Hi-relatively new to all of this

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labwrat

Member Since 2013
Hi,
My name is Melissa and my diabetic cat is Kato, a 14 year old domestic long hair. We live in Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area. Kato was diagnosed with diabetes back in June and we have been struggling along with everything. The vet put him on insulin and started with 3 units a day. We have had 3 different glucose curves done and he is consistently running in the 400's, so his insulin dose has worked its way up to 8 units twice a day.

As of today, he is on the 8 units of Novolin N. He is still drinking and peeing constantly. I think I am as stressed as kitty. My problem today is that he is having diarrhea. I made the mistake (I believe) of changing his dry food from Cat Chow to Purina Pro Plan (actually, I started mixing the two together a week or so ago so that he wouldn't be starting a new food suddenly). Today I went back and bought Cat Chow and started mixing it back in.. I will see how he does tonight. He has an appetite (constantly begging for food). I feel at a loss. I'm afraid of upsetting his stomach and then him losing his appetite. Also, he gets a little wet food before his shots (Purina UR, prescription cat food--I have another cat that has renal issues). I ran out and gave Kato a little Whiskas Chicken and gravy the last two days (which is what I feed my outdoor cat). Thinking this may be where the real diarrhea problem lies.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Am I doing the right thing by switching back to his old food? I will do this gradually.

Thanks in advance!
Melissa and Kato
 
labwrat said:
Hi,
My name is Melissa and my diabetic cat is Kato, a 14 year old domestic long hair. We live in Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area. Kato was diagnosed with diabetes back in June and we have been struggling along with everything. The vet put him on insulin and started with 3 units a day. We have had 3 different glucose curves done and he is consistently running in the 400's, so his insulin dose has worked its way up to 8 units twice a day.

As of today, he is on the 8 units of Novolin N. He is still drinking and peeing constantly. I think I am as stressed as kitty. My problem today is that he is having diarrhea. I made the mistake (I believe) of changing his dry food from Cat Chow to Purina Pro Plan (actually, I started mixing the two together a week or so ago so that he wouldn't be starting a new food suddenly). Today I went back and bought Cat Chow and started mixing it back in.. I will see how he does tonight. He has an appetite (constantly begging for food). I feel at a loss. I'm afraid of upsetting his stomach and then him losing his appetite. Also, he gets a little wet food before his shots (Purina UR, prescription cat food--I have another cat that has renal issues). I ran out and gave Kato a little Whiskas Chicken and gravy the last two days (which is what I feed my outdoor cat). Thinking this may be where the real diarrhea problem lies.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Am I doing the right thing by switching back to his old food? I will do this gradually.

Thanks in advance!
Melissa and Kato
Click to expand...

I think the first thing I will say is that you are giving a very harsh insulin and should switch to Lantus or Levemir; N is old school, hard on the cat, and not much chance of your cat reaching remission.

The next thing is the dry food.... that's got to go but you will need to drop the insulin dose way down because the dry food is causing the high numbers and the need for a high dose.

Last, pick up a blood glucose meter ... the Relion meters are the most economical if you are in the US, and start testing at home.

Gayle
 
Sounds like the pro-plan is upsetting his stomach so I would go back to the original food for now.

However if your goal is to get Kato into remission (84% of cats do go into remission with the 3 keys below) then heres what you need to do

1. Insulin - you need a better insulin like Lantus, Levemir or prozinc . Novolin is too harsh.

2. Food - you want a low carb wet food like Fancy feast classic pates, friskies pates or wellness grain free - transitioned over at least a week. But you must be home testing first before you do the change!

3. Home testing - It is critical if you change the food to a low carb wet that you home test because if your cat goes into remission you dont want to overdose him with insulin! Plus home testing is cheaper than vet visits and more reliable as the cat isnt stressed.

Let me know and we can advise more on home testing. I admit I am concerned about Kato being on such a high dose of this harsh insulin and I think we could do better.
Wendy
 
Thank you for the replies! I have now completely quit giving Kato the pro plan food and now just the wet and back Purina Cat Chow. The vet gave me metronidazole for the diarrhea and some kind of probiotic powder to put on his food. Keeping my fingers crossed. So far, no more loose bowel movements since this afternoon.

I have printed up some info/comparisons on the different insulins so I can talk to the vet. My husband and I are totally on board to get him on a better insulin. I watched a youtube video on using a glucose meter at home..probably posted from someone from this message board. Very informative and great video. I think I can do this...
Now to get a glucose meter.

I printed "message from your cat" post....and I thought I was the only one that actually would wake up my cat when he was sleeping to make sure he was okay! Anyway, thanks for that post. It really made me feel better!
I'm glad to have found this site...I don't feel so alone!

Thanks again,
Melissa and Kato
 
Great!

Heres more info. Ear testing tips: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13c_CPZVKz27fD_6aVbsguadJKvjSrSAkD7flgPPhEag/pub

Getting started shopping list
1. Meter ie Walmart Relion Confirm or Micro.
2. Matching strips
3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool.
4. Cotton balls to stem the blood
5. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound
6. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against
7. Ketone urine test strips ie ketodiastix - Important to check ketones when blood is high
8. Sharps container - to dispose of waste syringes and lancets.
9. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken
10. Karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
11. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
 
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