New Member - Pancreatitis+DM

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Natalie Anne

Natalie Anne

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Hi friends, I am writing to you in tears, as I suspect many new members have. Two weeks ago my wonderful 6yo Russian Blue (Yoda) was diagnosed with pancreatitis. Today, he was given a diabetes diagnosis. We are starting insulin on Monday. I am totally lost. Devastated. I travel for work a lot, and while I am able to cut back a bit for now, I am worried that I will lose my job if I cannot be gone a few days a month. I live alone, in a city where I know no one, and I have no support here. How can I be successful with these injections? How can i support my baby? Will I ever be able to sleep in or go out to dinner with the every 12 hour schedule? How much time do I have with him? He is the little love of my life, and has been with me through tremendous loss and trauma. I don't know how to pull myself together.

Edit to clarify: I will do anything and everything I need to do to make sure Yoda is treated and cared for for the rest of his life. I'm scared and sad, but I will do whatever I need to for him.
 
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Hi Natalie! I felt those emotions too, we went through similar with our FD diagnosis about 2 months ago. It is overwhelming at first but you’re not alone here.

More experienced members will stop by soon to offer guidance. Hang in there.
 
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Hello and welcome to you and sweet Yoda. We all have felt your emotions when we first started. There is a bit to learn in the beginning, but eventually managing diabetes can become just another thing you do during the day.

There are pet sitter who can do injections. One place to look (including online like Nextdoor app) is in your vet's office. They may have a notice board where petsitters put their cards, or the vet clinic may have someone on staff who likes to make a little extra money doing petsitting, and also knows how to give insulin. I had a friend who went for a month to England with a great vet tech coming by the house twice a day.

As for dinner and going to work, absolutely. I soon found out who my best friends were. I'd go to their place for dinner, and duck out for 1/2 hour after the main course to do testing/feeding and shooting, then back in time for dessert. As I learned more about how Neko used food and insulin, I got more confident in leaving the house for longer hours. I invested in an automatic feeder that fed meals when she'd need to eat to keep her safe.
Natalie Anne said:
How much time do I have with him?
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As for how long they live, there are no promises as cats can get any old cat disease while they are diabetic. Some pass from cancer or other condition and it's completely unrelated to the diabetes. Some cats can go into diabetic remission. We had one member who's cat went into remission and passed away last year at age 25, probably from the kidney disease. I've seen stories of cats being diabetic for 9 years. Mine it was about 5 years, but she had some other conditions that caused complications.
Natalie Anne said:
How can I be successful with these injections?
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My vet had both me and my husband come in and practice injections (with water) on my cat when we first started. I've seen some suggestions that you can practice on an orange.

One final comment, we are strong believers in a good insulin for cats (Lantus or Prozinc), feeding low carb food appropriate for diabetics, and home testing for blood sugars. How else can we help?
 
Thank you so much for this information. My vet recommended an insulin that started with a G, but I didn't write it down. And transitioning him to Purina Pro Plan. Initially she wrote dry but I asked about wet and she added that to the Rx. I did read some on here already about wet food being superior. So I am going to pick up some tomorrow and work on transitioning him to that (he is currently on Science Diet i/d). She didn't recommend testing unless I can't control the diabetes, but I don't know what that means. I wasn't quite processing information when we spoke today, so I'll go in Monday. Is the at home blood testing painful for kitties? TY so much
 
The insulin was likely glargine -- it's the generic name for Lantus. It's now available as a generic which also means that it's lots less expensive.

We are very strong advocates for home testing. We encourage home testing regardless of how your cat is responding to insulin. It is the only way to know if your cat is in safe numbers. It gives you a great deal of control over what's going on with your kitty.

FWIW, when I moved from Chicago to Columbus, I didn't know anyone here. I was moving for a job. The first thing I did was to find a vet and find a petsitter. I adore my petsitter. She knew how to give injections. She also knew how to test blood glucose if my cat would have let her. (My cat was a bit of a diva and would have the kitty equivalent of panic attacks if anyone other than me attempted to test her.) Cats become accustomed to having their ear poked. Initially, they may not be thrilled but providing treats (a reward) helps to get them on board with the process. I tested a lot and my cat didn't mind. Not only do they learn that they get a treat for putting up with the testing, they also learn that testing and an insulin shot helps them to feel better.

It's really normal to feel completely overwhelmed at this point on the learning curve. There's a lot to assimilate. The good news is that it will become routine and a lot easier.
 
There is nothing special about the ProPlan food. I see a lot of them have rice in it, so probably higher carb than you want to feed. There are many commercially available low carb foods that are suitable and that's what most people here feed. Was there a reason he was getting the i/d? The wet food version is 30% carbs, so way higher than the max 10% carbs he should be getting as part of his regular diet.
Natalie Anne said:
She didn't recommend testing unless I can't control the diabetes
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Unless you home test, you won't know if you can control the diabetes. Many vets think it would "be a bother" for the caregiver. I'd also ask the vet, if they had a diabetic child, would they home test?
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
The first thing I did was to find a vet and find a petsitter. I adore my petsitter. She knew how to give injections. .
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Thank you! It turns out my normal pet sitter can give injections. Do you recommend having the petsitter do a few sessions while you're there so kitty can get used to it? Yoda is very wary of strangers
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Was there a reason he was getting the i/d? The wet food version is 30% carbs, so way higher than the max 10% carbs he should be getting as part of his regular diet.
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He was actually on the i/d because when he was diagnosed with pancreatitis a few weeks ago the vet also said they found bladder stones. We had surgery scheduled just the other day but when they put him under and did the pre-cut Xray they couldn't find any stones. So the food helped shrink them and I guess he was able to pass them. But now I'm concerned about how to find a food that keeps his urine balanced, that is OK for his diabetes AND that doesn't aggravate his pancreatitis. Sigh ...
 
I would have your petsitter do a few "getting to know you" visits. I had my petsitter come over for a glass of wine and to hang out with me and Gabby. She also came over a few times when I wasn't home to hang out when she had a break in her schedule.

We use a really good website on feline nutrition that is authored by a vet -- Lisa Pierson, DVM. There's a section on the website on urinary tract issues and diet you might want to look at.
 
The week after Neko was diagnosed with diabetes, my other kitty got his diagnosis for idiopathic cystitis and he had crystals. I asked his vet what both could eat, and she recommended raw. After reading the section Sienne linked above, I discovered it could actually be any low carb wet food, lower phosphorus, with plenty of water added. I did end up feeding raw, but canned would have worked as well.

This post has a section on nutritional support: A Primer On Pancreatitis
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. if you already have a pet sitter who will give injections, that is fantastic.
It is normal to feel overwhelmed in the beginning. :bighug:
 
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