AlexScarlett
Member Since 2023
Hi guys!
I am very new to the whole "cat with diabetes" club, and I'd love to hear the perspectives of those with far more experience than I have. I have a couple of questions...
1) Based on his BG levels tracked over 2 weeks without insulin, is my cat in remission?
2) If so, how can I keep him there (diet? Supplements? Etc.)
Sorry in advance; this is kind of a long post.
First, some background. My Maine Coon mix, Mercury, is 11 years old and weighs about 13 lbs. Almost exactly a month ago, he was diagnosed with diabetes. When he was first examined, his BG was 583, glucose in urine, the whole nine yards. I brought him in because he'd been drinking a LOT of water and peeing about 3x as much as usual. Still, I think his BG may have been very much elevated at the vet because Mercury is an extremely highly strung cat. He is labeled as "extremely aggressive" on his vet forms. (Breaks my heart, since he's a sweetheart in a normal setting.) At the vet, when they took blood for his tests, he literally had to be held down by 3 vet techs (and he screamed his head off the whole time!)
The diagnosis was, of course, diabetes. The vet sent me home with Vetsulin and instructions to give him 2 units twice a day while measuring his blood glucose. Mercury became stable almost immediately. Within about a week, those 2 units were sending his sugars down as low as 70, so the vet said I should do 1 unit instead, which I did for another week. Same thing -- his sugars were getting down to 70 even with 1 unit.
About 11 days after he was first diagnosed, he had a fructosamine test done, and it came back as 350 (high side of normal, from what I understand?), but as far as I understand, it's an average of 2-3 weeks of blood sugar levels, so it included a time period when Mercury wasn't receiving any treatment at all (since he had the test done after only 11 days of treatment.)
Anyway, about 2 weeks after diagnosis, the vet suggested I try him out with no insulin at all while monitoring him. As I mentioned, Mercury is a high-anxiety cat, and he will not tolerate having his ear pricked all day several days in a row, so I have tried to do some full curves, some "spot checks", and some days where I leave him alone. I hope this wasn't irresponsible of me; I was trying to balance my desire to monitor Mercury with his desire to not be pricked in the ear. Also, I should mention that for almost a full month (starting pretty much immediately after he was started on insulin), he has had zero symptoms: he's not lethargic, his urination and drinking are totally normal, his weight is normal, etc.
Here are the results of Mercury's 2-week run with ZERO insulin:
July 18: First day no insulin. 8 am = 146 (fasting); 10:30 am = 141; 1 pm = 124; 3 pm = 142; 6 pm = 140; 9 pm = 90
July 19: 1 pm = 101
July 20: 8:30 am = 140 (fasting); 5:30 pm = 112
July 21: 3:30 pm = 104
July 22: 8:30 am = 166 (fasting); 10:30 am = 96; 12:30 pm = 115; 2:30 pm = 116; 4:30 pm = 113; 8:30 pm = 110
July 23: 4 pm = 90
July 24: No readings (away from home all day)
July 25: 2:30 pm = 112; 5:10 pm = 118
July 26: 11 am = 119
July 27: 8 am = 124 (fasting)
July 28, July 29 = No readings (away from home all day)
July 30: 7:40 pm = 171 (1 hour after meal)
July 31: No readings (away from home all day)
August 1: 7 am = 166 (fasting); 9 am = 117; 12 noon = 98; 2 pm = 130; 4 pm = 150; 7:30 pm = 142
So... what do you guys think? Can I begin to hope that Mercury is either in (or approaching) remission?? I'll be giving these results to my vet as well, but I am not 100% confident in her, to be honest. She didn't even tell me about ProZinc or Glargine, which I later found out would've been much better options for him.
One thing that worries me a bit is that he was on Vetsulin for only 2 weeks. I'm hoping his beta cells had time to recover?? I worry that I should've tried to keep him on insulin for longer? But then, it was becoming clear that he didn't need it (and my doses were always too much.)
