Looking For Advice

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ttsaraht9

ttsaraht9

Member Since 2015
I apologize if this post is out of place here, I wasn't sure where else to go.

I am at a loss about what to do about my cat, Lucky. I am currently a senior in high school and will be going to college next fall. My college is about an hour from my home, which means I will not be able to give Lucky his insulin and test him. My family says they will do it, but this does not make me feel much better. I don't think they will be able to take care of him as thoroughly as I do. They have busy schedules, along with my two little brothers to take care of. My other concern is how Lucky will do without me. This cat is my best friend. I am so scared he will become depressed and lonely without me. I don't think he will be getting the attention he is so used to getting from me. I have been seriously considering putting him down before I go to college.

Tuesday he will be going to the vet to have his teeth looked at. He has two teeth I am worried about. My step-mother showed the vet pictures of his teeth while she was there with our puppy, the vet said they might have to be removed. I don't know if I should put him through this if I am going to end up putting him down next fall. I am just at a loss right now. Any advice would be appreciated, and again, sorry if this isn't the right place to be posting these things.
 
Hi Sarah,

I'm so sorry you're struggling with these questions. My Jersey was diagnosed with diabetes in November 2013. We started Humulin in January of 2014, switched to Lantus in February, and she went into remission just two months later (April). When we first started, her numbers were all over the place, and I doubted that we would ever get her diabetes controlled. And then it seemed that everything just "clicked" and Jersey barreled into remission. She's now been off of insulin for 20 months, and she is doing great. I can't tell you that Lucky will go into remission or that, if he does, it will happen quickly. All I know is that it happened that quickly for us.

If Lucky's teeth are bad, getting them fixed may make a huge difference in bg levels. Infections can make it difficult to get the numbers under control. If it were me, I would definitely keep the dental appointment and hear what he/she has to say.

I can completely relate to your feelings about leaving Lucky. When I went to college, I refused to leave my Princie cat behind. I knew my parents would look after him, but I was afraid they wouldn't take as good of care of him as I would. I actually received a waiver from the college so that I could live in an off-campus apartment instead of the dorm....and Princie didn't have any medical issues. He just meant that much to me.

:bighug:
Shelly
 
I went to community college for a year JUST to avoid living in dorms.

Have you considered rehoming her, just for the duration of your freshman year? Perhaps there is a foster bean near your university that would be willing to take him in?
You might try posting a craigslist ad or something similar in your college's area.
This way the two of you could spend some time together, at least.
 
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ttsaraht9 said:
I apologize if this post is out of place here, I wasn't sure where else to go.

I am at a loss about what to do about my cat, Lucky. I am currently a senior in high school and will be going to college next fall. My college is about an hour from my home, which means I will not be able to give Lucky his insulin and test him. My family says they will do it, but this does not make me feel much better. I don't think they will be able to take care of him as thoroughly as I do. They have busy schedules, along with my two little brothers to take care of. My other concern is how Lucky will do without me. This cat is my best friend. I am so scared he will become depressed and lonely without me. I don't think he will be getting the attention he is so used to getting from me. I have been seriously considering putting him down before I go to college.

Tuesday he will be going to the vet to have his teeth looked at. He has two teeth I am worried about. My step-mother showed the vet pictures of his teeth while she was there with our puppy, the vet said they might have to be removed. I don't know if I should put him through this if I am going to end up putting him down next fall. I am just at a loss right now. Any advice would be appreciated, and again, sorry if this isn't the right place to be posting these things.
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Sarah,

I know exactly how you feel. I live with my parents, and also have two little brothers, and I do NOT trust my parents to have the responsibility of taking care of 15 almost 16 year old Fluffy. I grew up with him and I went to college far away around two years ago and missed him a lot. My life is so intertwined with his! However, he was not diabetic at the time. I came home, switched schools to live with my parents, and found out Fluff's was diabetic. Now, I take online classes; mainly so I can take care of my recently diagnosed kitty. I'll be honest... my life works around his clock. I don't go out with my friends or boyfriend as much since Fluffy's doses and testing is around 7pm. My mental health is pretty completely dependent on my kitty's well-being. Every yowl or cry from kitty and I instantly switch to mommy-mode and pull out my lancets, strips, and glucometer!

