Need advice for diabetic cat

[Marvin]

Hi everyone,

Our cat seven year old cat Marvin was diagnosed with diabetes. We realized that he had diabetes because his water intake and urine output had increased dramatically as well as some weight loss. Once we found out he was diabetic, we switched him to DM canned food (half can in the morning, half can at night) and an 1/8 cup of DM dry food as treats. The insulin we give him is Lantus. We started with 0.5 units twice a day and have progressively increased to 2 units. We were instructed by the vet to always test before giving the shot and if his level is 10 mmol or lower, do not give the shot in case he goes hypoglycemic. After almost 4 months of treatment, his BG levels are still very inconsistent. For instance, this morning he was at 17.3 mmol. About 3 hours after his morning shot, he was down to 2.8 mmol. Before today's evening shot, he measured at 8.9 mmol so I didn't give him a shot. About three hours later, he is at 20 mmol. I imagine that his level for his morning shot is going to be quite high. This yo-yo effect has been happening for almost the entire time we have been treating him with insulin and it's very frustrating, disheartening and discouraging. He is also ALWAYS hungry and wakes us up at all hours of night begging for food. If anyone has any advice to share, we would greatly appreciate it!

Cheers,
Carolyn

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

I don't use your insulin, but here is some excellent information about how to dose, shoot, care for the insulin etc. Check out the starred topics on this Lantus Support forum.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

You might change your subject line and add "Lantus" so users can help.

I would get rid of all the dry. In some cats, even a few pieces can raise the glucose numbers. There are lots of great low carb treats. My cats have loved Bonito flakes and PureBites. The Purina DM is not as low as some of the other foods and is more expensive. It is also liver based which gets dull for cats and is not the best protein for everyday. I'd get some Fancy Feast or Friskies or Merrick or Wellness. One of the things you can do to help with their hunger is to add some warm water to the food. It makes it kinda soupy and seems like "more" food. Also, unregulated cats do not process their food well and are normally more hungry than non diabetics, so it is okay to feed him more than you usually would.

 

[Ry & Scooter]

Even though we know normal is 2.8 - 6.7ish, when a cat's body is used to being in higher numbers, bouncing numbers happen when the blood glucose drops outside of the "normal" range... the body panics and thinks the cat is hypo when we know they really aren't... it dumps a bunch of hormonal hypoglycemia countermeasures into the bloodstream and causes elevated BG for up to 3 days afterwards. I figure a combination of feeding dry food (a big nono) and perhaps too much insulin is causing these rapid swings in BG levels. I would cut all the dry food completely and be extra diligent about testing to prevent a hypo situation. I applaud your vet for using Lantus and teaching you how to home test, but their diet recommendations are poor.