Just diagnosed...please help!

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meganfitz

Member Since 2013
Hello, my name is Megan and my most beloved 18 year old Stinky Monkey was just diagnosed yesterday. He had not eaten in three days, so I took him to our vet. We were prescribed Humulin N, one unit twice a day, and after some research, I am worried about this insulin. How do I approach my vet with concerns over the Humulin N? What should I recommend instead? I am having to force feed Stinky Monkey numerous times per day, as he has no interest in food. We were prescribed Hills Prescription Diet a/d Critical Care. Of course I am panicking, however, we are to have a follow up visit this week to retest the glucose levels. Although I am aware no one can guarantee success, I'd like to know what the board thinks Stinky Monkey's chances of survival are. Also, when can I expect to see some improvement in him, as he is in the same condition as yesterday. Lastly, when can I expect him to regain his appetite?

Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
Hello Megan and Stinky Monkey (great name!) and welcome to FDMB.

What jumps out at me from your post is that Stinky Monkey may have some other health issues going on apart from the diabetes. Diabetic cats are often ravenous, so I'm wondering why Stinky Monkey isn't eating. What did the vet say about this..? Do you know of any pre-existing health issues that Stinky Monkey has? Is he 'peeing and pooping' OK? Any dental problems?

Regarding insulin, yes Humulin has a reputation for being quite a harsh insulin for cats (although some cats manage just fine on it). The people on this forum mostly use Lantus, Levimir or protamine zinc insulins such as 'Prozinc'. And it may well be possible to get your vet to prescribe something else.

Are you willing to test your cat's blood glucose at home? It's not difficult to learn, it won't hurt your cat, and it has a lot of benefits including helping to keep your cat safe while on insuln and saving you a lot of money in vet's bills. It will also give you a sense of control over the situation.

Are you testing Stinky Monkey's pee for ketones? Given the fact that he isn't eating it is especially important that you do this. You can buy ketostix (that test for ketones) or ketodiastix (that test for ketones and glucose) from most pharmacies.

See these links below for some concise and clear info and pics on urine and blood glucose testing.
http://www.sugarpet.net/bloodtst.html
http://www.sugarpet.net/urine.html

Best wishes,

Elizabeth
 
Hi Megan,

My vet recommnad Humuline 30 and I also was scared to administrate, being a harsh insuline, but finally we succed to be in remittence (OTJ), diet controlled. You might find interest to check my story viewtopic.php?f=28&t=89508 or the BG numbers in spreadsheet. Your cat is probably at around 200-250, if 1 ui was recommended for you. But your cat should eat in order to administrate insuline. Also to test before insuline shots, I always tested my cat.
About the food, at the beginning my cat also had episode when he did not want to eat anything, and the vet administrate "Recovery" (from Royal Canin, I think). It is not a balance food for a diabetic cat, but was the only food that he could eat. After he started to eat, we change to low carb wet food.
Also I have a experience a lot of valuable information and help from this site,

You and Stinky Monkey will be fine,
Mihaela
 
Check my signature link for Secondary Monitoring Tools with details for testing urine ketones, urine glucose, and assessing behaviors.

Urine ketones may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal complication of diabetes. You don't want to see any. A positive test means he needs to go back to the vet.

Urine glucose indicates that glucose levels are above the renal threshold.

If not eating for 2 or more days, the fat breakdown may overwhelm the liver. Does he look at all yellow anywhere, especially the whites of the eyes? If yes, that is jaundice and he needs to go to the vet; many things stop working if the liver is affected.

How much water is he drinking?
 
Welcome Megan and Stinky Monkey! What a great name :-D

Being a newbee, I have no advice to give, I leave that to those much more experienced than me. :-D

You will have plenty of help and support here, it's what they do! :thumbup

I know you're overwhelmed right now, but it will get better for both of you, as you address your boy's issues and he starts feeling better. cat_pet_icon

Wishing you and Stinky Monkey a short road to good health! dancing_cat dancing_cat
 
Hello, and thanks to all of you that took the time to reply. A forum such as this is an invaluable tool, as I am not at all familiar with diabetes, especially the feline version.

