Are these normal symptoms?

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unclebobby

unclebobby

Member Since 2017
Hi,

Our cat Petey was diagnosed with diabetes last week. We initially brought him to the vet because he appeared to be experiencing discomfort in his mouth. The vet said he needed a few teeth pulled and took a blood test to check for any underlying issues... we then learned about the diabetes.
He only appears to be going downhill. His coat looks awful, he stares off in the distance, his legs seem week, his eyes are teary, etc. Are these normal symptoms? Is his body shutting down?
We have been giving Petey 1 unit of Lantus in the morning and evening. He weighs 17 lbs. (he was 19 lbs last year). I am wondering if the vet will recommend an increase because the current dosage doesn't seem to be helping. We haven't home tested yet but maybe we'll start.
I hope we don't have to put him down! :(
Thanks for any thoughts/feedback!
 
Please start home testing ASAP. You could be giving him insulin when he doesn't need it and causing his sugar to drop to low which is very very dangerous and can be deadly! I'm so if I sound harsh but that is exactly what can happen.
Is he drinking a lot more water, peeing more and seems hungry all the time ? What kind of food are you feeding?

The symptoms that he is having is NOT normal.
 
He seems to always be hungry. He drinks and pees fairly often. We are feeding him fancy feast classic. 1/2 can in the morning and 1/2 can at night.
We have a vet appt tomorrow.
 
unclebobby said:
He seems to always be hungry. He drinks and pees fairly often. We are feeding him fancy feast classic. 1/2 can in the morning and 1/2 can at night.
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These are normal symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes....without insulin, they can't get the nutrients out of their food and they eat more and more to try to compensate. They drink lots more water because they are trying to "dilute" the excess glucose out of their bloodstream...and they pee more because of all the extra water they drink!

Think of insulin like it's a "key"....and on every cell of the body there's a "lock"...without the correct number of keys, the glucose can't get in to nourish the cells and the glucose just builds up in the bloodstream.
 
unclebobby said:
He seems to always be hungry. He drinks and pees fairly often. We are feeding him fancy feast classic. 1/2 can in the morning and 1/2 can at night.
We have a vet appt tomorrow.
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I don't think that's enough calories for a 17-lb cat. He should be eating about 300 calories a day; one 3 oz can of Fancy Feast is only around 90-100 calories. He should be eating at least three cans a day, more if he's underweight, or still hungry.
 
unclebobby said:
Is there any harm in giving him extra wet food if he is still hungry?
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No...actually the idea of "only twice a day feedings" is considered old school now

It's actually easier on the pancreas to deal with multiple small meals over the day than 2 big ones

Until he's better controlled, he'll need more food .....as his numbers get better, his appetite will reduce on its own (usually)

Once you're testing, you'll want to take food up for 2 hours before shot times so you can get a test that's not influenced by food, but other than that, feed him!

Is he getting any dry food? If he is, you'll want to gradually get rid of it...it's all high carb and bad for our sugarcats BUT you don't want to reduce the carbs while you're giving insulin if you're not testing yet! Dropping the carbs can drastically reduce the amount of insulin they need
 
Thanks for all of the feedback. Yes, we have dry food out because of our other cat. Petey doesn't really eat much of the dry food anyway, at least not while we're watching.
He has also had a lot of diarrhea over the past few days. I'm not sure what's causing that.
 
unclebobby said:
Yes, we have dry food out because of our other cat. Petey doesn't really eat much of the dry food anyway, at least not while we're watching.
He has also had a lot of diarrhea over the past few days. I'm not sure what's causing that.
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You'd be surprised how sneaky these kitties can be!! If there's any way possible, I'd just switch your other cat to low carb canned too....I have 3 so when China was diagnosed, not only did I learn how bad dry was for ANY cat, I also had to keep her out of it so I got rid of all the dry and switched everyone over to low carb canned.....My other 2 lost weight (they needed to lose!!) and their coats have never looked better!! We have seen cats here that ate just a few piece of kibble and it sent their blood glucose up 200 points!

