I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to do

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Sophie10

Sophie10

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My 7-9yr old Siamese had a bad urinary tract infection 2 months ago. She had lost a significant amount of weight and presented at the vet with high BS of about 350. They admitted her for 4 days, during which they gave her 3 units of insulin, dropping her BS way down- to about 60- for 2 days straight. Once it got to 90 I took her home and monitored her BS myself and took her back to the vet twice more over the next 2 weeks. Her BS came back up to a steady normal/high normal (145ish) with no additional insulin (other than the original 3 units) and after antibiotics her liver and kidney levels all returned to 100% normal. They ruled out diabetes completely and sent me home with 30 days of antibiotics for the UTI.

Cut to 2 months later, 30 days after finishing the antibiotic (and staying on an all canned food diet) and she still has not gained weight (but still eats an ok amount, asks for food, etc..). So tonight, just because I was worried about her not gaining weight, I tested her BS again for the heck of it............. It was 460.

I'm freaking out. I feel that I can't trust my vet because after over $1,400 in vet bills last time and their insistance on admitting her and keeping her there (and many other reasons) I just don't know how to approach it. I'm pretty confident that I would be able to do the monitoring and insulin shots, but it's getting to that point that is scaring the life out of me. I can't afford another $1,400 bill, but my kitty is everything to me. I just need advice and I'm so scared :(
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

The very first thing I would do if I saw a number that shocked me is retest.
Is she peeing and drinking a lot?
What type of canned food is she eating?

Please don't let this freak you out. If it is diabetes, we can help you with this. And no more $1000.00 vet bills will be needed. One step at a time. Recheck the BG and let us know what you get.

Carl
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

Thank you so so much Carl your response has brought tears to my eyes. just knowing how wonderful you guys are is truly incredible. She is drinking a pretty decent amount, but definitely not close to draining the water bowl dry like I've read about. Peeing seems normal also. I've been feeding her only Fancy feast classics, but there is a chance she may have snuck some of our other cats dry food (she doesn't ever show much interest in it and always goes for the canned, where as our other healthy younger cat loves the dried which is why we've kept it).

Right now (2am my time) I only have 1 strip left because I wasn't planning on needing them again, so I was going to save it and retest in the morning. Do you think I should go ahead and retest now? The 460 reading was about 2 hours ago so I didn't know if that would be enough time to show any difference?
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

You don't currently have insulin, right? If not, then I would save the strip.
There are other things that can cause high BG. Dry food for sure, but also infections can. If you don't have insulin, they while it is good to know her BG, it isn't going to cause you to do anything immediate, right? In that case, you can test her again in the morning, and if needed you can go buy some more strips tomorrow in case you end up needing them.

And tomorrow, depending on what you see, come back, let us know, and we'll figure out the next step.

Sound like a plan?

Carl
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

No, no insulin. That sounds like the best plan I've ever heard :) thank you so much Carl you have no idea how much you've just helped me :) thank you thank you.
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

And no matter what, don't let this scare you. It's "just diabetes". In May of last year, I was in the same place you are today. I found this place, and I found out it isn't really really scary, it isn't a death sentance. It's just a disease that can be managed at home without totally throwing your world into turmoil. My cat, Bob, needed insulin for 10 weeks. He's been without insulin since July, and he eats FF classics every day today like he did when I found out he was diabetic. He'll eat it for the rest of his life. This is "do-able". And we're all here to help.

Carl

edit - I should have said "he's eating FF classics just like he's done since I found out he was diabetic. The first thing I did was change him to that from dry food. FF classics is an ideal menu for diabetic kitties!
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

Yup, it's just diabetes... :lol: See how many humans live with it day to day... it's a completely manageable disease... and sometimes cats even go into remission and don't need insulin anymore! Just take a deep breath... you've done the best thing you could do for you and your kitty by coming here. I don't think I would have been able to do this all with my boy without the immense knowledge of FDMB. ;-)

I would kick the dry food for both of your cats. I know your cat seems to "love" the dry food, but it is not really the food they love, just the flavored coating (animal digest) they put on the food. Otherwise your cat would be like "Blech, what is this?" Most dry foods have a TON of unhealthy ingredients like corn and wheat and let's face it, how often do you see wild cats chomping down on cobs of corn and stalks of wheat? ohmygod_smile It is also deprived of moisture and that can wreak all sorts of havoc on your cat's renal system. Eliminating all the dry food will make both your cats healthier and happier, and it will make regulating your diabetic cat easier as you won't have to worry about her sneaking dry food while you're not looking. It might even help prevent your other cat from getting diabetes in the future, too. :-D It's a win/win situation all around. I will NEVER feed a cat dry food again. If you need a little bit more convincing, please read Dr. Lisa's site on feline health/nutrition here. It also has some good information about diabetes.
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

