Misdiagnosis? btw i'm from the UK

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Marie McMeowington said:
she's not peeing giant puddles, but it is very orange. (i noticed it on the plastic bag i stuck in the litter to test the strips on)
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please contact your vet. i don't want to worry you, but orange pee can be an indication of a urinary tract infection or problems with the liver... amongst other things.
 
If its the glucose bit of the strips then no need to worry (about that at least - you should still worry about the pee colour!). Where high ketones are bad and immediate vet trip is needed, high urine glucose just shows you cat was over 270 blood glucose for some or most of the day and depends on when he last peed, how much he drank etc

Wendy
 
Went to the vet first thing this morning. I completely forgot to mention the pee, but they are taking her in tomorrow morning for a few days to properly check her glucose and maybe start her on insulin and watch her on it. I'm actually happy to leave her there for a few days, because I wouldn't have the time as I'm at work, to monitor the beginning of this, and I think when they first start on insulin it's even more crucial to monitor them closely? This is going to cost an arm and a leg though.

I told them my worry about her showing high results at the vet and then possibly being over medicated once she's at home and they said not to worry, they do this all the time and take into account the nerves.

I think I will just leave it in their hands for now then, and i'll let you all know what they tell me to do with the dosages and see what you think.

Her Lily's kitchen food arrived though, and she likes it :RAHCAT
 
She would be comforted if she could have something that smells like you and home to lay with, while she's at the vet.
Can you bring her an unwashed pillow case or Tshirt or her regular cat bed to lay in while there?

Also, I would call the vet and tell them about the orangish colored pee you saw, and ask them to test it.
 
will do.

I have some lancets as well now, although i don't think they are thick enough..

I've been trying with no luck to get a drop of blood, it feels really important to me to get a reading at home before tomorrow morning at the vets so I have some helpful info to give them, really annoyed i can't do it. She lets me play with her ears fine, she thinks it's just cuddles and attention, but she quickly shakes and moves her head when i'm trying to do it, and i'm afraid she will rip a hole or something! been watching youtube videos and all sorts, but i also don't want to overdo it, as I've pricked her about 3 times but not hard enough, or it didn't work because the lancet is too thin or who knows, and she's starting to become too aware that i'm up to no good when i come to rub her ears (which she usually loves)... argh, will try a couple more times, if not, i will wait maybe the vet will show me a better way or more effective lancet.
 
Could be the lancets but also what are you putting behind the ear to press against? Something firm like a pill bottle lid can help a lot. Are you freehanding or using the tool?
Wendy
 
i guess i'm free handing, with just a little lancet the size of a thumbtack... as the tool didn't work when my partner tried it, ninja anticipated the snapping noise. I wasn't putting anything behind it, i can try later with something hard behind it. She's getting really grumpy though, I need to leave her alone for a while..it's quite frustrating, i'm not letting her see im frustrated though, i'm just calm and baby talking to her, but i just can't do it..... i've pricked a few times but just barely...which is why she's getting agitated, because everytime i come up to her i'm poking something sharp in her.. but i haven't managed to get any blood because i just don't seem to commit and do it hard enough/properly
 
Ok then you definately want to have something hard behind the ear. Go in at a 45 degree angle too. You can try aiming for the vein for now. Or two small pokes beside each other. I find a smallflashlight helps and you can press against it too

Spend some time going up and massaging and not poking and still giving treats so she doesnt think all you want to do is poke!

Wendy
 
thanks for all the help. i've decided to call it quits for the night though, i only live in one bedroom in a flat share, and the other half has gone to bed, its 9pm here and he has work from 5am so i'm sitting in the dark now, annoyed i couldn't do it.

now the struggle of getting her in the catbox and carrying her to the vet myself tomorrow morning is the next step. she's pretty heavy nailbite_smile

i'm so glad i found this forum though, i have no one to talk to about it that understands what's going on.
 
ok, took her in this morning. she's going to be there for a few days now, told them about the dark pee and showed them everything i bought, food, lancets, glucose meter, pee strips etc. started crying like a weirdo.... the vet said it's good i've been trying to do stuff myself, but maybe too much too soon.. but she will help me and work with me and it will be easier. the vets hoping she will go into remission with the insulin...She said there's nothing wrong with a mixed diet with the dry food and went on about prescription diabetic food, but i told her i'd prefer to just stick to wet..i left tins of the lily's kitchen food there with her as well.

