Need Advice ... Newly Diagnosed

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frecklesmom

Member Since 2012
Hi..
My 6 yr old cat (very young-I know) was diagnosed with diabetes Wednesday. I actually figured it out myself just by her behavior and having a brother that actually has been diabetic since childhood. Thing is I took freckles to a vet we have never used or been to because we recently moved and even though I told him what I was pretty sure it was....He tested her for everything else costing just over $400 for the bill ( yikes) just to tell me yeah her blood sugar was "584" ... so yeah .... drumroll.... "We think she has Diabetes"...well duh!! I thought so...

So he says.....we are gonna put her on this special food... Purina DM dry (no insulin)... this is day 2 after and she is still drinking like crazy and seems like she is starving and craving food and meowing constantly for more food. He says no insulin for now lets only try food... Is this normal? He says no insulin because cats are not like human and their pancreas can just start working again with a diet change, so... for now I go home with food and a starving cat.....with a followup appointment in 10 days.... :(

Thing is I can't afford another bill like this but I do not want anything to happen to my cat... she is my baby... I even fought for custody of her and won in my divorce!!!

Any help is much appreciated !! Oh! we live in Oklahoma City for now but are moving to Wyoming soon... anyone with great vet recommendations in either area would be a great help !!!!!
I am just not sure what to do...... it just seems like being hungary all the time is surely painful for her !!!!!!

Thanks
Angela
nailbite_smile
 
Welcome! The good news is that we would love to help you help your kitty and we have a protocol that has helped hundreds of cats. A diet change is a good idea, but to wet low carb food. A vet explains why here : www.catinfo.org. We feed wet food under 8-10% carbs; dry DM is in the +20% range. If I were you, I would start feeding wet low carb food.

And I would hometest to monitor her levels to see if she is responding or whether she will need insulin. You can get a free testing kit from us (see the picture at the top of this page) Or you can get the needed supplies for under $50 at Walmart. If your brother has a meter, you can maybe borrow it to get started?

Do a lot of reading and ask questions. It is really helpful to read other newbie threads on this page. Let us know how we can help.
 
So he says.....we are gonna put her on this special food... Purina DM dry (no insulin)... this is day 2 after and she is still drinking like crazy and seems like she is starving and craving food and meowing constantly for more food. He says no insulin for now lets only try food... Is this normal? He says no insulin because cats are not like human and their pancreas can just start working again with a diet change, so... for now I go home with food and a starving cat.....with a followup appointment in 10 days.... :(
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Normal? Yes. We frequently see this. The vet has "some of it right", but some of it not so right. Unlike humans, cats can go into remission. Some cats become regulated from a diet change alone. Some need insulin for a very short time, and combined with an appropriate diet, that does the trick. And it makes sense in some cases to try diet first, and if that doesn't show positive and quick results, then start on a twice a day insulin treatment plan. BUT....

The key is "appropriate diet". Although Purina DM is marketed as being good for diabetics, dry food is not a good idea. Purina DM canned food is a better choice, has a low carb content, but it's way overpriced for what you are getting. Many, many grocery store or pet store name brand foods are actually better for diabetic cats. Lower carb, and a lot of them have higher quality ingredients for less money. You're paying for the fact that it is only available by prescription, and Purina has somehow convinced the vet community that their stuff is actually "good for cats".

The best thing you can do is to tell your vet that your boy won't eat it! Take it back, get a refund, and instead go to the store and buy a brand like Fancy Feast classics or Friskees Pate style food. Before all this, what did you feed him? Has he ever been a fan of canned food?
Good for you for figuring this diabetes thing on your own, and it's a shame you had to pay that much just to verify what you already had guessed. I had no idea that feline diabetes even existed when Bob was dx'd. Hit my bank account pretty hard too!

Like Sue said, you can get a glucometer and test his BG yourself at home. You won't have to rely on the vet to do that anymore. You will need the vet for a prescription to insulin, but other than that, you need not have high vet bills in the future, at least not related to diabetes treatment.

If your vet insists on waiting 10 days, then try switching him to canned low carb food until then. Put the dry away and forget about it until you can return it. Changing to an appropriate diet will lower his BG numbers, maybe not enough to eliminate a need for insulin, but a lot more than leaving him on dry DM.

In the meantime, read as much as you can digest here. Ask all the questions you can think of. You'll be going back to the vet with a list of questions and a lot more information than he sent you home with.

This is probably the best place you could have found for help with this, and we're all here to help,

Carl
 
Oh, and you understand the basics of diabetes already, which is great. And he is "starving" because he is a diabetic. At first, he's going to eat more food that you'd think he needs, but let him eat (as long as it's low carb).

Carl
 
Hi,

My first thought is new vet. Not just because of the dry food, because that is a fairly common thing for vets to recommend, although those who are more up on things know better. Wet is where it's at!

But that coupled with the fact that he insisted on the full testing BEFORE doing a BG reading? You are the client. He could at least have done the BG for you in the office and then he would probably have recommended a panel to be sure there were no other issues. I think that seems reasonable and would expect it. But the fact that you don't seem to be interacting as much as getting told what to do doesn't seem like a positive to me!

