Luna - newly diagnosed, going crazy!

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M

Magic

Member Since 2013
Hello,
My Bombay cat, Luna, has just been diagnosed with diabetes. I'm finding the injections difficult, but managing. Any help on how to stop her urinating all over my flat would be much appreciated. I have lots of questions but I'll stop there for now - good to meet you all.
 
Welcome! Have you sure had her checked out for a urinary tract infection? If not, a trip to the vet to see if something other than diabetics is going on, might be helpful. Another idea is to put out another litter box. Sometimes when they are peeing so often and so much, the box gets full and they look elsewhere. Having two boxes might be easier for you to keep up with. There is also a product called LitterAttract - a specific litter than makes them want to use the box.

How else can we help? Are you testing at home? That is very important to help manage the diabetes and to keep your cat safe. What kind of diet is she on? We like wet low carb food as it lowers blood glucose levels. BUT don't switch until you are testing, as her numbers can quickly lower and you want to keep on top of them and lower the dose.
 
Welcome!

Many diabetics pee frequently and copiously. It should slow down as you gain control over the glucose levels.

Also, there are some common UTI issues in cats - bladder infection is very common. Hyperthyroidism and renal disease also may provoke excessive urination.
 
Thanks so much for the replies! I'm finding this very hard. Luna's weeing on my kitchen worktops, sofas, everywhere. I'll add a third litter box. She's due at the vet for testing on Monday, at the moment she's on 0.2ml of insulin twice daily. I'm feeding her Hill's Prescription wet food twice a day. Looking for something less expensive as it's £35 for 11 day's food. The vet bills are high as I'm at the beginning. Fingers crossed, hoping this gets better! nailbite_smile
 
Are you in the UK? We have several members who can help with food choices. There is no need to feed prescription food. There is no "prescription" ingredients in it and it is often higher carb and worse nutrition than OTC choices. Check out the type you are feeding on this chart to find the carb level. We like to feed under 8-10% carbs.

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html

The other way to save lots of money is to test your kitty at home. We would love to teach you how.
 
Until you get things figured out, keeping her in a large dog crate with litterbox, etc., or confinement to a specific room in which you lay down some tarps, may help with the cleanups.
 
Would you please tell us where you live? Country, county, city would be useful. Looks like the UK but need confirmation.

We have many members around the world and can have them come to your post and give you food suggestions.
 
Waving 'Hi' from Surrey!

That '£' sign would suggest you are in the UK, is that right? If so, you're probably using Caninsulin. And when you say you're injecting '0.2ml' do you actually mean '2 units' of insulin?

As others have said, newly diagnosed diabetic cats can pee a lot. My cat peed everywhere initially. It wasn't his fault. He was drinking loads of water and so needed to pee all the time and he often couldn't make it to the litter tray. But it does get better! When Luna's blood glucose drops into better numbers her need to pee will reduce also, and should return to normal.
And reiterating again what others have said, it could also be that there is some other problem making the peeing worse (such as a urinary tract infection).

How old is Luna, and when was she diagnosed?
And what sort of difficulties are you having with giving the injections? It may well be that we offer some suggestions that may help.

Will be back shortly with some food suggestions. :smile:

Elizabeth
 
Hi again, thanks for the replies and advice. Doh, of course, I didn't introduce myself properly... I am in Richmond, Surrey (Waving!) UK and Luna's an 8 year old rescue Bombay. Yes, it must be 2 units of Caninsulin. I fear pushing the needle in too far and worry that it won't work, as she squirms so much. Interesting that I can feed her on non-prescription, I'll definitely look to ordering something else. Best wishes to you all, and great to meet you.
 
