Introducing Kittyboy Oscar (and his nervous mom)

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Kittyboy Oscar

Member Since 2013
Hi all.

This board has been such a great resource for me in a super-stressful time. Thank you for that.

Oscar, my 11 year old Siamese, came home from the ICU on Thursday after three nights; newly diagnosed diabetic. He's on 1/2 unit of Lantus (had been on 1 unit while in the ICU) and is switching over from dry food to wet food, but slowly. He's super-fussy about food (and always has been; comes with regal beast territory, I guess) and is also on 1.8 ml of amoxicillin for a little while longer (which I've heard can also decrease appetite).

He won't touch the wet DM or the dry DM. AT ALL. I've gotten him eating the Fancy Feast classic, but he's not eating the whole can at a time. His sugars are lowering overall (right now I'm doing regular checks before he eats, but he was at 357 at 7.15 this morning) and his vet recommended a curve after the first week. He does have cyproheptadine, which he's been getting before eating.

Tips? Pep talks? This is all super-overwhelming right now.

Anne
 
Welcome! I hope it helps to know that every single one of us was scared and overwhelmed when we first landed here. And everyone who replies to your post is paying it forward for the help they received on that steep learning curve.

You are doing everything right. Eliminating the dry is wonderful - slowly is good as it helps with any stomach upsets. This website by a vet gives great transition ideas: www.catinfo.org Hometesting is vital and it sounds like you are on your way. Lantus is an excellent insulin. We do have a forum of Lantus users and on the top of the page are great ideas for how to dose, how to increase or decrease, how to work with the food. They are the starred stickies below the grey line on this page: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

I am impressed with your vet! Good choice of insulin, good choice of starting dose, good diet ideas and supports hometesting. Fantastic!

Let us know how we can help.
 
Good job so far!!

What meter are you using? Aim to test before every shot plus get a few spot checks during the day - maybe 5-7 hours after his morning shot, and once before bed. It will give you a good idea of whats going on in terms of trends.

You may want to set up a spreadsheet to track your results, and it means we can help monitor Oscar too.. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

Also is a good idea to set up an emergency hypo kit:

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY - YOUR HYPO KIT
Put together NOW the following items and put in an easily accessible place!
Phone number of your vet
Phone number, address and map/directions to your nearest emergency vet (or phone number of the cab company and some cash/credit card)
Karo syrup, honey or corn syrup
High carb canned food with gravy – 2-3 cans
Some favourite treats
Spare pack of 25 blood glucose strips
Coffee for you ;)
And review this http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2354

Let us know how you get on with the SS (spreadsheet) and if you need any help.
Wendy
 
Thanks, everyone. I think I've got the tracking set up (& the hypo kit is built). Right now it seems less likely that Oscar will head too low (low dose of lantus) but I'm pretty worried about it being too high and his not really eating enough. (Not sure what to do on that.)

Mostly I'm having trouble getting him to eat consistently -- he's always been fussy; ate well last night, didn't really want to eat very much this morning (despite the cyproheptadine), BG is highest yet (which is freaking me out). What he's getting in he's keeping down, and water intake/output is normal (no pu/pd). Lethargy's tough; he's a sit-in-the-sun kinda dude; not a superactive cat. He's also very slinky; about 9 pounds. He's also still on amoxicillin, which could be an issue,

We're using the AlphaTrak, which I know has gotten some iffy reviews, but it's working OK for us so far. (Mostly it's me getting used to testing the poor little guy.)
 
Some ideas to make the wet food more appealing: warm it up till nice and stinky, put tuna juice or Parmesan cheese on top, add warm water and make a sort of gravy.

The AlpphaTrack is fine. We just think it is expensive, as are the strips. Be sure to put it in your signature as we know it reads higher than the human glucometers most members use and we need to be able to factor that in.

Edited to fix mistake.
 
Good job! His BG does look high to me but I would like more experienced dosing members so take a look. Would you like to start posting on the lantus tight regulation forum where experienced eyes can take a look on a regular basis? http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9. You would post there daily or as often as you can with your readings and they would take a look and advise..


be sure and introduce yourself when you go over!
 
I was thinking about that -- I called my vet to schedule a follow-up for Oscar (my vet wants us to try to regulate and hometest and do a curve before coming back in two weeks) and they want to keep the dose consistent until then at the 1/2 u lantus, which is OK with me. I don't feel like I know enough yet to make changes, plus Oscar's so new to insulin (one week today) that I don't want to alter the vet's directions.

Related: how often do people feed? Do you leave a little out overnight? Do you strict-regulate 12 hour feedings? I'm worried the little guy isn't eating enough.
 
Until he's regulated, let him eat whenever he wants - assuming he doesn't go up to 20lb or something :lol: :lol:
At the moment, he will need to eat more than normal - they all do in the beginning.

Small feedings, 4 or more times a day work best. I probably feed mine 6 times during the day and then leave food out -but, they are small meals - maybe a tsp or 2 at a time.
eg. Honey gets about 2 cans of fancy feast per day spread over 6 or more feedings - Oscar may well need more than this.

I always made sure she ate at shot time - just after taking her bg reading - lantus needs to work on food.
Then gave her food shortly after her tests as you don't want her to eat within the 2 hours before testing as it can spike the bg and give a false reading. So, if I fed her at a test time and then took up the food, I knew that next time I tested (+2 or more hours after) I wouldn't get a food spike.

Edited: I work from home so its much easier for me but other members go out to work all day and have sorted out food issues.
 
AAAAAAAUUUGH.

