I work as an EMT, so I know the signs all too well. Turns out my mom accidentally let the insulin expire, and after making sure she kept track of when to buy new insulin I assumed Rosie would improve.
Long story short, she did not, and by November 2020, my mom was no longer able to take care of her, so we moved her to my apartment so I could take care of her myself. After doing some research, I bought the iPet Pro glucometer and I switched her to the Fancy Feast Classic Pate Tender Liver and Chicken Feast (w/ 1 tbsp of Purina DM dry on top because she was a dry food addict it helps her to eat). I completely restarted her insulin at 0.5U, making sure to perform glucose curves often and increasing her insulin very carefully. After a few weeks, after increasing to 2U of insulin, her nadir was around 100 so I was satisfied. For the next few months, all of her clinical signs except for her weight improved. I was hoping that the diet change would put some weight on her, but it didn't.
Fast-forward to a few weeks ago. I took her to the vet for a checkup that was long overdue and explained the changes I had made and that I was concerned about her weight. Full CBC and urinalysis were performed just in case, and it all came back clear. The fructosamine indicated "fair" control of her sugars, so I was told to maintain the dosage. In an attempt to help her gain weight, I was told to increase the amount of food at meal time and to let her eat for 60 minutes and then give insulin around 30 minutes after the initial feeding time (I was previously told to only let her eat for 30 min). She was eating well until last Friday, when she started vomiting. She vomited 6x in a 12 hour period. She ate half of her food in the morning, and my bf gave her the normal insulin dosage. She ate half again at the evening meal and again I gave the normal dose. After vomiting, her BG was 54, so I gave her small meals and continued to check until it increased to 134. A few hours later, I checked it again after she vomited again, and it was 422. She would not eat her morning meal so I took her to the vet and she was admitted. They gave her fluids, anti-nausea medication, and tried to get her glucose under control.
I will be picking her up tonight and I wanted to ask some advice about what they told me. My biggest concern is what they suggested about food. They said they were feeding her the Hill's w/d diet and that she was tolerating it well, so they suggested I begin feeding her that. But I have read on here that the food is nearly 25% carbs, which is way higher than the 10% threshold I had read about. They also said they were able to regulate her BG a little better, but that it was "jumping around", with a nadir of around 100 and then a few hours later jumping to 4 or 500. They suggested I do a home glucose curve in a few days and send it to them to make sure the high levels weren't a result of stress. My question is, should I feed her the Hill's w/d like they suggested, or should I keep feeding her the Fancy Feast Classic Pate? I would rather not spend the money on prescription food, but I also really want her to gain weight because she is only 5.3 lbs right now...
Thank you so much!
TLDR: My 15 yo diabetic cat was admitted to the vet over the weekend because she was vomiting and not eating. I have been feeding her the Fancy Feast Classic Pate Tender Liver and Chicken Feast (w/ 1 tbsp of Purina DM dry on top because she was a dry food addict it helps her to eat) and giving 2U of Novolin N NPH insulin every 12 hours. I will be picking her up today and I wanted advice about their suggestion that I switch her food to Hill's w/d, which people say on here is high in carbs. She is currently really skinny (only 5.3 lbs) but the last fructosamine (2 weeks ago) revealed "fair" control of her diabetes. Should I listen to their suggestion, because they may know better about what food will help her gain weight, or should I continue with the Fancy Feast, perform a glucose curve and see for myself if that food works fine? Thanks!
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