Losing weight and getting older

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Charlyanne & Peanut

Member Since 2012
Hi all,

Peanut was diagnosed with DM when he was 6 years old. He is now 14 and will be 15 in May. He has always weighed between 12 and 15 pounds. Recently I began noticing that he appeared to be losing weight; I can feel his spinal column more. He doesn't look sickly, but I don't like how I can feel his bones.

I have managed his DM for 9 years. Is this weight loss and bony spine an age issue, or a DM issue? I have never had a cat live to 15 so I just can't tell. I will admit that his insulin was old (he's on Lantus and let's face it, I cannot afford to buy new vials every 28 days). I just got a new vial today. He is still eating the same, drinking the same (no exceissive thirst) and pooping and peeing the same. But he's getting thinner by the day.

Any suggestions on what to feed him to fatten him up? He refuses wet cat food. I am giving him his favorite treats of milk and tuna (in moderation) but I realize these will not put weight on him. I want to make sure he is comfortable and healthy and that if this is an insulin or food issue that I address it. But at the age of 15, I refuse any aggresive treatments or interventions.

Thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Charlyanne and Peanut
 
Hi there!

You are in the right place. It could well be a diabetes issue but you may want to go to the vet for a blood test etc to see if anything else is going on.

Are you home testing his blood? If not, I would advise it and I can provide more information on how.

He refuses wet food.. Have you tried fancy feast classic or friskies pâtés? Or maybe you can try a low carbohydrate dry food... These could help bring his blood sugar down if thats the issue. See here http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=86715 but if he does change food it's more important to home test.

Lastly you could try coconut oil to help him gain weight. Virgin organic cold pressed coconut oil at 1ml twice a day and increase to 5ml if he doesn't have diarrhea.

Wendy

PS By the way , no matter what it says on the vial, lantus lasts up to six months in the fridge. If it doesn't have flakes or cloudiness and you keep it in the fridge and don't shake it , it will be fine! I can attest to four months personally and I was using it on two cats! By putting a short expiry on it, the manufacturers are just trying to make money and cover their butts.
 
Wendy&Tiggy said:
By putting a short expiry on it, the manufacturers are just trying to make money and cover their butts.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily true... Lantus is not FDA approved for use in cats (but there is nothing stopping us from doing it anyway), so all the instructions on the box and official literature will be for humans. Humans are much larger than cats, so need much larger doses. A human can use an entire vial of Lantus within 28 days without refrigerating it. Because our cats take such low doses, we keep it in the fridge to make it last longer. I have a Lantus pen going on 6 months now that still works fine.

14 is not THAT old... we have some cats going on 20 and older! Being more proactive with his treatment could mean that extra year or two on his life. Keep your Lantus in the fridge - don't shake or roll it, and don't inject insulin back into the vial after you've already drawn it into the syringe. It should last you at least 4 months. You can put that saved up money towards a glucometer to test his blood sugar (just like humans do)... if you're in the USA, WalMart's ReliOn Confirm/Micro and also the Prime have very cheap and readily available strips. From there you can work on tweaking his dose and diet to get him nice and healthy again.

What food is he currently getting? Low carb wet or raw is the best thing for your cat and will make the whole process a lot easier, but... we understand there can be some troubles transitioning dry addicts. Lisa Pierson's website has some great tips ontransitioning dry addicts to wet. If you are feeding a dry food that is high in carbs, switching to lower carb and a more calorie dense (or high fat) food may help him put a bit more weight on... for example Wellness CORE or Innova Evo.

