New (and very sad) member

Hi all- sorry for the long post ahead- I have a lot of feelings and need to express them to people who understand.

My cat was diagnosed with diabetes about two week ago and I have never felt this sad or hopeless in my life. As a background on my girl, she lived in a feral cat colony for two years before I adopted her and is very skittish- only will come around my husband and I. She was officially diagnosed after a month long work up following hyperglycemia in blood work for a routine tooth extraction. The lab work also showed elevated liver enzymes, so she was treated with a two week antibiotic course. Repeat UA showed +glucose and then a fructosamine of 681 confirmed the diagnosis. I joined other support groups online and learned so much but they made me feel so inadequate and a lot of the responses although with the best intentions were not applicable or doable in our cat.

She was started on Lantus 1 unit twice daily and the first two shots were a breeze. Now we are in a nightmare of getting her around shot time. We have tried treats, food, brushing, showing her the syringe, sneak attacks, chasing her down/moving furniture, allowing her to come to us on her own time (resulted in 3 missed shots). The vet suggested pre-medicating with gabapentin prior to her shots, but we would have to reduce her to once nightly and I know that is not in her best interest. We have continued with the twice daily dosing while waiting for the gabapentin to get her from the online pharmacy, but this requires the chase and she is so terrified and I am so upset after. She is avoiding me and it just breaks my heart. Will she ever get used to this? I'm worried that the stress is outdoing any insulin she is getting.

I have every intention of learning to home test- I've tried twice- once successfully, but not in relation to any dose. I know how important this is and feel immense pressure to do this after my research and interactions in other online groups. She just can't tolerate the injections and ear poking right now. Some people suggested not giving her insulin until I can test, but then I worry about progression of her disease, DKA, worsening her chances at a happy and healthy life. When I get the insulin in her, I stress out about hypoglycemia all night and while I am at work. I've tried the lancing device, free handing, ear, paw, and bought the Genteel device. I have a plan to get a Libre for a bit, but the vet thinks the placement isn't worth the additional stress right now.

In terms of diet, I was told low carb diet is essential so I switched her to FF pate/Dr. Ensly chicken dry (want to eliminate this entirely-but my other cat is refusing to eat the wet so I need to give her time to adjust). But heard other caution this plus insulin since it could cause hypoglycemia- so maybe I shouldn't have?

i'm crying all the time, stressed, restless, and losing sleep- I know she can sense this and that isn't helping as well.

I'm not sure what I was hoping to get from this post- maybe just a place to process- but please share any feral, skittish cat, or challenging cats. How long did the adjustments take, did you do the glucose monitoring and shots all at once or did you phase in?

Thanks for listening,
Heather

 

Hi Heather and welcome to the forum to you and your beloved kitty.
We all understand how stressed out and overwhelmed you are at the moment. And having a kitty that doesn’t like the injections makes it all the harder.

I’m glad you did not follow that bad advice. A diabetic cat who needs insulin and doesn’t get it can run into all sorts of trouble.

Lantus is a great insulin for cats and 1 unit is a good starting dose.
The libre is a good idea and will give you data which will tell you if the dose is OK and how low she is going and that might help alleviate your anxiety about it a bit.
Have you tried to give her the injection While she is eating? Is she food motivated at all? If so you could offer her a lovely treat at injection time.
A libre is a good idea and will give you good data as to how the insulin is working and how low the dose is taking her. This might help alleviate your anxiety a bit.
Are you giving snacks during the cycles…..we recommend giving 2 or 3 snacks during the first 6 or 7 hours of all the cycles. This will help stop the blood glucose dropping too low as well.
A snack at say +2 +4 and +6 would be great. You would need an automatic timed feeder for when you are at work. Would the other cat eat the food?
Do you have a hypo kit set up in case you need it? You will need some honey or Karo, some high carb food such as gravy lovers fancy feast and the phone number of the vet and ER just in case.

maybe try to desensitise her by taking her to a spot, rubbing her ears and giving a treat for a week. Do this several times a day. Same with the injections….you could pretend to give a dose with a needle that is capped and then give a treat. (This is apart from giving the actual 2 doses a day).
It is true that when you do a swap to a low carb diet, the BGs can drop lower because there are less carbs. How long since you swapped to the low carb diet? It would be good if you could get 1 test in at around +5 or 6 just to see how low the dose is taking her.

