Charlie and his increased lantus dosage

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Annie&Charlie

Annie&Charlie

Member Since 2017
Have a nineteen year old cat named Charlie, he's been on lantus for about eight years. Since a Vet determined that he was diabetic, and had likely been diabetic from birth.

He recently went to the Vet for a general health check, as he's been losing weight in the last year. They did a curve, a urine test, another blood test.

The Vet decided that his dosage should be increased from two shots of 2 cc per day to one of 3 cc's and one of 2 cc'c per day. His dosage had been the same for eight years, with a few adjustments during the first two years.

I've having a difficult time doing curves now, so, I brought him to the Vet to have it done. When he returned home, he was terrified for a full two weeks. Afraid of me, terrified of food, skulking, hiding, mewing in his sleep. Something he's never done. I don't know what's happened that he would become so afraid.

After I increased his dosage, his feces became quite dark, as in blood in his feces. Don't know if this the result of the increased dosage, or another kind of health problem. His Vet went on a two-week vacation soon after he increased the dosage. I'm waiting for him to return from vacation. Has anyone experienced a similar reaction to an increase or change in insulin dosage?
 
It's impossible to know what's going on with his response to insulin without data from blood glucose testing. As for very dark stools, that can happen in cats who have IBD. Has Charlie been evaluated for that?
 
Kris & Teasel said:
It's impossible to know what's going on with his response to insulin without data from blood glucose testing. As for very dark stools, that can happen in cats who have IBD. Has Charlie been evaluated for that?
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No he hasn't. There's been no vomiting, but there has been diarrhea. He would require a biopsy to diagnose this and at his age I would be reluctant to put him through this, with anesthesia involved.
 
Annie&Charlie said:
No he hasn't. There's been no vomiting, but there has been diarrhea. He would require a biopsy to diagnose this and at his age I would be reluctant to put him through this, with anesthesia involved.
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I understand. I don't know of anyone else mentioning dark stools from insulin.
 
What are you feeding him? Have you changed foods lately, or added one to your usual selections? I know certain foods make my cats have very dark, almost black stools, really scared me 'til I figured out it was the food.
 
Squalliesmom said:
What are you feeding him? Have you changed foods lately, or added one to your usual selections? I know certain foods make my cats have very dark, almost black stools, really scared me 'til I figured out it was the food.
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I've not changed any of his food, what I have done is water it down until its the consistency of soft porridge, as he seems reluctant to eat these days. There has been a preference for 'stinkier' fish based foods, with a stronger scent. It may be the reason, as in the past he's been more attracted to chicken and beef canned foods. He's also developed a curious obsession in my food, which was never something he'd expressed real interest in before.

Lately when I'm eating he'll climb up and want to eat from my plate, something he's not done since kittenhood. He'll actually try to steal food from the table, but not eat it, which is bizarre behavior for him. More like his exploits as a kitten, before he learned what was acceptable and what was not. It's almost as if he's really hungry, but doesn't know what to eat.
 
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I'll be seeing the Vet this week, and we'll see what Dr. Mark has to say. A youngish Vet with not a lot of experience. I'll get his curve results, and blood test results while I'm there. And maybe someone can give me help with these, hopefully.
 
Annie&Charlie said:
I've not changed any of his food, what I have done is water it down until its the consistency of soft porridge, as he seems reluctant to eat these days. There has been a preference for 'stinkier' fish based foods, with a stronger scent. It may be the reason, as in the past he's been more attracted to chicken and beef canned foods. He's also developed a curious obsession in my food, which was never something he'd expressed real interest in before.

Lately when I'm eating he'll climb up and want to eat from my plate, something he's not done since kittenhood. He'll actually try to steal food from the table, but not eat it, which is bizarre behavior for him. More like his exploits as a kitten, before he learned what was acceptable and what was not. It's almost as if he's really hungry, but doesn't know what to eat.
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Sometimes warming the food a little bit helps, it makes it smellier! ;):)
 
Squalliesmom said:
Sometimes warming the food a little bit helps, it makes it smellier! ;):)
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Thanks Squalliesmon:) I've been doing that since he was a kitten, he was born with an abscess in his nose which interfered with his ability to smell his food. Once the abscess was surgically excised he was able to eat well, but it left him with what looks like a cleft in his nose. So he can't smell as well as other cats. He will only eat if the food is highly stinky in some way, so I use a fork with the warmed food and fluff it up so it smells a lot, and then waft the smell right at him.:rolleyes:
 
Wanted to thank everyone here on the entire board, for all the work you have put into creating this place. For all your care and information and time simply writing posts and answering questions all over this place. This board is a storehouse of information, that I will read for a very long time. You have to be very special people to take care of your cats in such an intensive and time consuming manner. To really love your pets, and care for them so deeply, sometimes I used to feel that I was the only person who ever did that. But now I know I'm not, I'm one of many.

