New member, need recommendations for care near DFW

[redkat]

My beloved cat was diagnosed yesterday, brought on by ongoing steroid usage. She is 16 with either IBD or intestinal lymphoma (inconclusive ultrasound.) She's currently hospitalized at the vet while they sort her out, and responding well to Lantus but not eating much as of yet.

I travel extensively for a living and just moved for a new job, so I am really at a loss as to how I am going to manage twice daily injections when my work schedule is very irregular and requires mandatory travel. The specialist vet she's been seeing is about 40 miles away, so they weren't able to help with recommendations for pet sitters that are local to my area, and being new to town I know... well, no one, and it's far easier to find volunteers to pet a friendly cat than it is to find a sitter to give injections.

I'd be interested to hear of anyone's personal experiences dealing with her combination of issues, as it's been over a year since she first showed gastrointestinal symptoms. Up until what was a rather sudden change, she had been tolerating the steroids well and had been getting monthly bloodwork to support that. While I'm usually not a fan at all of prescription diets, she was on one that contained hydrolyzed proteins that had worked wonders for her weight and ability to tolerate food, so trying to find a low-carb diet that's suitable also seems like an uphill battle.

I have a second cat, also 16, who is a bit of a hothouse flower. He's been doing well on her diet, but he has a history of pancreatitis from when he was younger, and as a result I've always fed them a lower-fat diet.

I'm feeling very overwhelmed right now, so while I apologize if any of this feels very negative, any thoughts or advice you all have would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sharon14]

Welcome. Many people find that a raw, homemade diet works well for both diabetes and IBD. Here’s some info https://www.foodfurlife.com/#/
Also there is a steroid budesonide, that can help without impacting the diabetes as much as typical steroids do.
Maybe check with a more local vet for recommendations for a pet sitter, .

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

If you also planning to use a vet closer to you, check with the vet techs to see if anyone may be interested in helping out when you have to travel or can recommend a pet sitter closer to you.

 

[Sarah&Soph]

Do you know if there’s anything specifically that causes GI issues for her? A lot of times novel protein diets can work well for cats with IBD. Raw feeding is a good option as Sharon has mentioned, or canned food made with a novel protein.

Some options that I know of that are both low carb and novel proteins are Nature’s Instinct rabbit and venison varieties, any varieties from Ziwipeak, and a few from Koha. If your cat can tolerate turkey or duck, there are a few more options as well.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Deep breath, hold, release, deep breath, hold, release. We know this is a very stressful time for you and your newly diagnosed diabetic cat. One step at a time, one day at a time.

Vet techs often cat sit on the side. As Lisa and Witn (GA) already said.

If you are a member of our facebook sister site, you can ask for recommendations there from members.
Closed group. you have to ask to join. No dosing info is supposed to be given there.

Sometimes, the IBD is really a food allergy. One of my cats had constant diarrhea until I eliminated all grains from her diet. Even the slightest bit of rice would 'set her off'. No corn, no wheat, no soy, no rice.

It's not necessarily the "novel proteins" that are making a difference, but the elimination of one of the ingredients in the food.

Steroid induced diabetes is fairly common. We see it fairly regularly here. Sometimes, with a couple of months with insulin injection support and a good diet, your cat could become diet controlled. Remission, not need insulin shots for some time, OTJ (off-the-juice, insulin being the juice).

"Once a diabetic, always a diabetic."