Diet question, lesser of 2 evils?

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PeteandCourt

Member Since 2013
We just got back from a vacation, and sugarcat Peter has not eaten a whole lot today. Just a 2-3 Tablespoons of tuna (straight up tuna in water), some "tuna water", and about 6 "Temptations" treats that I used as a bribe for my first instance of home testing (and I was successful, so yay for that!).

I suspect he might be mad or stressed because we were gone. I've got a couple of cans of Fancy Feast gravy based high carb things that sound yummy.

Question is: Should I try to feed the high carb stuff just to get something in him? I suppose other options would be to offer more plain old tuna or some plain yogurt.

I offered some Orijen dry and Wellness Core dry (the 11% one) that I used during his taper from kibble-only and he wasn't interested in that. He did like those stupid Temptations though.

Housesitter reports that he ate normally while we were gone, with only a couple of skipped (or nearly skipped) meals that normally happen when we're gone.

Also might be pertinent: I have a vet appt Thursday where I'm going to ask that we start insulin. I had put it off because I wanted to try diet mods, and then with the vacation. We was at 311 today. I don't know if that was fasting because he had about 4 Temptations while I tried to stick his ear, then a 20 minute break while I went to the drug store for 28 gauge lancets, then 2 more during and after a successful stick...
 
I'm not sure what to suggest for him eating right now (have you tried the usual low-carb canned with the addition of some tuna or tuna water?) but I know my Papaya was really losing her appetite until she started getting insulin. The high blood sugar can make them feel pretty miserable. So whatever you offer right now, I'm glad that you are going to get him on insulin this week.

(PS it's awesome you have already figured out the home testing!)
 
Thank you Amy & Papaya. Yes, I have put some tuna and tuna water on top of the usual low carb wet and he drank the water then walked away. I just tried some plain yogurt at dinner and he ate maybe a teaspoon of it.

It makes me hopeful to hear that yours started eating regularly once insulin was started. I wish the appointment was sooner, as I'd love to see him eating normally again. Otherwise he's acting great: affectionate and playful, grooming, and peeing and pooping in the box. Pee amount is slightly more than a normal cat, but less that when he was first diagnosed (before I got him on low carb wet). I was not expecting his glucose to be so high. The vet was thinking it would be much lower at home, and I think that's why she wasn't pushing for me to get him on insulin sooner. And honestly I was sort of hoping that the diet mods would kick in and we wouldn't have to go the insulin route.
 
I totally understand - I was hoping diet was the way to go for Papaya, too, but when her appetite really dropped off it kind of freaked me out and I got her on insulin. It's good that you've already got the diet changed before you start insulin, though; it will be much easier to get dosing right. And the diet change is good in other ways - I'm kind of kicking myself now that I ever fed my cat dry. When my parents visit, they can't get over how nice Papaya's fur is now - all shiny and no dandruff (even though she's very bouncy and I'm having a hard time getting her blood sugar under control). Wish I'd switched long ago! Oh well, now I know! The information on this board is so valuable.
 
It's important that he eats. If you don't have a low carb option then the gravy food is fine.

Are you testing his urine for ketones?
 
It's not that I don't have low carb options, it's that he is not interested in eating them.

I am not testing for ketones. Upon initial diagnosis 6/4 he had a bladder infection and was treated with antibiotics. The vet took a urine sample on 6/29 to confirm that he did not still have an infection. Infection is gone. She also noted that he had glucose in urine. I assume she would have also looked for ketones at this time.

But 6/29 was several days ago. Complications for testing: I have two cats. I have never seen Peter pee in the 11 years I've had him. I mean, he obviously does but he's very private. I can go to the drug store now and get diastix, but any tips on how to test? I'm thinking line a litter pan with a plastic kitchen trash bag, place a small amount of litter (I use a clay clumping litter, PetCo brand with some Cat Attract on top of it) over that, offer tuna water, food, and regular water, and peek in every so often to see if there's a puddle of pee???
 
Try pouring the gravy from the high carb one on the low carb one and see if he eats it then?

Here are urine catching tips..https://docs.google.com/document/d/1quta5WLEjdO0Y_t2dAYSwN84h-LNZWxOdtVsJDKZ16A/pub. It's important to test for ketones twice a week or whenever the cats blood is over 340 because diabetic ketoacidosis does happen and is very serious and expensive to treat.

