I need Help! Looking for a Possible Foster!

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perwhit

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Hi Everyone,

I have a four year old kitty that was recently diagnosed with diabetes here in December of 2010. I have been giving him his shots diligently, but I think he is still having problems and is to the stage where he is unregulated. I had started him out on three units and he is now up to five units with no change. He really needs to be going to the vet regularly and have his urine checked. I do check his levels here at home with an ear stick, but he is still around the 400 and 500 range regardless of the time of day with occasional 200 values right after his shot is administered. He is on the PZI right now. I really am not sure what else to do. I love my cat, but there is an issue of both cost and time. I work more than 30 hours a week and my boyfriend works as many as 80 hours a week. He still gets his shots on time, but its only a matter of time before he doesnt. I noticed that he has been bloating lately, but still continues to pee and drink constantly (which is a good sign at least). I really do not want to let this go until my kitty is dying. I love him a lot, and raised him since he was two days old. I have the option to put him in a local no kill shelter, but I really do not think that is an option for him either. He does not do well in a cage or even at the vets. He gets extremely aggressive to the point to where he needs anesthetized just to be seen at the vets. Is there anyone nearby me that has fostered diabetics before and would be willing to do so for me now? I am more than willing to compensate anyone for the vet treatment at a later date if I could have him back then. I just know and foresee that this can get a lot worse before it gets any better. I was not at all prepared to take care of a diabetic, nor do I have the money or resources to do so.

I fear that if I do spend the money, then I wont have the time and it will be for nothing. I have spent nearly 500 on him initially and I will still be paying off the bill come the end of the year. I really need the help. If anyone knows anybody or has questions or suggestions, please send them my way. I really would like some kind of help with this in finding him a foster home that could get him regulated and with luck get him off the insulin completely.

Thank You,

Whitney Persun

Williamsport, Pennsylvania
 
It is difficult to find someone to foster a diabetic. There may be someone who can help so be patient and check back for replies.

In the meantime, we may be able to help you with his care. First, it is wonderful you are hometesting. It is important to get midcycle tests so you can see how the insulin is working. Sometimes, the kitty is going low mid cycle and then bouncing back up to those higher numbers. I would urge you to get some numbers at +4 - +6 hours after the shot. If daytime is impossible, set an alarm for those hours at night and get some tests in.

What food are you feeding? We advocate wet lo carb. Here a FD vet explains why: www.catinfo.org It can make a huge difference. When we switched our Oliver from dry to wet, his numbers came down 100 points overnight.
 
Sue,

Thanks for the response. I feed him Blue Wilderness blend, dry food, which has absolutely no grains. It is around 50 percent protein and the best dry food I can get besides vet formula. That is part of the reason why I need to foster him. I have other cats, and I am not home regularly enough for him to get fed wet. I can give him wet here and there, but not when he would need it exactly throughout the day. I have a self feeding bowl that all the cats eat from. It has been difficult. I know wet food would help. I am trying :( I feel so bummed about this because I know what he needs and right now it isnt something I can provide for him, hence the reason why I am looking for a foster. If you can put any word out it would be great.

Thanks
 
There are many people who have diet controlled diabetic cats. By removing the dry food from the picture,you may not need to worry about fostering. Have you tried feeding wet food to all the cats? The wet is better for them so it may be worth a try.
 
Yes, I would do it if I could. I am only home for an hour in the morning and a few hours at night. The cats eat when they want too, including my diabetic. If I could get them on a schedule so they would actually eat when I was home it would be plausible, but they nit pick when I do have the time to feed them. I also would only have the opportunity to feed them all a can twice a day, which is usually fancy feast blend. It is hard though with my time, it really is. Thats why I am looking for the foster is due to the time restraints I have. In a few weeks, I will have to do it all myself because my boyfriend will be out of state for weeks to months at a time. It will be really difficult to keep up with a wet food regiment at this point.
 