Magic said:
..I'm feeding her Hill's Prescription wet food twice a day. Looking for something less expensive as it's £35 for 11 day's food. The vet bills are high as I'm at the beginning. Fingers crossed, hoping this gets better! nailbite_smile
Click to expand...
Hi again,

Cat's don't need any special 'prescription' food just because they are diabetic. It confers no benefit, is probably way too high in carbohydrates, and it is pricey too. Many ordinary, good quality canned/wet foods will do just fine. :smile:

However, it is important to be aware that switching to a lower carbohydrate food could lower Luna's blood glucose levels. This might mean that she needs less insulin than she is currently getting. Therefore, in order to keep Luna safe, the general advice on this forum is that the switch to a lower carbohydrate food should only be done if the care-giver is able to monitor the cat's blood glucose at home. 'Hometesting' probably sounds a bit scary at first but it only involves taking the teensiest weensiest blood droplet from the outer edge of your cat's ear, and then transferring that to a test strip in a glucose meter. (Most of us use glucose meters made for humans. They work just fine.) This should not hurt your cat at all, but may take a few goes just to get the hang of things. If you are willing to learn to hometest then we can certainly help you with that.

OK, about food....

Until a few years ago many UK folks just fed their cats ordinary canned food in jelly such as the supermaket staples, 'Whiskas', 'Felix', 'Butcher's Classic', etc. Of those, Butcher's Classic is still a pretty good budget option. And the new (but pricey) Lily's kitchen foods are very good quality and low in carbohydrates.
One food to avoid is Felix 'As good as it looks' because it can really elevate blood glucose levels in some diabetic cats (probably because of the 'vegetable protein extract' it contains, which some cats are sensitive to).

But with the advent of large pet supply stores and online shopping the availability of good cat foods has expanded enormously recently. Many cat owners now shop online at Zooplus for example, where you can buy foods such as Bozita and Grau 'grain free' (the latter is pricey but is good value in the 800g cans (some can be decanted and frozen for future use so there's no need to waste any).

Another good mid-priced food is Mac's, which is now available in the UK from the Happy Kitty Company. They also sell Om-Nom-Nom, which is more expensive but is exceptionally good quality. The HKC are planning to expand their range soon which is great news for British cat owners!

And if you're willing to buy from Germany (yep, some of us do just that...) the choice of premium quality cat foods is even greater; and with Google Chrome it's not difficult to navigate German websites.

What you buy, of course, depends on your budget and how many cats you've got to feed. Do you have other cats apart from Luna?

Eliz
 
Magic said:
... I fear pushing the needle in too far and worry that it won't work, as she squirms so much...
Click to expand...

Are you giving the insulin while Luna is eating (and therefore distracted)?
Giving the shot shouldn't hurt Luna, but it can nip them a bit if the needle goes too deep and hits the muscle rather than going into the area just under the skin. Don't be afraid to yank any loose skin waaay up away from the flesh underneath. I'll try to find a pic for you.

What's your name, BTW?

Eliz
 
Hi Magic & Luna!

*waves from Surrey* (There are quite a few of us here....I'm in Dorking, but work in Kingston)

Sorry Luna's peeing everywhere. Do you think it's just the diabetes, or could there be something else going on? If it's the diabetes, she should stop when her blood sugar's under control. As others have said, there may be a wee infection to deal with too.

How much does she weigh? Is she a fatty or a skinny?

Elizabeth & Bertie & t'others have already given you great advice. I learnt to home-test back in November (thanks to them!) & managed my cat's diabetes much like you would with a human. He now no longer needs insulin & is diet controlled through eating low carb tinned food. If you need any guidance, give us a shout?

Best of luck with Luna,

Juliet
 
You're in really good hands with Elizabeth and Juliet (Dr. Schrodinger). They can answer any questions you may have and give you lots of good advice about caring for a diabetic cat. Things you may never have even thought about.

Welcome to FDMB!

Remember to breath deeply when you are feeling stressed. It really does help.

It will get easier as the weeks go by and in a month you'll look back and say "Wow! I have come so far is such a short time and my kitty Luna is already feeling better."

This is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time but is very manageable.
 