I cannot thank you guys enough for your help. Ive taken away the dry food from our other cat :)

I tested Sophie this morning and she was still extremely high at 442. Now I'm just so nervous about the vet situation. Like I mentioned in my original post, I'm worried I can't trust my vet. They are very "money hungry" (they've recently moved to a huge building where they can so easily admit cats into their massive factory-like "hospital") and I just know they'll push to admit her again (they were resistant in letting me take her home the 1st time after she was there 4 days when all they wanted to do was continue monitor BS!!) Not only can I not afford that again, but I can't go through that myself again knowing that they'll only be checking her BS/giving insulin a couple times a day and keeping her locked up in a teeny cage the other 23.99 hours :( There is another cats-only vet in my area as well, but I have no way of knowing if they will be any better.

Do you guys have any advice or are there any good resources on where to go from here? Is being completely dependent on a vet at the beginning of all this the best option for Sophie?

Again, thank you :)
-Kristin & Sophie
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

You don't have to be dependent on a vet at all, honestly. I depend on the forum a lot more than my vet :-D But you do need to have a good vet for backup advice, emergency situations, and things like hospitalization that you just can't do at home.

I would do some phone consults with vets in your area. That way you can screen ahead of time, make sure they are going to be willing to work with you, treat your cat with the right insulin, etc. really all you need from your vet is a prescription for insulin and the rest you can do with guidance from FDMB.
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

You will, in my opinion, need a vet to confirm the diagnosis and make sure there isn't anything else going on that would skew her numbers. But, you don't need a three night stay and them foing a curve or trying to speed regulate her. You will also need a scrip for insulin from a vet. So basically blood work, urinalysis, and a prescription. You can ask for approximate costs over the phone at a couple clinics.
Carl
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

Has Sophie ever been given any steroids to treat any condition?
Carl
 
Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

Yes, you most certainly do not have to pay to keep your cat at the vet while they "regulate" her. Like with humans, feline diabetes is a condition that is best treated at home with dose adjustments based off of daily testing. Apart from the bloodwork when Bandit was originally diagnosed, I have never paid for any thing for him at the vet for his diabetes.

She's been eating dry food semi-regularly, then it very well could have knocked her out of remission. I would probably take her in to make sure there is no infection brewing, and if not, I would get a script for insulin (You don't mention what she was on before but you should get a script for Lantus, Levemir, or Prozinc), and start treating her at home. You can get dosing advice here if you need it, since most vets don't dose correctly anyway and it's dangerous for the cat. So I would tell your vet that that is all you are authorizing to pay for--bloodwork and an exam to confirm there is no sign of infection, and then you need a script for insulin.

I've attached an article (related to treatment with Lantus/Levemir) for you to print and give to your vet if they argue with your decision to treat at home. Here is a link to the AAHA diabetes guidelines as well, which also recommend home treatment and mentions Prozinc along with the other two. DO NOT accept a prescription for Humulin N (NPH) insulin. It works well with dogs but not for cats, and has a much higher rate of hypoglycemia in cats.

http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

If they give you resistance about doing this treatment plan and won't write you the script unless you do things "their" way, I would switch vets. Sometimes they just need to see the information in order to be willing to get on the same page as you, but sometimes there are ego/money issues involved and you don't want to stay with a vet like that. Remember that it's YOUR cat and YOUR money, and you have the ultimate say in how you decide to treat your cat.

What meter are you using? Did your vet sell you a pet meter or are you using a human glucometer? If so, what kind? We might be able to recommend a meter for you with less expensive strips to help you save money.

Honestly, I would be hesitant to trust your vet after they charged you $1400 related to your cats diabetes. Maybe it's just me but that seems insanely high to me without there being any other complications (like diabetic ketoacidosis). I must have spent maybe a total of $200 total at the vet for specifically his diabetes, not counting the cost of insulin at the pharmacy or test strips. I had a wonderful vet who recommended home treatment and a commercial diet from the start. Most of the time I think that the vets are well meaning but just not up to date with current treatment guidelines, but on some occasions (especially when they insist on "regulating" the cat at their office), I wonder if they are just looking for ways to gouge.
 

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Re: I think my kitty has diabetes and I don't know what to d

Well, when you don't know about this forum, and the people here, and your cat is sick, you trust your vet. We had no clue about what was wrong with our cat and he stayed over at the vet-hospital and they ran different tests on him (CBC, thyroid, etc.) -- we just wanted to help our cat. Cost--$900. But I don't regret taking our cat to our vet. She showed us how to give a shot, how to get blood, and knows we are home treating him and has taken frantic several calls. However, you really can learn most what you need to know right here and not be vet-dependent.
 
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