Hello everyone,
As the title suggests my cat went into a diabetic condition following a course of steroids. Codies history is:
approx 14 years old
greedy moggy cat
Codie moved in after we found out he was sneeking in and stealing our resident cats food. We found out, stopped leaving food out through the night, so he came an woke us up for it
Neighbours said we could keep him.
Eventually he got to over 8kg (as we were nursing a cat (Felix) that was dying from HCM, in order to give Felix his meds hidden in food, we fed Codie to keep him distracted. Felix wouldnt eat if a door was shut or any routine was changed, he would freak out and hide), if we let them both at it; Codie would just eat all the food and Felix would walk away.
Felix passed, it was very traumatic as it coincided with a home relocation - probably shortened Felixs life by a few months due to all the change - as said, he didnt even like having a door closed if it wasnt usually.
A few months after we moved, Codie seemed off, I couldnt explain what was wrong, it seemed to be more that moving stress. Vet discovered a heart murmur. He is on Fortekor and Frusemide. That was 3 years ago. Felix had a heart murmur that we knew about for years, the vets didnt feel the need to medicate till the end. I often wonder if Codie has been put on meds prematurely, I have raised it with the vets but they think he is doing well so leave him to it.
He had the imaging tests but I dont have the details, something in my memory suggest 1-1.7 on the ventricular size comparison.
He was very overweight, we put him on the Hills prescription metabolic diet. He got down to 6kg(ish). I didnt like the whole prescription diet thing which is full off cereals etc.
We tried the raw food approach, he responded OK but we didnt stick with it. Around the same time, he developed a massive infection that led him to be in kitty hospital for 3 days on IVs etc. We had left if a day or so to see if he would get better himself, I subsequently found out that cats not eating for more than a day is very serious, I suspect he went into hepatic lipidosis.
Fast forward approx 18 months, Codie has an autoimmune condition. I mentioned what I thought was dirty claws to the vet, they were massively infected - possibly from the 18 months previously!! The vet sedated him to clean them out, turns out they were all infected and the autoimmune disease had caused swelling which subsequently led to the infection in his claws.
It also explained why I was repeatedly taking him to the vets for possible eye infections, having observed swelling around his eyes over the previous couple of years. We feel bad that it went on so long without us realising.
After the autoimmune diagnosis, Codie was put on steroids. An initial high dose which then tailed off. His eyes were beautifully clear, no swelling, no pinkness. Beautiful! He was eating and drinking a lot! Dr Google said that was because of the steroids so I left it.
We went away for a (prebooked) week, and our cat sitter came round to look after the cats. We returned to find a bowl full of food and a cat that had lost a lot of weight. The cat sitter said he had been eating until that very last day, my thoughts suggest otherwise. We thought perhaps it was the stress of us being away. I left it a day - it was more that the stress, so we booked a vet appointment. They took bloods, we were worried it was his kidneys. He had dropped from approx 6.2kg to 5.74kg within about 2-3wks (taking account of his last consult time). The vet took bloods.He came home and ate some 'metabolic' kibble and some 'gourmet' pate that I bought to tempt him to eat. Codie is a moggy but actually a very large cat, 5.74kg meant we could very easily feel the bumps in his spine and hips.
I spoke to the vet the following morning, tests show he is diabetic, kidneys fine. I dont know the glucose measurement from the test. He hadnt eaten very much so we hadnt given him his steroids as we didnt want to put him off his food. He is not on them now, his eyes are puffy again.
The following morning, the vets were discussing admitting him for NG tubes and IV fluids. I said he had actually eaten with some enthusiasm (though not his usual level of enthusiasm) the night before and in the morning. I really didnt want to admit him unless absolutely necessary as he is a very sensitive boy - he hid from us for a week after getting his claws cleaned.
I took him back to learn how to inject insulin that morning.
He is on 2ml of 4oCannusulin twice per day.
The vet said about putting him on Hills prescription diabteic diet, I wanted to try raw feeding again to reduce carbs. The vet said it was a fad, diabetic cats need complex carbs. I respectfully disagreed.