Countless trips to the vet before I was able to hometest put a real strain on my parents (since they pay for everything). What you may be able to do is remind them gently everyday or so to check his BG and give him his shots. But your relationship with your parents is pretty crucial. When it comes to my kitty's health, I have to walk around eggshells with my parents. I don't have any means of financial independence, and they pay for everything, but as far as the dirty work goes, it's my responsibility to watch his health and care for him. I am so in tune to his behavior and very watchful; my parents are not at all attentive and frankly don't care. I've gotten into countless arguments with them when they wouldn't listen to his pleas of help, and they simply suggested euthanasia. It breaks my heart to hear that. And I am a firm believer in trying every option I can to make Fluffy's life as comfortable as possible. Those thoughts only pass my mind when his diabetes flies out of control and I have no support from my family. But my kitty is a fighter, I know your Lucky is too! So, if you decide to leave Lucky at home, do sit down and talk about your worries with your family. Hopefully your parents will be understanding.

Though you live an hour away, have you considered visiting home on the weekends? :)

As for the teeth, is it gingivitis? Fluffy has a very mild case of it, but he's too old and given his diabetes it's not worth the risk of cleaning them. He eats his dry food just fine and isn't in any pain as far as I know. However, try not to worry about your Lucky, even though I know the words must be very hard to hear right now. Is your kitty in constant pain? Is his diabetes very hard to regulate? How is his general quality of life? Thinking about the future of her kitty's health will generate anxiety for you. When I first had his diagnosis, I was an emotional wreak. It sounded like a death sentence; a slow one. But it doesn't have to be. And like anything, we learn to cope with it. In a few weeks, I could see him getting better. Of course, there are a few times in the day where Fluffy doesn't feel well, but this just gives me more data to work on and to better manage his diabetes. I feel like given the information, it's too soon to think about putting Lucky down. He's 9, and while he is an adult cat, it seems like he has a lot going for him. It might be hard to project into how he will feel in the future; but give it a try at least to see how he does with your parents.
 
What are you feeding Lucky? If you are feeding him dry food then switching to low carb wet food can greatly improve his BG. If you are currently giving insulin you need to be testing in case it drops a lot. Transition the food change slowly over 4-5 days. Between that and a dental he may need less insulin. Eating wet may also help his weight.
 
billysmom (GA) said:
What are you feeding Lucky? If you are feeding him dry food then switching to low carb wet food can greatly improve his BG. If you are currently giving insulin you need to be testing in case it drops a lot. Transition the food change slowly over 4-5 days. Between that and a dental he may need less insulin. Eating wet may also help his weight.
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He is getting about 3 cans of fancy feast classics a day. 1 at each shot time then half a can between then.
 
Well we went to the vet today. He has what is called tooth resorption and some gingivitis. He may need them removed, but the vet wants to get him regulated first and we will work on doing that while I save money. The vet also said I need to go back to using the Alpha Track. Not really sure what to think of that, but I'm going to order some strips and see how it goes. He will also be staying on the insulin he is already on.
 
ttsaraht9 said:
Well we went to the vet today. He has what is called tooth resorption and some gingivitis. He may need them removed, but the vet wants to get him regulated first and we will work on doing that while I save money. The vet also said I need to go back to using the Alpha Track. Not really sure what to think of that, but I'm going to order some strips and see how it goes. He will also be staying on the insulin he is already on.
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All due respect, I completely disagree with your vet, and I know Bandit's vet would disagree, too. Unfortunately, your vet is wrong on several points.

You don't need to use the alphatrak. All of the insulin protocols (see attached document to give to your vet at the bottom of this post) are written for human meters, so human meters are fine. Alphatraks are pricy, and it's more important you are able to afford enough strips to be able to test 3-4 times a day than use a meter calibrated for animal blood.

