Diagnosed 5 years ago, but I think new symptoms are developing...

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Jodi & Churchill

Member Since 2015
Churchill was diagnosed 5 years ago. He takes his insulin like a champ, and I have not noticed much by way of changes in behavior, etc.

It took a little adjusting to get used to giving him the insulin and I was concerned, but for the most part, he's a typical cat. He's almost 10 now, so was fairly young when he was diagnosed.
 
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Welcome to FDMB, the best place you never wanted to be.

Tell us a bit more - what insulin, what dose, how are you adjusting the dose, what are you feeding? We may have some ideas you could find helpful in keeping your cat safe and as healthy as possible.

What things have you been noticing?
 
hahaha! Thanks! I never even knew cats could get diabetes until he was diagnosed. I was I had found this site five years ago!!

He is using Lantus, 5 units 2x day. I have not adjusted the dose in two years based on my vet's recommendation. (She said BG testing was not necessary). I feed him Fancy Feast canned food (usually classics or grilled) 3x day.

I'm afraid he's losing his sight. His pupils are huge and milky, and every once in a while (every month or so), he spends the whole evening just wandering around my apartment. He never settles in - normally he curls up in a box and just hangs out. If I didn't know better, it would seem like he'd never been here before and he's checking out all the new smells, etc. It just freaks me out, and I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself.
 
Your vet was mistaken; home testing lets you optimize your cat's health to avoid complications of diabetes. We strongly advocate home testing with an inexpensive human glucometer, such as the WalMart ReliOn Confirm (aka Glucocard 01 from American Diabetes Wholesale)
And cataracts are a complication of diabetes that human diabetics have to deal with sooner than others without diabetes.
Many blind cats do very well so long as you do not re-arrange the environment. It can be helpful to use small amounts of different scents to mark walls, corners, etc., such as mint, cilantro, etc.
 
Thank you. I am seeing that - was just watching the video in the Lantus forum. There are a few things my vet did not tell me about giving him insulin. I am planning on switching him to a new vet - who is an expert on cats, and I think may be able to give me a little more direction on this. I guess that switch is going to happen sooner than I thought!

I haven't found that he bumps into things - it's more that he tries to climb. He's always been a climber, and now the things that he would just walk around, he is try to climb on top of.
 
Hi Jodi and Churchill and welcome.

5 units is a lot of insulin. Lots of us here have learned how to home test. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it does help to keep your kitty safe.

The Fancy Feast pates are a good low carb food choice, but the grilled flavors are high in carbs. DO NOT CHANGE THE FOOD UNTIL YOU ARE HOME TESTING. A change in the carb content of the diet can drop the BG (blood glucose levels dramatically and we don't want your kitty Churchill to have a hypoglycemic episode.

If your vet never does BG testing, how does she know that the insulin dose is the right one? How does she know that Churchill's BG isn't dropping really low which may be causing his agitation? Sorry, but no BG testing simply does not sound safe to me.
 
I take him in to get tested every year, so that's when they tell me what to give him. Like I mentioned before, I didn't know anything about diabetes and trusted what my vet told me.
Thank you for the tip on Fancy Feast. Good to know!
I am planning to bring him to another vet and will ask about home testing. It seemed a bit weird to me that she said I didn't need to, and I should have followed my gut.
 
Until you are home testing, keep the food the same. Changing to a lower carb food may drastically reduce the insulin dose and result in hypoglycemia, which can be fatal!
 
There are some nice inexpensive glucometers available. I use the Relion Confirm available from Walmart for Wink. Test strips are about 33 cents each. Then you just need some lancets, 26-18 large gauge (alternate site testing) work well at first. We have tips on home testing if you would like. Warming the ear, patience and practice and you'll have home testing down in no time.

Get the hang of home testing first before you change the food. We don't want Churchill's BG to drop too low.
 
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