My handsome boy just got diagnosed

[whiskeysmom]

Hi,

I've had my cat Whiskey for 2 years. He's part Tabby, part Maine Coon. His previous owner never had money for vet visits, so I made sure to get him checked out with regular physicals, shots, etc. Last year the vet said he was overweight (he weighed 21 lbs). He lost weight and was down to 18, and doing well. But I did notice him drinking a LOT of water and always hungry.

last week, he was sneezing blood out of nowhere. I took him to the vet and they drew some blood to test for hyperthyroidism. That's when they found out he has diabetes. This week has been crazy, dealing with both trying to figure out what's causing his reverse sneezing/sneezing blood episodes, and trying to learn how to take care of him.

I immediately eliminated his dry food and am only feeding him low carb wet food, with the occasional human snacks (mostly things like chicken or a little bit of scrambled egg).

He went from 500 blood sugar when I first took him in, to 350 3 days later after the diet change. We waited a few days (with the vet's approval) before putting him on insulion..the vet wanted to see if maybe he might go into remission right away.

but his levels have stayed at 350 all week, so far. So today I picked up Pro Zinc. He's going to be on a low dose. In 2 weeks we do a curve.

As for the sinus stuff, he's on antibiotics and if he's not better in a week, I might have to do a CT scan. I am hoping so much that it's not nasal cancer..I'm really scared of that.

They also tested his blood for a fungus infection and I should get the results in a couple days.

Glad to have found this board.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Welcome to the FDMB Whiskeysmom!! This is the best place you never wanted to be!! (We'd love to know your name too!)

It's great that you've already switched him over to the low carb wet food.....that's the first half of the battle (as you've already seen in his numbers coming down!)

The next big step is to learn how to home test. I know it sounds scary but it's really not and everybody here does it! It's really the only way to keep your kitty safe as well as knowing how he's responding to the insulin. It's just plain dangerous to give a hormone like insulin without testing! If you had a child and your pediatrician told you to give them insulin without testing, they'd be guilty of malpractice...It's the same with our sugarcats!!

We can help you learn how too!

If you live in the US, WalMart has the Relion Confirm or Micro meter and they're favorites around here. They're also affordable...they make "pet only" meters, but they cost a LOT with the replacement strips being about $1 each!

Don't let your vet convince you that you don't need to test or that you need to use a special meter....there are hundreds of others here that use human meters and we're doing great!

There's a lot of information we have to share but I don't want to overwhelm you all at once. Please ask any questions you may have over on the Health Board and let's get you started on the most interesting and fulfilling journey you'll ever take.....Caring for a sugarcat!!

 

[whiskeysmom]

Thanks for the warm welcome. My name is Sandra.

I figured out how to do the glucose testing..he's pretty steady at around 350. Just started giving him insulin this morning.

I feel very lucky that my vet seems really knowledgeable (although..she did try to get me to buy the "special pet glucometer"..but she knew that I should stop his dry food.) I went ahead and got the Purina DM wet food on her recommendation, but I'm alternating with the Fancy Feast Classics. This saves me money as well as gives him a little variety, and makes sure he doesn't eat too much liver.

What is the opinion on this forum of putting diabetic cats on a raw diet? My niece switched her cat over to raw and the cat is doing great. My vet discouraged me from it, but I like to make my own decisions. I just wanna make sure they are educated ones.

 

[Olive & Paula]

Raw is fine and home cooked is fine. I do the home cooked now only 3 weeks into.

FYI the wet DM is 3% carbs so it's okay. I started with pet meter and switched to human because cost of strips.

We have many tips here. Please keep us updated.

 

[whiskeysmom]

Thanks!

I'm honestly more worried about the problem that I took him to the vet for, in the first place, than the diabetes. I found out he doesn't have a fungus infection--I was actually hoping for that because then I wouldn't have to worry about a CT scan to rule out nasal cancer