Another concern I have is that Mercury's "fasting" BG (I'm new to this -- hope I'm using the right terms) seems high. In the mornings, before his breakfast, I've recorded levels like 146, 166, etc. The highest level I got over this whole 2-week span was 171, but that was about an hour after a meal.
I've read that cats in remission with high(er) fasting BG are more likely to relapse. :-( Should I be worried about these readings, or are they still in the "acceptable" range? (I've heard so much conflicting info about what's "acceptable"...)
That brings me to my other question. I want to make sure I am doing EVERYTHING in my power to help Mercury stay in remission (if he's there) through diet. My vet said he should have 2 large meals per day, spaced apart 10-12 hours. I know that was true while he was on the insulin, but how about now that he's not? She said to just keep him on 2 meals, but I have read that cats do better when they are fed smaller meals. Perhaps it will help his blood sugar levels not get too high. Could I perhaps feed him a large breakfast, a small lunch, and a large dinner? Perhaps at 8 am, 1 pm, and 6 pm? Something like that?
Here's what I'm currently doing ...
8 am breakfast = 3 oz can Fancy Feast Turkey & Giblets
1 pm lunch/snack = 1.5 oz can Fancy Feast Fish & Shrimp Feast
6 pm dinner = 3 oz Tiki Cat "After Dark" chicken & lamb paté
Also, since Mercury's blood sugar (from what I can tell) is somewhat higher than "normal," can anyone suggest a supplement or natural method of reducing his sugars? I already feed him ONLY wet food, and his carb percentages are always under 5%. But I'm wondering if there's something (like the "Blood Sugar Gold" on Amazon, for example) that might help his sugars be closer to normal? Has anyone had experience with this sort of thing? I'm scared to try something that may make things worse...
Thank you SO MUCH in advance for any advice/comments!
Again, to summarize, my big questions are ... 1) Does it look to you like my cat is in remission, and 2) Should I be feeding him 3x a day or only twice?
Cheers!
Alexandra
I am very new to the whole "cat with diabetes" club, and I'd love to hear the perspectives of those with far more experience than I have. I have a couple of questions...
1) Based on his BG levels tracked over 2 weeks without insulin, is my cat in remission?
2) If so, how can I keep him there (diet? Supplements? Etc.)
Sorry in advance; this is kind of a long post.
First, some background. My Maine Coon mix, Mercury, is 11 years old and weighs about 13 lbs. Almost exactly a month ago, he was diagnosed with diabetes. When he was first examined, his BG was 583, glucose in urine, the whole nine yards. I brought him in because he'd been drinking a LOT of water and peeing about 3x as much as usual. Still, I think his BG may have been very much elevated at the vet because Mercury is an extremely highly strung cat. He is labeled as "extremely aggressive" on his vet forms. (Breaks my heart, since he's a sweetheart in a normal setting.) At the vet, when they took blood for his tests, he literally had to be held down by 3 vet techs (and he screamed his head off the whole time!)
The diagnosis was, of course, diabetes. The vet sent me home with Vetsulin and instructions to give him 2 units twice a day while measuring his blood glucose. Mercury became stable almost immediately. Within about a week, those 2 units were sending his sugars down as low as 70, so the vet said I should do 1 unit instead, which I did for another week. Same thing -- his sugars were getting down to 70 even with 1 unit.
About 11 days after he was first diagnosed, he had a fructosamine test done, and it came back as 350 (high side of normal, from what I understand?), but as far as I understand, it's an average of 2-3 weeks of blood sugar levels, so it included a time period when Mercury wasn't receiving any treatment at all (since he had the test done after only 11 days of treatment.)