It's given me a great deal of hope, and now I don't think my nineteen year old Charlie is dying. I've been syringe feeding him for two days now, and on Monday I'll be seeing the Vet. He's brightened up, he's strong, he scratched his litterbox so loudly I could hear him upstairs, he may not be fully back to being Charlie. But he's halfway there.
 
Annie&Charlie said:
Wanted to thank everyone here on the entire board, for all the work you have put into creating this place. For all your care and information and time simply writing posts and answering questions all over this place. This board is a storehouse of information, that I will read for a very long time. You have to be very special people to take care of your cats in such an intensive and time consuming manner. To really love your pets, and care for them so deeply, sometimes I used to feel that I was the only person who ever did that. But now I know I'm not, I'm one of many.

It's given me a great deal of hope, and now I don't think my nineteen year old Charlie is dying. I've been syringe feeding him for two days now, and on Monday I'll be seeing the Vet. He's brightened up, he's strong, he scratched his litterbox so loudly I could hear him upstairs, he may not be fully back to being Charlie. But he's halfway there.
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This is good news about Charlie. I hope he continues to rally. :)
 
Today Charlie saw the Vet. He's been syringe fed at home for the last three days, as he won't eat or drink. He's lost in the past two months about 6 pounds. One of the things that's stopping him from eating, are the lesions in his mouth and throat and stomach. He's on famatide a generic form of pepsid ac as of now, and he's having royal canin renal support as his food. He was also given sub-cutaneous fluids at the Vet's today. The change in his demeanor is remarkable, and he's now a different cat. He's at the moment, eating on his own, which is really good, as his appetite seems to have returned.

Putting on weight is a priority, and getting his diabetes regulated is the goal. Once that's done, he'll have his mouth looked after, teeth removed, and hopefully he'll feel better. I'm looking forward to having my Charlie back.
 
He's back to not wanting to eat again, one day later. And yesterday after the Vet visit, he did. More syringe feeding. He barely wants to swallow, and just acts as if I'm killing him, turning his head and letting the liquid food fall out of his mouth. Makes me feel like some sort of monster. Could it be that he's just giving up? And I won't let him? Don't know what to think anymore.
 
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Annie&Charlie said:
He's back to not wanting to eat again, one day later. And yesterday after the Vet visit, he did. More syringe feeding. He barely wants to swallow, and just acts as if I'm killing him, turning his head and letting the liquid food fall out of his mouth. Makes me feel like some sort of monster. Could it be that he's just giving up? And I won't let him? Don't know what to think anymore.
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Many people give subQ fluids at home. Have you tried this with Charlie? Also, the not wanting to eat could be nausea and inappetance as well as mouth pain. Maybe ask your vet about an anti nausea med and appetite stimulant?
 
I'm sorry your cat is not well. Was a complete blood panel down? What were the kidney values? He might be nauseous. Your vet can give you cerenia for that. The soft stool needs to be addressed. A round of flagyl might help. Since he's not eating enough he might need daily fluids to prevent dehydration which you can learn to give at home. So what follow up did your vet suggest? That much weight loss is serious and if not eating enough he could get fatty liver which is very serious.
 
Charlie passed away in his sleep last night. He was at his end, no matter what I tried, he would let the food fall out his mouth, even the water that he wouldn't swallow. When he saw me approaching him, he would hide. Probably I shouldn't have forced to eat, which made him afraid of me. Not something I'm proud of, as I didn't want him at the end of his life to be afraid of someone who loved him so much. I did all I possibly could I think, and sometimes it's better to learn to read the animal, and attempt to figure out what they might want from their behavior. I ignored his desire to go, attempting to force him to stay with me for my own reasons, but that's not what he wanted. Happy that we had such a long time together.

Thank you for all your help.
 
So sorry for your loss. May fond memories of your beloved Charlie warm your heart always cat_wings>o
I don't think he was afraid of you, he knew you were trying to take care of him. I think he didn't want you to see him go across the rainbow bridge :bighug:
 
I'm so sorry. I can tell he was well loved and will be missed. It sounds to me like he had other issues and diabetes was not what took him from you. He's free now. :bighug:
 
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