Cleo is a 10 year old rescue tabby cat that was diagnosed with diabetes 2 weeks ago. This is only her 2nd day on lantus (3 shots so far) and tonight she wouldn't eat or drink so i did not give her the evening shot. She spent most of the day sleeping and when she finally used the box her urin was bright yellow. Any suggestions ???
Help, I'm new to this !
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MommaOfMuse
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Okay very first thing to do is breathe...it maybe a little slow here for awhile until the late night folks show up but lets see how much of this we can get sorted out for you.
First we will need a little more information so we can best figure out how to help you help Cleo.
First off at what is the dose of Lantus you are giving her?
What is her diet right now?
Did your vet talk to you about testing her bloodsugar at home?
there will be other questions but those are the biggies for right now.
Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
First we will need a little more information so we can best figure out how to help you help Cleo.
First off at what is the dose of Lantus you are giving her?
What is her diet right now?
Did your vet talk to you about testing her bloodsugar at home?
there will be other questions but those are the biggies for right now.
Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
C
Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)
Guest
Definitely answer all the questions Mel asked, but I just looked up cat urine (you can google ANYTHING!) and found this:
(if anyone ever looks at my google search history, they're going to think I'm not quite right :lol: )
Any not normal odor? Could just be brighter yellow of stronger in color because she's been holding it for a while.
Carl
(if anyone ever looks at my google search history, they're going to think I'm not quite right :lol: )
http://www.cat-health-guide.org/cat-urine.html
Any not normal odor? Could just be brighter yellow of stronger in color because she's been holding it for a while.
Carl
Thank you ! Not only am I new to diabetes but also posting on a board. I thought I posted an answer to the questions you asked but I'm not sure what happened to it : (
Cleo is on 2 units of lantus twice a day, her diet was changed by the vet 2 weeks ago but at even a 50/50 mix she dose not like it. I have not started home glucose testing yet on advice from the vet. I spoke with the vet this morning and was told to cut her injection to 1 unit twice a day.
I'll see how she does tonight............
Cleo is on 2 units of lantus twice a day, her diet was changed by the vet 2 weeks ago but at even a 50/50 mix she dose not like it. I have not started home glucose testing yet on advice from the vet. I spoke with the vet this morning and was told to cut her injection to 1 unit twice a day.
I'll see how she does tonight............
C
Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)
Guest
You said a 50/50 mix... is that wet/dry mixed? What brands of food? Did she eat we'lll at breakfast?
Carl
Carl
BJM
Very Active Member
Jt0259 said:
Good Job!!! That is the absolutely CORRECT decision to make! And safest! If the cat is not eating, there is nothing to match up with the insulin. In the absence of test data to see where her glucose level was, not shooting is the safest thing to do. Once you master testing, then you will have a clue if the lack of appetitie is because she is too high or too low.
jt and trouble (GA)
Very Active Member
There's not a doctor alive who would tell you to inject your child with insulin without testing his blood sugar first. THAT would be malpractice. I dont know WHY Vets think we are incapable of testing our own cats.
jeanne
jeanne
Julia & Bandit (GA)
Very Active Member
jt and trouble (GA) said:
Agreed. My vet told me it was very dangerous NOT to test my cat's blood sugar at home because office testing is not very effective or reliable, and then showed me how to do it on their resident office cat.
According to the current AAHA diabetes guidelines, home monitoring is "ideal and strongly encouraged" (p. 218, Precautions and Details).
Just like with people, bright colored urine can be an indication that the cat is dehydrated. What foods are you feeding? If there is dry food in the mix, you need to get rid of it because it causes chronic dehydration in cats (cats need moisture with their food). The canned food you're feeding needs to be less than 10% carbs. There are many inexpensive grocery store options for this. Friskies, Special Kitty, Fancy Feast, and many other cat food brands have flavors that are diabetic safe. If you vet has you feeding a prescription diet, it is a total waste of your money and is likely not helping the diabetes. The only prescription food that is low enough in carbs for a diabetic is canned Purina DM, and that's pretty much the same thing as a cheaper low carb grocery store food, so you're only paying for the label.
One good way to get moisture in a cat is to mix a little water in with each meal of their wet food.
Cleo has been on Science diet RD (dry) for over a year and she likes it. Last week when she was diagnosed the vet started her on Science diet WD (dry). I have been slowly mixing the two together to get her use to the new diet but she does not like it.
As for the home testing the vet told me that for the first few weeks there was no need (her initial blood sugar was over 350). I will start home testing after her first glucose curve is done at the vets office.