In Dr. Lisa Pierson's article on Feline Nutrition, she said she leaves wet food out free choice for up to 12 hrs at a time. I feed wet food free choice, 2x per day, but they usually finish it within a couple hours, an average of 5 oz per cat per day. You might get lucky and achieve remission if you feed wet food only, but if you do this, don't give any insulin for at least 24 hrs in case your kitty goes low after not having any dry food. Switching from dry to wet made a monumental difference for my FD kitty.
 
You could also get a timed feeder which would open at times you set. They hold probably 2 cans of food in each slot, which should be more than enough for 3 or 4 cats.

5U of PZI is very high. Is he given insulin once a day or twice a day? Insulin should be given twice daily for cats because they metabolize insulin faster than people do. If he is getting 5U once a day, that is trouble. My cat Gandalf was getting up to 6U of PZI once a day in the beginning before I found this board. He now does well on just over 1U of his insulin, a long acting type called Levemir. So even a very small amount of insulin can do the job.

I'm not sure what you mean by seeing him bloated? Is he gaining weight? There is a condition called acromegaly which might cause that but he needs particular type of tests to determine that. It usually occurs in cats older than 4yrs however. It simply occurred to me because you mentioned bloating and the condition causes some internal organs to enlarge.

Many of us hold down full time jobs and manage the care of our diabetics to the best of our ability. You don't have to be the perfect caregiver, just a loving, caring one, which sounds like you are. Hang in there.
 
If/when I have to be gone all day, I leave two cans of Fancy Feast in a dish for Spunky in his feeding station (bedroom) and two cans of Fancy Feast in a dish for Stevie in his. When I get home, they get two more each. Stevie is a diet controlled diabetic. He was three when I took him as a Foster from the Humane Society, I gave him insulin off and on for ten days and he was off the juice. Changing him from dry food made all the difference. He also had ear infections and very bad teeth. My boy now has no teeth, but the big thing, no more ear infections since horrid teeth are gone, and runs and plays like a kitten. I adopted him less than a week after starting Foster... What a great piece of luck finding him.

Your insulin dose seems way too high. Can you drop him back to 1 unit... he's young, I'm betting you could get him off the juice too.

Take the dose down to one unit... test him.. The people on this board know what they're talking about... (((Hugs))) and please know that things will get better..
 
I have 8 cats and work a lot of hours too. But it is possible to get them on a feeding schedule, especially with wet food. With me, it only took them missing a meal or two before they realized that when I put food down, they need to eat. If they don't, someone else will eat their food and they have to wait until the next meal. I have never had any of them miss more than one meal.

The only one I make sure that he eats is Ricky, my diabetic. But since he is a pig, that usually is not a problem. :lol:
 
Thanks Everyone!

He was started out at 3 units by the vet. My vet had told me to raise it a unit after a few weeks if there was no change. Since I was monitoring his blood levels, and they were still high, he said an increase will not be a problem so long as he is not bottoming out. So far, the lowest I have ever seen him at is 250. I will have to make a change with the food to a degree. I will try to do this. Biggest problem I forsee is my dog. Leaving moist food out for the kitties is likely to be consumed by my dog. I will see what I can do. I usually have no problem coming up with some kind of scheme. The hog eats the dry food as it is occasionally even though he has his dog food.

I usually dont have to worry about my diabetic eating, he is a hog himself when it comes to moist food. It is the other kitties I have a problem with. I guess it could not hurt to leave out the dry for awhile and supplement with the wet and see who is going to eat what and when just to get an idea and then adjust accordingly. I have two very thin energetic cats that only eat when they are hungry. The other two eat all throughout the day and probably more than they should. I do not want to risk the thinner cats not eating if its not available.

Just so everyone knows, his name is Marcus. He looks like a maine coon kitty. He weighs approximately 18 pounds now. Before the diabetes, he was a strong and healthy looking 23 pounds. I will get a picture to post up on here so everyone can see him. I love my boy. He had lost a lot of weight due to the diabetes and I can feel his hips and spine now. I really want to get him back. I cannot even have him in the bed anymore because he constantly has litter caked to his paws from the constant peeing. I feel so bad. Keep up the comments everyone, it all helps!
 