I can see she is a work in progress….try not to stress too much…she will feel it…..try singing or humming as you give the dose.
You aren’t going to fix it all in a day but I am sure it is all doable. We have had kitties here before who have been really difficult to test and give the shots to.
I’m going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy as she has a lot to do with feral kitties and she may have some ideas.
We are here 24/7 so please keep posting ……we will get there together

 

Heather,
your thread title alone will get the attention of every furbaby lover here, and the understanding of how we are all start in the same boat. No judgement here, and please know you have just posted in the very best place we all never wanted to be. i'm sorry you were criticised elsewhere, it's the last thing you need!!! And you're not alone. I think many of us come here broken by the diagnosis we get and a feeling of hopelessness, but please know this, we got your back. and you will get help here.
I can offer some moral support only, but others that have more computer tech knowledge and those who have many years experience in feline diabetes will chime in and give you info on all the links and info, its alot!!! But this is a loving place, so glad you found this site! It's truly made all the difference for me and my ole boy.

 

Welcome to the group!

First of all, I would like to give you a warm hug because I know that this disease is very frustrating and I have also found myself crying desperately thinking of the worst. My lovely Sharess was diagnosed on December 13th and to this day she is still bouncing. She goes from 120 to 500 practically every day, and that affects her neurological system.

That is why I prefer to believe that good insulin control for your little one is better than not giving him a dose, even if it is difficult. I hope that in the long run you and your baby can get used to it.

Lantus is a very good insulin and with proper care and food, many cats will remit their diabetes until it is completely gone. Do not give up!

A tip for neuropathies caused by sugar spikes is to buy methylcobalamin B12. Methylcobalamin is the most readily bio-available form of B12 and you can even buy the human version witch is cheaper: https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-vitamin-b-12-methylcobalamin-5000-mcg-100-capsules-6

Regarding the FreeStile Libre, I will tell you that it is wonderful if your cat does not allow itself to be pricked. I personally don't think it's an added level of stress because it's painless. The only problem is that he will probably try to remove it, but I recommend you visit the Facebook forum where there are lots of tips on how to put it on, what to use to avoid it lasting on the skin without causing wounds and some ways to put protections.

In terms of diet, you might be interested in the SurePetcare to separate meals and allow your other cat to have access to dry food without worry. I think you also can find it in Amazon.

I don't know if I have helped you with the tips. The risk of hypoglycemia is always scary, but in the long term hyperglycemia can cause systemic failure, so it is much better to give him insulin and control blood sugar levels with tests and creating the Forum Spreadsheets so that we can all give you advice on how to proceed.

Once you enter the BG numbers you have I can tag some members to take a look at it
Also if you have trouble setting up the spreadsheet just ask ,we have a member here who can set that up for you

Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.

You also can have a look to my Sharess' Spreadsheet and to anyone that have their Spreadsheets on their signature and see the numbers. it can give you an idea about how important is to get a control. For your baby, I would say FreeStyle Libre is the best option. It will give you the peace of mind you need to inject insulin without fear.

I wish you the best and don't hesitate to ask anything. We are here to help

Hugs,
Vicky

 

Hi Heather,

I’m sorry to hear about your girl’s diagnosis. It’s hard with any cat and especially with a spicier cat.

The advice everyone gives is good advice, and they push it pretty hard because a lot of people make excuses instead of doing the work to learn how to take care of their diabetic kitties. You know in your heart that you’re doing what you can, so just remember that context when people start stressing you out.

Here are a few thoughts that might help.

I know this can be hard (it was for me), but try not to show your stress about failing in front of your cat. They learn how to read us really well, so you don’t want her keying off of your stress.