Her shot this morning was only 1 unit instead of 2 and she seems more like herself today : )
As for the home testing the vet told me that for the first few weeks there was no need (her initial blood sugar was over 350). I will start home testing after her first glucose curve is done at the vets office.
Her shot this morning was only 1 unit instead of 2 and she seems more like herself today : )
MommaOfMuse
Very Active Member
Okay a couple of things...first ditch the dry! Science diet WD is 37% carbs! According to this chart http://binkyspage.tripod.com/dryfood.html That is about akin to feeding a diabetic human child a diet of twinkies and kool-aid!
A diabetic cat needs a diet of under 10% carbs. If you think she will eat canned food that is a far better choice here is the chart that we use when picking food for our diabetics Binky's List there are tons of better choices on it than that dry food. Even if you need to slowly transition her off dry onto canned EVO or Wellness Core are lower in carbs. Basically all the prescription diabetic cat food is nothing more than over priced junk food, and you are paying for the label, there is no magic ingredients inside, and many of the commerical foods that you can find in your local grocery store are better quality as far as ingredients.
I have 13 cats only two of which are diabetic and not a single one of them would touch that prescription stuff, everyone here eats exactly what my 2 diabetics eat...just good old fashioned Friskies Pate and Fancy Feast Classics. On this diet my one diabetic is already been in remission and off insuln for over a year, and my other one keeps flirting with going off insulin.
If you are giving insulin then you need to be testing at home. No human doctor would tell a mother to inject insulin into her child without testing first, and it should be no different because the child is a cat! If I had waited two weeks to start testing my guy that is in remission now, he would have hypoed and possibly die. You see he went from 485 when he was diagnoised to off insulin altogether in those two weeks. WIth him it took vitually only changing his diet to a low carb high protein canned diet to drop him that far. Any human glucometer will do just fine it doesn't need to be an expensive pet only meter either. We can teach you how to test her at home, we have taught 100s of folks to do it. you will find a bunch of tips and videos here Home Testing on just how we do it with our own sugarkitties. And if you want to give us a general location (city and state) we might even be able to round up a member that is close to you that can pop in and give you a hand learning the ropes.
Now one word of caution ....DON'T change her diet until you are home testing because simply getting rid of all those carbs in the dry food can greatly reduce her insulin needs, we see cats all the time drop 100-300 pts virtually overnight once the dry clears their system.
We will be more than happy to help you learn the best way to help you lovely Cleo and before long you will have your little girl back again just as frisky and happy as she was before she became diabetic.
Mel,Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
A diabetic cat needs a diet of under 10% carbs. If you think she will eat canned food that is a far better choice here is the chart that we use when picking food for our diabetics Binky's List there are tons of better choices on it than that dry food. Even if you need to slowly transition her off dry onto canned EVO or Wellness Core are lower in carbs. Basically all the prescription diabetic cat food is nothing more than over priced junk food, and you are paying for the label, there is no magic ingredients inside, and many of the commerical foods that you can find in your local grocery store are better quality as far as ingredients.
I have 13 cats only two of which are diabetic and not a single one of them would touch that prescription stuff, everyone here eats exactly what my 2 diabetics eat...just good old fashioned Friskies Pate and Fancy Feast Classics. On this diet my one diabetic is already been in remission and off insuln for over a year, and my other one keeps flirting with going off insulin.
If you are giving insulin then you need to be testing at home. No human doctor would tell a mother to inject insulin into her child without testing first, and it should be no different because the child is a cat! If I had waited two weeks to start testing my guy that is in remission now, he would have hypoed and possibly die. You see he went from 485 when he was diagnoised to off insulin altogether in those two weeks. WIth him it took vitually only changing his diet to a low carb high protein canned diet to drop him that far. Any human glucometer will do just fine it doesn't need to be an expensive pet only meter either. We can teach you how to test her at home, we have taught 100s of folks to do it. you will find a bunch of tips and videos here Home Testing on just how we do it with our own sugarkitties. And if you want to give us a general location (city and state) we might even be able to round up a member that is close to you that can pop in and give you a hand learning the ropes.
Now one word of caution ....DON'T change her diet until you are home testing because simply getting rid of all those carbs in the dry food can greatly reduce her insulin needs, we see cats all the time drop 100-300 pts virtually overnight once the dry clears their system.
We will be more than happy to help you learn the best way to help you lovely Cleo and before long you will have your little girl back again just as frisky and happy as she was before she became diabetic.
Mel,Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
Julia & Bandit (GA)
Very Active Member
There is no need wasting money on an office curve if you are home testing. Office testing is expensive and unreliable, since most cats have inflated blood glucose values at the vets office due to stress. This leads to inaccurate and dangerous overdosing.