I leave out canned food 24 hours per day for my 4 cats -- they all get the low carb canned food that is good for my diabetic, Tiggy. I do keep my home at 65 to 73 degrees year round (cooler at night in winter) because hubby and I have bad allergies (no open windows)

Can you leave the food for them where the dog can't get it? (on a table or similar)
 
Hi Whitney,
Your vet starting Marcus at 3U sounds exactly like what happened when Gandalf was diagnosed, who also weighed about 18 pounds at the time as his diabetes was caught early and he hadn't started loosing weight yet. He was started at 3U of PZI and I was told to increase because he peed copious amounts and drank constantly. I have a picture of him laying at the water bowl. Does Marcus do that? Marcus is loosing weight because his body is not able to metabolize carbohydrates like it should. It is a sign the diabetes is out of control. And if this lack of control continues he can get sicker, possibly developing ketones, a life threatening condition.

From my and others' experience, cats are sometimes started at too high of dose perhaps because the vet has forgotten that unlike most other medications, insulin should not be dosed by weight. I cannot stress enough that his insulin dose should be lowered, not raised. No more than 1U twice daily and his blood glucose must be checked before each shot with a human glucometer, and as often throughout the day as you can when you are available, every 2 hours testing results in what is called a curve which determines how well the insulin dose is working. I gather you already are hometesting?

Over the years we have seen a number of people come here hoping to find someone who can care for their cat because they know there is something wrong in the way the diabetes is being treated, but they don't know what. The poor owner is at a loss, feels out of control themselves and hopes someone can help their cat, because surely the owner him or herself is unable or their cat would be well by now. That is not the case. No matter how much you have going on in your life, you can learn how to help Marcus, in fact can save his life. You just need the knowledge and support to do that.

We would like to help you gain control and help Marcus. Keep asking questions and we can get you and Marcus on the path to recovery!
 
I use an auto feeder to feed wet food when I'm not going to be there for more than 12 hours...I freeze the second meal so that it's stays fresher longer. I've never had a problem with the cats eating from the feeders. You definitely should ditch the dry food, because it's going to be pretty much impossible for Marcus to go into remission if he's still eating dry food. And I think Vicki is right that Marcus was started on too high a dose of insulin. He needs to go down to 1u and then slowly raise (by half units) the dose until you find the right one. Most cats need do not need that much insulin.

As someone who works two jobs (about 70 hours a week) and goes to grad school, I know how overwhelming the time involved can seem. But you find ways to work it into your schedule, and once you have your routine down, it'll seem like second nature. I won't lie, for a while it was hard because I would set my alarm for the middle of the night and get up and do a blood test so that I had data to adjust Bandit's dose. I was a bit sleep deprived for a while. But that didn't last forever, just in the beginning.
 
Here are some additional food suggestions:

Can you put the wet cat food in a place where the dog can't get to it. On the counter? Or put a doggy/baby gate up, where the cats can get through and not the dog? This way you can keep the cat food out and separated from the dog and his food?

Also, if you add water to the canned food, it will keep it moister longer. In addition, take the water canned food mix and freeze it. When you are home, you can put out fresh food, then before you leave you can take the frozen stuff and leave it out. It will take a few hours to thaw and by that time, the cats may be ready for their next meal.

You can freeze the food in baggies, then turn it inside out to easily get the food out.
You can freeze it in ice cube trays, and once frozen put in baggies and pull out a few cubes as needed.
You can even freeze it in small containers.

The idea is frozen food with added water works great, when you are out of the house for long periods of time.

And for the question you are asking, how much water do I add?

Well I add anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 can of water per can of food. Sometimes, I've even done 1 can of water to 1 can of food. However, if you stick with the 1/3-1/2 you can't go wrong.

