Our cat Mr. Butters was just diagnosed 1 week ago yesterday. I am very confused ad he seems weaker and sicker then ever. Mr. Butters also has inflammatory bowel disease so he is on Hills id. Dietary Care wet food. I was told to give him a half a can in the morning with his injection and a half a can in the evening with his second injection. The can is 5.5 oz. He is starving and very lethargic. He barely gets up and moves around unless it's to beg for food. I am thinking he may be hypoglycemic. I went on the fb page and got a lot of great advice. First of which was to get a monitor to test his blood before giving a shot, which I will do this evening. My question is do you think it will be ok for me to give him a full can of food 5.5 oz tonight? He clearly needs more. He is walking more flat footed then he was last week before he was diagnosed. Should I skip his insulin tonight. My concern is that his sugar is low from lack of food and giving him more insulin is just making him worse. I am clueless about diabetes and was just going on what my vet told me. She also said not to give him any food between shots because this will mess up his levels. This poor boy is not himself. Can anyone help me figure out what to do? Thanks
Hello!
- Thread starter Kiki72
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Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
Welcome to the FDMB Kirsten and "extra sweet" Mr. Butters!!
Glad to see you came over from the Facebook group! I know you've already gotten lots of good advice there about feeding but will add and probably repeat some of it
First, a low carb canned food is going to be the best thing for Mr. Butter's diabetes and the Hills is high carb. Is he on any medication for the IBD? We have quite a few cats here that have both diabetes and IBD and none of them are eating Hills. There's nothing special about the "prescription diets" in the first place and most of them are no better in ingredients than the cheapest food at the supermarket. Most of us here feed Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pate's, but if your cat can't tolerate those due to the IBD, there are other low carb foods available (and they don't cost any more....and may cost less than the Hills)
It's actually better for the pancreas to have several small meals instead of 2 big ones (although most vets still say only feed twice a day). Those big meals just add extra stress to the pancreas when it needs to rest to heal, so smaller meals are better
Until your cat's diabetes is under better control, he's actually starving, so don't worry so much right now about how much he's eating. Not saying feed as much as he wants, but definitely if he's still that hungry, he needs to eat more for now!
Think of insulin as a "key" to the lock that opens the door to the cells and lets the glucose in....without that "key", the glucose can't get into the cells to nourish them so they're starving...and the cat eats more and more to try to compensate for it. Once you get the diabetes under better control, his appetite should come down quite a bit
Glad to see you came over from the Facebook group! I know you've already gotten lots of good advice there about feeding but will add and probably repeat some of it
First, a low carb canned food is going to be the best thing for Mr. Butter's diabetes and the Hills is high carb. Is he on any medication for the IBD? We have quite a few cats here that have both diabetes and IBD and none of them are eating Hills. There's nothing special about the "prescription diets" in the first place and most of them are no better in ingredients than the cheapest food at the supermarket. Most of us here feed Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pate's, but if your cat can't tolerate those due to the IBD, there are other low carb foods available (and they don't cost any more....and may cost less than the Hills)
It's actually better for the pancreas to have several small meals instead of 2 big ones (although most vets still say only feed twice a day). Those big meals just add extra stress to the pancreas when it needs to rest to heal, so smaller meals are better
Until your cat's diabetes is under better control, he's actually starving, so don't worry so much right now about how much he's eating. Not saying feed as much as he wants, but definitely if he's still that hungry, he needs to eat more for now!
Think of insulin as a "key" to the lock that opens the door to the cells and lets the glucose in....without that "key", the glucose can't get into the cells to nourish them so they're starving...and the cat eats more and more to try to compensate for it. Once you get the diabetes under better control, his appetite should come down quite a bit
Thank you so much for answering me. He is not on any medication for the IBD. I am afraid if I change his food his IBD will flair up again. His vet said that his diabetes was kicked off from the steroid shot he received for the IBD as he was tested in August and his sugar was normal. If I feed him small meals throughout the day do I have to increase his insulin dose? What is a good glucose number for a cat? I am very confused on what to do and am afraid to do the wrong thing. Thanks again.
Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
No.....I'm pretty sure from the sound of the information on Facebook that you're using Lantus (please confirm as soon as possible) and as you test, you'll learn how Mr. Butters responds to both insulin and food. Some cats are more carb sensitive than others, but you'll learn more about when to feed as you learn more about "the sugardance". Right now, the important thing is to take food up 2 hours before you test so you get a test result that's not influenced by food. This is called the "Pre-shot test"
Normal blood glucose is 50-120...just like humans
Yes it is Lantus. So he has not eaten since 8 am this morning except for a few treats. Do I test him tonight and when I do will that give me an accurate number because he has not eaten? I am planning on giving him the whole can tonight after he is tested and then the shot. Which we have been giving in the scruff of his neck as per the dr. I just read on here that is NOT the place to give it . UGH. Does this sound right?
Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
I give China's in her scruff and I think a lot of others do too...there's some information that says the site you inject can effect the absorption rate of the insulin, but there's no proof of it that I know of
What we do is Test/Feed/Shoot....all within about 5-10 minutes....you Test to make sure they're high enough for insulin, then Feed to make sure they're eating fairly normally and Shoot. If Mr. Butters hasn't had anything to eat since this morning (and you don't feed him for the 2 hours before shot time) the numbers will be accurate
How much insulin did your vet start Mr. Butters on?
I'd like to ask you to move over to the Health Forum for now....this forum is more just for a short introduction...you'll get more information over there and more people watching out for you. Later on, we'll invite you to the Lantus Forum (but there's no law that says you can't start there if you want to) There is lots of great information on Lantus at the top of the Lantus forum in the "Stickys"
We also have a spreadsheet program we use here that is a very valuable tool...Here are instructions on setting up the FDMB spreadsheet
When you move over to the Health forum, just put the link to this post in your message so people can see what's already been said (but you'll still probably hear the same information again!...LOL)
What we do is Test/Feed/Shoot....all within about 5-10 minutes....you Test to make sure they're high enough for insulin, then Feed to make sure they're eating fairly normally and Shoot. If Mr. Butters hasn't had anything to eat since this morning (and you don't feed him for the 2 hours before shot time) the numbers will be accurate
How much insulin did your vet start Mr. Butters on?
I'd like to ask you to move over to the Health Forum for now....this forum is more just for a short introduction...you'll get more information over there and more people watching out for you. Later on, we'll invite you to the Lantus Forum (but there's no law that says you can't start there if you want to) There is lots of great information on Lantus at the top of the Lantus forum in the "Stickys"
We also have a spreadsheet program we use here that is a very valuable tool...Here are instructions on setting up the FDMB spreadsheet
When you move over to the Health forum, just put the link to this post in your message so people can see what's already been said (but you'll still probably hear the same information again!...LOL)
Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
It'll also help if you'll fill out your signature line...with at least the info you have now (add more as you get it)
Just click on your sign on name (at the top right) and choose "Signature"...a new box will pop up and you can add info like your name/cats name, diagnoses date, type of insulin, type of food, type of meter, any other health problems? (IBD) and eventually the link to your spreadsheet
You'll see this info under any of our posts...keeps us from having to ask the same questions over and over again
Just click on your sign on name (at the top right) and choose "Signature"...a new box will pop up and you can add info like your name/cats name, diagnoses date, type of insulin, type of food, type of meter, any other health problems? (IBD) and eventually the link to your spreadsheet
You'll see this info under any of our posts...keeps us from having to ask the same questions over and over again
Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
If you have any problem with the spreadsheet, just holler! We can set it up and transfer it to you
It requires a Google account but anybody can get one (If you don't already have one)
It requires a Google account but anybody can get one (If you don't already have one)
Cindy Lou & George
Member Since 2015
Welcome! 
I am a newbie too! the People are great here and I couldn't have even thought about managing my "Sugar Baby" George if it were not for this group! As they all tell me.... Take a Deep Breath it will be ok!!!
Prayers to you and your family
Cindy Lou
I am a newbie too! the People are great here and I couldn't have even thought about managing my "Sugar Baby" George if it were not for this group! As they all tell me.... Take a Deep Breath it will be ok!!! Prayers to you and your family
Cindy Lou
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