New Diabetes diagnoses

[Anine Swart]

My 7yo boy was diagnosed with Diabetes about a month ago. started at 2.5 units, sugar still tested high, and vet upped it to 3.5 units.

Please don't crucify me, I'm doing the best I can with the funds I have and going with my vet's recommendation.
He's on Hills Diabetic dry food. I really cant afford raw food or even exclusively wet food. If I add a little wet food on top of the dry food he'll eat a little and then turn his nose up.

He used to scarf down the hills diabetic dry food, but two days ago he started eating it reluctantly. Last night he ate half-heartedly and I hand fed him.

This morning he's lethargic, didnt eat much, so I didnt give him his unsulin. I'll see what he looks like this afternoon. and he still seems dumpy and won't eat, he's going straight to the vet.

But what could be causing this?
I'm frantic, my anxiety disorder is making me loose my mind.
This is my child

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I am concerned your kitty is not wanting to eat, he is lethargic and you didn’t give the insulin.
I am concerned he might have some ketones in his urine which can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis which is very serious in cats.
If I were you I would take him to the vet now and get his urine checked for ketones and find out why he is not wanting to eat…don’t leave it until later in the day.
It is far better to catch it early both for your kitty and for your hip pocket, then let it get worse.
Hopefully it is not Ketones or DKA…but not eating, and skipping insulin and lethargy are all big red flags as far as diabetic cats go and need to be investigated promptly.

He may have an infection, or need some antinausea medications but now is the time to take him to the vet.

Increasing the dose of insulin from 2.5 to 3.5 in one go is too much in my opinion.
Once you get the reluctance to eat and lethargy sorted out we can help you with everything.

Please let us know how you get on….

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

yes I agree with Bron, my kitty went into DKA and almost died, they can spiral downhill very very quickly once the ketones start building.

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

It sounds like she’s having a hard time financially. Can she get the ketone strips and test his urine at home first? @Bron and Sheba (GA) @Hendrick Cuddleclaw

and you don’t need expensive prescription food. Most of us here feed our cats low carb wet food like Friskies or fancy feast. 2.5 is a very high initial dose so I wouldn’t transition from dry to wet if you’re not home testing. His blood glucose sugar could be going too low with too much insulin, which also would make him lethargic. Most of us here home test. Again, you don’t have to get expensive pet meters. A lot of us use Walmart’s ReliOn which is about $9. In the long run, it will also save you money because you won’t need as many vet visits and won’t need to have them do a curve because you’ll be able to do a that at home. We can help guide you so you can start home testing.

please let us know how he’s doing.