In the last week I have bought the pre-made raw/frozen food and 'Wainwrights' pouch food - for the tempting smell. He is eating heartily. I continue to give him some 'metabolic' kibble in the evening as I am continuing to give him insulin and dont want him to hypo. I bought a Glucometer from the chemist today, it came with a lancet pen, I practiced on myself first....it hurts!!!! I have watched the youtube vids and will get some lancets to prick his ears to home test.
In the meantime, I will continue to give him some kibble so I dont send him into a hypo from the insulin.
The next appointment is in 2 weeks for a fructosamine test. I dont have my vets nor my husbands support in the raw food diet. My husband is not an idiot, he is fully into Paleo for people, but would prefer to follow vets advice when it comes to our cats, I think he is nervous of putting our cats in jeopardy which is understandable. If the raw feeding works out, he wouldnt continue to be a naysayer for the sake of it.
I am guessing that they long script above is something of cathartic, but also, I wanted to give a full account in the hope of getting some direction. I dont want to take Codie off kibble without removing the insulin. I havent begun home testing yet, and to be honest Im a little scared of it though he toleterates the insulin jabs ok - he protests mildly, he is such a sweet, good boy. I dont want to take Codie to the vets unnecessarily.
I have floated the idea to my husband of withdrawing the insulin and kibble and just monitoring the drinking/urination to see if he develops diabetic symptoms again, my husband would prefer that I leave it until we have the vet test results and take further advice from them. My concern is that my vet seems a little medication ready and even if it all looks good they will keep him on insulin and it would be a battle to get him on low carb and off insulin.
Thank you for reading such and epic. Your thoughts are much appreciated.
Regards.
As the title suggests my cat went into a diabetic condition following a course of steroids. Codies history is:
approx 14 years old
greedy moggy cat
Codie moved in after we found out he was sneeking in and stealing our resident cats food. We found out, stopped leaving food out through the night, so he came an woke us up for it
Neighbours said we could keep him.Eventually he got to over 8kg (as we were nursing a cat (Felix) that was dying from HCM, in order to give Felix his meds hidden in food, we fed Codie to keep him distracted. Felix wouldnt eat if a door was shut or any routine was changed, he would freak out and hide), if we let them both at it; Codie would just eat all the food and Felix would walk away.
Felix passed, it was very traumatic as it coincided with a home relocation - probably shortened Felixs life by a few months due to all the change - as said, he didnt even like having a door closed if it wasnt usually.
A few months after we moved, Codie seemed off, I couldnt explain what was wrong, it seemed to be more that moving stress. Vet discovered a heart murmur. He is on Fortekor and Frusemide. That was 3 years ago. Felix had a heart murmur that we knew about for years, the vets didnt feel the need to medicate till the end. I often wonder if Codie has been put on meds prematurely, I have raised it with the vets but they think he is doing well so leave him to it.
He had the imaging tests but I dont have the details, something in my memory suggest 1-1.7 on the ventricular size comparison.
He was very overweight, we put him on the Hills prescription metabolic diet. He got down to 6kg(ish). I didnt like the whole prescription diet thing which is full off cereals etc.
We tried the raw food approach, he responded OK but we didnt stick with it. Around the same time, he developed a massive infection that led him to be in kitty hospital for 3 days on IVs etc. We had left if a day or so to see if he would get better himself, I subsequently found out that cats not eating for more than a day is very serious, I suspect he went into hepatic lipidosis.
Fast forward approx 18 months, Codie has an autoimmune condition. I mentioned what I thought was dirty claws to the vet, they were massively infected - possibly from the 18 months previously!! The vet sedated him to clean them out, turns out they were all infected and the autoimmune disease had caused swelling which subsequently led to the infection in his claws.
It also explained why I was repeatedly taking him to the vets for possible eye infections, having observed swelling around his eyes over the previous couple of years. We feel bad that it went on so long without us realising.
