Cassidy and his new diagnosis..

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

AnnaL

New Member
My name is Anna and my cat Cassidy dob Feb 5/1999 was just diagnosed with diabetes.

This time last year we noticed a change in him, it was than diagnosed as cystitis, he gradually went from 11.8 lbs to 8 lbs by xmas, he got out during a very nasty cold spell and was gone almost 3 weeks. Upon his return he was barely walking, how he made it home is a mystery to everyone including the vet.

I rushed him to the vet where he spent 2 1/2 days on intense treatment via subq/meds and every test you can imagine, I did relay my concerns to the "new" vet we now use(the old one did not test for anything else last year)about diabetes or renal failure, and it was positive for diabetes.

We did a GC over the course of 3 days, his first reading was 31.6, he gets Lantus 1.0U every 12 hours and is on PVD - DM 3/8 cup per day. His levels have stuck around 22.5 - 22.7 for the last 2 days. This am it was 18.8 and his pm reading was 13.3.

His initial weight upon arriving at the vet was just barely over 6 lbs, 1/2 his normal weight(big stocky tabby)and almost no muscle tone, he looks like a skeleton at this point. His food needs to be regulated while we get the correct dosage over the next few weeks and/or months and because hes so thin he can't just eat what he thinks he needs. He is drinking alot and both urine and bm are normal. I test prior to his morning meal and than give his shot after hes done eating, his spirit is simply amazing and the will to live grows stronger everyday as hes not just battling the disease but the weight loss.

I was referred to this board to share his story and our journey together as we both learn to understand and live with the new normal we now find ourselves in.

Anna and Cassidy
 
Hi Anna,
Welcome to you and Cassidy to FDMB. There's so much info here and so many people with real world experience and advice.

Some things to get you started

1) Please consider hometesting instead of getting glucose curves run at the vet. For one, (most) cats get stressed when they go to the vet and give higher BG (blood glucose) readings. You can find info about testing kits all over this site. I mean, you wouldn't inject insulin into a child or yourself w/o checking the blood sugar levels, right?

2) Your'e feeding dry food? This is... counterintuitive to diabetes management b/c of the carbohydrate levels. If you go read Dr Pierson's website, she gives a crystal clear explanation on why cats do NOT need carbs and are better off on a low carb, wet food diet. (However, you might not want to remove dry food until you've learned to hometest).

3) Please go read the stickies (the notes at the top of the page) in the Lantus forum. There are stickies about being new to Lantus, the lantus shed,how to handle your lantus etc. For example, you should refrigerate it, and you should NOT roll it to warm it up. you should also NOT re-inject lantus back into the vial.

4) Please go to the tech forum andset up a spreadsheetif you decide to hometest. It helps you look at how the insulin is working for your cat and whether Cassidy might need more or less insulin.

5) please do not hesitate to ask questions! that's what we're here for!
 
Hello and Welcome! My boy Willie was just diagnosed on December 7th, and I can tell you that it is amazing how accustomed we already are to our new reality. I think you will be very pleased with the Lantus choice... it is a gentle insulin that many have had great success with. Please stop by over in Lantus land and introduce yourself!

It is great that you are hometesting! You will find it to be an invaluable resource. At some point, it would be very useful for you to set up a spreadsheet. I don't have the link offhand, but if you check the stickies, there are simple instructions for how to use a pre-made google template to set one up. Not only will a spreadsheet provide valuable information for you and your vet, but it will also allow folks here on the boards to give you the most informed advice possible when you need it. It looks like you're already testing before each shot, which is important to ensure that you are safely dosing your cat. It is a good idea to get periodic spot checks so you know how Cassidy is responding to the insulin. You'll want to do periodic curves as well.

Is the food you're feeding wet or dry? If dry, you'll want to consider transitioning away from that if possible. The makeup of dry food, unfortunately, makes it very difficult to regulate a cat's blood sugar effectively. On a long-term basis, it should be fed only if your cat truly refuses to switch to wet foods.

You've come to the right place. The folks on this board have been absolute angels, helping Willie and I through this period when we got some very questionable advice from our vet (whose practice we've since left). I truly don't know what we would have done without our new family here. Going over the information is overwhelming at first, but you will learn quickly. Be sure to print off a copy of the information about how to recognize hypo glycemia and how to treat it. I have a little binder I keep all that stuff in, with the phone number to my vet and the emergency vet on the cover. Should you ever, god forbid, be in an emergency, you want that info to be in a go-to place. I have our hypo toolkit in a duffle bag in the living room and keep my info book there.

As you encounter new information, please feel free to ask as many questions as you need. People here are wonderful about getting you the information you need to best help Cassidy.

Once again, welcome!
 
Welcome Anna and Cassidy - So glad you are taking such good care of your kitty.

Great info from both Cynthia and Christie. Pop on over to Lantus forum and get to know the good folks there. Do consider the transistion off dry food, but when you do that you MUST home test so you don't accidentally give too much insulin. Read more about food in the stickys an on the forums before you make the switch. Home testing is easy once you get the hang of it, and your numbers wll be much better than testing at the vet's office.
 
Thank you for the welcome and the information you shared with me.

I need to clarify a few things I think. Cassidy is underweight and malnourished, combined with the diabetes, this is a crucial time for him and regulating his insulin. He needs to have a high protein/low carb diet right now because of his weight, wet food at this time based on his body index will be opposite of what he actually needs for the next few weeks.

The GC curve was done over a period of 3 days by me, I did not take him to the vet repeatedly and do know how to do the readings as well as the shots, the vet has a somewhat spreadsheet that she inputs the readings into daily, because of his low body weight, the process of finding his exact dosage is going to take a bit longer than the average diabetic cat/dog.

His next curve will be done this week (for one day rather than 3)and hopefully we will be closer to finding a good level for him, right now hes still reading at 17.7 and 17.8.
 
sorry, what do you mean he needs a different food now ? he needs food and he needs insulin to help metabolize the food...
 
I don't understand the food issue. Wet lo carb is high protein. If you compare the dry food info and the wet food info, you'll see the wet food is higher protein and lower carbs than dry. Check out the food charts:

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html

Have you read this vet's info on why dry food is not the best diet for any cat: http:www.catinfo.org. Cats need protein, not grains. Check the labels/ingredients on your dry food.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top