Indoor/Outdoor cat diagnosed in the Canadian Arctic

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imnot_telling

Member Since 2013
I'll jump right into it. My 12+yr old best friend Freddie was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. My situation becomes unique because I live in a very remote community in Canada's arctic with sketchy access to supplies.
Our vet only comes twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. My options given to me (keep in mind I was emotional so I'm sure they were worded much more nicely) were to send my cat away to be regulated, immediately start insulin on my own, or put my cat down within 18hrs before they left town. I chose to take my friend home to consider our options (and cry). I've decided to start by first monitoring his situation and have ordered a glucometer kit which will arrive on Monday. In the mean time Freddie has been switched from Purina Cat Chow (dry) to Fancy Feast Classics (wet) and canned tuna. He has not received any insulin yet nor has any been prescribed yet until I call the vet back.
Here is my main concern; in the summer Freddie has always been an indoor/outdoor cat and sometimes he travels for a day or two before coming home, so will him missing an insulin shot once in a while do more damage than just trying to regulate his diabetes via diet without insulin? Confining him to be a strictly indoor cat would be a death sentence in itself. I'm trying to think of his quality of time vs quantity.
I have very limited resources in my community and will be travelling this path mostly alone but also with MANY long distance phone calls to my vet who is 700 km's (500mi) away, so any tips you can give me will be appreciated.
 
Hello and welcome to the board..

First you have made a good choice changing food, that alone might bring his blood glucose down. Can I ask though how it was diagnosed? Dd the vet do a blood fructosamine test? (Probably would have sent the blood away to a lab)

Testing is a good idea. What meter did you order? Did you order a free one from bayer? (See here:http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=91184) . Also can buy strips on eBay at a better price than in drugstores.

Let's start there with food and testing and maybe he won't need the insulin.

Let me know
Thanks

Wendy
 
Hi There, Welcome to FDMB!

Diabetes is not a death sentence, and many cats live long, healthy lives on insulin. I'm glad you decided to think things over and that you found us here. It's great that you are feeding wet food --- diet is extremely important in managing diabetes. I see you're feeding FF which a lot of us here feed. The classic pates are the best as they are lowest in carbs. Here is a great chart compiled by Dr. Lisa Pierson DVM which lists the nutritional values for most commercial brands of cat food: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf It is recommended that diabetics eat less than 10% carbs. What kind of canned tuna are you feeding?

Did your vet run a fructosamine blood test? Do you know what Freddie's blood glucose reading was a the time of dx? It may be that just the diet change can help regulate him. Wonderful that you got a meter... you definitely want to be testing before/as you start insulin. To answer your question regarding shots -- yes, it is very important that you stick to a regular schedule. Most cats receive two shots a day 12 hours apart.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask! You'll find that the knowledge and expertise of members here is an invaluable resource, as is the support!
 
The vet took blood from Freddie's neck and did some sort of test in his office that took about 10 minutes and gave a print out, sorry, any further than that I didn't care at the moment, but no samples were sent out. His number was 63 and it was explained to me that it shouldn't be between 2 and 9.
I didn't know about the Bayer tester so I'm having a friend bring me a Walmart Relion Micro or Relion Confirm whichever she can find. They were highly recommended on one of the many sites I've been on today.
I just read today that it should be the pate variety of food and not the gravy kind so as of tomorrow that's what he'll get. I had just bought 3 variety cases so there's a mix but I can give the gravy's to our other 2 non diabetic cats
 
Oh and the tuna is just flaked white tuna packed in water. I just figured it was high in protein and it's always been a special treat I would give him from time to time.
 
The problem with tuna is that some manufactures include soy, even if it is not listed in the ingredients. Soy has been linked to anemia in cats, FYI. A good treat to feed them is freeze dried chicken or turkey. We feed purebites freeze dried chicken as a treat, and my boy loves it as do many other cats here.

The ReliOn meters are an excellent choice. We use the ReliOn prime because it has the least expensive strips --- $9 for a bottle of 50, but any of the relion meters are fine.
 
It will be interesting to see if your friend returns with a Relion glucometre. It is the Walmart brand, but is not available in southern Canada. It is available in the US. Is there a pharmacy in town? Availbility of test strips is an important consideration.

WRT your cat going off on his own for a day or two in the summer - if you are one of the extremely fortunate ones (and there have been many on this board) whose cat only requires insulin for a short time, it may be a moot point. Focus on testing and getting his diet sorted out. If you come back to this board and post some test numbers it will hopefully become clear if he needs insulin as well as diet change.

What were the symptoms or did you just take him in b/c the vet was in town? I'm curious about which community you are in - I've done some work and travel in the Arctic, more west than east.
 
