Help us please

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Gbear81

Member Since 2014
Hi, i'm wondering if you could help us.

We have a 3 year old fluffy ginger cat and november last year, he went into dka. And he keeps getting ketones in his urine. The vets gave vetsulin. Started off with 0.5 and now is up to 4.5 and he is getting pruina dm food which he is fed 5 times a day and gets his shots twice a day. he keeps getting high glucose levels and we been checking ketones when he drinks more water I dont understand why he isnt regulated. Its costing us lots of money too. The vets think theres an underlying condition called fip and they also said he is a strange case. He hasnt got pancreatitus. He was very underweight but started gaining weight with the vetsulin. Can you help us please?
We also check his bg at home before insulin shots and done a glucose curve at home too.
 
Welcome and yes, I hope we can help.

Are you feeding dry Purina? If so, check out this website by a vet : www.catinfo.org. Wet, low carb food really supports lower blood glucose levels and better health in general for felines with diabetes, and for any cat. One thing that helps cats keep hydrated, and may help keep ketones at bay, is to add water to wet food and make it sort of a gravy. I'd suggest changing to wet food, if you are not feeding it, slowly by substituting some wet for some dry. Keep your eyes on the numbers, as they can drop dramatically.

We are not keen on Vetsulin on this site. In most cats, it tends to drop the cat blood glucose levels early in the cycle and then wear off early before the next shot. This creates high and low numbers in some cats, making a roller coaster effect that makes the cat feel lousy, and makes it hard for the human to adjust levels to accomodate. We like milder, longer lasting insulins like Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc. Can you afford and get your vet to prescribe a different insulin?

Can you share some of the numbers you are seeing (btw, so glad you are testing at home - that is a huge step!). Give us some preshot numbers and midcycle numbers and maybe we can see some patterns and give you some advice on how to better use the Vetsulin, if it turns out to be the insulin you are stuck with.
 
Yeah he is on wet food dm purina. No dry. Will post numbers in a second. Thank you for replying. Its much appreciated
 
When we take him to vets, he seems to run a fever. Will check it at home though. Its just the fever. Hes on antirobe for toxoplomosis.
 
Bg test he gets fed purina dm wet food at 8am,12:30, 5pm, 8pm and 11pm

5.1.14 8:15 36.2 Insulin 3.5
10am 21.7
12pm 13.9
2pm 22.2
4pm. 29.8
6pm. 31.4
7pm. 34.8
7.30 32.5 Insulin 3.5
9.30. 23.3


17.1.14 1am 19.7
7.55am 21.7 Insulin 4.5
1pm. 30.9
2pm 40.9
6.40pm. 32.3
7.55pm 28.4. Insulin 4.5
9.15pm 30.1
10.15pm. 29.1
12.15pm. 29.5 ketones in urine, told vets they said to give 1 unit of insulin
2am. 22.4
4am. 20.2
6am. 19.3
8am. 19.7. Fed insulin 4.5
12.pm. 17.1
2pm. 17.4
4pm. 16.1
6pm. 22.4
8pm. 20.7 Insulin 4.5
20.1.14 8am 40.1 Insulin 4.5
2pm 20.2
 
Your poor kitty seems to have a lot going on. You have read up on toxoplasmosis and know the cautions for humans? I assume you vet did a test for this diagnosis?

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/toxoplasmosis

Maybe you should start a new thread asking for help on both these specific issues - toxoplasmosis and fpi to get some eyes that might have had experience with one or the other. The board is very slow on weekday mornings, so check back in for replies.

Thanks for the numbers. They are high but he does seem to get a decent duration, just at high numbers. But infections raise bg levels and with two posible conditions going on, that may be a big part of the higher numbers. The ketones are especially troubling in connection with two conditions nd a fever.

Are you in Canada or Europe? (You are using metric not US measures). Are you confident with your vet? Is there any kind of a university nearby with a vet school?

I'm sorry. I don't have any great ideas for you. I think if he were mine, I'd try to get a second opinion on his various issues.
 
FIP is non-treatable and usually kills the cat within a few weeks. It is also nearly impossible to diagnose accurately. Toxoplasmosis usually doesn't cause problems after the intial infection unless the cat is immune compromised. Did the vet mean that the cat could have FIV or FeLV? Antirobe causes diarrhea and should not be given if the cat has a fever. I'd definitely get a second opinion.
 
I am posting on behalf of a friend. Not sure if the cats been tested for fiv etc. money is becoming an issue though. Could vetsulin wear off as in not being effective after a month or 2? I will mention to my mate about the antirobe +fever. He seems to be ok tho, just really hungry. We did change his food to natures menu ut he went into dka. Wish the goddame ketones leave him alone
 
What country are you in? We can help better if we know

These numbers are pretty high. He is only getting DM wet right? no other dry at all ? treats etc?

Wendy
 
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