Scott & Buster
Member Since 2022
Elmsley was diagnosed with diabetes 5/13/22, the same day he officially became one of my kitties. Before this, he was the neighborhood's cat, coming around many times per week to say hello and get a meal after his family moved without him 6 or 7 years ago. I noticed this year he was getting thinner and thinner while maintaining a very healthy appetite. I took him to the vet expecting a hyperT diagnosis and left with the diabetes diagnosis instead. His in-office glucose was 475 and he had glucose in his urine - he was started on 1.5 units of Prozinc twice daily; it was increased to 2 units twice daily on 5/22.
Elmsley is likely at least 10 years old and weighed 6.5 pounds at diagnosis. Other than the diabetes and poor body condition (you can see his hip bones sticking up), his labs were pretty good for a stray - though we won't know for sure if his kidneys are okay until we get his blood sugar under control and hopefully rebuild some muscle mass. He also had a moderate upper respiratory infection for which he got 2 rounds of Convenia and a week of kitty jail at home so he didn't spread it to our existing cat, Buster.
As far as diet, I did get talked into buying prescription food, however then I found this group and he's been eating classic Fancy Feast (Chicken, Beef, Turkey & Giblets, Liver & Beef), and whenever he needs a snack or breakthrough food until dinner, he gets a partial can of Tiki Cat After Dark chicken blends or baked chicken tenderloin chunks as treats, sometimes mixed in with some sodium free, no onion etc. chicken stock for a poor man's broth. I still have the Hills m/d, and he gets some from time to time, however I figured this would be a good moderate carb to have on hand (I also have a few cans of 9Lives on hand for high carb needs along with a brand new bottle of Karo). I've tried some of the Instinct dry food as day filler (it had fewer carbs and similar protein to the dry m/d), however I have stopped giving it partially because of this group (and not having to buy prescription food helps do this), but also because of how it leaves the glucose high for longer and I'm having enough trouble getting him where he needs to be without an unnecessary obstacle.
He's also still in MUST EAT NOW phase so nothing is left for later and he will eat until he vomits if you let him; his average day looks like 1.5oz between 7 & 730am, another 1.5oz around 8am, and another 1.5 oz around 10am. He gets 1/3 - 2/3 of a can of Tiki Cat or diced chicken tenderloin between 2 and 5 when he starts crying about being hungry, then the staggered feeding for dinner mirrors breakfast with the rest of the Tiki cat for his late night snack. Sometimes he gets more Fancy Feast depending on how urgent his hunger is. He is pulling in 300-400 calories per day.
Even though he is the sweetest cat, we have been on the struggle bus for the past month - some is Elmsley, most of it is me - and as a diabetic myself it is beyond frustrating that things are not going smoother:
Thanks everyone for making it though this long intro, as well as for any tips.
Scott
Elmsley is likely at least 10 years old and weighed 6.5 pounds at diagnosis. Other than the diabetes and poor body condition (you can see his hip bones sticking up), his labs were pretty good for a stray - though we won't know for sure if his kidneys are okay until we get his blood sugar under control and hopefully rebuild some muscle mass. He also had a moderate upper respiratory infection for which he got 2 rounds of Convenia and a week of kitty jail at home so he didn't spread it to our existing cat, Buster.
As far as diet, I did get talked into buying prescription food, however then I found this group and he's been eating classic Fancy Feast (Chicken, Beef, Turkey & Giblets, Liver & Beef), and whenever he needs a snack or breakthrough food until dinner, he gets a partial can of Tiki Cat After Dark chicken blends or baked chicken tenderloin chunks as treats, sometimes mixed in with some sodium free, no onion etc. chicken stock for a poor man's broth. I still have the Hills m/d, and he gets some from time to time, however I figured this would be a good moderate carb to have on hand (I also have a few cans of 9Lives on hand for high carb needs along with a brand new bottle of Karo). I've tried some of the Instinct dry food as day filler (it had fewer carbs and similar protein to the dry m/d), however I have stopped giving it partially because of this group (and not having to buy prescription food helps do this), but also because of how it leaves the glucose high for longer and I'm having enough trouble getting him where he needs to be without an unnecessary obstacle.
He's also still in MUST EAT NOW phase so nothing is left for later and he will eat until he vomits if you let him; his average day looks like 1.5oz between 7 & 730am, another 1.5oz around 8am, and another 1.5 oz around 10am. He gets 1/3 - 2/3 of a can of Tiki Cat or diced chicken tenderloin between 2 and 5 when he starts crying about being hungry, then the staggered feeding for dinner mirrors breakfast with the rest of the Tiki cat for his late night snack. Sometimes he gets more Fancy Feast depending on how urgent his hunger is. He is pulling in 300-400 calories per day.
