My husband and I have 12-year-old Andy-cat who was dx with diabetes in 7/2011. At that time, we were feeding him Blue Buffalo Spa Select dry food to graze 24/7 (which he did readily and frequently) and Wellness canned grain-free for regular meals. He was addicted to the Blue dry food and weighed 18 pounds when he was dx. Our vet put him on 2 units glargine 2 times per day and recommended a raw meat diet. I have to mention that we also had Jake, our 20-year-old cat, who had just been dx with CHF with pleural effusion so we were in triage mode. Additionally, Jake had been dx with CRF in 2008 so we had 1 diabetic cat who we were told to put on raw meat and a CRF cat that wouldn't do well on a higher phosphorus diet. I did try a raw diet for Andy and he didn't take to it well so I continued to feed him Wellness and we only put 1/4 cup of the Blue in the bowl. We took him to our vet for Fructosamine testing and bg curves regularly (so we thought). Our vet never told us to home test. Andy did well at first, but in January of this year, he started having symptoms of neuropathy in his hind legs. I questioned our vet and he told us that he wasn't as regulated because we weren't giving him raw meat. We were in crisis mode with Jake and finally in May, had him peacefully put to sleep. Later that week, I took Andy to another vet for a second opinion as his neuropathy continued to progress. This vet said that since he hadn't been regulating, he would check for pancreatitis. He also recommended bg home testing. This was just before Memorial weekend. Sure enough, his test was positive for pancreatitis. But it gets better! We took him to the ER that night where they kept him on fluids, antibiotics (clavamox) and pain meds. The vet on duty at the ER ran abdominal x-rays. She noticed a mass in his abdomen and recommended that we get an ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed a tumor that looked like it was either on the spleen or the pancreas. They took a needle sample which had benign pancreatic cells, so it was a pancreatic tumor. This was less than a week after saying goodbye to Jake! Even though the tumor sample was benign, she recommended exploratory surgery because sometimes, there can be a hidden malignancy. We did follow her recommendations. The surgeon prepared us for the worst and told us that if he found tumors throughout Andy's abdomen, he would recommend that we don't wake him from his anesthesia and let him go peacefully. During the exploratory, the surgeon removed a pancreatic tumor the size of Andy's kidney. Luckily, the tumor was encapsulated and the surgeon didn't see anything else. He also told us that because he was manipulating his pancreas, Andy could develop pancreatitis again. Andy recovered well. He was released after 2 days and we took him straight to a vet oncologist. She told us that pancreatic tumors in cats are extremely rare, but that said, she thinks we hit the lottery, because the margins look good and that it is a slow-growing type of cancer and it may never return. We did get the pathology results and it was a carcinoma, but it wasn't the insulin-producing type. I shudder at the thought of that type of tumor. I still cry, just thinking about how much Andy must have been suffering. It is truly amazing how much cats can conceal their symptoms. He had still been eating, socializing and having regular bodily functions. Our regular vet said that now we know why he was still unregulated. I went back to feeding him the Wellness canned and 1/4 cup of Blue dry.
Sure enough, at the end of June, he was back at the ER with another bout of pancreatitis and kept for 2 days. We took him home and gave him 125mg Clavamox for 7 days. I got rid of the Blue Buffalo and replaced the Wellness with FF classics. I have to say that he likes FF much better than Wellness. Is the FF salt content ok? Both of my cats would love some of the Wellness canned batches and turn their noses up at other batches, even though it was the same flavor. We were always looking for certain batch numbers.
Andy developed Clavamox-induced diarrhea. I worked with him over the past couple of weeks, using digestive enzymes and probiotics and finally got him to almost normal and then, last week, he developed a UTI (no crystals) so he was back on Clavamox and back to looser than soft-serve diarrhea and his appetite wasn't the greatest. Has anyone had much success with FortiFlora? We dropped him to 1 unit glargine for a few days because of his decrease in appetite.
We are taking him to the vet tomorrow to check his hydration as he still has very loose stool. Very frustrating. We did get a home-tester and began tonight -- 515 before his dinner. We fed him and gave him 2 units of glargine and tested him 30 minutes later and his bg was 535! I'm confused! We don't know how much damage the tumor (and pancreatitis) caused to his pancreas and the surgeon did have to remove a portion of the organ with the tumor. We may never be able to get him off of insulin, but I would like to see him better regulated.
This is what I have learned so far: Andy has had loose stool off and on since he was a kitten (not as loose as current). Throughout his history of regular check-ups, no vet had ever mentioned IBD. Now, from this board and from other sites, I find out that there is a link between IBD, pancreatitis and diabetes. Luckily, his other lab markers are normal, including liver markers. Next, I learned that If diabetes is unregulated, make sure that you get the feline specific pancreatic test. The vet that recommended it saved Andy's life. Additionally, I learned the importance of home bg testing. I am still confused about the best food, for IBD, pancreatitis, diabetes and hx of cancer. Ugh! I understand that ultimately, the best food is what they will eat.
I do feel better, now that we are home testing. I was experiencing an entree of fear and a side of hope, but now these emotions have switched places.
I still have so much to learn and am so happy that this board exists.
Sure enough, at the end of June, he was back at the ER with another bout of pancreatitis and kept for 2 days. We took him home and gave him 125mg Clavamox for 7 days. I got rid of the Blue Buffalo and replaced the Wellness with FF classics. I have to say that he likes FF much better than Wellness. Is the FF salt content ok? Both of my cats would love some of the Wellness canned batches and turn their noses up at other batches, even though it was the same flavor. We were always looking for certain batch numbers.
Andy developed Clavamox-induced diarrhea. I worked with him over the past couple of weeks, using digestive enzymes and probiotics and finally got him to almost normal and then, last week, he developed a UTI (no crystals) so he was back on Clavamox and back to looser than soft-serve diarrhea and his appetite wasn't the greatest. Has anyone had much success with FortiFlora? We dropped him to 1 unit glargine for a few days because of his decrease in appetite.
We are taking him to the vet tomorrow to check his hydration as he still has very loose stool. Very frustrating. We did get a home-tester and began tonight -- 515 before his dinner. We fed him and gave him 2 units of glargine and tested him 30 minutes later and his bg was 535! I'm confused! We don't know how much damage the tumor (and pancreatitis) caused to his pancreas and the surgeon did have to remove a portion of the organ with the tumor. We may never be able to get him off of insulin, but I would like to see him better regulated.
This is what I have learned so far: Andy has had loose stool off and on since he was a kitten (not as loose as current). Throughout his history of regular check-ups, no vet had ever mentioned IBD. Now, from this board and from other sites, I find out that there is a link between IBD, pancreatitis and diabetes. Luckily, his other lab markers are normal, including liver markers. Next, I learned that If diabetes is unregulated, make sure that you get the feline specific pancreatic test. The vet that recommended it saved Andy's life. Additionally, I learned the importance of home bg testing. I am still confused about the best food, for IBD, pancreatitis, diabetes and hx of cancer. Ugh! I understand that ultimately, the best food is what they will eat.
I do feel better, now that we are home testing. I was experiencing an entree of fear and a side of hope, but now these emotions have switched places.
I still have so much to learn and am so happy that this board exists.