I can tell you that you are in FANTASTIC company. It does seem scarey however it does get better! I never thought I could do this and now I look back and I am shocked at how far I've come. Its baby steps! One day at a time! Worry about today only - tomorrow will have its on worries!! Also if you read the letter for Newbies from your cat posted by Sue and Oliver, it will help you and it will give you a laugh! Welcome to you and Luna - you CAN do it! cat_pet_icon
 
Hi again to everyone and sorry I've not been back in touch for a while. I have to say, the whole thing's been getting me down, but I just re-read your posts and feel more positive again. I was thinking about rehoming Luna, but I can't do it... we've been through so much together, I can't just give up on her now. She's at the vet for a fourth time today, her caninsulin's gone up to 3 units twice a day. Unfortunately the peeing has continued with a vengeance, and I have kept her in one room to try and limit the damage and stress for both of us! I have another cat, Loki, a domestic shorthair. He goes out a fair bit and gets into mischief, I often have phone calls from people close by as he gets stuck up trees, follows the students back to their dorms etc. So I do feel quite overwhelmed by all of this but I'm determined to carry on.
I'd rather not test at home at the moment, it's something I'd consider if this stage continues though. The vet has ruled out a UTI. I'd really appreciate some advice on less expensive food, as I have Loki too. I've been buying Hills Diabetic management wet online, it's almost as pricey as at the vet though. Loki will eat anything. Actually, Luna's so ravenous all of the time, she's lost her fussiness about food! I've found Purina online but it's still as expensive. Luna is underweight now, I had been trying to get her weight down before as she was heavy, which I guess is the cause of the diabetes :sad:
Sorry if this seems a chaotic message, it's been good to hear from you all and it does help. Thinking of you guys too, you've all been through it!

Beverley, Luna, Loki xxx cat(2)_steam confused_cat
 
There is a post in Feline Health that gives some ideas for food choices for our international members. Here is the link to that post: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=64843

Please, ask us any questions you may have and we will help you the best we can.

How long has she been on the Caninsulin? That is a difficult insulin to regulate a cat on. I know that it is the mandatory first choice for those of you in the UK. I'm going to PM Elizabeth and Bertie to come comment more on how long you need to struggle with that insulin before your vet will switch.

What are the BG (blood glucose ) readings that you have gotten at the vet? Have any fructosamine tests been done? Are you using unine dip sticks to check for ketones in the urine? Trying to find out how you are monitoring since you are not home testing.
 
Hi Beverley,

Nice to hear from you, but I'm sorry that you're having such a difficult time...

The fact that Luna is peeing even more (and the vet has ruled out a urinary tract infection) suggests that her blood glucose numbers are still high, or maybe even higher than they were before.

Blood glucose can remain high if not enough insulin is being given, but there are other reasons too why it can appear high. For example, high blood glucose numbers can also be caused because too much insulin is being given. This is not uncommon. What happens in this instance is that the insulin drops the blood glucose lower than the cat's body is comfortable with, and then the body compensates by releasing glucose into the system (which causes the blood glucose level to scoot up). It may also release hormones that try to keep the blood glucose high. So, unless those blood glucose drops are picked up at any stage it can seem like the cat's blood glucose levels are high all the time, and a common response to this is to increase the insulin dose, which of course doesn't work...

We don't know why Luna's blood glucose levels are still so high. But if a cat's blood glucose levels go up as insulin dosage in increased then this could point to too much insulin.

I know that you're not comfortable with the idea of hometesting yet, but, hand on heart, this would be the single most useful thing you could do to enable you to work out what is going on with Luna. May I ask why you don't feel able to try this at the moment? If you are willing to give it a go I will gladly send you a blood glucose kit to get you started.

As Deb has said, there are also other insulins that could be prescribed if the Caninsulin doesn't work for Luna. But a vet will only prescribe an alternative if there is clear evidence of the Caninsulin not working. That's because a vet in the UK has to prescribe a veterinary medicine before they can prescribe a human medicine. And currently Caninsulin is the only veterinary insulin available.

Will be back soon with food info.

Eliz
 
Hows things going?

I know you dont want to home test right now but remember the window for remission is only 6 months. With home testing, a low carb diet (like fancy feast classic pates or friskies pates) and a good insulin you have a great chance of this happening..
 
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