Anyway, about 2 weeks after diagnosis, the vet suggested I try him out with no insulin at all while monitoring him. As I mentioned, Mercury is a high-anxiety cat, and he will not tolerate having his ear pricked all day several days in a row, so I have tried to do some full curves, some "spot checks", and some days where I leave him alone. I hope this wasn't irresponsible of me; I was trying to balance my desire to monitor Mercury with his desire to not be pricked in the ear. Also, I should mention that for almost a full month (starting pretty much immediately after he was started on insulin), he has had zero symptoms: he's not lethargic, his urination and drinking are totally normal, his weight is normal, etc.
Here are the results of Mercury's 2-week run with ZERO insulin:
July 18: First day no insulin. 8 am = 146 (fasting); 10:30 am = 141; 1 pm = 124; 3 pm = 142; 6 pm = 140; 9 pm = 90
July 19: 1 pm = 101
July 20: 8:30 am = 140 (fasting); 5:30 pm = 112
July 21: 3:30 pm = 104
July 22: 8:30 am = 166 (fasting); 10:30 am = 96; 12:30 pm = 115; 2:30 pm = 116; 4:30 pm = 113; 8:30 pm = 110
July 23: 4 pm = 90
July 24: No readings (away from home all day)
July 25: 2:30 pm = 112; 5:10 pm = 118
July 26: 11 am = 119
July 27: 8 am = 124 (fasting)
July 28, July 29 = No readings (away from home all day)
July 30: 7:40 pm = 171 (1 hour after meal)
July 31: No readings (away from home all day)
August 1: 7 am = 166 (fasting); 9 am = 117; 12 noon = 98; 2 pm = 130; 4 pm = 150; 7:30 pm = 142
So... what do you guys think? Can I begin to hope that Mercury is either in (or approaching) remission?? I'll be giving these results to my vet as well, but I am not 100% confident in her, to be honest. She didn't even tell me about ProZinc or Glargine, which I later found out would've been much better options for him.
One thing that worries me a bit is that he was on Vetsulin for only 2 weeks. I'm hoping his beta cells had time to recover?? I worry that I should've tried to keep him on insulin for longer? But then, it was becoming clear that he didn't need it (and my doses were always too much.)
Another concern I have is that Mercury's "fasting" BG (I'm new to this -- hope I'm using the right terms) seems high. In the mornings, before his breakfast, I've recorded levels like 146, 166, etc. The highest level I got over this whole 2-week span was 171, but that was about an hour after a meal.
I've read that cats in remission with high(er) fasting BG are more likely to relapse. :-( Should I be worried about these readings, or are they still in the "acceptable" range? (I've heard so much conflicting info about what's "acceptable"...)
That brings me to my other question. I want to make sure I am doing EVERYTHING in my power to help Mercury stay in remission (if he's there) through diet. My vet said he should have 2 large meals per day, spaced apart 10-12 hours. I know that was true while he was on the insulin, but how about now that he's not? She said to just keep him on 2 meals, but I have read that cats do better when they are fed smaller meals. Perhaps it will help his blood sugar levels not get too high. Could I perhaps feed him a large breakfast, a small lunch, and a large dinner? Perhaps at 8 am, 1 pm, and 6 pm? Something like that?
Here's what I'm currently doing ...
8 am breakfast = 3 oz can Fancy Feast Turkey & Giblets
1 pm lunch/snack = 1.5 oz can Fancy Feast Fish & Shrimp Feast
6 pm dinner = 3 oz Tiki Cat "After Dark" chicken & lamb paté
Also, since Mercury's blood sugar (from what I can tell) is somewhat higher than "normal," can anyone suggest a supplement or natural method of reducing his sugars? I already feed him ONLY wet food, and his carb percentages are always under 5%. But I'm wondering if there's something (like the "Blood Sugar Gold" on Amazon, for example) that might help his sugars be closer to normal? Has anyone had experience with this sort of thing? I'm scared to try something that may make things worse...
Thank you SO MUCH in advance for any advice/comments!
Again, to summarize, my big questions are ... 1) Does it look to you like my cat is in remission, and 2) Should I be feeding him 3x a day or only twice?
Cheers!
Alexandra
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