Could someone help me please :-(

countrygal1964

countrygal1964

Member
I have a senior cat. Not sure how old she is since she came as a stray 14 years ago but she has to be at least 16 for sure. My old vet gave her steriod shots in October (without my permission and I have told them for the last 3 years no steriod shots because the other doctor that worked there gave my other cat tons of them for her asthma. Which turned her diabetic and she only lived 11 months and was only 10 years old. The senior cat I am talking about now is her mother). I will try to make this story short. In December when I brought her back home from having her anal glands done she suddenly could only walk 4-5 steps and couldn't keep her hind legs up. Stupidly I waited and her took back to vets 4 days later. They did x-ray said it was arthritis and I told them no. Then 7 days after that I took her as an emergency to another clinic and they said that was a sign of being diabetic. Her sugar was 467. She has been on this insulin for 2 weeks and just had it rechecked today and it went up to 506. Now I'm wondering if she is going to die like my other cat. The doctor increased the dosage to the 2nd line and will recheck in two weeks. Is this normal? I don't really remember how high my other cats sugar was but she almost died and spent 5 days at the vet clinic with an IV and I went every day to feed her. She wouldn't eat otherwise. I'm sick to my stomach how this is all happening again after I told them since 2016 no more steriod shots! If covid had not happened I would have been in there with her and she never would have had the shot. Can someone give me a little bit of hope here? I found out she was diabetic Dec. 23 2020. That is how my Christmas was spent. Worrying about her and I still am. They gave her steriod shots in October 2020 and the vet today told me to give the shot in her shoulder. They say sometimes it will not absorb in the scruff.
 
HI! Sorry about the diagnosis, but you definitely came to the right place. Cats can live a LONG HEALTHY LIVES with diabetes. My cat was 12 when she was diagnosed. She's 17 now. While numbers in the 400's and 500's are scary looking and the cats don't feel good, they will come down. The neuropathy will improve when the numbers are more in control and with B12 Methycobalamin supplements. Many use Zobaline brand which you just crush and add over the food.

Speaking of food, you will want to make sure you are feeding LOW CARB WET food. Most here feed fancy feast classic or friskies pate foods. I feed weruva. Here's a link to a great food chart. Pick foods that are UNDER 10 carb... under 7 is even better.

THe next thing you are going to want to do (this is REALLY important) is to get stuff you need for home testing. This is the best way to get those numbers down into good regulation and to keep her SAFE. I have a video link in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home. Here's your shopping list:

1. a blood glucose meter. Many use walmart's relion prime. Just pick one that takes a small sample (0.3-0.5).
2. 100 extra testing strips
3. 100 extra lancets for poking the ear size 26 or 28.
4. cotton cosmetic rounds to go behind the ear
5. Neosporin ointment with pain relief
6. low carb food
7. a treat for you because you are awesome.

You can shoot anywhere in the scruff, shoulder, or flank.

JANET
 
JanetNJ said:
The Zobaline you can get on amazon, but it looks like they are backordered. You can get another brand of b12 in the meantime, or order direct from the company : https://www.ilifelink.com/zobaline-for_diabetic_cats-3_mg_x_60_tablets.html


So question: What insulin did the vet put your cat on... not all insulins are made equally. The recommended insulins for cats are Prozinc or Lantus.
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I order Zobaline direct from the company ilifelink.com. same price and it works!
 
My cat is getting the insulin called Prozinc but I found out why it was not helping her. The new veterinarian sent me a link to a you tube video showing how to put the shot in the shoulder instead of the scruff. The old vet had me put it in the scruff and by watching the video I found out I was doing it all wrong! No wonder my poor cat never made it 5 years ago when her diabetes's started due to all the stupid steriod shots that vet gave her. I noticed the lady in the video put the needle ALL the way in which I was not doing. :banghead: The old vet showed me the wrong way of doing the insulin! She had me put it in her scruff and just get the needle in through the skin. :mad: My niece is a vet tech in another state so I asked her if that mattered. She said yes. It has to go through layers. Friday night I did the insulin shot in the shoulder putting the needle all the way through and 55 minutes later my cat was doing so much better and she a whole lot better since Friday. (4 days later) She is able to walk a longer distance and at first her back legs will stand like normal but the more she walks the more they start to give out but at least she has more energy and has that sparkle back in her eyes. They had me change her food (and the rest are eating the same thing) instantly to a low carb high protein diet. Sorry, I forgot to add that part but mentally I'm just a zombie at this point. It's called glycobalance. I bought the dry and canned. Mixed some of the dry in with their old dry food to slowly switch them over. Took over a week before they actually would finally eat it like normal but I cut out all treats which they are not happy about at all. I get such a sick feeling when I think about my cat that didn't make it 4 years ago. :( They did everything wrong and that is why she didn't make it. :(
There is no way I can do the blood test myself. If I start poking her for that she will never let me be near her. After taking her two days in a row to the vets office for every time I put my "going some where " shoes on she hid on me. Never did find her hiding spot. I'm more then happy paying the $28.90 for them to do the test and that way I know it is done right. Plus she also has asthma and sometimes I have to do her inhaler so adding the blood test would be just to much.
Thanks so much for the help. :)
 