I wish you well and hope you keep coming back here for support and information.
 
As hard to swallow as that $400 bill was, it is important that Freckles got a thorough vet exam. Chances are that the same the same blood panel for everything else, included a test for his diabetes (a blood glucose and/or fructosamine test). I think it was important that a blood chemistry was run. If Freckles was experiencing high ketone levels it would have needed to be identified sooner, rather than later. While expensive, it is cheaper in the long run to know that you were only dealing with diabetes and not additional problems, as well.

As others have noted, getting Freckles on an appropriate diet is an important first step. Fancy Feast Classic foods are low in carbs as are varieties of Wellness and a broad range of other foods. Janet & Binky's list of canned foods (both old and new lists) covers a great deal of ground. Look in the column for %kcal from carbs for foods that are less than 10% carb. (My cats eat food that's 4%.)

Getting started with home testing is also crucial. It will give you much greater control over Freckles diabetes. Walmart's brand of glucometers and strips, Relion, is the least expensive commercially available. You do not need a meter that is designed for animals. Most of us use human meters. I use a Bayer Contour meter and buy my strips on-line. (The strips are where the costs mount up.)

Please let us know how we can lend a hand.
 
If an entire panel was run, did the vet point out any other numbers that were outside of normal ranges? Can you get a copy of the results?
Carl
 
Thanks everyone for all the help. I have went and gotten Freckles the Fancy Feast wet food and just to see how well she does mix it with the dry DM food. She seems to like it. So how much of the little cans does she get a day? I have been feeding her in the morning and in the evening. Half of a can of wet with a little bit of dry at each feeding time. I do have a testing meter somewhere, I will find but where do I test her? the doctor said something about her ear...but that seems like it would hurt a lot....since she has started her food diet of dry and wet she seems to eat less but not in speed...she still gobbles it down like she will never eat again.Added a picture of my baby girl just so everyone can see my special sweet girl.

So I should ask for the entire panel of blood work results...got it. The vet also put her on an antibiotic because her teeth and mouth smell bad and her teeth are in bad shape, but said he didn't know why but the antibiotic will help an infection in her gums. So far thats working to...her breath is not as bad...

Thanks everyone for all the help...I love that I found this site...just wish I could have not spent as much when i already kinda guessed what was wrong but then again I am glad I have rule out all other normal tested things....

:) Angela
 

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I also have another cat the same age relatively ... she is 5 1/2 yrs (Flicka)... I want to keep her on the same diet as my other cat...will that hurt her, since she doesn't have diabetes??

Based on all the stuff I am reading here.... dry food all together is not good for my cats...so I want to transition to wet canned food completely .... how much should I feed each cat every day...since I am completely new to this... I just want what is completely best for both my cats....

Also is Fancy Feast wet Canned food the best food for the cats ? or is there another canned food for them that is just as good or one that is better?

Thanks again
Angela
 

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Check out Binky's Page for one set of food analyses.

Aim for less than 10% calories from carbohydrates for all of the cats, diabetic or civilian, as that is closer to a natural diet for an oblicate carnivore, your cat.
 
If you can transition both of them that would be great.

Make sure the full lab included the 2 kidney checks- Cretin(??) and BUN.

Start with three cans for her and add more if she wants it. And add water- tablespoon to an ounce and work upwards from there- to make sure she gets water.

Plenty of utube videos out there for the viewing, most of us have watched at least one :lol: But it does take a little time- start off with a small gauge lancet- 26 or 28 as the capillaries in the ear won't have spread out yet. It gets better. Treat with freeze dried chicken or beef at test and shot times to keep them coming back!

Good luck!
 
frecklesmom said:
Also is Fancy Feast wet Canned food the best food for the cats ? or is there another canned food for them that is just as good or one that is better?
Click to expand...

The best food is the one that your cats will eat and you can afford and can find in the local stores. Fancy Feast has many low carb varieties, is inexpensive, and available nearly everywhere. For multi-cat household, though, those little 3 oz Fancy Feast cans aren't really worth it. It's better to buy a brand that is available in larger sized cans, such as Wellness.

Binky's canned food charts
Pet Food Nutritional Values list
Hobo's Guide To Nutritional Values
Dr. Lynne's Wet Food list
List of low carb gluten free Fancy Feast

On Binky's charts, stick with foods that have a number 10 or less in the carbs colum. On the Pet Food Nutritional Values Chart and Hobo's Guide, look at the %kcal from carbs column and choose foods that have a number 10 or less.

The diabetic cat should have access to food all day because she will always be starving until her blood glucose levels are better regulated. Two 3oz cans or one 5 oz can per day is enough for some unregulated diabetics but feed more or less depending on your cat's needs. For the non-diabetic, feed as much food to keep her at a good weight. One 5 oz can per day should be plenty but some cats may need more or less. It may take a bit of time to find the right amount of food for both cats.
 
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