? Diabetic Neuropathy

[Doodles & Karen]

It's been 1 month since diagnosis and Doodles also has neuropathy. He had a few potty accidents so I've changed to a lower litter box which stopped them for a few weeks. Until this morning when he urinated on the kitchen area rug right in front of me. It's soo out of character as he is the "perfect" cat. We now have 3 litter boxes, the original one in the den, 1 in our bedroom since he likes to sleep under the bed and now one in the kitchen! He does struggle with walking but it has seemed to improve. Is it that he can't make it to the litter box and/or does he neuropathy prevent him from the "feeling of having to go" until it's too late? Anyone know how long if ever it will take for him to get better? He's a maincoon, gets 3.5ml of Vetsulin every 12 hours and he's now on FF classic wet food. Being brought up on dry food that was a hurdle we just finally got over! Sigh, a little frustrated and feel bad for him.

 

[underdawg]

Sounds a lot like what we are going through with Bo. He looks like he is in the beginning stages of neuropathy since he is not all the way down on his hocks yet. He was diagnosed with pancreatitis too along with having a few places in his back that are arthritis. He has had diarrhea all week and vomited a few times. Most of his poops have been on the floor, carpet, or rugs. I have a bathroom rug in the washer as I type this. I thought he may be getting a bit better today since he pooped in the litter box last night and early this morning and did not get anything on his rear end which has to be sore as much as we have had to clean him. Larry and the kitties and BLM gave me some good suggestions on meds for Bo so I hope you get some good suggestions for your post since they also apply to Bo. Good luck and hang in there.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Are you home testing Doodles to check his blood sugars?
The forum highly recommends you home test and enter the results in Doodles SS. Then people will be able to help you.
Instructions here
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/

Doodles neuropathy will improve when his numbers start to come down to normal.
He is probably peeing outside the LB because he is associating the LB with pain or discomfort. My cat Sheba had neuropathy for months until her numbers improved, and she had trouble squatting in the LB. her legs also got tired and she would have to rest often. It will all improve once Doodle gets into better numbers and he will go back to normal. Sheba is completely back to normal.
So the best thing you can do to help is get set up with the SS, test his blood sugars and with the help of people here, get the numbers back down to the normal range. It will take time but you can do it.
Make sure Doodle is well hydrated by giving some extra water with his food.
You could try actually putting him into the litter box every so often and see if he will use it for you

Here is a link to Zobaline for cats which helps with the neuropathy.

http://www.ilifelink.com/zobaline-for_diabetic_cats-3_mg_x_60_tablets.html

 

[Doodles & Karen]

I'm not home testing yet. We were going to the vet every 4 days but they said we can wait a month for the next sugar check. I'm going to bring him back this week though. Last time he was at 235 which is still high but a big improvement. Luckily he loves water so we don't have any worries there. Also started giving him raw chicken breast as a treat. We're going to ask about the zobaline and either way will likely start him on that.

 

[BJM]

See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some assessments you may make non-invasively, in particular, urine ketone testing. Too many ketones may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis, which may happen even with levels in the 200s.