countrygal1964 said:
I noticed the lady in the video put the needle ALL the way in which I was not doing.
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ProZinc is a good insulin. :)
Not necessary to put it all the way in. You just need the tip in. She might be using a short needle. It's best to switch up the shooting area so scar tissue doesn't form.

So what are you feeding now?

Maybe you could set up a signature for us with basic info. Click on your name at the top right corner and choose signature. Add info such as your pets name, date diagnosed, insulin type, food you're feeding and any other health concerns.
 
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You need to take a deep breath and slow down. I've had two sugar cats and remember exactly how you feel and I clearly remember standing over Nigel thinking "Gawd, I've just killed my cat". I tested him on the kitchen table and it wasn't long before I could thump the table and Nigel would jump up and patiently wait while I poked holes in him. By the time his brother was diagnosed a diabetic it was just an inconvenience.
Your new vet sent you a YouTube link showing how to inject? I'm sorry to tell you this but that is the lazy-ass way of being a vet. I was shown how to do everything in the clinic and they weren't letting me leave until I got it right. That is shameful Covid or not.
We don't shame or ridicule new members so I'm telling you this as a friend. You will be testing twice a day, injecting and doing curves sooner rather than later not just for your cats health but for yours as well. I've had a cat run down the hall with a syringe hanging off, I've shredded ears and I have cried and because of killer migraines I've also learned to do all this in the dark with one eye open. You can too.
Janet and Lisa have given you good advice. We want you to keep posting and know someone is here for you.

When my wife found this it changed everything for us
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/letter-from-your-kitty-to-you-during-this-time.131186/
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I am feeding them the glycobalance dry and canned. For insulin shot and my other cats thyroid pill I give them canned chicken. Once a day too so it keeps it different I give them one of those little trays of fancy feast that are just fish. No more store bought canned food. What I had I gave to a lady who has a bunch of barn cats and she also feeds strays in an abandon house.
The reason the vet told me he was going to send the you tube video it was 6:15 pm and they had long closed. They offered to show me in the very beginning but I told them no because I already knew how to do it with my other cat. I had been doing the insulin for 2 weeks with no results for her and her sugar went up from 467 to 506. Once I found out the needle must go through all the way (needle is short. Not a giant one) she has improved within the first 55 minutes after giving it Friday night. With the 2nd visit and seeing her sugar go up instead down the vet increased it to line 2. I called Monday to see if I should decrease it back to line 1 since I was doing it wrong and they said yes. Will see how she does with just line one now.
I'm a basket case mostly because of what happened with my other diabetic cat and how she only lasted 11 months and it was all caused by way to many steriod shots for her asthma. My cat now should not be going through this at all because of everything I did so what happened to my first diabetic cat would never happen to the others but because of Covid I was not in the office (old vet..not new one) and they gave the steriod shots without asking me. I did see on the files they put down they did talk to me and I gave the ok. I would never ever ok that and they did not talk to me at all. The old vets like to do steriod shots for most everything.
I will set up a signature. Sorry didn't even know about that. I don't do many website groups.
 
countrygal1964 said:
I am feeding them the glycobalance dry and canned.
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Glycobalance dry is a high carb food and not going to work for a diabetic. The dry food is 25% carb. The wet is medium carb at about 12% carb. What you need is low carb wet food under 10 percent carb. Under 7 is even better. Most feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods.... I feed weruva foods because she needs low phosphorus as well. It's a great quality food. This is a copy of the food chart. It's a few years old now so some newer foods aren't on there. If you are interested in weruva they are very transparent with the nutrition information on the weruva website. https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf


Its so hard with COVID restrictions to get demos from vets.