Oscar didn't eat well enough this morning to get the usual 1/2 unit of Lantus (our vet basically said if he eats a few bites, don't give the shot), and was eating sort of iffy last night. He ate about 1/4 of a can of the Cowboy Cookout overnight and kinda did the lick-and-graze of the food this morning; couple bites. (He's still taking cyproheptadine and amoxicillin per vet's instructions.)

Weirdly, he was totally into PureBites freeze dried chicken bites (which I've been crumbling up on the wet food to try to get him to eat, but I'm worried they're gonna suck up all of his hydration) last night and also today. Parmesan cheese isn't working.

Behavior seems same as usual.

Am I nervous for no good reason? This is the first time we haven't given a shot.

He's consistently been tracking high (though I couldn't get a reading for anything last night), but our vet is not super-concerned about these numbers (Oscar has a follow-up in 2 weeks), but it's also only been about a week & a half. I also found out that while he was in the ICU his overnight levels were sometimes 250 and sometimes 400; he was on a full unit of the lantus there and is transitioning down to the 1/2 unit.

(thanks in advance, everyone.)
 
Have you checked for nausea? Does he go and eat/lick a couple bites, then turn away? You can do a 1/4 tab of Pepcid AD (not complete- has sugar) to see if that helps. Usually 30 minutes before eating.

I do have to coat mine with laughing cow cheese as Sneakers will eat ANYTHING with cheese on it whether she has nausea or not :lol:
 
Oscar does tend to do some of the lick-and-graze, take a few bites, and turn away from time to time, but it isn't consistent. He went to town on a can of the Cowboy Cookout recently, and he's been really into the PureBites, every time. He was on an anti-nausea at the vet's but went off it on Saturday (they only wanted him to do two nights with it).
But I'll try adding that back in tonight (still have 2 doses) and I'll I'm hoping too that when he's off the antibiotics, he eats more. I might also try some chicken; we haven't been a big cats-eating-people-food household (I'm a vegetarian) so this is totally new territory for me.

He hasn't been nauseated or sick -- everything that's going in is staying down. It's weird--his sugar's still high, but he's much more active (walking around, meowing, sitting in his favorite spot) than with the lantus.
 
Also, let me just say it again: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. This process is pretty new & scary for me and for the wee kittyboy, and I so appreciate people offering suggestions & having their BG charts open for viewing -- I know every cat is different, but it's a relief to see that Oscar isn't alone out there. It's really reassuring to know there's people & cats out there managing it, and the support & community is just such a relief. Thank you.
 
Welcome to the board. I would love to see a picture of Oscar if you ever have time to post one. My diabetic was a Siamese mix. She was a picky eater as well. Hopefully he will start eating soon.

Terri
 
Yeah, we tried the crumbling -- some success, but not an out-of-the-ballpark hit. I might try cooking some chicken. He is usually a picky eater, but not quite this picky.

I'll see what I can do about pictures. (We're having a pixels-size issue with uploading and I am too wiped out to take a run at it today.)
 
Hi guys .. just wanted to stop in and welcome you .. we have a siamese kitty as well, though she has no problem with her appetite! *knock on wood* I do know there are several people here who use Fortiflora(?) to help get their kitties interested in food .. You might want to post over in the Lantus forum ..
 
Hello and welcome!
As I'm sure you already know, you've found a great place ~ we love answering questions and helping.

When my sugarkitty was recently on antibiotics and her appetite was lacking, someone recommended we try a little oregano sprinkled on her food. (She is a freeze-dried-treats-lover, but even that got 'old' for a while.) The scent drew her to her food, and she seemed more eager to eat.

I hope Oscar's appetite improves soon.
~Josie
 
I'll try the oregano: I haven't heard that before. I'm hoping it's just the antibiotics making him not feel like eating. So totally frustrating. I can not get this cat to eat a good meal.
 
My Autumn just had a dental and was sent home on Amoxicillian....it is very very sweet and has a lot of sugar in it, because of the sugar it 1) made her want to eat less and 2) it shot her BGs through the roof. What I did was call her vet and had them switch her antibiotic to clindamycin which has no sweetener in it, while we are still working on getting her numbers back down, at least her appetite has returned to where it was.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Well, his numbers were a wee smidge lower this morning, and he ate what I left out overnight, so that's something. Also -- last! dose! of the amoxicillin this morning, so fingers, paws, eyes, toes etc etc crossed.
 
Sending prayers for Oscar to get well soon and start eating..I have a soft spot for your boy. I use to call my Waldo, KittyBoy.
God bless,
jeanne
 
He's still being a little fussy, but "pounded down" (according to the kittysitter) a half-can of the chicken wellness last night, ate another half-can or so last night, and is still all over the freeze-dried stuff. Maybe he's just takin' his own sweet time; ate a little this morning, but tends to be a better eater at night.

His sugars are high (both BG and in urine) but no ketones. Follow-up is on 3/14 with plans for a curve somewhere before then.

Thanks for all the good wishes & paws-crossings!
 
I wonder if is high blood sugar that's causing him to not eat? Many cats eat more with high BG but some like my Tiggy eat less because they feel so bad with it.

I also don't love with those high levels that you are waiting two more weeks to revaluate. I know you trust your vet but you might want to start doing more research and reading on here on dosing etc.. I am glad you are testing for ketones.

Can you get a few spot checks midday and before bed etc? Ie Between +6 and + 8 during the day and sometime after the PMPS test.. Just in case he is going Low and bouncing high.

Wendy
 
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