Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom
Member Since 2021
Hi everyone. I rescued a feral tomcat a little over 3 years ago, Vinnie Van Gogh, who has turned into the biggest lovebug. He was diagnosed on Friday with diabetes (probably steroid-induced) and I have spent the last 3 days overwhelmed by research. He also has asthma and I have had an impossible time getting him to use an inhaler (I have 3 cats - one of the others is also asthmatic and is fine with the inhaler so I am comfortable using it; but Vinnie fights me like crazy). Because of his resistance to the inhaler, he has been getting regular depomedrol shots for the past 2 years. I had no idea this could lead to diabetes and noticed his weight cycling up and down over the last couple of years, but the vet seemed unconcerned because his weight was never in the unhealthy range until now. His high weight in the last two years was 16.5 pounds, but he's a bit chubby at that weight. A good weight for him is about 14.5 pounds. Last week (one week after his depo shot), he went down to 12 pounds, 6 ounces, and looks like he is skin and bones. He also drinks a ton of water, eats more than my other two cats combined and he has about 4 times the urine clumps in his litter box than the other two girls have combined. (Side note: he also may have FIV - he has had two positives and two negatives and is very aggressive with my other cats so they are kept completely separate which is why I can tell the difference between his litterbox and theirs).
Bloodwork on Friday showed a glucose level of 368. His prior annual bloodwork (latest one in August) showed glucose in the high-normal range (around 200) but it turns out it was always done over a month after his latest depo shot so the steroids were no longer in his system. The vet put him on 5mg of glipizide twice daily until the steroids are out of his system. She is hoping that at that point, his glucose levels will stabilize and we can sort out the diabetes maintenance as well as figuring out how to control the asthma without steroids.
20 years ago, I had another diabetic cat. At the time, I did not ask questions and just did what the vet told me to do. It still breaks my heart and angers me that the vet told me to make dietary changes (i.e. wet food and set feeding times) WITHOUT telling me that my cat's glucose should be monitored while these changes were being made. That cat ended up with hypoglycemia at a time when my regular vet was out of town and unreachable. By the time I got him to an emergency vet, he was in really bad shape and the vet recommended that I let him go. I now try to research everything that I am told by any veterinarians to make sure I am aware of crucial information.
So back to this week. I immediately took Vinnie off of dry food completely and am giving him low-carb wet food and homemade food. His drinking and urine output has decreased by about half and he has gained a few ounces weight-wise since Friday.
So, that's the background on Vinnie and I have questions and would be very grateful for some input!
Bloodwork on Friday showed a glucose level of 368. His prior annual bloodwork (latest one in August) showed glucose in the high-normal range (around 200) but it turns out it was always done over a month after his latest depo shot so the steroids were no longer in his system. The vet put him on 5mg of glipizide twice daily until the steroids are out of his system. She is hoping that at that point, his glucose levels will stabilize and we can sort out the diabetes maintenance as well as figuring out how to control the asthma without steroids.
20 years ago, I had another diabetic cat. At the time, I did not ask questions and just did what the vet told me to do. It still breaks my heart and angers me that the vet told me to make dietary changes (i.e. wet food and set feeding times) WITHOUT telling me that my cat's glucose should be monitored while these changes were being made. That cat ended up with hypoglycemia at a time when my regular vet was out of town and unreachable. By the time I got him to an emergency vet, he was in really bad shape and the vet recommended that I let him go. I now try to research everything that I am told by any veterinarians to make sure I am aware of crucial information.
So back to this week. I immediately took Vinnie off of dry food completely and am giving him low-carb wet food and homemade food. His drinking and urine output has decreased by about half and he has gained a few ounces weight-wise since Friday.
So, that's the background on Vinnie and I have questions and would be very grateful for some input!
- Glipizide. I have read bad things about this and the strain on the pancreas. The vet assures me that it is only temporary and there is nothing to be concerned about. I told her I would like to decrease the dose to 2.5mg instead of 5mg since he seems to be doing better, but she says not to do anything until we get his glucose tested again. She swears that there is no risk of hypoglycemia from glipizide which is one of the main things I am terrified of.
- Glucose testing. I have read that glucose tests in the vet's office can be high due to stress. I am going to get my own glucose monitor so I can track it without going to the vet. Has anyone used the Nova Max Plus? It only needs a 0.3 microliter sample so I am thinking this would be a good one. Other than lancets and test strips, is there anything else I need?
- Feeding. I know that set feeding times are generally best for diabetic cats. However, since Vinnie is still super skinny is it better to always have food available? Or is it better to do the set feeding times to encourage him to normalize which would then increase the likelihood that his body can use the food to put weight back on him?
We have an appointment to do a glucose test in 3 hours. Will update!