FLUTD + diabetes + adorable ginger = Bruce

[Cheeserball]

Bruce is 9 and fine... well, maybe not so fine yet—but we are getting there! It’s a long read, but an interesting and involved one. This guy is on his ninth life.

Bruce was a found kitten, my brother sent me a picture of him and his sister (a calico named Dr. Love), yeah sure we’ll find a home for them... my home. For two years, things were okay—he and his sister had the normal series of vaccines, were spayed/neutered relatively young, etc.

And then 2012 happened. It started in the summer when I saw him straining outside his litter box. Many misdiagnoses and vet bills later... our first vet kept putting catheter after catheter in him without giving me any clue as to how to fix him. I was called 30 minutes before the vet closed for Labor Day weekend asking me what I was planning on doing with him... “Uh what do you mean?”

“Well, it’s the holiday weekend so we needs to be taken to an emergency vet.”

Long story short, they kept him for the weekend and I was calling places to get PU surgery prices, as this vet didn’t do the surgery

I couldn’t afford an emergency vet for surgery, but I found a nearby vet that felt comfortable doing the surgery (with some experience) for a reasonable amount. 9/6/12 was his first surgery (oh yes, first)....

After surgery, he continued dripping and never had a stream of urine. I took him back to the vet countless times, and it was always the same thing—this is his new normal. I accepted that. I tried to get a second opinion elsewhere, but most vets refused and recommended I see a specialist ($$$ that I don’t have). So I just took him back to the second vet, who would occasionally prescribe some sort of medicine for him. He was on Hills CD dry, as he didn’t really want any part of the wet and the vet said that was okay.

Fast forward to October 2016. I took my cat Hulu to a different, newer to the area vet, seeking a second opinion regarding allergies. Loved her! Asked if I could bring my ginger boy with pee problems as he didn’t seem well at all to me, she said sure... saw him and a few hours later, I got a call that he is blocked and a second surgery may help, may not help.

Hence 10/10/16, second PU surgery.

(I swear there is diabetes here, too.)

New vet revised the surgery. She told me that older vets tend to be more conservative with how much they cut... long story short, recovery went excellent and the dude pees like a racehorse. We aren’t sure if it just wasn’t a wide enough opening or if was a stricture issue or what.

So since October 2016, he’s been on dry rx food—I noticed he was gaining a bit of weight, so we switched to Royal Canin SO Moderate Calorie. He had a few spoonfuls of SO paté twice a day. And then weight loss and an insatiable appetite—the phone call to the vet occurred when he literally jumped in my lap and grabbed a cheeseburger out of my hand. He’s not a human food kind of dude.

Vet on 5/14. Blood work and pee samples. He lost weight, but otherwise was healthy.

5/15 he became lethargic and refused to eat. I thought I was going to lose him.

5/16 back to the vet after diabetes is confirmed. They are shocked at how sick he suddenly is, but the good news is no ketones and no kidney damage. They keep him for the night.

5/17 I get him back. I have to feed him with a syringe and am shown how the insulin thing works. Initially we are on 1 unit of Prozinc. I try so many different foods just to get him to eat.

He goes back on the 20th to see how he’s doing/glucose check. He’s doing better, but Doc wants an increase to 2 units. I’m told to get him to eat whatever I can.

He decides of all things, to reallllly like Fancy Feast Classic beef. I start to celebrate him eating on his own.

In the mean time, I’m doing a lot of research about cat food, and am feeling quite overwhelmed. He had a curve on the 7th, and the vet wants him up to 3 units. I gave him 3 units that night and he seemed sluggish. I did 2 units for the rest of the weekend until I confirmed with the vet that 3 was okay.

So that’s where I’m at now. I am not sure if I should give FF (I add a whole can of water to his serving) and risk any sort of blockages, or feed him SO which he doesn’t seem to enjoy as much and is carb heavy, but at least he won’t block. I love our vet, but I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed lately with all of this. A tech called me back on Monday, and said the vet recommends SO, but I could do FF, but I have to be consistent either way. Even the level-headed cat owners closest to me are overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation.

So that’s where I am. I am glad I found this forum, and am hoping to connect to some people (and cats) who are dealing with a similar thing. Bruce is the sweetest boy, and I want the best for him.

-Alicia (Bruce’s mom) and Bruce

 

[Idjit's mom]

Alicia and Bruce, welcome to FDMB. Poor little Bruce and my sympathies to you for all that you both have gone through. You are in exactly the right place to learn about feline diabetes and help Bruce feel better. Other members have also dealt with FLUTD and will be able to relate experiences and what worked for them with treatment.

There is a ton of information here in the different forums, and many new members take a look at that and eyes bulge. I know mine sure did! However, I want to assure you that feline diabetes is a very treatable disease, and you aren't expected to read and absorb everything overnight. One step at a time to getting Bruce healthier and more comfortable. There are three basic components of diabetic treatment for cats, just like for humans: proper diet, insulin therapy and blood sugar testing.
Some recommendations to begin with:

Create a signature so that Bruce's pertinent information is available when you post.
Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

It's important to know what the blood sugar is before you inject insulin, to be sure it isn't too low, and during the 12 hour cycle between shots to see how the insulin is affecting his body. It has been your goal to help Bruce and keep him as healthy as possible so far, and you are a very good pet parent for the lengths you have gone to! You have done your best to prevent discomfort, not to mention intense pain and have saved his life.

Testing his blood sugar at home is the very best way to keep him safe from a hypoglycemic event, which can be life threatening. We can help you learn how to do this, in addition to helping you find a good diet that addresses both his conditions, as well as providing education about the Prozinc insulin you are using. We use a spreadsheet here to record the insulin and testing data so that you, and we, can see the trends and patterns to help determine whether is a dose is working or not.

When you have completed the signature, you should post in the Main Health forum to get more eyes on the issues and questions you have with Bruce. This Intro forum is more like a Welcome mat and more members monitor the Main Health forum HERE

Diet for Bruce is very important for both the diabetes and for the FLUTD, and a place to begin with that is in this link:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...r-more-than-just-carbohydrate-content.175004/
Another very good site about feline nutrition is www.catinfo.org

The Fancy Feast classics or Friskies pates are low in carbohydrates and moist (important for the FLUTD) adding water is a very good idea, to get extra fluid into him. Dry food of any type is not good at all for the FLUTD, and most is too high in carbs for diabetics. I am no expert on that issue, but I do know how important it is for FLUTD kitties to have lots of fluid. You will get more input on that in further discussions in the Main forum.

In regard to the Prozinc dosage, it would be best to read the information in the Prozinc forum HERE and not be too hasty to raise the dose, especially since you are changing his diet to wet food and not testing at home. Changing from dry to wet low carb food can reduce the blood sugar significantly, and his insulin needs can be affected. Posting in the Prozinc forum so that the experienced members can advise could help you.

I know this seems like a lot to start out with Alicia, but knowledge is power and the best way for you to help Bruce to better health and well being. You are in the exactly right place to find that information and support you are looking for now.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Wellcome!!

Take a big breath, this whole diabetes thing even with the FLUTD is manageable and not as hard as it seems at first, is just a matter of getting used to the changes in food and routine and keep asking

In all his episodes did he ever had any kind of crystals?
Did bacteria was ever present in his episodes?
Is he currently on any medication for it?

The Fancy Feast classics or Friskies pates will probably suit him quite well because they are low carb (this is very important for his diabetes) and since wet food is just what he needs to help his FLUTD there are other options in the list that Lou mentioned above, take a look at it.