Another thing, though... at that age, a lot of cats (especially chronically dehydrated cats on dry food) begin to fall into chronic kidney disease... you should really be trying to get a lot of water into him, and also avoid high phosphorous and high bypoduct foods to make less work on his kidneys. A senior blood panel (perhaps with a T4 for thyroid) isn't a bad idea. Unfortunately CORE and Evo are high in phosphorous (338 and 396 per 100kcal respectively... you ideally want under 200)
 
I've been a bad mother. I used to test his BS all the time. But after 9 years with this illness and once he pretty much got stabilized on the same dose of insulin and the same food, I stopped testing. I will look into the cheap meters at WalMart. I admit, the cost of the strips and the insulin just really was adding up. I will attempt to introduce wet food again, it has been a while and maybe with his older teeth he might prefer it. I will also make an appt with the vet for bloodwork, it's been about 8 months. Lastly, he has been eating Into the Wild(?) food (dry). I will look into the Evo or Wellness. I am curious about the coconut oil as well. I am reading that people say their cats love it. I just want him to gain about 2 pounds and I'll be happier.
 
You are not a bad mother.. you are a woman with a life and commitments! these things happen.. you can only do so much!

Anyway as Ry said, the Walmart Relion is cheap and reliable. The meter is like $15 and the strips $9 for 50.

Definately try the wet again too .. Lots of people here find Wellness grain free, Fancy feast classic pates or friskies pates are popular.

Wendy
 
Charlyanne & Peanut said:
Recently I began noticing that he appeared to be losing weight; I can feel his spinal column more. He doesn't look sickly, but I don't like how I can feel his bones.

He is still eating the same, drinking the same (no exceissive thirst) and pooping and peeing the same. But he's getting thinner by the day.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen you mention any plans to take him to the vet. Unexplained weight loss can also be a sign of cancer. If that is the case, nothing that you feed him is going to help him gain weight.

He needs a vet exam with a senior blood panel and a free T-4 run.
 
Tried out the ReliOn meter. BS 94 at 3 hours post shot (2 U Lantas). Will do a full curve this weekend.

He actually ate some of the FF pate this morning too - so maybe I can convert him yet. I was thinking, he has had bad teeth in the past, so if he has any rotting teeth right now, the dry food may be hard for him to chew and that could attribute to the weight loss as well.

Will set up a vet appt for blood work and to check out his teeth and gums. Like I said in the original post though, I refuse at age 15 with diabetes to do anything aggressive or to put him on caustic meds. If he has cancer, I will not do chemo. That's like giving a 95 year old chemo at end of life. I believe in hospice and palliative care, not causing more pain. I will get him good pain meds though if he is in pain - I don't believe he is though since he shows no signs of guarding or pain.

Thanks again all!
 
94 at +3? Do you know when his nadir (low point for the day) normally is? Many cats have their nadirs at +6 and you have 3 hours to go. Can you do another test in an hour? you dont want him dropping too low. FYI If he drops to 40 you would give him a dose decrease. ( he may well be dropping low and bouncing a lot - bounces would keep him high and could be causing his issues)

If he has a dental infection it can spike his blood sugar at times and that would impact his regulation.

Wendy
 
That BS was yesterday (evening). He was given high carb treats following the test so I doubt he made it to 40 at 6+. I was with him throughout the evening and no s/s of hypo. I reduced his dose this morning to 1 U. As I said, I will do a full curve this weekend when I can be home to test hourly. I plan on two curves this weekend to supply the vet with good data.

Vet appt is scheduled for Monday at 5p for bloodwork. Crossing my fingers that it will be the same as always (no s/s CKD, RF, or CA).
 
Peanut went to our vet Monday at 5pm. The vet did blood work. All values, CBC, thyroid, etc. were normal except for his liver test. 3 of the 4 tests were high, 1 was critically high. I have him scheduled for an abdominal ultrasound on Friday at 4pm. If there is a cyst or localized tumor on the liver, they can perform surgery, but if it has metastisized, I will be putting him on "comfort care/palliative care" at home. He lost 5 lbs fairly quickly. His BS at the vet was only 57 and his fructosamine was 292; so the vet has instructed me to hold insulin altogether.

This job breaks my heart. :YMSIGH:
 
I am sorry to hear that, i hope its just a cyst. let us know.. sending healing vines....

Good idea to skip the insulin

((Hugs))
 
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