Try focusing on the journey to start. If you define success as getting every shot in with and a successful preshot test, you’re going to make it really hard on yourself and your cat. Just focus on finding wins as you negotiate a system with your cat.

If she’s getting afraid of you, back off for a bit and spend extra quality time with her. I had the same problem with Pumpkin so I put all the testing equipment away for a day and just gave her lots of cuddles.

Try to get into her head. You know your cat, what motivates her, and what stresses her out. Can you use that info to find a way to get her to accept the first part of the injection process? Just get her okay with the skin pinch? Injections were fine with Pumpkin but testing was a major trial. I finally figured out she had to be eating for the whole process. Other members would probably say “NO NO NO you can’t teach your cat food = torture” but I know Pumpkin and I know literally nothing else will work. I bet you can find something similar for your cat if you keep trying baby steps with different approaches.

Until you have testing down, maybe consider a medium carb food. I’m guessing she was on a high carb food at first. It’s best to be on a low carb diet, but if you’re not getting any sleep because you’re worried about hypoglycemia, you aren’t going to be in the right head space to come to an understanding with your cat. You can go all the way to low carb once you figure out testing more.

If you’re giving shots without testing, keep a close eye on her symptoms. If she’s drinking a lot now and then suddenly drinks less, that’s a sign her blood glucose is getting lower, for example. It’s harder with multiple cats, but I was weighing Pumpkin’s bowl before and after filling so I knew how much she was drinking.

Finally, I know this is usually bad advice, but keep in mind that most vets don’t suggest home testing, and there isn’t an epidemic of cats dying of hypoglycemia. It’s much much safer to test, but your cat will definitely die of untreated diabetes. Only you can decide if the risk from an “old school” treatment plan is worth it. You know your cat the best, and everyone giving you advice is just doing their best to make sure you hear and understand the “gold standard” of care.

Best wishes. We’re all pulling for you and kitty.

 

This is a thread where I worked through my journey to get Pumpkin used to testing: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lancing-from-back-of-ear.273840/

It sounds like you have an even harder task with your cat, but maybe some of what I was going through will help. At least so you know you’re not the only one. Not everyone gets one of those docile stunt cats they use in the instructional videos!

 

Hi and welcome to the FDMB!

I wonder, have you tried a different syringe brand, a smaller gauge maybe? What are you using?

We've had members who's cats were reacting badly to injections and they ended up switching to another brand of syringe and it helped a lot. When we first started giving our cat Hendrick insulin the needles we used bothered him and I could feel that they didnt go in smoothly it felt like....rough. Like a tearing feeling pushing through.

Then we switched to SureComfort syringes and those always went in super smoothly and easily and Hendrick didn't even seem to barely notice the injections. Made a big difference for us.

lol, I sound like an advertisement for them. I promise I don't work for SureComfort! haha

 

Hi Heather! Welcome to the board.
I too am a new member with a kitty dx'ed in the mid January. The first 5 weeks following the dx were the hardest time in my life. I was bad at getting blood (too little or too much ) - Mikan was terrified and would hide or run away from me when I tried to get her for testing. For the first 5 weeks, I tested her in one designated place, and left her alone with treats afterword there. I never thought we would get used to doing this - but gradually, I become better at poking, she got used to getting poked. Every cat is different, of course, and I know how hard it is for you now. I know the feeling of hopelessness and "it can't go on like this!" desperation. But hang in there! You are not alone! This board has been a lifesaver for me. There are a lot of experienced people here who overcame what seemed like impossible things.

 

Hi and welcome to FDMB. It is very stressful when first starting treatment for a diabetic cat but it does get easier.

There is some great advice above. Since your cat seems stressed about all of the changes and is probably also picking up on your stress, there are things you can do to help relieve some it.

The Freestyle Libre will help to start with. By using this you will know what her glucose levels are and she won't be stressed out by testing. Later on you can start to get her used to testing so you can stop using the Libre.

I agree with the suggestion about feeding a medium carb food until you know how she is responding to the insulin dose. Then you can start switching her over to lower carb foods.

