Another one Diagnosed

[Luchipboo]

I recently had my 2nd cat diagnosed with Diabetes. I am now juggling 2 with different dosages and needs.

What I am finding most difficult is the numbers. It seems like it is a game. My tabby "Toby" was diagnosed in 2005 and has only had 1 severe hypo incident. Starting seizing, lost vision and went stiff jointed. He tested at 23 that day. Last night he had a mild one. I was able to get it under control, but it was a long night battling vomiting, biting, licking.

Since my other cat was diagnosed about 2 weeks ago, it is a daily fight with the numbers. They bounce from hi to low and now I am panicking all the time and testing them constantly. I am afraid to leave them for extended periods of time, but my job sometimes involves 12 hour shifts.

My cats are 15 & 16. They are hanging on tough, but I am not. I don't sleep well and often wake up as soon as I "sense" them moving.
I read the post "a message from the cat" and that I think put things in perspective for me....at least for now.

I noticed that many people use Fancy Feast food. I will admit that I give them whatever they will eat. They will like something for a few days, then snub their nose at it the next. I am at the point that I want them to be happy near the end.

I sought out support because I am just trying to wrap my head around the commitment of all of this once again. The newly diagnosed kitty "Prancina" also has a spinal issue in which she often has to get injections in her back or she will be unable to walk at all. She goes limp like a cartoon animal trying to walk on ice.
(These injections are most likely what caused the diabetes).
Tonight I see that she is wobbly again and am just heartbroken that I am not sure what the treatment for this will now be.

She has got a great attitude. I've always said she's a rubber, not a fighter. She will rub & give you loving as long as you want it.

I will keep reading posts.

Thank you.

 

[Grayson & Lu]

You hit the nail on the head - it is a numbers game - and it can be kinda crazy until you both (all) settle into it. The "Message from the Cat" was right on the money for me. I was (and still am, to some extent), OCD about testing, ketone testing,and checking litter boxes, behaviors, is he breathing, is he eating too much, too little??? You understand!

You've got a lot on your plate if you have two sugar babies, and it will be challenging at times. The advise I kept getting was "it's a marathon, not a sprint". It takes time to be able to "have it all together", and then when you get there, one (or both) will throw you a curve. BREATHE! Read as much as you can over a period of time... don't overload yourself. Take care of yourself too - if you're not eating regular meals and keeping up w/ your needs, you won't be as able to help them. Skip a few meals and you'll know what I"m talking about!

I'd like to say it will get better. For me, after 2.5 months, it has... but there've been some bumps in the road too. Gotta take it one day at a time. And allow yourself to do something away from them every once in a while.

Ask questions, go to the respective insulin forum, and gleen all you can off of other peoples posts, as time permits. Learn from others' successes - and learn from their mistakes!

Good luck with your babies - and DO take some time to care for yourself.

Lu-Ann

 

[ohbell]

Sounds like alot you have to deal with right now.
Do you think you could set up spreadsheets for your babies? Then as you are reading others posts and learning, others are reading and learning about your babies as well.
What you feed?
What insulin you are using?
What amounts?
Good luck and hopefully, with your testing at home, right? sounds as though you are, you will be able to get this under control and be able to enjoy both your babies knowing they are doing good.
You have found the best place to be for advice, support and paw hugs!
Keep posting, reading and asking questions. ;-)

 

[nwnews]

Hey there - sorry to hear you have so much going on right now. Food with older cats is always a challenge - however - check out Janet and Binkys food chart - there are lots of options 10% Carbs or less: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html.
Food can cause blood glucose numbers to be crazy so being consistant with carb content may definitely make a difference. Jan

 

[BJM]

The bounce from high to low and back could be due to different carb levels in the foods - you can have variety, but keep the carb levels the same.

The bouncing may be due to too high of an insulin level too. Did you start with a small amount such as 0.5 units or 1 unit? If not, back up and start over, keeping records. Sudden drops in glucose levels in a cat which is unused to it may jolt the liver into a compensatory response where it releases glucose to bring the level back up. Each cat is different ("ECID").

 

[Jenn & Baxter]

Hello & welcome to FDMB. I am so sorry about your cat being DX. It's no cake walk even for one. So having 2 DX with FD I'm sure it's no stroll in the park. My heart goes out to you. When things get rough for me I always think of this....God won't give me anything I can't handle. Now sometimes it hard for me to remember that. When Baxter was DX I swear I didn't leave my house for a month. I was so scared something would happen while I was gone. I lost so much sleep. I would get up in the middle of the night to check on him. With time things seem to get better.

Ok so you are obviously home testing which is good. The diet is important which I'm sure you might already being you already have one diabetic. I saw where a memebeTr Included the list of low carb foods. I hope you will find something on there both will eat & is less the 10% carbs. Many members feed Fancy Feast which is extremely low carb.

Prancina walking wobbly could be two things. Her preexisting condition & also neuropathy which is caused by diabetes. Have you had complete blood work done to check vitamin levels? Have you tried Methyl B-12?