Now, don't freak out when you see a full LB! It's because you added all this extra water and you now made your cats pee machines! ;-)
 
Just wanted to say hello and give encouragement. I can totally understand the stress you are feeling between the practicalities of your job (have to pay for a roof over your head and food) and wanting to do the best for your cat Marcus (he sounds like a sweetie). While you look for a foster, I would definitely try some of the tips you are receiving here. You may find that you can get Marcus' diabetes under control more easily than you think. The advice and help I received on FDMB was invaluable and really helped me turn my cat Max's health around. Max was diagnosed in early January. For the next 4 weeks, he made little progress, testing in the 450's week after week on more and more insulin (PZI). He was on 3 units PZI twice a day and the vet had just upped that to 4 units cause his #'s were still so high. I was super discouraged, but then I found and followed the advice on FDMB (home testing and diet among other great advice). After reading about diet, I changed Max to only low carb wet. I had been feeding him a mix of Science Diet M/D dry recommended by my vet (low in carbs but not nearly as low as wet) and some low carb wet. Max really turned a corner when I changed to only the low carb wet diet. He went from 4u to 1u to .5u to .2u to remission (yay!). Every cat is different and doesn't always go into remission, but, as you've read from others, the diet change can make a big difference and help some cats go into remission. Max eats Fancy Feast Classic, but if you look at Janet & Binky's chart, there are a lot of low carb options (e.g. Friskies pate flavors). If you do end up trying the diet change, you will want to reduce the insulin dose and test to be safe. The 4 units I gave Max was way too much the day I changed the diet (yes, I saw improvement that quickly). Also, I can sympathize with trying to coordinate feeding in a multi cat and pet household...sounds like no small task (but you can do it cuz it's so worth it!). I work long hours and am gone all day, so I add a little water to Max's food to help keep it fresh. I have found mixing a little water into the food as well as spraying a little water on top (no mixing) really helps keep it from drying out.
 
Thank You everyone for your suggestions....

Unfortunately, I am not 100 percent sure what Marcus's prognosis is at this point. I had noticed when I came home from work on Monday that he was beyond lethargic. He walked out to see me and walked a few paces and collapsed in a heap. I took his blood sugar and temp, and his sugar was around 350 which is the lowest I have seen it so far which was more encouraging then not, but his temp was around 104.6. I knew he was running a pretty good fever as he should be in the low hundreds. I took him into the vet and they have had him the past two days. At first, they said everything looks good besides his lethargy and the fever. They could not find anything wrong. On X Ray, she noticed his kidneys were swollen, but she said that this could also be due to his general size as he is a big cat (he has the biggest internal organs I have ever seen on X ray)...

But she waited to get a urine on him until today (he was holding it...hates those non absorbing crystals they use at the vets). I know I mentioned before on my previous posts about the bloating I had noticed recently in his stomach. He started getting nauseated and vomiting a little the day I took him in too. The only other finding prior to the urine test and ultrasound was that his white blood cell count was low. They found protein in the urine, which he had before when he was initially diagnosed but not to the extent he does now. But they wanted to do the ultrasound, to make sure to see whats causing the fever.

Well, they tell me today that he has Pancreatitis. I guess it is pretty bad, and at this point has caused some fluid in the abdomen as well (which is the bloating I was seeing). I had thought the other day that he was running a fever, but never checked because he was acting ok. I think he has had this for awhile. It really has me worried now. According to the vet, they do not think he is going to die but its bad that they are worried about it. He will be in there for a long time so it sounds. I have no idea how I am paying for this one. That isnt my big concern though, I am worried about him. We are going to visit him in the ER tomorrow to spend time with him. The vet thinks it will do him some good. He hasnt stopped eating, but they said he is definitely not eating like he usually does and he is not a happy camper either. I guess he needs a visit from mom and dad lol. Poor guy...

Thanks everyone, and if all goes well I will definitely be trying things out. The vet told me today that the steroids that he has to be on is going to lower the effectiveness of the insulin, so they are raising it above what he was on. I asked my vet about the dosage and she said that it was fine having him on five units due to his size. Marcus doesnt look like a normal cat. He is underweight right now and still around 19 pounds. He is just a tank. I wish I knew how to get a photo on here.
 
We have lots of members whose kitties have pancreatitis. Why don't you start a new topic asking specifically for that ?

While he is at the vets, you might take in an unwashed tshirt that smells like home.
 
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