My 15 year old cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes. We are in the phase of finding the right insulin level to control her diabetes. When diagnosed her BG was at 500 - we are now down inthe 250 range - not yet stablized. I go to the Vet weekly until we have been able to get down to the manageable level. I have four other cats and have transitioned them all over to an all canned food diet (Wellness) and am having some difficulty with them always being hungry. They used to get a little dry food at the end of the day - and they really seem to miss this. Is there any type of dry food that would be Okay to give to my diabetic kitty in a small amount? or do I just need to be patient while they all adjust. We are in week four now and it does not seem to be getting any better.
Introduction - Newly diagnosed cat
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Sue and Oliver (GA)
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Welcome! It sounds like your food change has already made a big difference in his blood glucose levels. Hurray! Lots of us free feed with wet. I freeze it and let it thaw. And I use an automatic feeder to feed during the day and night. The other thing you can do is to add water to the wet food and make it a little soupy. Some cats love this; it seems to fill them up and it is good for them to get more fluids. Sometimes even a few pieces of dry can raise the levels; we don't think it's worth the risk. You can give low carb treats: Lo carb treats or just pieces of baked chicken cut into chunks.
If you want, we can teach you how to test at home. It would eliminate the hassle and cost of your vet visits. We also think lots of cats are stressed at the vet (strange noises, animals and people) and that can raise bg levels higher than they would be at home.
Are you on insulin now? If so, I would be a little worried that doses determined by vet testing could be too high once your kitty gets home.
Let us know how we can help. Everyone who posts to you is paying it forward for help they received for their diabetic cat.
If you want, we can teach you how to test at home. It would eliminate the hassle and cost of your vet visits. We also think lots of cats are stressed at the vet (strange noises, animals and people) and that can raise bg levels higher than they would be at home.
Are you on insulin now? If so, I would be a little worried that doses determined by vet testing could be too high once your kitty gets home.
Let us know how we can help. Everyone who posts to you is paying it forward for help they received for their diabetic cat.
squeem3
Very Active Member
Katspaw6 said:
Welcome :smile:
What insulin is your cat on and what dose? There are several insulins that can be used, some better than others.
250s aren't too bad but still not ideal. The levels will come down once you get closer to the right dose :smile:
Are you taking your cat to the vet every week for blood glucose checks? If so, you do't need to do that at all. Many cats get so stressed out at the vet's office that their blood glucose levels skyrocket up really really high which may lead the vet to increase the amount of insulin. Not to mention it costs $$$. Regulating your cat's diabetes happens at home, not at the vet's office. You can test your cat's blood glucose levels at home using a Human diabetic blood glucose meter. You take a teeny drop of blood from the ear or a paw pad. Here is more info: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287 You don't need the vet's permission to test your cat at home. Most people here just send their vet an email with their cat's blood glucose levels and work out treatment from that.
Wellness is good, just make sure that you are feeding the ones that are grain-free. It will say grain free on the label. The new gravy/cubed/etc ones and the pouches are too high in carbs for your diabetic.
How much food are you feeding?
Your diabetic will always be hungry becaues the blood glucose levels are so high. What most people here do is free feed the canned food using a timed feeder. Not sure how this will work for a multi-cat household. A 5 oz can of food per day for your diabetic is probably enough but feed more or less.
Give your cats time to get over no more dry food :smile: There are some grain free low carb dry foods but they are all not good for a diabetic cat to have. All dry foods contain some kind of starch to hold the pieces together. Some diabetic cats are so carb sensitive that even a few pieces of dry food can shoot blood glucose levels up really high.
Maybe to keep the non-diabetic cats happy, you can feed them a low carb dry food as treats. Keep your diabetic away from the dry food. Or just feed all the cats a low carb crunchy treat: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9172
Julia & Bandit (GA)
Very Active Member
How frequently are you feeding? Cats have metabolisms that are twice as fast as people's, so they should be eating about twice the number of times a day you do (4-6). Diabetics especially do better with more frequent feedings because it helps level out blood glucose levels. Frequent feedings also drastically reduce begging.
As long as you don't have a scarf-and-barfer (a cat that will eat large amounts canned food so fast it pukes it right back up), you can free feed canned food for all the cats. With added water it will be good for up to 12 hrs, and up to 24hrs if you freeze it.
I can't feed Bandit less than 4 times a day or he tears my house apart.
He gets 4 small meals and then some random low carb treats in between meals if he's being especially annoying (or cute, depending on my mood). My other cat had a medical condition that required very small, frequent meals, so for a while I would feed them both 6 times a day. I froze food and used an auto feeder when I wasn't home.
As long as you don't have a scarf-and-barfer (a cat that will eat large amounts canned food so fast it pukes it right back up), you can free feed canned food for all the cats. With added water it will be good for up to 12 hrs, and up to 24hrs if you freeze it.
I can't feed Bandit less than 4 times a day or he tears my house apart.