I feel so guilty putting ninja in there, she was pretty angry with me, she's only just been in and out of there a few months ago to get a big lump removed off her back of neck (it wasn't cancerous). i feel awful when i come home and she's not here! she is quite old though i think, i knew there'd be a few health problems, but wasn't expecting them JUST yet. :sad:
 
Diabetes is a minor thing and if you get her into remission then its very minor! Your vet sounds nice and supportive which is great but we do disagree on the dry food so I am glad you insisted on just wet!

You are doing whats best for Ninja. The next few days would be a good time to take a step back, some deep breaths, read up about the condition and try and relax a bit.

Wendy
 
hi everyone, just a quick update.

Ninja has been out of the vet's for a few days now, She is on 1 unit of canninsulin every 12 hours. we haven't managed to use the blood tester yet though, but the vet told us to just keep to this small shot twice a day anyway. I will be taking her back to the vet next week for them to check the blood again, and to show me how to do it.

She is being fed "hills prescription diet WET food: weight loss, low carbohydrate - diabetic" We were told that the 0 carbohydrate food that i brought in doesn't give them anything for the insulin to burn off, so we were told it's better to have a very very low carb food for now as she's just started with the injection. no dry food though. a couple times she didn't want the food and rather than her not eating anything with the shot we gave her the Sheba food again as it has some carbs compared to the lillys kitchen that has 0.. but she's eating the vet food now.

She seems really happy, stopped drinking and peeing like mad, really purry and a bit more inquisitive and active. Another thing i noticed is her eyes look really clear, i thought she had all these specks in her eyes because she was old, but they are disappearing.
 
You vet appears to have forgotten that a cat may convert a protein or fat molecule into a carbohydrate if it is needed (organic chemistry ... the introductory level).

So that statement about needing carbs to burn off is utter BS.

That being said, managing feline diabetes is as much an art as a science - you have to find what works with your cat.
 
I am a little confused? The vet is saying the Hills prescription is very very low carb? Which kind is it? M/D is 14% so it cant be that - thats too high. I am thinking it might be m/d though since many cats get sick of it and sounds like she doesnt always want it.

Although we do want under 10%, we usually go for 3-4% - perhaps 0% is too low. But maybe you can mix the foods (assuming it is m/d you have) at each meal to get something around 7%?

let me know if its m/d

Wendy
 
yes it is m/d .. it says: feline weight loss, low carbohydrate, diabetic..... and she told me it has high protein but lower fat than the food i brought in (lily's kitchen)

it says on the back "low in carbohydrate and high in protein to stabilize blood glucose and to promote weight loss.

She is eating it, we only have one flavour at the moment, maybe why she was getting bored of it, but we have the lily's kitchen and Sheba for every now and then.
 
Unfortunately, as Wendy pointed out M/D is still much higher in carb content than we recommend feeding.

And if you are trying to get the cat to lose weight, you are better using low carb canned food rather than higher carb dry.

Think of it like the Atkins diet for cats. The Atkins diet is about high protein and 0 carb food and one loses weight by getting rid of the carbs in the diet.
 
i'll bring it up again when Ninja goes for her check up next week. I am a bit worried to just change it back completely without telling the vet, what if the insulin dosage and the food they gave me is keeping her blood sugar all finely balanced somehow, i wouldn't want to disturb the balance....i can understand if Ninja was off the insulin and we were keeping her levels down with just diet then there'd be no question to give her the healthier, nicer tasting, 0 carb food.

i should just trust the vet for now? she is getting some 0 carb lilys kitchen and low carb Sheba in between every 3-4ish meals, mainly to keep it interesting so she eats
 
our vet told us it was around 3% same as some of the basic Sheba flavours...Ninja is booked for Monday to check the blood sugar, so i will ask about it again confused_cat
 
The vet may be doing it by % weight, not % calories of carbohydrates.

Dr Lisa Pierson (veterinarian) has collected the as fed info from a substantial number of US feline canned food producers and calculated the % calories from each of protein, fat, and carbohydrate. The list is published at her web site Cat Info. I encourage you to print that out and take it with you when you meet with the vet. There is even a printable version of her site (she specializes in feline nutrition) that you may wish to give your vet for review.
 
BJM said:
I encourage you to print that out and take it with you when you meet with the vet. There is even a printable version of her site (she specializes in feline nutrition) that you may wish to give your vet for review.
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This is a good idea, I will do that! so much conflicting info for me, I just want to do the best thing.
 
Marie McMeowington said:
... I just want to do the best thing.
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As do we all! That is a common theme for many of us.

The best thing will be what works best for you and your cat. Sometimes rule books need to be thought of as guidelines that may be adjusted and customized for specific situations.
 
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