New member advise

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RoroB

Member
Hi, my cat has been diagnosed from blood test results this week. I started home testing him last week and have made a spreadsheet. He had been showing heat interolerance/lethargy over the summer when it was very warm and we thought it was because of the heat it wasn't until it started getting cooler and he was still the same that I realised something was wrong.

I have a vet appointment tomorrow for starting treatment. I have requested prozinc as we did discuss a fair amount in the appointment when his blood was drawn for testing. I guess I'm posting partly for a handhold and partly for advise on what dose you knowledgeable people think is best.

I'm prepping a hypo kit. He is now only fed low carb wet food. He has had previous pancreatitis and his blood test this week did show mildly raised pancreatitis markers which I think was caused by one of the wet foods I fed him the day before having high fat. So for food I need to do low carb and lowish fat- advise on this would be welcome. I'm in the UK

He is an overweight cat and I have had him on an only wet food diet this year- probably what has precipitated this issue. I have since checked and he was mostly eating supermarket canned wet food and they are 17% and 30%!!! carb respectively. Whereas prior to that he was having wet and dry food. The dry food being a high protein low fat one to try to prevent pancreatitis

He has lost weight but when I reversed his diet changes last month he gained weight. He is also still 6kg so not skinny yet!
 
The link to the UK food charts are here: Links to FOOD CHARTS Whatever is under 10% carbs is fine. I think Felix in jelly might still be a good UK choice.

Here's info on pancreatitis: Info - A Primer On Pancreatitis Fat content in food doesn't seem to be a factor in causing pancreatitis. There is some anecdotal thought that seafood might cause pancreatitis in some cats with sensitive tummies. You can try avoiding feeding seafood or just limiting seafood to very occasional treats.

@Suzanne & Darcy can give you more info about using ProZinc.
 
thankyou. I think for him fat is a trigger for pancreatitis as when he's got into chicken skin saved as treats for the other cats he's been ill in the days after. Although I know generally it isn't believed to be as diet based as it is in dogs/humans. I will watch him with seafood
 
Pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition or an infection. In the vast number of cats, there is no clear reason for why it develops. However, given that the beta cells in the pancreas are what produce insulin, some of the thinking is that pancreatitis may be related to diabetes. I'd be curious if your cat has food sensitivities and that's what you're observing.

This is a link to our Prozinc forum. The information in the sticky notes at the top of the page may be helpful. There is information in the dosing method post on starting dose. Given that you switched to a low carb diet, we typically recommend a starting dose of 0.5u.
 
He doesn't seem to have a sensitive stomach and is completely fine eating chicken meat. His first pancreatitis he had a major fever so was treated with antibiotics so could well have been an infection.

Thanks I'm speaking to the vet tomorrow although it's the 3rd vet I've seen this week so not sure how good at feline diabetes this one is. Because he is a bigger cat (6kg) I didn't want the vet to suggest starting on the 2U dose which seems to be what the manufacturers recommend. His postprandial BGs don't seem that high on the LC food, no idea what they were before switching. His symptoms already seem better. I'm prepared for it but really want to avoid a hypo if possible
 
The insulin manufacturer may suggest a higher dose if they assume the cat isn't on a low carbohydrate diet. I would venture that 13 lbs/6 kg isn't that big of a cat. (I have a Norwegian Forest Cat and his normal weight is 15 - 16 lbs so my perspective may be off. At least here, about 12 lb is considered an average to above average size for a male cat.) The numbers on your spreadsheet are not that high. Chances are that since you switched to a low carb diet, Bubs blood glucose is lower and he's feeling better as a result. We consider normal range as 50 - 120.
 
Afternoon I've been to the vets now and he wants me to give 1.5 units AM and PM. That seems much higher than what you've advised I did repeat in the consult that I had him on LC food and his numbers aren't that high so wanted to start on a lower dose, but that's what I've been told to give????

Also vet said not to test his blood so much as I'll scar his ears and make it harder to draw from there. That seems to go against what I've read in here about the ears becoming better at bleeding after a few weeks. Again???
 
Remember - it's YOUR cat. If you don't feel comfortable with something, it's ok to disagree with the vet and let him / her know that. Lots of people here on FDMB have disagreed with their vets on something. What to feed is one big topic since vets tend to push the expensive carb heavy prescription junk. Testing blood glucose levels daily (or not) is another topic. It's ok to disagree with the vet :)

Ears might get a hematoma from pricking but there are ways to minimize it. Cats also have two ears so you can alternate ears daily. Use a new lancet each time for pricking. There is also a CGM meter that sticks onto the cat and will send readings to an app on your phone. No ear pricking needed although knowing how to ear test if helpful. Sometimes the meter malfunctions or falls off or the reading seems off. The meter needs to be replaced every 2 weeks and you can do it yourself.
 
I know I'm just overwhelmed. I've seen from reading through other threads that there is a huge amount of knowledge here but then I go to the vet and the advise seems to be different. I'm conflict avoidant as well!
 
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