He gets 4 small meals and then some random low carb treats in between meals if he's being especially annoying (or cute, depending on my mood). My other cat had a medical condition that required very small, frequent meals, so for a while I would feed them both 6 times a day. I froze food and used an auto feeder when I wasn't home.I really appreciate all the input on this. I have actually started feeding 3 times a day - but like the idea of free feeding the canned food. I do need to learn how to do the glucose testing at home because it is expensive doing every week at the vets. We are using Lantus insulin twice daily - started at 1 unit and got up to 4 units twice daily and the cat started having trouble. Right now I am at 4 units in the am and 3 in the pm and she seems to be doing better. We all just have to adjust to the need for more frequent feedings - thank goodness I am able to be home most of the day right now so that is helping. Thank you for the help.
Carol & Yoshi
Very Active Member
Another food suggestion if it's available to you is Evo brand. Check the charts for best flavors to buy for a diabetic. I no longer have my diabetic Yoshi but found that my next kitty Niko who was probably starving as a kitten (a dump off litter) and was constantly on the search for food when I adopted him would, and still does, stay fuller longer eating Evo than with any other wet food. Made of good ingredients, it is denser than most right out of the can and doesn't look like it's been injected with air or water. Currently we are rotating between a few good different brands and flavors skipping the fish ones.
Julia & Bandit (GA)
Very Active Member
Katspaw6 said:
Lantus works best when the same dose is given 12 hrs apart. Also, 3-4u is a HUGE dose for a cat. Most cats on a low carb diet do not need much more than 1u. If you got to that dose based only on vet testing, it's very likely your cat is being overdosed. Stress from the vet's office can cause your cats blood sugar to rise 100-200 points. You cannot make adjustments based on these numbers because they are completely inaccurate.
This is a dangerous situation because chronic hypoglycemia will keep numbers just as high as too little insulin. This is because when a cat's blood glucose drops too low, its liver dumps glucose into its blood stream as a survival mechanism. This causes very high blood sugar for up to 72 hrs, so if you're not testing daily, you aren't getting a true picture of how the insulin is affecting the cat. Also, some vets will raise the dose in whole units, and this again leads to chronic overdosing and is potentially deadly for the cat. Lantus doses should be adjusted based of daily home testing, and raised in .25u-5u increments.
I would lower the dose down to 1u and start home-testing immediately. 4u can cause a deadly hypoglycemic incident if it was not reached properly.
I have attached some articles for you to print out and give to your vet. Here is the Lantus dosing protocol: http://www.uq.edu.au/ccah/docs/diabetesinfo/link4.pdf. Here are the American Animal Hospital Association Guidelines: http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/AAHADiabetesGuidelines.pdf. Note p. 218 (4) where it says "Precautions and Details," and have him read those points, especially where it discusses chronic hypoglycemia and high numbers. Also note on p. 219 where it states that the dose should NOT exceed 3u in the first month.
Finally, here is an article that discusses the safe and effective way to dose Lantus. Newly diagnosed cats following the treatment plan outlined in this article were shown to have an 84% remission rate. However, that remission rate is only valid IF the owner is adjusting insulin based off daily home testing and the protocol provided above.
squeem3
Very Active Member
Katspaw6 said:
Hometesting tips and videos: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287
You can get a free starter testing kit from FDMB: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=60261
Here's a Consumer Ratings chart of blood glucose meters: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjcBiiIVLby8dDUzZmMzUmNmVUtWWERST2xidWxnUVE
And here's another comparision chart: http://forecast.diabetes.org/files/images/v65n01_BG_Meters_0.pdf
Ideally you want a meter that needs a teeny 0.3 ul (microliters) drop of blood.
Any Human pharmacy will have several brands of blood glucose meter and associated supplies. Many people here use Wal Mart's Relion brand of meters. They're pretty cheap. But if you don't have a Wal Mart nearby, this may not be the best meter to use. Relion is a Wal Mart only brand and I don't think you can buy test strips online. The AccuChek Aviva is popular and cat-friendly but test strips are pricey. For big name companies like AccuChek and Bayer and OneTouch, you can buy test strips online for pretty cheap. Look at EBay and Amazon.com and Hocks.com and AmericanDiabeteswholesale.com, among other places.
Avoid meters that have "TrueTest" or anything similar in the name. These are way inaccurate, as much as 100 points off :shock: So if you get a reading of 300, your cat may actually be at 200 or lower.
Most meter kits include 10 test strips and lancets but you obviously need more than that. So pick up an extra box of compatible test strips and lancets for the meter (it should say what kind it uses on the box). The Relion kits do not contain anything other than the meter but test st rips are like $20 and lancets maybe $10. Test strips may be kept behind the pharmacy counter at some stores. Ask if you don't see them alongside the meter kits.
There are pet meters, like the AlphaTrack and iPet, but they are no more accurate than a Human meter. Plus, they are much more expensive and they are not sold in any store. You'd have to buy the kit and supplies from the vet or online.
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