There's lots of great information on Dr. Lisa's website on Feeding Your Cat

It doesn't have to cost a lot either....Friskies pates and 9-Lives ground foods are inexpensive and fine for everybody....and if Petey gets into the other cats bowl, it won't matter!!

You have to transition very slowly or you can cause tummy troubles and diarrhea.....no more than 25% of the new food mixed with 75% of the old....if they do OK on that, then you go to 50/50

It's also possible that Petey is sensitive to the protein source in the new food or one of the other ingredients....some cats are very sensitive to gluten's and they're in a lot of cat foods
 
Pick up the dry food... It's like leaving donuts out. Give him a can in the morning, half a can mid day, a can at dinnertime, and another half can before you go to bed. Diabetic cats need to eat more then non diabetic cats because their bodies can't utilize the nutrients properly so they are literally starving. 1 can of fancy feast is not enough.


If he's still hungry leave a whole can put for him at night. For a big guy like that 4 cans a day is not excessive.
 
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unclebobby said:
Thanks everyone. I've been feeding Petey more canned food and he seems a little more himself. Taking him to the vet later today and will likely start the home testing. Hopefully we get the hang of it!
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I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC. There's a learning curve but after a week or two it's much easier.
 
Thank you, JanetNJ! Went to vet today and his numbers were still in the 400s. She recommended we go up from 1 to 2 units. When I asked about home testing she said that would be a good thing to do, but not yet. I'm supposed to bring Petey back in next week to see how his numbers are doing. Does that sound kosher?
 
unclebobby said:
Thank you, JanetNJ! Went to vet today and his numbers were still in the 400s. She recommended we go up from 1 to 2 units. When I asked about home testing she said that would be a good thing to do, but not yet. I'm supposed to bring Petey back in next week to see how his numbers are doing. Does that sound kosher?
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I'd start a BG testing routine at home now, even if you opt to take him to the vet next week. You need baseline data on how he's doing with the 1 u dose and sufficient low carb wet food (no dry!). His present dose might be OK and, if not, his good dose could be between 1 and 2 units twice a day. You'd miss that completely if the vet bumps him up by a full unit - a 100% increase by the way!
 
unclebobby said:
Thank you, JanetNJ! Went to vet today and his numbers were still in the 400s. She recommended we go up from 1 to 2 units. When I asked about home testing she said that would be a good thing to do, but not yet. I'm supposed to bring Petey back in next week to see how his numbers are doing. Does that sound kosher?
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I would get a meter in the next couple of days.... Go to 1.5 and test, and if it's still not enough go to 2.
 
unclebobby said:
Thank you, JanetNJ! Went to vet today and his numbers were still in the 400s. She recommended we go up from 1 to 2 units. When I asked about home testing she said that would be a good thing to do, but not yet. I'm supposed to bring Petey back in next week to see how his numbers are doing. Does that sound kosher?
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How long after the shot was that 400?
 
Sorry, Janet! I just noticed your question from Monday. The BG reading was done at the vet approx 5 after his shot. I just did my first home test this morning at 10am. He was 401. Gave him the shot at 8am this morning.
 
unclebobby said:
Sorry, Janet! I just noticed your question from Monday. The BG reading was done at the vet approx 5 after his shot. I just did my first home test this morning at 10am. He was 401. Gave him the shot at 8am this morning.
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Congratulations on your first home test! Test 5 hours after shot to see how low is heading
 
Thanks! I don't know if I pricked him too hard because he flinched and definitely felt it! A little more blood came out then I saw in your video but not too much. Luckily he is such a calm, mellow cat that he just stayed there for me. Is 5 hours about when you would expect it lowest? I guess it's different for every animal but how should the curve work? (He's on 2 units of Lantus)
 
unclebobby said:
Thanks! I don't know if I pricked him too hard because he flinched and definitely felt it! A little more blood came out then I saw in your video but not too much. Luckily he is such a calm, mellow cat that he just stayed there for me. Is 5 hours about when you would expect it lowest? I guess it's different for every animal but how should the curve work? (He's on 2 units of Lantus)
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Well with lantus it's usually a little later nadir, but at 5 it will let you know how the cycle is going. Getting a 5 and a 7 would be great if you're around.

