? Just Looking For A Second Opinion

[Ben & Lucky]

Hello Everyone,

I've been following these forums for about a month now and have found both the people and information to be very helpful. I'm hoping someone on here might be able to provide a few answers to some questions I still have.

I have a 7.5 year old cat named Lucky who was diagnosed in the beginning of December. According to the vet she was officially diabetic sometime during the last two weeks of November, which makes sense because that was when I started noticing most of the usual diabetic signs, such as increase thirst, urincation, and hunger. At the beginning of November she weighed around 15 lbs. by the beginning of December she had already lost a whole pound and was around 14 lbs. When I found out she was diabetic the vet gave me a link listing different pet foods and told me to switch her to a food that had less than 6% carbs. So the very next day I began transitioning her over to the Wellness Chicken Formula, which I think is around 4% carbs. Shortly after I also bought a baby scale to begin weighing her each day. By mid December she was hovering around 13 lbs.

Back in December her BG (at the vets) was around 500 or so. I have not measured her BG since the vets. I do have a glucose meter but I'm a little weary about poking her for many reasons. One, I'm trying not to stress her anymore than needed, and second, while she is a very sweet and cuddly cat she isn't the nicest when it comes to forcing her to do something she doesn't like

I did notcie that all of her symptoms faded away after fully switching her onto the Wellness diet. The only thing that is still happening is her weight loss, but it isn't as drastic as before. All of January she has consistently been hovering around 12 lbs.

So now that I've told my little story here come the questions:

1: I am hoping the diet has helped her a lot, especially since she was so recently diagnosed. However, my vet feels fairly confident that she'll need insulin still. I know I don't have any BG measurements, but how likely is it that the diet alone has truly helped her? How likely is it her BG is still high even without the diabetic symptoms. I know diet can help lower there BG by 100 points, and I do know my cat gets super stressed at the vets, so her 500 BG was likely inflated due to the vets.

2: Back in November, the vet also discovered that Lucky has a FORL that needs to be removed. She is scheduled for surgery this Tuesday to ge ti removed and to re-examine her diabetes, such as next steps etc. She's never had a teeth cleaning before or any teeth removed. She was on a Dry Food before I switched her to Wellness. I read somehwere that dental can also affect a cat's diabetes. Is that true, and if so how much? Is FORL one of the dental illness that can affect it?

3: Final question, while the Wellness Chicken is definitely working, I've notcied her appitite in that particular food has begun to ebb. I'm considering picking up a few other Wellness brands (all under 6%). Do any of you feed you cat different brands or flavors? If so, do you notice any drastic changes in their habits or BG? Since she's mostly doing good I'm reluctant to change, but I also want her happy too if possible.

Any thoughts or comments are more than welcome. I'm just looking to get a second opinion before I get Lucky to the vet's on Tuesday and we try tackling things further. Thanks in advance for everything.

B

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Welcome to you and Lucky! We can certainly help. You've been reading the forums so you won't be surprised when I say that THE essential tool in managing a kitty's diabetes is learning to test blood glucose at home. There are tips and tricks to train your kitty to accept it and for you to become proficient.

A change to wet low carb food only can have a dramatic impact on blood glucose levels. Some kitties can actually have their diabetes managed with diet alone. You need to do testing at home to know, even if you see an improvement in drinking, urinating, etc.

It doesn't seem as though you're injecting insulin yet. Is this correct? Will this be a topic of discussion with your vet on Tuesday? Once you know what insulin your vet prescribes and what dose please post here so we can offer advice.

I can't help you with the questions on dental issues except to say that if there's any infection present it can raise BG numbers.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Welcome!!!

Yes, it's true that lowering the carbs in the food can really help....it's just like a human diabetic....the first thing they're told is to reduce the carbs from the diet so that's a great first step....Some cats can be diet controlled right away, but most need a little support from insulin (at least for a little while) to let their pancreas rest and heal

Yes, any dental issues can make the numbers worse, so the FORL is definitely something you want to get taken care of as soon as possible. We've seen cats who needed dentals get them done and then race down the dose ladder and go OTJ (Off The Juice)....again, not everyone, but it's an important part of getting things under control

It's fine to give your kitty some variety in her diet unless you're dealing with something like IBD or food allergies....as long as it's low carb and she tolerates it, it's fine!