New Introduction

[MaineLove]

Coral was diagnosed 6/19/15. Her medication is Lantus, she started at 1 unit twice a day. Her dose was increased to 2 units twice a day 6/25/15 as she had gained some weight, her glucose curve indicated an increase as her first dosage was conservative. She is a Red Tabby Maine Coon. The Silver Torbie is Joy, her daughter. They both have skin issues and were prescribed Hill's Prescription z/d. Coral and Joy have gone from free feeding to being fed twice daily without much incident. Currently Coral eats 1/2 C dry and 1/2 C wet z/d daily to help her regain weight she lost. Joy is on a reduction of food to help her lose weight. The forums and information on the site are fantastic and the helpfulness and support of caring people is appreciated.

 

[Cat Ma]

Hi and welcome to FDMB!

Lantus is a good insulin and you'll get excellent advice and support from members in the general and Lantus forums.

Are you testing Coral's glucose levels at home? Daily home testing is a must while Coral is on insulin. You can also do the curve at home. There's a wealth of info here and at catinfo.org.

 

[BJM]

If it turns out you absolutely have to feed the Z/D to keep the skin from blowing up in blisters, etc., you may find you need to use a higher dose of insulin. That is OK, it just reduces the chances of getting to a diet-controlled state.
While we recommend low carb, over the counter, canned or raw cat food, some cats are extremely resistant to change or have issues with those foods. Any food switches should be done gradually to reduce the risk of food refusals, diarrhea, and vomiting which may happen with sudden food changes. Switching about 20-25% per day seems to be safe for many cats; go as slowly as you need to make any changes.
If you are using another kibble, with the exception of 2 retail products, most are higher than 10% calories (not weight) from carbohydrate.
The 2 low carb kibbles are
- Evo Cat and Kitten Turkey at specialty pet supply stores and online, about 8% calories from carbohydrates.
- Young Again 0 Carb (internet only, 5% calories from carbs as we calculate it, and supposedly you feed less because it doesn't have a lot of fillers).

 

[MaineLove]

Thanks for the information on z/d and the insulin dose. So many factors to wade through but systematically we are going through them. What put the girls on z/d was changing their diet to Young Again cat food in November 2014 from a higher K-cal Blue Buffalo that was adding too much weight. The girls came to us with instructions that they had grain allergies, but nothing specific. For some reason, Pork maybe? they exploded with skin lesions and hair loss. The vet treated them with steroid shots in December 2014 and March 2015. Since we were trying to get their weight down we were pleased that Coral was losing, however when they went for their yearly check-up the vet diagnosed Coral with diabetes. We were off to the Emergency Clinic in Medford, OR, a top notch facility. I've done two glucose curves and consulted with our vet. I am home monitoring and realize it will take a little while to have everything come together. I don't know if this is normal for a diabetic cat but Coral seems to be doing her normal things, playing, sleeping, drinking water, urination under control, taking walks, going outside to the garden to investigate and cat nap. She doesn't seem to be in any pain even when her number's are high.

 

[BJM]

Diabetes in cats isn't painful, per se, although in humans, diabetic neuropathy may be excruciating.
Take a look at my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some additional means of assessing your cat.

 

[MaineLove]

BJM - Good information! Coral is a real trooper! She was a former show cat and was used for breeding. When she was at the ER Clinic getting stabilized there was a kitten that was being treated that was crying. Coral was in the cage next to the kitten and the vet tech said she was poking her head out of the cage and swiping at the bars on the cage to get out and help this little kitten. The tech said she thought she must have kittens to be so "motherly." Sweet story. Thanks again for the help.