I hate to say this, but most likely the Hills R/D caused your cat's diabetes, and the W/D is just as bad. I'm pretty sure dry W/D is what caused Bandit's diabetes. Unfortunately, your vet is not up to date with current feline diabetes treatment guidelines. This is very common as treatment has changed drastically over the past few years. Please print this document and give it to your vet: http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/AAHADiabetesGuidelines.pdf. Note p. 217-218, where a low carb canned diet and home monitoring are strongly recommended for treatment.
The only prescription diet that is suitable for a diabetic cat is canned Purina DM, but it's pretty much the same thing as low carb, cheaper grocery store foods like Friskie's, Fancy Feast, or Special Kitty so you're only paying for the label.
The good news is that with Lantus, your cat has an 84% chance of remission IF you are feeding solely a low carb, canned diet, and making insulin adjustments via daily home testing. I've attached an article on this for you to print out and give to your vet as well.
If you give this information to your vet and they are still insisting that you don't need to home test or change the diet, I would change vets.
Bandit ate dry Purina indoor for the first 6 years of his life, and he became morbidly obese off of the dry food. His ideal weight is 13 lbs, and he weighed 23. I took him to what I thought was an expert in feline nutrition, one of the inventors of Hills Science Diet. He put Bandit on dry W/D, then Science diet light. Bandit lost the weight, but developed triaditis from the food. I then switched him to Iams weight control dry. He started to gain weight again despite restricted feedings. Finally, I did some reading myself on feline nutrition and was shocked at what I found. I immediately started feeding a half canned, half grain-free dry diet, but it was too late. Bandit was diagnosed with diabetes a few months later because of all the excessive carbohydrates I was feeding him. My other cat was diagnosed with kidney disease at the same time, again, from eating a dry diet her whole 14 years.
However, this is very important, do not change the diet before home testing. Getting rid of the dry can cause some cats to immediately go into remission or reduce their insulin needs, so if you're not testing and still giving insulin a dangerous hypoglycemic incident can occur.
Here is some more information about the health problems caused dry vs. wet food, written by a vet who is an expert in feline nutrition: www.catinfo.org
Dry food and Obesity: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity
Prescription diets: http://catinfo.org/#Prescription_Diets_and_Marketing_Labels
Diet and diabetes: http://catinfo.org/#Diabetes
I hate to say this, but most likely the Hills R/D caused your cat's diabetes, and the W/D is just as bad. I'm pretty sure dry W/D is what caused Bandit's diabetes. Unfortunately, your vet is not up to date with current feline diabetes treatment guidelines. This is very common as treatment has changed drastically over the past few years. Please print this document and give it to your vet: http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/AAHADiabetesGuidelines.pdf. Note p. 217-218, where a low carb canned diet and home monitoring are strongly recommended for treatment.
The only prescription diet that is suitable for a diabetic cat is canned Purina DM, but it's pretty much the same thing as low carb, cheaper grocery store foods like Friskie's, Fancy Feast, or Special Kitty so you're only paying for the label.
The good news is that with Lantus, your cat has an 84% chance of remission IF you are feeding solely a low carb, canned diet, and making insulin adjustments via daily home testing. I've attached an article on this for you to print out and give to your vet as well.
If you give this information to your vet and they are still insisting that you don't need to home test or change the diet, I would change vets.
Bandit ate dry Purina indoor for the first 6 years of his life, and he became morbidly obese off of the dry food. His ideal weight is 13 lbs, and he weighed 23. I took him to what I thought was an expert in feline nutrition, one of the inventors of Hills Science Diet. He put Bandit on dry W/D, then Science diet light. Bandit lost the weight, but developed triaditis from the food. I then switched him to Iams weight control dry. He started to gain weight again despite restricted feedings. Finally, I did some reading myself on feline nutrition and was shocked at what I found. I immediately started feeding a half canned, half grain-free dry diet, but it was too late. Bandit was diagnosed with diabetes a few months later because of all the excessive carbohydrates I was feeding him. My other cat was diagnosed with kidney disease at the same time, again, from eating a dry diet her whole 14 years.
However, this is very important, do not change the diet before home testing. Getting rid of the dry can cause some cats to immediately go into remission or reduce their insulin needs, so if you're not testing and still giving insulin a dangerous hypoglycemic incident can occur.
Here is some more information about the health problems caused dry vs. wet food, written by a vet who is an expert in feline nutrition: www.catinfo.org
Dry food and Obesity: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity
Prescription diets: http://catinfo.org/#Prescription_Diets_and_Marketing_Labels
Diet and diabetes: http://catinfo.org/#Diabetes
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