After the autoimmune diagnosis, Codie was put on steroids. An initial high dose which then tailed off. His eyes were beautifully clear, no swelling, no pinkness. Beautiful! He was eating and drinking a lot! Dr Google said that was because of the steroids so I left it.
We went away for a (prebooked) week, and our cat sitter came round to look after the cats. We returned to find a bowl full of food and a cat that had lost a lot of weight. The cat sitter said he had been eating until that very last day, my thoughts suggest otherwise. We thought perhaps it was the stress of us being away. I left it a day - it was more that the stress, so we booked a vet appointment. They took bloods, we were worried it was his kidneys. He had dropped from approx 6.2kg to 5.74kg within about 2-3wks (taking account of his last consult time). The vet took bloods.He came home and ate some 'metabolic' kibble and some 'gourmet' pate that I bought to tempt him to eat. Codie is a moggy but actually a very large cat, 5.74kg meant we could very easily feel the bumps in his spine and hips.
I spoke to the vet the following morning, tests show he is diabetic, kidneys fine. I dont know the glucose measurement from the test. He hadnt eaten very much so we hadnt given him his steroids as we didnt want to put him off his food. He is not on them now, his eyes are puffy again.
The following morning, the vets were discussing admitting him for NG tubes and IV fluids. I said he had actually eaten with some enthusiasm (though not his usual level of enthusiasm) the night before and in the morning. I really didnt want to admit him unless absolutely necessary as he is a very sensitive boy - he hid from us for a week after getting his claws cleaned.
I took him back to learn how to inject insulin that morning.
He is on 2ml of 4oCannusulin twice per day.
The vet said about putting him on Hills prescription diabteic diet, I wanted to try raw feeding again to reduce carbs. The vet said it was a fad, diabetic cats need complex carbs. I respectfully disagreed.
In the last week I have bought the pre-made raw/frozen food and 'Wainwrights' pouch food - for the tempting smell. He is eating heartily. I continue to give him some 'metabolic' kibble in the evening as I am continuing to give him insulin and dont want him to hypo. I bought a Glucometer from the chemist today, it came with a lancet pen, I practiced on myself first....it hurts!!!! I have watched the youtube vids and will get some lancets to prick his ears to home test.
In the meantime, I will continue to give him some kibble so I dont send him into a hypo from the insulin.
The next appointment is in 2 weeks for a fructosamine test. I dont have my vets nor my husbands support in the raw food diet. My husband is not an idiot, he is fully into Paleo for people, but would prefer to follow vets advice when it comes to our cats, I think he is nervous of putting our cats in jeopardy which is understandable. If the raw feeding works out, he wouldnt continue to be a naysayer for the sake of it.
I am guessing that they long script above is something of cathartic, but also, I wanted to give a full account in the hope of getting some direction. I dont want to take Codie off kibble without removing the insulin. I havent begun home testing yet, and to be honest Im a little scared of it though he toleterates the insulin jabs ok - he protests mildly, he is such a sweet, good boy. I dont want to take Codie to the vets unnecessarily.
I have floated the idea to my husband of withdrawing the insulin and kibble and just monitoring the drinking/urination to see if he develops diabetic symptoms again, my husband would prefer that I leave it until we have the vet test results and take further advice from them. My concern is that my vet seems a little medication ready and even if it all looks good they will keep him on insulin and it would be a battle to get him on low carb and off insulin.
Thank you for reading such and epic. Your thoughts are much appreciated.
Regards.
Raw food if properly supplemented with the necessary vitamins is a great way to go if Codie is accepting. Otherwise most members here will use a low carb wet food such as Friskies or fancy Feast pate rather than buying expensive prescription food that is relly no better than regular. It is suggested that food not have any more than 10% carbs, since kitties DO NOT NEED CARBS and it raises the glucose levels. Dry food is also a bad choice for any kitty, but especially for a diabetic kitty. Once you are home testing on a regular basis you can start to remove the dry food from Codies's diet. Some kitties can drop 100s of points just from changing to an all wet low carb diet.