Your cat is lucky to have you... You care so much to join groups like this and learn how to take control of your cats condition.
 
I'm confused now. I was feeding them Fancy feast canned and Friskies pate canned and I told the new vet that. They only like pate (and the glycobalance canned is chunky so I have to smash it with a fork to turn it into pate for them. Otherwise they won't eat it) but the new vet said to feed them the Glycobalance instead. I just gave away 2 months worth of canned food because I was supposed to switch them over to the Glycobalance. They have been on Royal Canin diet urinary SO for many years because 2 of my cats had problems with crystals. The one that died was the first one and then my cat who is now has an over active thyroid problem. She had bladder surgery years ago due to a giant bladder stone. I was told by the new vet that the Glycobalance will still help with the crystals and the diabetes too. That could be why he suggested that food? Guess I will have to do some reading on this too. If I just gave away 2 months supply of canned food for nothing all I can say is Ugh. :eek::eek::eek: :banghead: Thanks for the website. I will look into it. :) They would not eat store bought Purina dry for bladder problems or the canned food for bladder problems. Only dry food they would eat is the Royal Canin.
 
countrygal1964 said:
I'm a basket case mostly because of what happened with my other diabetic cat. My cat now should not be going through this at all because of everything I did.

I don't do many website groups.
Click to expand...

Have you ever heard "Don't let your past determine your future"? Whatever happened with your first diabetic cat has nothing to do with where you are with this cat. That is unless you're feeling some guilt. Guilt is a wasted emotion and you did say the vet talked down to you. You did not hasten that cat's end of life, it was not your fault.
We have a saying here that's not just a cliché. No two cats are the same. That is meant literally. My two, although brothers were complete opposites in how I approached their treatment. One bounced, the other had a textbook bell curve, one loved the car, the other had to be swaddled in piddle pads and beach towels for trips outside.

I'm 7 years older than you and this is my only website group. If you stay you'll find this to be not just the best site for info but you may make genuine internet friends. I've even met two members in the real world. It's up to you to look through the "stickies", the posts that have really helpful information in them. I print the ones I need and sit back with a Hi-Liter. This place is less Kardashian, more compassion.
I never used Prozinc so I cannot give you medical help. Sorry.
 
This is a good video on teaching your cat to accept injections. The same technique can be used for home glucose testing.

 
I do blame myself for my first cats death and her being diabetic. If I had done my job (and I know it shouldn't have been my job but I've had to look things up on my own medicines that doctors wanted me to take and I said no because of what health problems could be caused from them) and googled what steriod shots meant for her she would never had the shots. Plus with reading her file I found that she was given Vetsulin. (Couldn't remember what she had) Have a relative who is a vet tech and they told me they only give that to dogs. It doesn't do well for cats. Only reason they do give it to cats is because it is a cheaper way of going. I never ever have gone cheap with anything for my cats and I didn't decide to go cheaper. It's the insulin the vet decided to give her. Now I know why she never stood a chance. I don't know if they are just really all stupid (3 vets all together) or just don't care. I read her file too and the vet completely lied about all that happened but it's in the past and I can't change it. With the cat now that is diabetic the only guilt I feel is I was stupid to stay after my first cat almost died and I wasn't smart enough to go some place else and get a 2nd opinion. If I had gotten the 2nd opinion with the first cat she might still be alive and my cat now might have stood a chance at walking right again but since I waited 10 days to take her some place else she might not ever walk right again. I'm the type of person who always carries guilt. Specially when it comes to pets. I don't have any guilt with my 5 dogs with having to put them down because they lived as long as they could have. Gave them the best life I could. Goes for all my other pets. Feel guilt with my first cat I had to put down and now the cat who is diabetic.
She had another blood check and her sugar is still high at 502 so vet increased insulin to 2 units. I was hoping with the increase she could walk better again like she did 2 weeks ago when it was raised to 2 units but sadly no. Vet put it back to 1 unit since I was doing the shot wrong. She has been back to her normal acting self since Monday. She is more active and even started meowing again. Just has a hard time walking. It's thump thump thump when she does. Hopefully with the 2 units her sugar will start to go down if it ever will. My other cats sugar never went down after 11 months and she was up to 5 units.
I also told the new vet I was worried what happened to my other cat will happen to my cat now and he said can't go by that. All cats are different so what happened with one doesn't mean it will happen with this one. I'm trying to remember that but I'm always expecting the worse.
 
