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Nowthree

Nowthree

Member Since 2021
I found a stray on my aunt's property on Thanksgiving and took her in. She tested negative for all the bad stuff like FeLV and FIV but is diabetic. She's under vet care and tomorrow I'll talk to the vet again to discuss starting her on insulin, but in the meantime I need to know how I should be feeding her. She's fully grown but only weighs 4.5 lbs as of Friday morning (weighed by the vet). She's skin and bone and the vet said to get as many calories into her as possible--that's the most important thing right now. Her name is Grace, or Gracie.

I have Fancy Feast (grilled, not pate) that I give to my other two cats as a daily treat. Gracie will eat this but she's not really interested in it. She wants the boys' kibble (Nutro), which of course she's not supposed to have. I found Inaba packets at Walmart that she LOVES and they're 530 calories per little pouch--so far today she's eaten almost four pouches so she's finally getting the calories her body needs, but I know she can't keep eating this. Is there anything similar that's low-carb that people can recommend? It's basically a jelly-like broth with shreds of meat.

Just to give a baseline, when she was tested on Friday, her glucose level was 486. She's also extremely anemic, but now that she's had flea treatment the vet says that will improve. She had a high flea load.

Another question--I work long hours some days and have a long commute. Some days I leave at 7am and don't get home until after 8pm. How do I make sure Gracie is getting access to enough food while I'm gone? She has her own room so the boys can't get in and steal her food when I'm not around, but I can't really leave a lot of canned food out for her and expect it to be good (or appetizing) for 12 hours.

Also, is incontinence an issue with severely diabetic cats? Gracie sometimes urinates on herself while she sleeps, although never while awake. I'll ask the vet tomorrow, of course, but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask here too. She's very weak but doing a lot better already, so it might just be simple lack of muscle strength.

Thanks!

Kate
 
Hi,

It is so kind of you to take in a diabetic kitty. :bighug: There is usually someone to welcome new members but with the US Thanksgiving it is a bit quiet around here. I am not as experienced as other users but I will give it a try. Hopefully someone else can add to this.

There is a lot of information in this site to help care for a diabetic cat. I would start here first https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/index-health-links-faqs.194624/

Here is a list of cat foods' nutritional information, ideally for diabetics less than 10% carbohydrates is best. I am not familiar with the Inuba packets I don't thinkmthey have them in Canada. Maybe someone else has suggestions. The Fancy Feast grilled are a bit too high in carb. Have you tried the flaked or chunky varieties.

You can get automated pet feeders for wet food such as the Cat Mate 300, this one even has ice packs you can put to keep the food fresh. It is best for diabetic cats to have small meals more often.

Also insulin is generally given two times a day 12 hours apart. And consistent dosing is important.

I have not heard of incontinence being common in diabetic cats. But it can be muscle weakness. Also untreated diabetes can cause neuropathy which effects the nerves in the hind legs effecting mobility. You can ask the vet about this, it often clears up once diabetes is treated as well as with methylcobalamin.
 
I found it a bit overwhelming at first:nailbiting:. So feel free to post your questions here. There are members ariumd with a lot of experience caring for diabetic kitties.
 
Oh, and one more thing which is really important. If she is not eating much and not getting insulin she is at risk for DKA.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...and-diabetic-cats-a-primer-on-ketones.239971/

Ask your vet to test for ketones. Also you can buy Ketostix at Walmart ($10) to test her urine. I think at this point getting her to eat is more important (edit -than worrying about the carbohydrate percentage * actually FrostD has better advice on this).
 
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Nowthree said:
Another question--I work long hours some days and have a long commute. Some days I leave at 7am and don't get home until after 8pm. How do I make sure Gracie is getting access to enough food while I'm gone? She has her own room so the boys can't get in and steal her food when I'm not around, but I can't really leave a lot of canned food out for her and expect it to be good (or appetizing) for 12 hours.
Click to expand...

You may want to ask the vet for an insulin called Prozinc. It is a little more forgiving timewise than Lantus. Your vet may push you to try vetsulin (also known as caninsulin – canine = dog). It is not the best choice for a cat. It has a harsh onset and rarely lasts 12 hours.

Tagging some Prozinc users for you.
@JanetNJ
@FrostD

In the meantime, you can find information on Prozinc here: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/

A lot of members use a timed feeder with ice packs underneath it (or you can freeze the wet food).
This one: PetSafe 5 (click on the blue link). If you are in the U.S., it is on sale right now.

Nowthree said:
Also, is incontinence an issue with severely diabetic cats?
Click to expand...