Novolin is not a recommended insulin for cats. It does not have a long enough duration of action to be safe or effective. It's very unlikely you're going to get him regulated on that insulin. If you're trying to get him regulated and possibly off insulin all together before you go to school, you'll need to switch to an insulin appropriate for cats. Lantus (glargine) and Levemir (detemir) have the best remission rates for cats. They're pricy in the US, but very affordable if you buy from a Canadian pharmacy online with script from your vet. If your vet won't prescribe it for you despite your insistence and after reading the two articles I've provided , I would recommend switching to a vet who knows more about feline diabetes and will prescribe it for you. Here's the AAHA guidelines that talk about appropriate insulins for cats (p.4). I would print this out and bring it to your (or a new vet if your current insists on not cooperating). https://www.aaha.org/professional/resources/diabetes_management.aspx

Also, it's going to be very difficult to get him regulated before he has his dental work done. The bad mouth is likely what's causing his BG to remain out of control, and you'll have to fix the bad mouth before you'll be able to get him regulated. Bandit was in the exact same situation with his mouth, where he had resorptive lesions and had to have all of his teeth pulled except his lower canines. Take a look at Bandit's spreadsheet in 2009 (second tab). His BG was all over the place (Oct. -Dec. 2009) until he had the teeth pulled on Dec. 16, and then his numbers leveled right out.

My recommendations in order to get him regulated and hopefully in remission before you go away to school (so that all your family would need to do to take care of him would be to make sure he continues on his canned, low carb diet, or at the very least stays on lower dose of insulin if he doesn't reach remission) would be to 1. Get him on Lantus or Levemir ASAP, and adjust the dose according to the Tight Regulation Protocol (there's lots of experienced folks in the Lantus forum that can help you do that). 2. After he's on Lantus and settled in on it for a few weeks, schedule the dental and make sure he completes a course of antibiotics for about 2 weeks before the dental so there's a very low risk of infection. (Bandit was on clavamox the two weeks prior to his dental, and Clindamycin after the dental.)

To be perfectly blunt, I think most of your problems in treating him are due to bad treatment recommendations from your vet. If you wish to improve his situation where you feel comfortable going away to school and leaving him with your parents, then you need to find a vet who'll help you out with him with the right treatment guidelines. I would do this ASAP, considering that you've been following your current vet's recommendations for nearly 6 months and not seen improvement. There is a window with remission, where cats that start Tight Regulation within the first 6 months of diagnosis have an 80+% chance of remission, and the chances of remission drop the further away you get from that 6 month mark.

What city/state are you located? Maybe there's a FDMB member located in the same area that can recommend a new vet for you that is more current with feline diabetes? If not, we can give you suggestions for questions to call around and ask while looking for a new vet.
 

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Julia & Bandit said:
All due respect, I completely disagree with your vet, and I know Bandit's vet would disagree, too. Unfortunately, your vet is wrong on several points.

You don't need to use the alphatrak. All of the insulin protocols (see attached document to give to your vet at the bottom of this post) are written for human meters, so human meters are fine. Alphatraks are pricy, and it's more important you are able to afford enough strips to be able to test 3-4 times a day than use a meter calibrated for animal blood.

Novolin is not a recommended insulin for cats. It does not have a long enough duration of action to be safe or effective. It's very unlikely you're going to get him regulated on that insulin. If you're trying to get him regulated and possibly off insulin all together before you go to school, you'll need to switch to an insulin appropriate for cats. Lantus (glargine) and Levemir (detemir) have the best remission rates for cats. They're pricy in the US, but very affordable if you buy from a Canadian pharmacy online with script from your vet. If your vet won't prescribe it for you despite your insistence and after reading the two articles I've provided , I would recommend switching to a vet who knows more about feline diabetes and will prescribe it for you. Here's the AAHA guidelines that talk about appropriate insulins for cats (p.4). I would print this out and bring it to your (or a new vet if your current insists on not cooperating). https://www.aaha.org/professional/resources/diabetes_management.aspx

Also, it's going to be very difficult to get him regulated before he has his dental work done. The bad mouth is likely what's causing his BG to remain out of control, and you'll have to fix the bad mouth before you'll be able to get him regulated. Bandit was in the exact same situation with his mouth, where he had resorptive lesions and had to have all of his teeth pulled except his lower canines. Take a look at Bandit's spreadsheet in 2009 (second tab). His BG was all over the place (Oct. -Dec. 2009) until he had the teeth pulled on Dec. 16, and then his numbers leveled right out.