I am thrilled to report that Stink Monkey has made a tremendous turnaround!! He is devouring deli turkey and canned chicken, his coat looks better, and he is starting to look like he did months ago. He still has an aversion to the a/d food the vet prescribed, however, I would too after it was shoved down my throat... I am vegetarian, so I know very little about meat and poultry. My question is can Stinky Monkey survive on deli turkey and chicken alone? Based upon everyone's experience here, will he develop an appetite for the canned foods the board suggests?

Thank you all again.

Megan
 
No he can't just live of deli meat and canned chicken as it isn't complete balanced diet for him, it doesn't contain all the vitamins and minerals his body needs, but it is a great way to get him to start eating again and to help switch him over to the canned food as you can mix it in with the canned food and slowly add more canned and less of the deli meats.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Edited to add: Duh! Mel (Momma of Muse) types faster than me! :lol:

Hi Megan,

It's great news that Stinky Monkey is feeling better and eating too! :-D

Meat made for human consumption isn't a complete food for cats (it's like feeding 'fillet of mouse' rather than 'the whole mouse' if you see what I mean...) Short term, feeding this kind of food is OK, especially if it is all that your cat will eat. That your cat eats at all is the most important thing when it's feeling poorly. But longer term the cat needs a diet that gives all the necessary nutrients. Now that Stinky Monkey is feeling better you could try adding some canned/wet cat food to the meat that you're currently feeding him and gradually switch him over to that by increasing the amount of canned/wet cat food.

Have you given any thought to the idea of hometesting Stinky Monkey?
 
Ok, that all makes sense. I'll start integrating the canned/wet food in with the deli meats. Thanks for the advice!!

Yes, I will be home testing. We have a vet appt on Saturday to retest the glucose levels. Based upon these numbers, we will determine if the insulin dosage should change. From there, I will be home testing. I have researched this on the board, and think I have a pretty good grasp of the procedure. I'm sure I will panic over not getting a good sample, so please keep an eye out for the plead for help!!

Thanks, and I will keep you all apprised...
 
You might try parmesan cheese or tuna juice on the wet or any low carb treat he likes, crumbled on top. You can also try heating it in the microwave until nice and stinky. Adding warm water helps sometimes - mix it up so it's like a gravy.

Just a warning. Most cats are stressed at the vet and stress raises blood glucose levels. Some cats are 100+ points higher at the vet than when they get back home. So we are cautious about raising the dose based on vet numbers. You might wait to raise until you have some numbers at home and see if they match the vet's numbers.
 
Hi and Welcome, Megan and Stinky Monkey! (♥ the name)

meganfitz said:
We were prescribed Humulin N, one unit twice a day, and after some research, I am worried about this insulin. How do I approach my vet with concerns over the Humulin N? What should I recommend instead?
Click to expand...

I suggest you start with providing your vet the AAHA General Guidelines for Diabetes in Cats and Dogs It spells out in there the only recommended* insulin for felines is ProZinc/PZI or Glargine (Lantus). Lente/Humulin/NPH are NOT recommended and are better suited for canines as they're too harsh for cats.

From page 4 of the PDF (page 218 of the Journal), 1st column, last paragraph:
This panel does not recommend the veterinary-approved procine zinc (lente) insulin suspension as the initial treatment for the cat, because its duration of action is short and control of clinical signs is poor. This insulin should be reserved for cats in which other insulin choices have not yielded satisfactory results.
Click to expand...

*Note: Another good insulin for cats is detemir (brand name Levemir). It works similarly to Lantus but wasn't included in the AAHA guidelines most likely because it's a fairly new insulin. In summary, for feline diabetes, it is suggested to use any of these three insulins: Lantus (glargine), PZI/ProZinc, or Levemir (detemir).
 
Hello and welcome to the forum!

Let us know how you get on tomorrow at the vet.. Ideally before you start shooting so we can be sure the dose isn't too high. You want to do your first blood glucose test before you shoot to keep him safe so hopefully you will pick up the meter tomorrow too.


Wendy
 
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