Jimmy says hi

[Jimmy]

Our cat, Jimmy, 5 years old neutered boy, was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He is on insulin Mixtard 30, 2ui at 7 am and 7 pm. After being diagnosed, he firstly received some oral medication with no real effect, then we started insulin. He had an ecography and all his internal organs are fine, just that his liver is a little fat. After his third first shots of insulin he dropped from 457 glucose in blood (his highest number so far) to 329. We are going again to the doctor on Thursday, and after that we will probably start home testing. He lost a lot of weight in the past 3-6 months, from 7 - 7,5 kilos to 4,6 kilos and the vet says he should be brought to his ideal weight. So, his diet has a lot of fiber for now (green beans, zucchini, pumpkins) + chicken or turkey breast and dry/wet diabetic food - Royal Canin for now.
Our cat shown no sign of diabetes outside not making to the litter box some times and losing weight but he was on diet (dry&wet obesity management).

We try to learn as much about diabetes as we can but there a lot of information to take for now.

Do you have some general advice to share with a newbie? Do you know if I can order online syringes graded from 1ui to 1ui?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Welcome.
. Mixtard® 30. Containing 30% short-acting insulin and 70% NPH or isophane insulin. Is not suitable for cats.
Even 100% NPU s not really good for cats at twice-daily dosing since it only lasts about 8 hours

Where are you located? Without knowing that we can't suggest places to purchase syringes.
100 % low-carb canned food is best. Dry is high in carbs, even the diabetic food.
For specific brands we have to know where you live.

Based on using Mixtard and using kelos you are not in the USA.

 

[BJM]

Insulins which work well for cats and may be available in Europe (I'm guessing!): Lantus, Levemir, Hypurion PZI.

Low carb canned food - depending on country, may be difficult to find. It can help to make your own - there's a recipe at Cat Info There is a thread with posts about European foods here.

Home testing the blood glucose with an inexpensive human glucometer will help you keep Jimmy safe.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Hello and welcome to the message board. We know the sugarkitties name is Jimmy, but what is the beans (human being) first name?

Do you have some general advice to share with a newbie?

1. A species appropriate low-carb diet can make a major positive impact in lowering the BG (blood glucose) levels. Foods <10% carbs are best but you want to be home testing first as the switch from high carb to low carb food can dramatically drop the BG levels, 100 points mg/dL.
2. You want a good, long lasting, gentle insulin like Levimir, Lantus, Prozinc (Hypurin Bovine PZI)
3. Home testing to help keep your kitty safe and see how well the insulin is working.

With a current weight of 4,6 kilos (10.12 pounds), how much does your vet think Jimmy should weigh?

All those vegetables in his diet are simply going to keep his BG levels high with the extra carbs in them. The Royal Canin dry food is doing him no good either.

If you tell us where you live, we can make better suggestions to help you out.

 

[Jimmy]

Hi all and thanks for your messages.
We are Alexandra and Ioan and we live in Romania.

Re the insulin + diet is what the vet prescribed and I trust the doctor very much. The discussion about the Mixtard 30 insulin is not new to this forum, there is another user from Romania - mihaelamiha who used it, you can see the previous talk here - viewtopic.php?f=28&t=78009&p=850236#p850236.

I read a lot on the forum before posting, I know you people recommend low carb diet and I brought this issue to the vet. The doctor said that I should not feed him low carb right now because he lost so much weight, we want him first stabilized at an ideal weight. I will bring the low carb diet issue again on Thursday when we're going to the vet. We have zooplus in Romania and I already bought some low carb canned food: Bozita - veal, Catz finefood - testing package, Granata pet - testing package. I selected those from European canned food section in the forum. Jimmy will test those after the vet agrees.

I have a glucometer, works perfectly, showed the exact BG number as the laboratory, from the same vial of blood. Probably, we'll start home testing tomorrow after we see the vet.

All the best to you and your cats!

 

[BJM]

For cats, there are:
3.5 calories per gram of protein
8.5 calories per gram of fat
3.5 calories per gram of carbohydrate

Frequent smaller meals will help him regain weight faster and safely, as will a slightly higher fat content in his food. Fat is more calorie dense, so he won't feel too full after eating and then vomit. You might feed half his food before the shot of Mixtard, wait 30 minutes, give the insulin, then feed the 2nd half about +2 hours after the shot.

 

[Jimmy]

For cats, there are:

Frequent smaller meals will help him regain weight faster and safely, as will a slightly higher fat content in his food. Fat is more calorie dense, so he won't feel too full after eating and then vomit. You might feed half his food before the shot of Mixtard, wait 30 minutes, give the insulin, then feed the 2nd half about +2 hours after the shot.

Fortunately, Jimmy almost never vomits (once or twice/year).
Right now he is eating at
-7am 10 minutes after the shot
-after that some food is left to free feed while we are at work
-7pm 10 minutes after the shot
-10-10.30 pm some food
- no eating until the shot in the morning

I could give half of the morning food after the shot, and the rest of the morning food at +2h or +2h40min after the shot. Do you think this would help?
Anyway I think he is regaining weight. He is only drinking water from my mug on the desk so I lift him a few times per day after he finishes and he seems heavier. I will weigh him tomorrow at the clinic to be sure.