My recommendations in order to get him regulated and hopefully in remission before you go away to school (so that all your family would need to do to take care of him would be to make sure he continues on his canned, low carb diet, or at the very least stays on lower dose of insulin if he doesn't reach remission) would be to 1. Get him on Lantus or Levemir ASAP, and adjust the dose according to the Tight Regulation Protocol (there's lots of experienced folks in the Lantus forum that can help you do that). 2. After he's on Lantus and settled in on it for a few weeks, schedule the dental and make sure he completes a course of antibiotics for about 2 weeks before the dental so there's a very low risk of infection. (Bandit was on clavamox the two weeks prior to his dental, and Clindamycin after the dental.)

To be perfectly blunt, I think most of your problems in treating him are due to bad treatment recommendations from your vet. If you wish to improve his situation where you feel comfortable going away to school and leaving him with your parents, then you need to find a vet who'll help you out with him with the right treatment guidelines. What city/state are you located? Maybe there's a FDMB member located in the same area that can recommend a new vet for you that is more current with feline diabetes.
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This was actually a new vet I just switched to because the last one didn't seem very knowledgeable. She said she wants to try 2 weeks on .5 unit. She said if he doesn't change, we will probably switch to Lantus. I was not very happy about hearing I have to switch back to the Alpha Track. From what I'm heard, it's reliable for the most part. And as a teenager, I have no clue how I'm going to manage the cost of the strips. As for the teeth, she said it was unrelated to the diabetes, but I have read that getting them removed would help. Right now I don't have the money to get the teeth removed. I am going to be getting job applications tomorrow. As soon as I have enough money I will be getting the teeth removed. Also, I am located in Selinsgrove, PA. About 45 mins. from Harrisburg, if anyone has vet recs.
 
Oh dear, I'm sorry that you're already on vet #2. :( If she's willing to write you the Lantus script in 2 weeks, that's not a terrible long time to wait, so you might want to stick with her unless someone has a good vet recommendation for you here.

Maybe you should just let the new vet know that because you're a teenager on a very limited budget, you have no choice but to stick with the Relion Prime for now, since those are the strips you can afford. Tell her that you need to save for the dental, and you won't be able to do that using the Alphatrak because of the strip cost. While recommended, the Alphatrak is not necessary, and the articles I linked do say that. I've always used a human meter with Bandit, as have many, many others here, and they work just fine.
 
Julia & Bandit said:
Oh dear, I'm sorry that you're already on vet #2. :( If she's willing to write you the Lantus script in 2 weeks, that's not a terrible long time to wait, so you might want to stick with her unless someone has a good vet recommendation for you here.

Maybe you should just let the new vet know that because you're a teenager on a very limited budget, you have no choice but to stick with the Relion Prime for now, since those are the strips you can afford. Tell her that you need to save for the dental, and you won't be able to do that using the Alphatrak because of the strip cost. While recommended, the Alphatrak is not necessary, and the articles I linked do say that. I've always used a human meter with Bandit, as have many, many others here, and they work just fine.
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Yes I will explain my situation to her. Thank you so much for your help :)
 
When you switch to lantus, you could check out the supply closet. The possible problem could be weather. You don't want it to freeze. But that would be the same problem ordering from Canada. It looks like you have the low carb food covered.
 
Check my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools, for some other assessments you may find helpful in evaluating your cat. Since most are non-invasive, it may be possible to get your folks to do some of those religiously, even if they won't blood test often.

When you have a moment, could you add a few tidbits to your signature? It will help us give you feedback.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. You are limited to 2hard returns, so separate pieces by | or -.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as your name | cat's name | date of Dx (diagnosis) | insulin | meter general location (city and state/province) any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.

Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.

 
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I'll have to check my fridge when I get home, but I may have an unopened Lantus pen I could part with. I think I only went through 3, and I just need to keep one on hand in case Bandit has a relapse of his myelofibrosis and needs steroids again.

It's supposed to be unseasonably warm for the holidays, so I don't think there would be a problem shipping it from NY to PA.
 
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