HELP! Newly diagnosed and Lost!

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nam1026

Member Since 2013
My 10 yo cat Suki was diagnosed this weekend with Diabetes. I'm overwhelmed. My other cat was diagnosed with renal failure just 2 months ago. Because of that I have converted all 3 cats to 95% wet food. They were all eating Hi Tor Neo, Newman's Own and Halo for a bit then they got tired of it so I've had them on Science Diet lately. In the past couple weeks Suki has lost 2 pounds and got picky about food. I had to give her baby food and tuna just to get her to eat. Before this you couldn't have food in front of her without her inhaling it. Food has always been her thing. I need food that can accommodate both conditions-with renal, Phosphorus needs to be under 1% so looking at this food list-I'm quite limited. suki also has IBD and has had it all of her life. About a month ago she puked up blood. I had to put her on oral pred for a few weeks for that. Now I give all 3 of my cats Slippery Elm Bark to help with renal and IBD.

Another complication is suki is very difficult in treating. Taking her to the vet I have to drug her and even drugged she poops all over the table and scratches and tries to bite the vet techs. Its quite an ordeal. I've also never been able to cut her nails-she turns into a wild cat.
So as you can see, picturing giving her shots 2x day and checking her glucose sound ridiculously impossible.

Her Glucose was 397 & fructosamine was 595. I have not been able to get a urine sample yet. I don't know what else is important in blood work. She had quite a few things out of range.

I don't even know where to being. My vet said avg life expectancy is 580 days. She said there are 4 diff types of insulin. I'm so overwhelmed right now. I will be going away for Xmas also so I can't imagine how I will deal with that. Funds are very tight so that is a major concern but I will charge what I have to cause they are my babies. My vet wants me to come back in this week to talk about options after I've done some research.

Reading on here is helping but is also making it more overwhelming!

Thanks.

Deb & Suki
 
Welcome, sort of.
Do you think you can give shots? A lot of cats do not notice if you give them while eating.
You can do some monitor by testing urine for glucose. It is better than nothing if you can't get blood from the ear.
Like everything else in medicine, averages do not mean much.
I adopted two untreated diabetic cats and they died within a year. One from mammary and the other due to heart problems.
I adopted one already being treated ed over 8 1/2 years ago and she is strong going strong.
I also adopted three already diabetic cats and then lived over seven years with me. One died of congestive heart failure, one of undetermined causes, and the other from lung cancer.
 
You've got a lot going on; breaking it down into smaller chunks may help.

You may be limited on diet choices due to the IBD. Nevertheless, take a look at Cat Info and see what you think about the feline nutrition info there. There is a printable table of US/Canadian canned foods that includes the percentage of calories from protein, fat, and carbohydrate, along with phosphorus levels (you want that lower in renal cats). When you can, select foods with under 10% calories from carbohydrates.

For insulins (in rough cost order per unit), BCCP PZI, ProZinc, Lantus, and Levemir are 4 good long acting insulins in cats. Avoid Caninsulin/Vetsulin as in only lasts 8-10 hours in a cat (developed for dogs).
 
I have done sub Q fluids on 2 cats with renal failure previously but Suki is a whole other type of cat. She even runs when I have flea meds out. I try and touch her paws and she starts growling. She can be scary. If not doing these things to her, she is as sweet as can be.

And reading about giving insulin without being able to test at home and sending them into a hypoglycemic shock is so scary!!!

I'll keep on reading...
 
Suki sounds like my cat Beni Imo. I had to pop some antibiotics in him for a UTI and that was an ordeal and a half! I always prayed Dusty wouldn't get sick because I thought it would be impossible to get anything in him. Turns out he's been the sweetest during this whole ordeal; with the vet and me. Guess he knows we're just trying to help him. Everything will fall in place before you know it, I think we all felt overwhelmed in the beginning. Keep reading and asking questions, this is the place to get answers!
 
I can't believe how expensive insulin is! I'm barely getting by paycheck to paycheck as it is. I dont know how I'm going to do this. I had to charge $300 just for her 1st diagnosis visit.

I'm completely overwhelmed by all of this. CRF is much easier to deal with.
 
Hello, and welcome to FDMB,

And here's a big reassuring (((HUG))) for you from 'across the pond' in England.