I know you are concerned about hypoglycemia. If you have not read this we have information about hypoglycemia https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/. You should also keep karo syrup and high carb food around for your hypo kit. Hopefully you will never need to use it. But you don't want to not have it in case an emergency does occur. Think of it like insurance, as long as you have it, you may never need to use it. You can do this. You have a lot of experienced members on this board and we are here to help you. If you have any questions, please let us know. It does not matter what the question is.

 

You have come to the right place for help. We all have felt overwhelmed at first I think. I think having a Libre is a great idea as you and your cat get used to the testing routine Keep posting and asking questions. We are here to help in any way we can.

 

Thank you all so much for the warm welcome!

Just following up on some questions that were asked. She is food motivated, but will not allow us to approach while eating. We gave her some gabapentin on Friday night and that helped immensely with Friday evening and Saturday morning. She has refused pills since then, but I have just been approaching her in a more matter of fact way, giving the shot, leaving a variety of treats (we are still trying to figure out her favorite), giving her space, and allowing her to come back to us on her own terms. I’m hoping she will just get used to this.

We switched her diet to FF pate and tiki cat about two weeks ago. Also slowly transitioned her to Dr. Ensely’s clean protein and that will be a week tomorrow. I would like to get both cats off the dry (read that the dry can spike sugars in some cats) but we are trying to get them to eat the wet better. I’m trying tiki toppers, Gerber baby food, and plan on making bone broth this week.

I have a hypokit kit set up with maple syrup and high carb FF.

Her needles are the 0.3 ml 8mm syringes. I don’t think they are painful for her cause there have been some injections while she was sleeping that she didn’t even notice. I honestly think I tried to do too much at once with the testing and shots and because we were approaching her with such force it made her scared of the injection.

Hoping she continues to adjust and just starts accepting the injections and then we will move onto the at home testing (likely with some gabapentin and a lot of anxiety about going hypo from me) until we get the libre.

 

Sounds like you are settling into the FD journey well.
The first few weeks are the hardest as everyone, including the cat, gets used to the new normal.
Would you like to set up a spreadsheet so you can add the data when you get the libre attached?
HELP US HELP YOU has the information for setting up the spreadsheet and the signature. If you need help with it just let us know and someone will do it for you.
I don’t think @Suzanne & Darcy could have got the last tag I sent in post 2

 

Hello! I’m here and just reading through this post. I do have a lot of experience with feral cats in general. I was just out feeding some at various locations when I saw this tag ( was parked and watching them - not driving! ). I have not had a diabetic feral cat though. You know her best and you seem to have good instincts about her. It is important not to break the trust that she has for you, as you are already aware. I do think that the Libre can help a lot to provide data that is needed to help determine her dose and nadir. I think that if you pre-medicate her with the Gabapentin lrior to the vet placing the Libre it would help. There is also a FB group about how to place Libre sensors on your own. This may be something you need to join. I bet there are youtube videos as well.

 

Now about Gabapentin… the contents of the capsule can be mixed into food. Perhaps you have already tried this?

 

I recall one member (Cindy + Mousie) from years ago who had a feral diabetic. I don’t know if she ever checks the board, but she might be able to offer suggestions. Tagging Cindy @LynnLee + Mousie

I do believe that, over time, Mousie learned to accept her shots and BG tests. Especially with former ferals, patience and consistency matters.

Last I knew, Cindy was more active on Facebook. I don’t know who else might be over there that could ask Cindy to drop by. @Chris & China (GA) do you have any idea how to contact Cindy?

I’ve dealt with many ferals over the years but none were diabetic. I hope the Libre will work so you can get some BG readings — I’ll be interested to hear how your kitty reacts.

Also, just want to confirm that your syringes are U-100, correct?

 

Thank you so much for trying to connect us with others who have feral cat experience! And yes syringes are U-100

 

Yes! She tends to avoid taking it when mixed directly into her food (I read it can be bitter?) we are having some flavored ones delivered today, so hoping that will help!