otisangel
Member
Hi,
My 12 year old cat Otis (actually my parents') was diagnosed with diabetes 6 years ago. I've recently moved home so I'm now more involved in his care, and I'm concerned quite about a few things with his care and vet. I'd really appreciate some advice, he's having problems and I'm worried.
Otis started out getting 1unit of Humulin N 2x a day. From the information I've gotten from my parents he has spent the majority of the years getting between 2.5 and 3 units twice a day. Its hard to get information from them- problems with memory, and for at least a year my Dad would use a 2.5 unit dose while telling the vet he was giving the prescribed 3 units. He has been fed only Purina DM since he was diagnosed (about 4oz dry and half a can wet a day on vet recommendation). Otis vet has told me he believes his diabetes has always been under good control. Home testing has never been done or brought up as an option. My parents never requested/ received the results of any tests done.
This is what concerns me:
-Throughout his diabetic treatment, Otis has been very thirsty and pees large quantites. This was his original symptom that cause him to brought to the Vet in the first place
-The Vet (assistants? I'm not sure their titles) don't know and can't figure out from their records when Otis's insulin dose has been changed or other items from previous exams. They have relied on my guess or parents notes.
-Otis has a history of vomiting, I've directly asked the vet whether the dry food has been a problem for him and if Otis might be fine if he had more wet food than dry because he loooooooooves the wet. The answer was to keep things the way they are. (From the internet it seems wet food is beneficial for cats)
-Since this summer he has gotten increasingly wobbly, unbalanced and bony on his rear. He still jumps fine, he's even started jumping onto a higher perch recently. But, he loses his balance when he walks, or stumbles upon standing after lying down or being held. His paws seem to start to slip out from under him sometimes.
-He had a very scary incident in August where I found him in the kitchen, half lying down, front paws crossed and alternatly moving one front paw in a motion where he looked like he was aggressively smacking his cheek and trying to bite his arm. After this he was brought to an Animal Emergency Vet, then to his regular vet the next day.
By time we got to the emergency vet, Otis had stopped the scary smacking behavior. They observed slight intermittent ataxia and some superficial abrasions. They said possible causes could have been Stress/freakout/ isolated incident if he had just fallen off the counter in the kitchen (which is likely, with his imbalance he often has to awkwardly jumps off a counter if he loses balance on a step). Or Ataxia secondary to trauma or Diabetic neuropathy. His Glucose was 359 mg/dl
The regular vet the next day said that it was an isolated incident, he must have fallen and had a reaction to the stress of it. He had a UTI that was taking a while to go away, and we should finish his antibiotics and then raise his insulin to 4units 2x a day. I had begun reading about feline diabetes and asked about ketones and was told that that isn't a possible cause of what happened and we don't need to worry about it.
This morning I called the vet and asked about Otis' continuing balance problems; I've brought up Low Potassium, High Phosphorus, Diabetic Neuropathy and B-12 / other vitamin supplements. I was told that his Potassium and Phosphorus had been tested in August and were fine, and that it was highly unlikely that diabetic Neuropathy was an issue because Otis' diabetes had always been managed. B12 shots are something that they can do in the office, but its not applicable because it can't be diabetic neuropathy. The only thing the vet would do was refer us to a Veterinary Neurologist. I asked for copies of otis' lab tests and thanked him for his time. He called back a few minutes later and said he may have been a bit harsh on shooting down the B12, that it has been used successfully but not linked to some cats getting better. It was something that we could do in their office, and it could maybe help, and it wouldn't hurt.
I don't feel confident in this vet, but I don't know if I'm overreacting. When do you run from a vet and when do you work with them? What if the next vet is more of the same? Has anyone have advice on balance problems and solutions in their diabetic cats? Is it really most likely that otis has diabetes and an unrelated nuerological problem? I want to test Otis' glucose at home, but do I need to get consent from the Vet to do this? I'm pretty certain he wouldn't go for it. I just feel like my every concern or research is dismissed, nothing is being changed, all the while my poor Otis angel is stumbling around getting no help from the people he relies on.
Thank you to whoever reads this. This ended up so long; part medical history, part venting, lots of questions!
Do you have any advice?