Even though he is the sweetest cat, we have been on the struggle bus for the past month - some is Elmsley, most of it is me - and as a diabetic myself it is beyond frustrating that things are not going smoother:
- Glucose Testing - I think this was the hardest thing to get a handle on, and I have help to hold him. I would have to hit his ear two, three (four) times to get it to bleed enough - even with warm rice, rubbing his ear, etc. On top of that, Elmsley is a wiggler - the longer it takes the more he wiggles around. I would get the test strip in place to get the sample and he'd jerk his head at the last second. I must have gone through half a container of strips due to partial samples being drawn up, either due to wiggling or due to not enough blood. What immensely helped was reading the sticky about testing for the 10th time and registering the note about starting out with the 28 gauge lancelets - I was using from my own supply and they are 31s. Now that he's got a brand new lancer with the 28s, its so much easier and faster to get the sample into the meter. We've also been allowing him to eat about a quarter can of Fancy Feast right before testing, which seems to help take the MUST EAT NOW edge off for him. Its only been 3 tests with the food and new lancer, but it is like night and day; hopefully that continues, but if anyone has any other suggestions I would appreciate hearing them.
- Fur shots - I actually started out fairly well with his insulin injections, but I think I went down the information overload rabbit hole and ended up changing my technique for the worse to be parallel to the spine instead of a 45 degree angle. Sometimes back to back doses would be fur shots; its hard to look at that next test result and know its your fault. But I did correct the technique and got 14 doses in a row that I know weren't fur shots. When the fur shots were bad I considered shaving a patch in his scruff so I could "see", but that seems less urgent now. If anyone has other tips for avoiding fur shots I would appreciate hearing them.
- Regulation - I cannot get his blood sugar into a reasonable range after almost a month. My gut tells me his dose needs to be increased again even with the cluster of fur shots, however I have been hesitant to bring this up with the vet because up until recently its been a crap shoot as to if he was even getting a proper injection. I've also read that getting the injection in his scruff isn't the best place for absorption, so this evening I tried to give his shot more on his side and broke my streak of no fur shots - though I quickly saw the moral of the story: regulate the cat, then worry about sites since the scruff seems to be working to actually give him his dose. Even with the missed dose tonight, and the probable higher glucose in the morning, I think a week of data with full dosing on board is enough to show the vet and ask for an increase in dose? Or should I wait longer for the numbers to come down?
- Inappropriate Elimination - I expected this considering he's been outside for 7+ years, and of course he's peed outside the litter box here and there, but tonight was the first time he decided he was going to pee on a couch cushion. Everything until that was an easy cleanup or diversion - bath mats, rugs, towels, etc. We even tried to move a litter box out of the temporary location we placed it during kitty quarantine but he wasn't having it (peed twice on the floor where it used to be so it went back). The only saving grace is that he's drinking so much he's diluted his urine to the point where it barely smells right now. I understand that this will probably get better once his glucose regulates and he stops with the excess drinking, however does anyone have any tips on how to handle this and keep him out of kitty jail? Peed pads come to mind, however I have a feeling that he has been trained/encouraged by his original family/the neighbors when they took him in on cold or rainy days to use those in lieu of a litter box.
Thanks everyone for making it though this long intro, as well as for any tips.
Scott
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I feel your pain - my cat was unregulated for over a year, and we eventually had to confine him to the laundry room. Felt terrible about it but we could not keep cleaning and replacing carpet, padding, etc. That's a long sordid story of bad vet advice and other underlying conditions. Hopefully yours will be quicker!
). His PS readings have come down a bit, and his nadirs are down 50-100ish points though still above target. For the most part the naidrs are pre-lunch or after a half can of Tiki Cat snack time. I've also made the switch to allowing him to have an additional can of Fancy Feast for lunch instead of just Tiki Cat (for those following along at home that brings us to 4-6 cans of FF daily), so that may account for the higher PS values the last few cycles. He's happier with it, and his pre-dinner hunger has definitely calmed (he would literally bounce off the walls hungry during his 2 hr fasting period PS) - so its worth the few points trade off to me since he's headed for an increased insulin dose anyway. Also hoping regulation calms his appetite soon - 360-540 calories daily in the form of FF (plus a can of tiki and tenderloin chicken as treats) is stretching the budget.