You may want to ask the vet to do a culture. It should also get better once she is regulated. Unregulated diabetic cats drink a lot. It helps get rid of the excess glucose in their bodies.
 
Yes given your work schedule ProZinc is probably your best option. Lantus and Levemir pretty much require 12 hrs apart with minimal wiggle room, but ProZinc should allow for your schedule (unless she gets a long duration from it, but thats a little unusual - we'll cross that bridge if we get there).

I would find the highest calorie low carb food on that list, we say anything under 10% is low carb, but most of us aim for 5% - but lean towards the side of calories, not carbs. When she's on insulin hopefully will get regulated quickly and it'll be easier for her to get the weight on and need less calories (my cat required twice the calories to maintain when he was unregulated).

A lot of us use multi-slot timed feeders that have a spot under the bowl for an ice pack (oh I just saw someone else mentioned)
 
Also, ProZinc is a U40 insulin, so you will need U40 syringes, ideally with 1/2 unit markings. I prefer the shorter needle, less chance of going through the scruff. I always bought these, cheapest I could find usually and free shipping
https://www.countrysidepet.com/coll...ate-31-gauge-3-10cc-u-40-syringes-pack-of-100

When you talk to your vet, you do not need a pet glucometer. Some people prefer to use one, but the majority of us use the Walmart ReliOn brand as it's cheapest to buy and use (strips are cheap). We also recommend 26 or 28 gauge lancets for poking the ear with testing.

So your shopping list would be:
Low carb, high calorie food
Hypo kit stuff (linked in previous posts - medium carb food, high carb food, karo syrup, bulb syringe)
Insulin (need script from vet, I'd shop around for cheapest, Chewy etc)
Appropriate syringes for your insulin (meaning U40 or U100)
Glucometer + at least 100 strips
26 or 28 gauge lancets (device not needed but some people like it)
Vaseline for the ear
Cotton rounds for the ear
 
Oh my goodness, thanks so much, everyone! I've ordered a pet food dispenser with ice packs and I plan to talk to my dept director about my work schedule next semester so I will hopefully not have such long days. I've also got lots of things to ask my vet tomorrow and a shopping list, and of course lots of reading to do.

Fortunately Gracie is gobbling almost all the food I offer and will hopefully put on some weight soon. I'm going to stop by PetSmart tomorrow and get various cans of low-carb food to see which she prefers so I can order a case from Chewy.
 
I had much the same thought about insulin. There are two insulins that are recommended by the American Animal Hospital Assn -- Lantus and Prozinc. As others noted, Lantus is more sensitive to a consistent shot time than Prozinc. If your vet suggests either Vetsulin/Caninsulin or Novolin N/Humulin N, please politely refuse, cite the AAHA guidelines, and ask for Prozinc. The other insulins while cheaper, do not give you the duration you need given a cat's fast metabolism. (In other words, they poop out well before 12 hours.)

If Gracie is fond of a food that is in shreds and in a broth/jelly type of base, see if you can track down some of the chicken varieties of Tiki Cat. It's very low in carbs and is shreds, not pate style. However, it is low in calories as it's largely chicken. The dilemma is that foods that are low in carbs are going to be lower in calories unless the food is high is fat.
 
While she's putting on weight let her eat as much as she wants. You are so kind r to take her in, she surely wouldn't have lasted long on her own.

Of put a little b12 methylcobalamin supplements in her food to help her rebuild her red blood cells and it can also help with neuropathy (leg weakness). I like zobaline (on amazon). One tablet a day crushed in the food.

You can freeze a portion of food and put it in a timed feeder. Ice packs would work too.

ProZinc is the way to go. You'll probably get the first bottle from the vet. After that it's probably cheaper to order it on chewy. It's about $105 on chewy. Start with 1 unit twice a day. It's literally a few drops. The bottle is good for about 5 months of kept in the fridge.
 
I wanted to add that diabetes is not a death sentence and they can live long healthy lives with it.
 
For now plan on feeding several meals a day. A timed feeder will allow you to space out the meals. A diabetic cat's body cannot absorb the calories from food properly, so multiple meals are needed. Once the glucose levels get under control you should start seeing her gain weight. Another thing you should consider is home testing. This is testing her glucose levels before every shot. This is done to make sure it is safe to give the dose and will also let you know how well the dose is working. You can use a human glucose meter for testing.

Do you know if the vets reading was from a fructosomine test or a simple glucose test? The first gives an average glucose reading for several days The second is a reading as of the time the test was taken. That one can also be higher because of vet stress. There is a good chance as she recovers from anemia her glucose numbers will improve. This is another reason to home test. It may change her insulin needs.
 
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