Finding out the results tonight.

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Nutmeg

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Hi everyone, I am the proud mummy of a special little girl named Nutmeg. We adopted her almost 5 years ago from the local Cats Protection League. Shortly after we adopted her we discovered she was deaf. We also found out she has a condition called 'FORS' (sp?) which means her teeth and gums are prone to infection (she already had one tooth removed). The vet told us that in order to keep the tartar build up on her teeth to a minimum we should stay away from wet food (to be honest she never liked it anyway).

So we have been feeding her only dry food.I am aware of how much ash they put into dry food so I always made sure to get some of the better brands like James Wellbeloved and Royal Canin - which are meant to be more healthy.

Over the past few months we noticed Nutmeg was drinking a lot of water - much more then usual. I took her to the vets last week and they suspected Diabetes. She is in again today to have a blood glucose curve done - we are scared for her and hope she will be ok.

My sister has had diabetes for over 30 years so I know it can be managed - but it is frightening to think we will have to give Nutmeg injections for the rest of her life. I keep thinking what if I mess up and don't give the injection properly? What if I have to go out and she has a reaction and goes into a coma? We are due to go away to see my parents at the end of July - what if we cant find anyone to look after her - or we do- but they don't give her proper care and she dies?

My head is a bit of a mess right now - so many worries and anxieties around all this.

I have read some posts and am wondering if it could be possible to stabilize her through diet eventually - maybe we will need the injections only for the short term - maybe that is wishful thinking. Controlling diet feels less scary then injecting medication.

Anyway I just wanted to introduce myself and say how grateful I am that this forum and site are here. This has been such an emotionally draining time and it helps to not feel so alone.

Thank you all. xx
 
Hi! Others will be posting with a lot more info for you......I just wanted to say hometesting is a life saver and you could learn it today before she even starts insulin. Also, dry food.........if you can get her back to canned, she might actually become a diet controlled diabetic. As for the FORL, my Mishka has it and she eats only canned food and has been diabetic for 6 1/2 years. She goes to a Board Certified Dental Specialist for a cleaning and check every 6 months and so far has only lost one tooth. Dry food is so high in carbs and as far as helping with the FORL it isn't. If she will eat canned, I would put her back on the canned and keep her teeth clean through dental checkups.
 
THANK YOU!!! Thank you so much you have been so helpful!

I will definitely be asking the vet tonight about home testing and the possibility of controlling her diabetes with diet - if she will eat canned food I will certainly put her on it.

No one else I have spoken with has even heard of FORL and I had trouble finding info on it - so it is comforting to know we can control that situation better as well.

BIG chin scritches and hugs to you and mishka

xxxx
 
My Oscar is half Abyssinian, which is a breed very prone to gingivitis too, though I have not heard FlOR before. From my readings, the crunchy-ness of dry food actually doesn't help to clean the teeth, and wet food doesn't make it worse. What will be more beneficial to keep the teeth clean is to give meat chunks that require your kitty to gnaw on it because the tearing of the meat cleans their teeth better than anything. I have even heard of people buying small raw chicken necks and giving it to their cats to chow down on. Raw chicken bone is perfectly safe for a kitty to chew on too (cooked chicken bone splinters though).
 
Thank you - I will look into the chicken, although Nutmeg has never really taken to anything other then the dry food (I don't know what happened in her previous life - but she had a very bad tummy as well when we first got her)

I had a quick look at Oscar's chart. That is really helpful to see how you organize and keep track of his info.

Ok deep breaths, I am going to have a cup of tea and make some notes and then head off to the vets.

I now have some good questions to ask him.

Nose rubs and hugs to you and oscar! xx
 
Hi and welcome to the board! It has almost been a year for us dealing with diabetes but I still remember how overwhelmed we felt when we first heard the words. It is very smart to do research before you get the diagnosis, that way when you go to the vet you are well informed and let them know you are going to be proactive about this.

Mocha just had her first dental done (she's 6 1/2) and she also had FORL's and had to have *gulp* 8 teeth removed! Plus the board certified vet that did it told me she had already lost one tooth, most likely from FORL's. She gave us toothpaste to use as well as cat dental treats to use for mochas teeth. She knows that mocha eats wet cat food, being a diabetic that is so important, and she never once mentioned that that is what caused the FORL's. In fact she said that they have found mummified cat's from 100's of years ago that had them in their teeth. No one knows why some cats get them and some cats don't.
 
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