You've got a lot on your plate right now. But all of us here understand how overwhelming a dx of feline diabetes can be at first. I honestly didn't know how I would cope when my cat was dx nearly 7 years ago. But I did cope, thanks to the help and support I received from the kind people on this forum.

A couple of thoughts...

If Suki has had steroid treatment recently then there is a chance that her diabetes is steroid-induced (it happens sometimes) and could be 'transient'. If it is steroid-induced that could increase the possibility of her going into remission after a spell on insulin. ('Remission' means that the diabetes can be diet-controlled (low carb wet food)).

And wondering about your CRF cat; have you looked into using phosphorous binders for her? I'm just wondering if that would increase the range of foods that you could use...?

Regarding giving insulin shots to a cat, well, as others have said, if the shot is given while the cat is eating they may not even notice. It's a very quick process. And most cats can have their blood glucose tested too, but tricky cats (like yours and mine!) may take a little longer to get used to it. I never thought I'd be able to test my cat, Bert, but I introduced him to the idea very gradually. I'd massage his ear a little and then give him a treat. He quickly came to learn that me touching his ear meant that a treat would follow. Then I got him used to the sight and sounds of the hometesting kit in the same way - by rewarding him with treats. By the time we did a test 'for real' it was just fine. And now I can even test him while he's dozing in his basket (something I would never have believed possible in a million years!).

If you could learn to test Suki's blood glucose at home it could save you a lot of money in vet's bills. But just take things slowly for now; 'baby steps' are just fine. And ask any and all questions that you want to. We are here for you.

Eliz
 
Hi Deb and sugarkitty Suki and welcome to the FDMB from another Deb.

Yes, it can be overwhelming in the beginning but we have lots of experience and ideas here to help you.

My best piece of advice? Deep breathing exercises. Deep breath in, hold, release, deep breath in, hold, release, deep breath in, hold, release..... It will help to relieve some of the stress and kitties pick up on our stress and anxiety and we need to be calm in order to help them the best we can. Sometimes, we are like actors on a stage, because we may be freaking out but need to give the performance of our lives and convince our cats we are calm and in control of the situation.

Diet is a good first step. We highly recommend a low carb canned diet, <10% carbs.

Your situation is complicated by having another cat with special needs and special diet requirements. One of our members took the Food Chart from vet Dr. Lisa Pierson, and created a post with this shortcut list of foods that would work for a diabetic kitty with kidney issues. If you could find some foods on this list that would work for both your special needs CRF kitty and your newly diagnosed diabetic kitty, that would help you with the food.

Sometimes, a food change, especially with a steroid induced case of diabetes, along with a short period of insulin shots, can result in remission or having the diabetic cat be diet controlled. We've seen it many times.

Please, let us know what your priorities are. This is a very treatable disease and cats can live long and healthy lives with diabetes.

ETA: The candle is used when a kitty has died. You might want to go back to your first post and change the icon.
 
There are also coupons/discount cards that you can try to lower the cost of purchasing insulin. Additionally, you may be able to purchase one pen at a time which will help keep costs down.
 
There is also an organization allied Diabetic Cats in Need (DCIN) - google them - that might be able to help

insulin upfront cost is high but it lasts up to 6 months if you keep it in the fridge. and many cats go into remission with a better diet (see shortcut list as mentioned above) and home testing and a good insulin - and in your case it could be transient anyway...

Wendy
 
Thanks everyone. I met with my vet Friday and she had me practice with saline on giving her an injection. I have now given her 3 injections of 1 unit of Lantus, but honestly it doesn't feel like anything is going in. It feels like the syringe is already depressed when I get the needle in and go to depress it. I don't know if somehow i'm depressing it by accident before I get it in her or what. I'm confused. Maybe its just such a little amount its hardly noticeable?

The injections have gone fine=she doesn't even stop eating. My vet said not to stress over testing her BG. That stresses me out a lot-Suki is a very difficult cat. Even drugged up at vets Friday-she pooped diarrhea 4 times on table, peed all over and scratched the vet tech. I can't even touch her paws, I just don't see pricking her ear with a lancet possible. My vet said most of her clients aren't able to do that at home.
She also said she did not feel glucose curves were that important, that testing for the fructosamine was what she does.

suki was on prednisolone for a month or 2 but has been off of it for at least a month if not 2. I sure hope that is what may have caused her diabetes!
I do have her on 100% low carb wet food using the food chart and it seems she is more hydrated now than just a week ago. Thank you.
 
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