Elinor & Sibon
Member Since 2017
Hi everyone, English isn't my first language and it's important to me to give every detail necessary so please bare with me. I would appreciate every comment.
I adopted Sibon in November 2016 after I moved into my first apartment on my own (no roommates or partners). He's an adult cat, we don't know the exact age and I don't know anything about his life before other than the car accident he suffered before arriving to his foster home.
Throughout the short amount of time I have him in my life he suffered a gum infection resulting in rotting teeth (I received him this way) and a month later he almost lost his eye to an ulcer.
It hasn't been easy for us but he's an incredibly easy going cat starving for affection.
Because all of the aforementioned, I was hard for me to detect the early signs of Diabetes because his "normal" behavior changed a lot. I still feel like I'm getting to know him.
About 3 weeks ago he started drinking a lot, urinating a lot while the urine's colour was dark yellow and stinky, and he cried every time he got out of the litter box. He started meowing all through the night and kept me up. It was around that time that Summer really started to hit hard so I really thought that he was loud and was drinking a lot because he was hot. I didn't think too much of it because he was still eating and cuddling.
After a week I told all this to my vet and she asked him to be brought to her immediately. She took some blood and urine, and when she took the urine he also urinated blood (that was the only time that happened). Before the results came, she put him on antibiotics just in case it's a urinal infection. After a few days the results came back that he's diabetic and she also called for an ultrasound.
During the ultrasound his bladder seemed absolutely fine, but (and excuse me for the lack of information, I do plan on getting every detail from her next week):
1. His liver was slightly fatty.
2. They saw heart murmurs in 2 valves.
3. They said his kidneys seemed a little "off" but nothing too serious since his appetite is the same. She said there's no need to put him on a specific type of food for kidney problems because we're not there yet, and that the diabetes is more urgent to take care of.
She also said the manual for the heart pills specifically said not to be given to diabetic cats, so we're putting this on hold.
She assured me that the liver could get back to his normal state once the diabetes is under control, and that his kidneys are heart's conditions would remain where they are if the diabetes is treated, otherwise they could get worse because of it. She gave me Royal Canin Glycobalance as dry food, Hill's w/d as wet food and Humulin NPH using U-100 syringes.
I read a lot of threads on this forum about the other type of syringes where you could give less that 1 unit if necessary and about Lantus.
I already dumped the food she gave me (first because he wouldn't even touch it) and bought a lot of Fancy Feast, but I'm really scared to change his insulin type or doses on my own. I feel terrible since realizing she didn't advise me about wet food and she's not the type of vet to confront about this, even in the most polite manner. I called the most reputable vet in my city and they give the same food for Diabetes.
I have created a spreadsheet and attached it to my signature. I work 9am-6pm every day so I can't monitor his glucose levels during the day, and I have a friend coming around to feed him around 2pm every day just so he won't be hungry until the evening time.
I know I sound hysterical after only 1 week of treating him, but I need to know he's getting the best care possible. I don't want the other problems we saw in the ultrasound to get worse.
Thanks in advance.
I adopted Sibon in November 2016 after I moved into my first apartment on my own (no roommates or partners). He's an adult cat, we don't know the exact age and I don't know anything about his life before other than the car accident he suffered before arriving to his foster home.
Throughout the short amount of time I have him in my life he suffered a gum infection resulting in rotting teeth (I received him this way) and a month later he almost lost his eye to an ulcer.
It hasn't been easy for us but he's an incredibly easy going cat starving for affection.
Because all of the aforementioned, I was hard for me to detect the early signs of Diabetes because his "normal" behavior changed a lot. I still feel like I'm getting to know him.
About 3 weeks ago he started drinking a lot, urinating a lot while the urine's colour was dark yellow and stinky, and he cried every time he got out of the litter box. He started meowing all through the night and kept me up. It was around that time that Summer really started to hit hard so I really thought that he was loud and was drinking a lot because he was hot. I didn't think too much of it because he was still eating and cuddling.
After a week I told all this to my vet and she asked him to be brought to her immediately. She took some blood and urine, and when she took the urine he also urinated blood (that was the only time that happened). Before the results came, she put him on antibiotics just in case it's a urinal infection. After a few days the results came back that he's diabetic and she also called for an ultrasound.
During the ultrasound his bladder seemed absolutely fine, but (and excuse me for the lack of information, I do plan on getting every detail from her next week):
1. His liver was slightly fatty.
2. They saw heart murmurs in 2 valves.
3. They said his kidneys seemed a little "off" but nothing too serious since his appetite is the same. She said there's no need to put him on a specific type of food for kidney problems because we're not there yet, and that the diabetes is more urgent to take care of.
She also said the manual for the heart pills specifically said not to be given to diabetic cats, so we're putting this on hold.
She assured me that the liver could get back to his normal state once the diabetes is under control, and that his kidneys are heart's conditions would remain where they are if the diabetes is treated, otherwise they could get worse because of it. She gave me Royal Canin Glycobalance as dry food, Hill's w/d as wet food and Humulin NPH using U-100 syringes.
I read a lot of threads on this forum about the other type of syringes where you could give less that 1 unit if necessary and about Lantus.
I already dumped the food she gave me (first because he wouldn't even touch it) and bought a lot of Fancy Feast, but I'm really scared to change his insulin type or doses on my own. I feel terrible since realizing she didn't advise me about wet food and she's not the type of vet to confront about this, even in the most polite manner. I called the most reputable vet in my city and they give the same food for Diabetes.
I have created a spreadsheet and attached it to my signature. I work 9am-6pm every day so I can't monitor his glucose levels during the day, and I have a friend coming around to feed him around 2pm every day just so he won't be hungry until the evening time.
I know I sound hysterical after only 1 week of treating him, but I need to know he's getting the best care possible. I don't want the other problems we saw in the ultrasound to get worse.
Thanks in advance.