Given that you have limited vet care, I would ask the vet to write a prescription (do you have human pharmacies in your area) for Lantus (aka glargine) - ask the vet to write it for one box of solostar pens AND to write second prescription for insulin syringes - U100, 3/10cc size.

This way you don't have to feel pressed to be on their timeline to make a decision and you will have the insulin available when and if you need it.

You can start by home testing, changing the food to low carb wet food - removing all dry food and see if that is enough to do and if not, then you can fill the prescription for lantus and syringes.

And is there anyway to make the cat an indoor cat? This will ensure that you know where he is at all times, especially when you start to give insulin and you can control what he eats.
 
Hello, and welcome to FDMB!

I'm in the UK, and most cats here are indoor/outdoor. My cat has been diabetic for 6 years and the fact that he is an indoor/outdoor cat has never been a problem. Admittedly he's never gone off for a 2 day hike, but he has missed shots; most notably when I unexpectedly and suddenly had to stay in hospital last year. I was worried sick about my cat, but he was absolutely fine when I came home. His blood glucose numbers were a bit out of whack but settled down again in a few days. We all live in a world where 'stuff happens' and where not everything in life is under our control... :roll:

Initially though, when first starting insulin therapy, it would be really helpful to be able to keep a close eye on Freddie, so you can get to understand how the insulin is working in his body and assess whether the dose is correct (although his need for insulin may change over time).

As others have said, the change from dry to low carb wet food could make a considerable difference to your cat's blood glucose levels. A few very lucky cats don't need to go onto insulin at all. And for those that do go onto insulin some will go into remission (become diet-controlled diabetics) after just a short course of insulin and a change of diet. But even if Freddie needs to be on insulin long term this is still well worth doing. Your cat could still have a wonderful quality of life.
dancing_cat

Eliz
 
I took Freddie to the vet mostly because he dropped a lot of weight in the last 4 months. I thought it was just stress because we moved in with my fiance who has two cats of his own and he fights with one of them. My nearest pharmacy is a 7hr drive away so I will be flying in all the initial supplies then trying to find them online cheaper when I have time to wait for shipping. I rely a lot on other people travelling.
Thanks for all the comments, it's really helping me come up with a good plan of action for my friend Freddie <3
 
If you get a 5 pack of the lantus solostar pens then that should last you six months. (keep them in the fridge) You dont need the syringe tips since you will be buying syringes as per below

I wouldnt get the relion as you will need quite a bit of strips and you cant get them in Canada - and I have never found a source to buy them here even online. Thats why the bayer is better since you can at least get the strips on ebay.

For syringes, a box of 100 BD ultra fine 3/10cc short will last you three months.

Try here http://www.diabetesexpress.ca/

But for now just start with diet and testing and see how it goes.

Wendy
 
Is it "normal" or okay for him to be extra hungry? I might just notice it more because he's on wet food now and not all day food but he wants to be fed all day. Do I feed or don't feed?
 
imnot_telling said:
Is it "normal" or okay for him to be extra hungry? I might just notice it more because he's on wet food now and not all day food but he wants to be fed all day. Do I feed or don't feed?
Click to expand...

Many newly diagnosed diabetics are ravenous because their bodies can't utilise all the food they are eating. So, generally speaking, if he's hungry, let him eat. As his blood glucose levels get more under control his appetite should settle naturally.
 
to give you an idea of hunger:

When Maui was diagnosed and I started her on canned food - she could eat 2-3 cans of Fancy feast (3 ounces each) at one time. I would feed her 2-3 times a day AND leave canned food out.

As her bg's got under control, her food intake dropped to 1-1 1/2 cans at a time.

and today, she may eat 2 cans a day.
 
Tips to do urine ketone testing are in my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools.

Ketones are by-products of fat breakdown. Too many ketones may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication of diabetes which can be fatal and usually requires expensive hospitalization to treat. In your situation, as a contingency plan, you might discuss what supplies you would need if you detect ketones. Subcutaneous fluids, perhaps, which are similar to injecting insulin might be helpful in that case.
 
Hey Wendy, how do I get a Lantus Solostar pen? Is it prescription only?? And when it comes to lancets what guage do I need? I think I'll have to try free handing it as I dont think he'll sit still for the pen and for better aim. I ordered a Bayer Contour USB but it will probably take about 3 wks to get here.
 
You can get the lantus solostar pens at any pharmacy, shoppers, Costco, Walmart etc.. Any pharmacy section behind the counter. You have to ask for them but you don't need a prescription.

For lancets you are better to start with 28 or 29g if you can find them. I like free handing better, you can see what you are doing and it gives you more control.

Wendy
 
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