Just diagnosed, various questions...

[Phil & Garfunkel]

Garfunkel is thirteen and weighs thirteen pounds, so he's slightly overweight, but he's basically maintained this weight since I've had him. I adopted him when he was nine years old, so I don't know what he was fed for most of his life. The diet I was giving him consisted of Newman's Own Organics wet and Evo dry with Feline Greenies treats.

About three to four weeks ago, I noticed Garfunkel was drinking a lot more water than usual, was lethargic, peeing more and basically hanging out around the water bowl, so I knew something was wrong. I made an appointment at the Humane Society and took him in this Monday. They took urine and blood and called me back today and said he's definitely diabetic. On that Monday, with the quick test and detecting sugar in his urine, the doctor advised me to switch him to DM, but after looking at the ingredients I didn't feel comfortable doing so with the meat-by-products garbage in there.

Also on Monday morning (the day of the appointment), I switched Garfunkel over to strictly Evo chicken and turkey wet, two cans a day. No dry food, no treats. I'm only six cans into this, but there's a definite, marked improvement. He's drinking less, not hanging out near the water bowl, and we were just playing, running around the apartment and chasing rattle balls for half an hour.

I have a follow-up appointment set for this Tuesday where they plan to show me the whole insulin regime (he mentioned Lantis, I think). My thought process at the moment is that I want to learn how to check his insulin levels, but not necessarily start him on any insulin regime, in part because I have a ten day vacation starting on May 20th and the vet also recommended that I wait until I get back to start the shots. I also want them to do another blood panel based on eight days of just Evo wet to see if that's made a difference. Is that a good idea, or overkill?

Part of me thinks I'm naive to think he's fine after just switching up his diet like this since it's only been three days, but I know my cat and he's acting completely different than he had been the past several weeks.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Welcome. What a beautiful kitty. Is he a Simon and Garfunkel fan or just Garfunkel?

There are kitties for whom the diet change is enough, but every cat is different. We are going to urge you to learn to hometest so you can keep track of his numbers at home. Saves you lots of money and keeps you from shooting blind. We have taught lots of people how over the internet. Here is the basic method: Video for hometesting Cats usually test higher at the vet than at home because they are stressed there and stress raises bg levels. So having a curve done there may not tell you much. If you learn to test between now and the 20th, you will have lots of valuable info already.

Lantus is a good insulin and we have a forum of people who use it. Check out the stickies on the top of the page to see how it works best in cats, how to buy it cheapest and what kind of needles to buy: viewforum.php?f=9

 

[Amy&TrixieCat]

First off...welcome - and Garfunkel is so sweet!

Changing him to EVO could definitely have a very positive effect on his BG numbers. The best way to know that for sure, as Sue said, is to test him at home. It's definitely wise to hold off on insulin until you know how the diet changes has affected him, since changing diet alone can cause numbers to significantly drop. Testing him at home will give you a more accurate read, and will better help what the correct dose for Garfunkel is. And, around here, the mantra is "Start low, go slow"...dose can always slowly increased at time, but it's important to see how your kitty responds before shooting him with lots of insulin. Definitely check out the links over in LantusLand, and read some of the threads for the cats over there. There is lots of great information tucked away all over the place, and LantusLand is a fabulous support network. Ask as many questions as you need - someone will always have an answer for you!

Amy

 

[Anonymous]

Garfunkle is gorgous!
I am happy you are interested in home testing. and you can actually do the whole blood panel at home instead of bringing kitty to vet as first it is cheaper and more important still, you get a better reading becuase there is no vet stress bring his numbers up.
if you need help getting started check out the newbie kits link down below on this post.
Lori

 

[sn422]

BEAUTIFUL kitty!!! Just want to throw in my two cents here. My 8 year old not overweight cat was diagnosed about 3 months ago. She developed diabetes most likely because she's been on oral prednisone for about two years because of a skin condition she has that's actually an autoimmune disease. Can't remember the name. Any way my vet is 2 years out of Texas A&M, one of the best schools in the country (I'm a little prejudiced) She put my Pearl on ProZinc, which I understand was taken off the market for a while, reformulated, and is now available again. We started out doing bg curve where blood is tested every 2 hours after eating. Then the vet determined a dose and had me bring her back in two weeks for retesting. The next time we bumped it up a unit, and left it for another two weeks. Of course they take into account that the cat is somewhat stressed. Fortunately for us, Pearl always sees the same vet and the same assistants, and when I bring her I leave a shirt or something of mine with my scent on it. After another two weeks we bumped it up another unit and retested again two weeks later. when I picked her up that day her last bg was 75 (!) amazing all of us. the vet told me no way did she want Pearl to have insulin with that number, because it would probably send her into hypoglycemic shock. She suggested we leave her off insulin for a week and then retest. I knew the odds were against her staying off the insulin (or OTJ, as they say here) Sure enough the next week her numbers were up again, and we decided to leave her on the second dose she had been at. One other thing, the vet told me in the beginning she wanted Pearl on DM canned as well as w/d dry. All 5 of my cats have been on w/d for years because I have one that's prone to UTI's. The vet said it's also good for diabetes. She said I need to measure Pearl's food to be sure she eats the same amount each day. She also said no more free feeding, so I leave the food out for an hour and a half, occasionally two, but then it comes up. I have to say that little Pearl has done beautifully through all the adjustments, both the medicine and getting away from free feeding, which she had done all her life. Each time I took her in for a curve, it cost $39. So we did that four times over 3 months. I'm now on our second bottle of insulin, but the first one lasted two months. It costs 87 dollars a bottle. I feel it's very important to feed her and give her insulin every 12 hours, and I think that has played a large part in her doing so well. Not sure what you don't like about Purina DM, but my feeling is that if a large company like that has devoted all the R and D into coming up with something that helps manage diabetes, and a very smart vet recommends it, I don't pretend to know more than they do Hope some of this helps, and good luck with your beautiful Garfunkel!