Marley & Otis
My 12 year old cat Otis (actually my parents') was diagnosed with diabetes 6 years ago. I've recently moved home so I'm now more involved in his care, and I'm concerned quite about a few things with his care and vet. I'd really appreciate some advice, he's having problems and I'm worried.
Otis started out getting 1unit of Humulin N 2x a day. From the information I've gotten from my parents he has spent the majority of the years getting between 2.5 and 3 units twice a day. Its hard to get information from them- problems with memory, and for at least a year my Dad would use a 2.5 unit dose while telling the vet he was giving the prescribed 3 units. He has been fed only Purina DM since he was diagnosed (about 4oz dry and half a can wet a day on vet recommendation). Otis vet has told me he believes his diabetes has always been under good control. Home testing has never been done or brought up as an option. My parents never requested/ received the results of any tests done.
This is what concerns me:
-Throughout his diabetic treatment, Otis has been very thirsty and pees large quantites. This was his original symptom that cause him to brought to the Vet in the first place
-The Vet (assistants? I'm not sure their titles) don't know and can't figure out from their records when Otis's insulin dose has been changed or other items from previous exams. They have relied on my guess or parents notes.
-Otis has a history of vomiting, I've directly asked the vet whether the dry food has been a problem for him and if Otis might be fine if he had more wet food than dry because he loooooooooves the wet. The answer was to keep things the way they are. (From the internet it seems wet food is beneficial for cats)
-Since this summer he has gotten increasingly wobbly, unbalanced and bony on his rear. He still jumps fine, he's even started jumping onto a higher perch recently. But, he loses his balance when he walks, or stumbles upon standing after lying down or being held. His paws seem to start to slip out from under him sometimes.
-He had a very scary incident in August where I found him in the kitchen, half lying down, front paws crossed and alternatly moving one front paw in a motion where he looked like he was aggressively smacking his cheek and trying to bite his arm. After this he was brought to an Animal Emergency Vet, then to his regular vet the next day.
By time we got to the emergency vet, Otis had stopped the scary smacking behavior. They observed slight intermittent ataxia and some superficial abrasions. They said possible causes could have been Stress/freakout/ isolated incident if he had just fallen off the counter in the kitchen (which is likely, with his imbalance he often has to awkwardly jumps off a counter if he loses balance on a step). Or Ataxia secondary to trauma or Diabetic neuropathy. His Glucose was 359 mg/dl
The regular vet the next day said that it was an isolated incident, he must have fallen and had a reaction to the stress of it. He had a UTI that was taking a while to go away, and we should finish his antibiotics and then raise his insulin to 4units 2x a day. I had begun reading about feline diabetes and asked about ketones and was told that that isn't a possible cause of what happened and we don't need to worry about it.
This morning I called the vet and asked about Otis' continuing balance problems; I've brought up Low Potassium, High Phosphorus, Diabetic Neuropathy and B-12 / other vitamin supplements. I was told that his Potassium and Phosphorus had been tested in August and were fine, and that it was highly unlikely that diabetic Neuropathy was an issue because Otis' diabetes had always been managed. B12 shots are something that they can do in the office, but its not applicable because it can't be diabetic neuropathy. The only thing the vet would do was refer us to a Veterinary Neurologist. I asked for copies of otis' lab tests and thanked him for his time. He called back a few minutes later and said he may have been a bit harsh on shooting down the B12, that it has been used successfully but not linked to some cats getting better. It was something that we could do in their office, and it could maybe help, and it wouldn't hurt.
I don't feel confident in this vet, but I don't know if I'm overreacting. When do you run from a vet and when do you work with them? What if the next vet is more of the same? Has anyone have advice on balance problems and solutions in their diabetic cats? Is it really most likely that otis has diabetes and an unrelated nuerological problem? I want to test Otis' glucose at home, but do I need to get consent from the Vet to do this? I'm pretty certain he wouldn't go for it. I just feel like my every concern or research is dismissed, nothing is being changed, all the while my poor Otis angel is stumbling around getting no help from the people he relies on.
Thank you to whoever reads this. This ended up so long; part medical history, part venting, lots of questions!
Do you have any advice?
Marley & Otis