If you get the keto-diastix that test for both urine sugar and ketones you will probably be able to tell which cat is which since the diabetic one will probably have sugar in the pee. Plus the pee patch sizes are usually bigger when the blood glucose is high.
 
Oh, the pee patch size difference, duh! Thanks Wendy. I just offered him some more low carb wet mixed with a lot of water. He's eaten some of that, so his diet for the day is probably about 4-5 TBSP tuna, lots of tuna water, about a teaspoon of plain yogurt, almost 1/2 can of Friskies low carb, about 6 Temptations treats, 1/2 can of a Fancy Feast low carb food that I mixed with a lot of water, and about 10 pieces of the Wellness Core dry. So not totally horrible, calorie wise.

Still...he will be spending the night in the guest room, with more food mixed with water and a lovely tray of lentils top dressed with cat litter.
 
Last blood sugar reading was 297 and no ketones. Still not a good appetite, so I can't wait for our appointment to get him started on insulin.
 
Be sure to share the data you've collected with the vet. Also note that human glucometers will read lower than pet specific meters. We have reference numbers for their use, that take the difference into account.
 
BJM - Could I please have a link to the charts that compare pet glucometers to human ones?

Just did another ketone test and this time I compared it to my urine (sorry, but true). I see that mine is a straight up unquestionable Negative, but the kitty's is darker than my strip. Problem is that it doesn't really match the colors shown on the bottle. I guess it might be in the range of Trace to Small, but grayer...unless I am just scaring myself. Definitely not as dark as the Moderate to Large, at all. But definitely does not match my "normal" pee. His recent test is the same color as it was first thing this morning when in my pre-caffeinated state I decided it probably matches the "negative" color. But now I'm freaked out. Any cause for concern? Cat is acting pretty good except for lack of appetite.

Thanks.
 
If its anything other than trace, call your vet immediately. Otherwise try and get him to eat some food that's watered down.
 
Did another test and had husband look. He thinks it's Negative, same color as our pee though a bit darker, and that I am nuts. I think I need some wine. Peter just sat down and ate about 180-200 calories of food which isn't great, but technically enough. I am going to call the vet first thing tomorrow and see if they can get me in a day earlier. This is taking a toll on me.
 
Just try and get some more fluids into him just in case.

We are here for you , let us know how the vet visit goes. You want lantus, levemir or prozinc and let us know what the starting dose is, sometimes vets start too high.

Try not to worry, it's a steep learning curve but it gets easier.
 
PeteandCourt said:
BJM - Could I please have a link to the charts that compare pet glucometers to human ones?...
Click to expand...

You can get really hung up on what meter and how accurate is it. Think of it as reading temperature in Kelvin, Celsius, or Fahrenheit - all of these measure temperature; none of them look the same. You pick a standard and use the reference numbers for it.
ex freezing - 273 degrees Kelvin, 0 degrees Celsius, 32 degrees Fahrenheit

1) The FDA allows all retail meters to vary +/- 20% from what a lab would get. The FDA thinks this is accurate enough for home monitoring.

2) A graph of the test result vs the +/- 20% Any meter value is somewhere in a range. If you wish, test twice to overlap the ranges and the overlap area is closer to a 'true' value. Always retest if you get a funky number as strips can expire, become contaminated, etc. Note: high is high and you take corrective action no matter how high it is - 300, 500, 600, HI - it doesn't matter, you follow the insulin protocol to add more insulin. You must follow the protocol for your insulin or risk overdosing the cat!

3) The Lantus Tight Regulation protocol is based on the work of Dr Rand, from the University of Queensland and has ranges for human glucometers (inexpensive meters and test strips) OR the very expensive pet-specific meters and test strips.

Cost example:
WalMart ReliOn Confirm test strips are .35 each, at 4 tests per day for 30 days = $42
Meter $15
AlphaTrak test strips may be over $1, at 4 tests per day for 30 days = $120
meter $152 at ADW

4) this reference notes if using a whole blood glucose meter calibrated for human blood, it may test 30% to 40% lower than a pet-specific meter or lab tests per the following reference.
 
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