I also wanted to say when I had a 17 lb cat he ate about 4 cans a day and wasn't diabetic... Sometimes diabetic cats even need more than a non diabetic until they are regulated.
 
unclebobby said:
Thanks! I don't know if I pricked him too hard because he flinched and definitely felt it! A little more blood came out then I saw in your video but not too much. Luckily he is such a calm, mellow cat that he just stayed there for me. Is 5 hours about when you would expect it lowest? I guess it's different for every animal but how should the curve work? (He's on 2 units of Lantus)
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Maybe you hit the vein. It bleeds more and they feel it more. You wanna aim for the sweet spot.
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Janet... I notice you feed your cat Young Again Zero Carb. Are you pleased with it? We have 2 cats and they are alone for a good chunk of the day and we are trying to figure out those times when we are away for a night.
 
unclebobby said:
Janet... I notice you feed your cat Young Again Zero Carb. Are you pleased with it? We have 2 cats and they are alone for a good chunk of the day and we are trying to figure out those times when we are away for a night.
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Yes... My diabetic cat likes it. One of my cats, Julie, can't eat it because it gives her diarrhea for days if she does. (I think she has ibd). You can write and ask for a free sample. Dr. Elsley's also sends free samples.
 
How is everything going ? I have 2 cats ( they are brothers) one is diabetic. I let my cats free feed, I do pick up the food two hours before I do his morning test and his night test. Both mine are big boys, everyone always comments on how long and big they are to be just domestic cats ( meaning not Maine Coons)
 
Going okay. Your cats sound a lot like ours. They are brothers and on the bigger side. Believe or not the one that doesn't have diabetes is more overweight than the one who does. We're working on that... Petey (the diabetic one) always tested in the mid to high 4oo's at the vet. I began home testing yesterday. Petey was 430 yesterday morning right before I fed him and he was 355 six hours later. Today my plan was to push everything up 2 hours because I need to leave early this evening and no one will be home tonight through tomorrow midday. I figured I'll feed/do insulin at 6am and 6pm so he only misses one dose, tomorrow morning. Anyways, I was surprised just now when he tested at 311. I was hesitant to give him the 2 units because I didn't expect him to be so low but I went ahead and gave him the 2 units. I think he is still high enough that he won't go too low. (I hope!) I'll test him in a few hours and see where he's at... thanks for asking!
 
unclebobby said:
Going okay. Your cats sound a lot like ours. They are brothers and on the bigger side. Believe or not the one that doesn't have diabetes is more overweight than the one who does. We're working on that... Petey (the diabetic one) always tested in the mid to high 4oo's at the vet. I began home testing yesterday. Petey was 430 yesterday morning right before I fed him and he was 355 six hours later. Today my plan was to push everything up 2 hours because I need to leave early this evening and no one will be home tonight through tomorrow midday. I figured I'll feed/do insulin at 6am and 6pm so he only misses one dose, tomorrow morning. Anyways, I was surprised just now when he tested at 311. I was hesitant to give him the 2 units because I didn't expect him to be so low but I went ahead and gave him the 2 units. I think he is still high enough that he won't go too low. (I hope!) I'll test him in a few hours and see where he's at... thanks for asking!
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It will probably be fine. Could you update the spreadsheet with your most recent tests? You can do it on your phone if you download Google Sheets.
 
I just put the 311 as this mornings reading. I only tested him twice yesterday. Are you seeing it on my spreadsheet? Btw, you might not see updates over the next few days, but hopefully you do. These cats live with my mom. I have been here helping for the past few days but I have to go teach at a camp for the next 2 weeks. Hopefully she will continue to do the home testings and I can update the spreadsheet but my mom is feeling overwhelmed with this.
 
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