I understand your pain and guilt as I had a similar experience last year with my girl not related to diabetes. Bad vet bad choices ended bad. Try not to beat yourself up. - I should probably take my own advice.... We rely on what the professionals tell us. Unfortunately not all of them are forthcoming, good or even caring. I cant comment on much else that you wrote but I will say my sugar baby walked AWFUL when diagnosed- like a drunken sailor. That’s actually what made me take her in. I still wrestle with her dosages and her numbers still are not consistent. I give her Zobaline (methyl B12 specifically for diabetic cats)1x a day at the recommendation of this board and I believe that has helped with her gait. Perhaps you can give that a try? I will also tell you that the people here are an amazing resource and you are definitely in the right place. Try not to get frustrated, follow the protocols and slowly you will make progress. If you want to by Zobaline direct from the company the site is ilifelink.com. Hugs going out to you from NY
 
Found out that my diabetic cat is not supposed to graze. Would have been nice if they had told me that in the beginning. Took away the dry Glycobalance too and put her on all canned. Had her recheck yesterday and her blood sugar was down to 251!! All in just 2 weeks time. They are keeping her on 2 units because anything higher could make it drop to low. So that is a good thing and she is actually acting like normal and has lots of energy. Bad part her back legs still do not want to work like they should. Will have to wait and see what happens. Maybe in time they will. She only has to go in another month (instead of every 2 weeks) to recheck it and also have blood work done that will tell how her body is handling it. But now my other cat is very very constipated! She's the only one (out of 6 cats) that has never given me any troubles in the last 13 years. Had 2 bladder infections years ago but that is it. I'm thinking it is due to changing their food to that Glycobalance one. She has always been a dry food 98% of the time cat. Took her along yesterday and they did an x-ray and said she was very very constipated but not blocked. I'm giving her a liquid laxative (from the old vet...used it for the other 3 cats) once a day and she has been in the dog play pen since Friday night. She only peed once yesterday and no pooping yet. Doesn't really want to eat but not sure if that is due to being in the pen or being constipated. So, I've been taking canned food and mushing it with water and getting it down her with a large oral syringe. Also doing water that way too. I'm hoping she will poop soon other wise I know it will be an enema or surgery. Vet didn't seem to concerned over it and I know I'm a worrier so hoping it's just me. Been staying up with her during the nights just incase something goes wrong. I am very very tired and keep hoping she poops. Keep telling her if she poops she can get out of jail. Cats sure are a lot of work compared to dogs.
 
Grazing is ok. In fact, mini-meals can help even out the BG levels

The glycobalance is high in carbs, which you don't want for a diabetic cat.

Have you seen this article? https://catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf

Sounds like your cat has diabetic neuropathy, with that back leg weakness. Best thing you can do, is get the BG regulated and back to normal range. Methylcobalamin can also help. Zobaline is one brand.

Could you please set up your User ID signature for us? Directions are in this link, along with many other useful bits of information.
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Well, I have good news! My cat as of September 1st 2021 is no longer diabetic!! :):):woot::woot::woot: The diet helped her and I sure am so happy and thrilled by it. In December last year I thought for sure by now she would be dead. My other cat only lived 11 months :( but that was because the old vets had no clue how to diagnose or treat diabetes. Makes me sad about her and wish I had been smarter and taken her for a 2nd opinion :banghead::banghead: but I can't go back and change that. Another one of my cats (This cats daughter) ended up diabetic too BUT she is now down to 1/2 a unit instead of 1 unit. She also had a thyroid problem that was found in January this year but as of September 1st (they both went for blood work) she is no longer on thyroid medicine. :woot::woot::woot: I'm hoping in a few more months she will be off insulin as well like her mother. Also found out they can have a small meal in the afternoon. Just not on the days when they were going for their sugar check. I understood wrong. So, from here on out I am hoping things will finally get back to normal and there will be less medicine times each day. :D Also, I never did find out how to set up my User ID signature for. Sorry
 
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