 

[Anonymous]

I think the odds were against this kitty going OTJ because 1. the dry food in his diet
and 2. it sounds as if there was no hometesting?
I don't think a cat can possibly go OTJ or even be regulated this way. IMHO

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

sn422, I am glad that Pearl is doing well with your plan. However, as a site, we do not recommend feeding dry food. The WD is 37% carbs; we suggest feeding between 8-10% carbs. Purina DM is 13% carbs - better but still too high. And the carbs are not the only issue, as this website by a vet suggests: www.catinfo.org We strongly urge people to test their cats at home. Not only is it economical, it is more accurate. For example, if you had not gotten Pearl to the vet that morning and shot at 75, you would have faced a hypo. If you were testing at home, you would know before every shot that it is safe to give insulin.

Again, glad Pearl is doing well, but our protocol is not the same as yours, and ours has worked for thousands of cats.

 

[Phil & Garfunkel]

Welcome.  What a beautiful kitty.  Is he a Simon and Garfunkel fan or just Garfunkel?

Just Garfunkel.   That was his name when I adopted him and I didn't want to change it and confuse him.

There are kitties for whom the diet change is enough, but every cat is different.  We are going to urge you to learn to hometest so you can keep track of his numbers at home.  Saves you lots of money and keeps you from shooting blind.  We have taught lots of people how over the internet.  Here is the basic method:  Video for hometesting

Honestly, this is kind of terrifying to me. I have a needle phobia to begin with and stabbing at his ear is something I don't know how I'm going to come to grips with.

First off...welcome - and Garfunkel is so sweet!

Changing him to EVO could definitely have a very positive effect on his BG numbers. The best way to know that for sure, as Sue said, is to test him at home.

I had his results from Monday faxed over today and it shows:

Glucose 488
Fructosamine 611

How important is daily testing, like the video, versus keeping track of his behavior and testing weekly or something? If he's drinking less, not lethargic, playing, etc. would he likely be okay? It's not that I don't want to test him, but I really couldn't watch that video comfortably and can't see myself getting blood from his ear like that, especially twice a day.  Are there other areas to get blood from? There's something about the ear and the vein that's freaking me out.

 Not sure what you don't like about Purina DM, but my feeling is that if a large company like that has devoted all the R and D into coming up with something that helps manage diabetes, and a very smart vet recommends it, I don't pretend to know more than they do  Hope some of this helps, and good luck with your beautiful Garfunkel!

I don't see anything in the ingredients for DM that necessitate a prescription vs. other cats foods (though to be fair it's not like I'm a vet or anything) and I really don't like the idea of feeding my cat any kind of meat by-products.  If you're going to spend all that R&D money developing a specific cat food, why cheapen it with garbage ingredients like downed and diseased animal meat? Thank you for your wishing me luck though.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

If you want to post your city and state, we might have someone who lives near you and could come help you get started. It really isn't hard for the kitty or the human; it is just a matter of being firm and getting it done. Some people here test the paw so you can post and ask specific advice for that.

Urine testing will only give sugar levels after the urine has made its way through the body. Too late to help guide you in dose amounts. The only way to do it safely is to test before each shot to be sure it is okay to give the dose you are planning on.

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

How important is daily testing, like the video, versus keeping track of his behavior and testing weekly or something? If he's drinking less, not lethargic, playing, etc. would he likely be okay? It's not that I don't want to test him, but I really couldn't watch that video comfortably and can't see myself getting blood from his ear like that, especially twice a day.  Are there other areas to get blood from? There's something about the ear and the vein that's freaking me out.

Daily testing is very important in managing your cat's diabetes. The faster you can regulate Garfunkel, the greater chance he has of going into remission. The only way you can do that is by home testing. Plus, it is far safer for your kitty than trying to guess how the dose is affecting him. Cats don't really show symptoms of a hypoglycemic incident until they're dangerously low, which could be deadly.

The hometesting seems daunting at first, but I think nearly everyone here can attest to how easy it gets after just a week or two! I think the ears are the easiest spot to get blood from, especially if your cat struggles at first (Bandit struggled the first week or so, but after enough low-carb treats (like Beefeaters freeze-dried treats you get at PetSmart), he started running to me to be tested when he hears the meter beep on. Now he doesn't even move or flinch when I test him.

The EVO chicken and turkey is an excellent food to feed! It's pretty high calorie, so you might not need to feed as much to maintain Garfunkel's weight. The 95% EVO varieties are excellent also. The venison was a house favorite, and easy on the kidneys for older cats. Good for you for switching his diet right off. This is far easier to do before you start insulin. I used Lantus with Bandit, and he's now in remission thanks to my wonderful vet and the great people here. Some vets start off with too high a dose, so make sure you start low and go slow when adjusting the dose. If you do end up starting on Lantus, check out the stickys in the lantus forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

All 5 of my cats have been on w/d for years because I have one that's prone to UTI's. The vet said it's also good for diabetes.

I highly disagree with you and your vet on this food. It is way too high in carbs for any cat to eat, even a non-diabetic cat. I am convinced W/D is what caused Bandit's diabetes, and I would venture that it might have caused your cat's as well. The ingredients are also complete junk. If you are convinced you need a veterinary diet, the canned D/M would be the best for your cat. Or even the dry D/M would be loads better than the W/D.

And I'm not presuming to know more than my vet when I say this--it was my current vet that relayed this information to me, and told me that a prescription diet is unnecessary for diabetic cats, as long as you buy any type low carb canned food.