Keep your head up things get better with time.
Jenn & Baxter

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Hi,

What insulin are you using?
What sort of numbers have you been seeing at shot time?
What dose(s) are they each currently getting?

You mentioned that Prancina has a spinal condition and that she needs shots for that. Are those steroid shots? What's the condition and the meds she gets?

We'd love to help! Throw some numbers at us and we can try to do that.

Carl

 

[Luchipboo]

Thank you all for the support. I has been a couple of days & I just am having time to getting around to read them all. I was so surprised. What is most comforting to know is that I may be crazy, but I am not alone. I am a little afraid that this whole ordeal is taking a toll on my relationship with my boyfriend. Maybe telling him that I am not unique in the obsessive worry.

Anyway, the numbers, info:

Toby, He will be 15 on April 1st. (Should've known he'd be trouble) He was diagnosed in April of 2005. He has been on 3 kinds of insulin, but for the last few years it has been lantus. I usually do about 2-3 units 2x's per day depending.
Toby is a typical extremely loveable orange tabby.

Prancina will be 16 in May. She was diagnosed on March 13th of this year. The Spinal condition she has is somewhat of a mystery. Not exactly sure what it is, but a few times during her life, all of the sudden she can not use her legs. She has traveled to the University of Pennsylvania for testing & has gotten Dexamethasone injections.
She is also on lantus,but smaller doses. Prancina is a tuxedo cat with a belly that hangs down because of a hernia she has had for years but doesn't bother her one little bit.
She is a trooper and very rarely seems bummed out.

Because of their age, I feed them whatever they will eat. Recently, their tastes have changed & I have wasted so much money on food they don't like.
I may start looking into fancy feast, but I find it a little too expensive even with coupons.
With that being said, for some reason I never made the connection with the food and numbers (seems silly to me now). I will have to try some to see if that helps.

I also have and all black 12 year old female: ANNABELLE. My BF calls her GK - for good kitty because she isn't always causing drama. LOL.

Once again thank you for your support. I laugh and cry while reading all the posts.

One last thing: Does anyone have trouble with litter box usage? Prancina doesn't like to do no. 2 in the box. I have tried all the tricks I know.

THANKS AGAIN!

 

[Grayson & Lu]

What is most comforting to know is that I may be crazy, but I am not alone....
...for some reason I never made the connection with the food and numbers...
... Prancina doesn't like to do no. 2 in the box.

Of course you're crazy - we all are! If you ask my friends, I'm ready for the funny farm - but then they'd have to take care of my babies, so they'd rather just nod and smile when I tell my stories. :lol: It did help, however, when a friend from this board had dinner w/ me & my worried friends. When she commented that her cat went to a business dinner and got tested & shot in the restaruant parking lot after she slipped out from dinner, I think I looked a little more normal! :lol:

Toby, Prancina and Annabelle sound like a wonderful trio! I've got all three varieties covered in my household, and they have such unique personalities!

RE: pooping in the box - My first cat didn't get the geometry of her box, and usually hung her butt over the edge. A friend's cat currently does the same, and she puts newspaper under the box to catch it. It may be something like that, it may be behavioral, or it may be a sign of something going on. Any other changes that you've noted? Have you tried a box w/ a cover? Because I have dogs who think there are snacks in litter boxes, I use Rubbermaid tubs for litter. And my neighbor does something similar, but keeps the lid on top w/ a hole cut in it. He told me that the kitties hop up on the top, then "cover" - pushing any tracked litter back into the tub! Hows that for training a cat to clean their own bathroom!

Okay - here's my contribution. I started tracking what food and how much and when he eats it on Grayson's spreadsheet. Now I can see that he gets a 30 pt spike from this food, and it lingers 3 hours, while that food doesn't spike him at all, etc, etc. When changing food, I used to have the philosophy "For spoiled cats, when they get hungry enough, they'll eat whatever you give them." Okay, so now that there's one that has food NEEDS for his health, you can't just accept that and let them not eat. My guys prefer food that is room temp - not refrigerated. So I put a little plastic lid on the can and leave it out - usually just a couple of hours. Some people microwave theirs. Others use a little packet of FortiFlora to help encourage the cat to eat the food. I've found some of the flavors don't agree w/ my guys. The multi pack of FF Classics has beef - which Grayson throws up. Fortunately, I can put a can on a plate, spread it around, and put it for everyone else - and it's fine. I've stuck w/ FF Chicken, FF Turkey & Giblets and just picked up some FF Chicken & Liver. At PetSmart or Walmart, you can buy the 12 or 24 packs... which come to about $.54 or so each. There are Friskies and other varieties on Janet & Binky's food chart that will be more economical. I would just try to stay in the 3-5 carbs. FF Ocean Whitefish, and I assume the other seafood classics but not sure, have 0 carbs. I use them as a treat or when I'm trying to run a curve and don't want food spikes to cloud his numbers. But not too much seafood, I've been told. (Tell that to the wharf cats, right?)

Hopefully this helps some. Keep us tuned in to your findings.

Lu-Ann