New to Diabetes

[Sandi Durtschi]

Hello! My name is Sandi and my 13 year old cat Chancy, who was18 lbs, was diagnosed with diabetes on June 22nd this year. He's now up to 3 units twice a day and I'm not seeing much improvement. He also has kidney disease, of which he was already on a special diet for. We had him on Hill's K/D dry food since we never could get him to adapt to wet food at all. Since the diagnosis of diabetes we've had to get creative with food just to get him to eat. Since he lost a pound within the first 2weeks of being diagnosed my vet said diet aside, get him to eat whatever he'll eat since he had slight signs of ketones. He LOVES canned tuna. So he's been eating canned tuna and canned chicken mixed with wet canned food and it seems to mostly be working. However, I'm concerned he's still not eating enough. He doesn't have much energy and just lies around all day. Lost is the cat that used to have energy and run through the house every once in awhile. He has another follow up next week. But can anyone give advice to this very frustrated and stressed cat mommy? Especially on food. I've found that if the food doesn't have a strong smell he won't touch it.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

He's now up to 3 units twice a day and I'm not seeing much improvement.

What insulin is he on? What dose was he started at? Three units twice a day is a high dose for a newly diagnosed kitty, especially only three weeks into treatment.

He also has kidney disease,

Do you know what stage he's at? There are people here who can advise on feeding a CKD kitty.

since he had slight signs of ketones.

Testing urine ketones at home is important. We have tips to help you with that using the human test strips available at any pharmacy.

He LOVES canned tuna. So he's been eating canned tuna and canned chicken mixed with wet canned food

You can slowly increase the proportion of wet lw carb cat food over time. Some people have good luck sprinkling FortiFlora on top of the wet food to entice the kitty to eat. I think you can buy it at vet clinics. Parmesan cheese works for some.

He doesn't have much energy and just lies around all day.

This is typical of an unregulated diabetic. They can't get energy from their food very well because of diabetes.

The best thing you can learn to do to get your kitty on the road to recovery is to test blood glucose at home, whether your vet recommends it or not.

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Hi Sandy and Chancy!
Couple questions I can ask now .

1. What was his diagnosis BG (blood glucose) reading?
2. What was his starting dose?
3. What insulin are you using?
4. Which wet food is he eating now with the canned Tuna and Chicken? Be careful with too much Tuna, you don't want to create another problem: Tuna junkie.
   
5. Are you home testing? If so, what meter? If not, would you be interested in learning?

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Whoops, cross posted.

 

[Becky Young]

That Hill's k/d is sooo high carb, that's what triggered diabetes in my kitty Davis. Keep him off that stuff if you can! What wet foods have you tried?

I have 1 kitty with kidney disease and one with diabetes. It's a challenge to find food that works for both diseases, I completely understand your frustration. From what I've read on kidney disease, the high carb food is Sort of an old mentality for treating kidney disease so it's ok to take him off the k/d. What's best is that they have good quality protein, this just so happens to also be a requirement for diabetics.

I'd try to get Chancy on some low carb wet food if you can. A lot of people here feed Fancy Feast. I bought 1 can of every flavor until I found one my picky kitties would eat. If the canned tuna and chicken mixed with wet food is working , keep it up and maybe try to feed more often if you're worried he's not getting enough.

I'm new to all this diabetes stuff, I know it's a lot to take it especially when you're dealing with another diagnosis as well. Hang in there, you'll get into a good rhythm!

 

[Sandi Durtschi]

His starting dose was 1 unit on vetsulin. 2 days after he was diagnosed he was so lethargic after starting the insulin that I was worried and my vet had me bring him back in. That's when she increased the dose to 1 1/2. At his 2 week f/u we found he had lost a pound in 2 weeks and she increased him to 2 units. She said at that time, since he wasn't eating much, that he needs to eat and feed him anything he will eat. So I originally gave him tuna but then started him on canned food and mixed it with tuna and canned chicken just to get him to eat. After his fructosamine level came back at over 600 she increased him to 3 units. He is currently only eating Fancy Feast Fish and Shrimp canned food. But sometimes I find I have to add a little tuna to get him to eat. He doesn't eat all of it. He tends to leave the chucks no matter how much I try and mash them up. He's also still eating the dry K/D when he feels like it (free feeding but only 1/8 cup at a time). I am not home testing as I didn't even know that was a thing for kitties since I'm so new to this.

 

[Sandi Durtschi]

What I don't understand is that he was fine and still spunky up until I noticed his increased urination and took him into the vet. Ever since strarting him on insulin he's just not the same cat. Just makes me sad.

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Well the Vet started off well with only increasing by 0.5U but then did the typical whole unit jump to 3.0U . All within less than a month. Had the Vet taken any additional BG readings when deciding on dose increase or just basing it off Fructosamine test?

Home testing is our best tool in or FD (feline diabetes) kitty tool belt . For Vet's that say it's unnecessary, we'd like to ask them "would you blindly administer insulin to a human baby?" Probably not. Our fur babies are no different. We can help teach you if your Vet is against home testing.

If he's leaving chunks of food, he might actually like the pate styles . For CKD, depending on what stage, you'll want to aim for low carb and lower phosphorus foods.
HERE is the food chart most of us use. You can use the extensive filter one to find low carbs (less than 10% carbs) and low phos foods (less than 300, I think).

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

What I don't understand is that he was fine and still spunky up until I noticed his increased urination and took him into the vet. Ever since strarting him on insulin he's just not the same cat. Just makes me sad.

Apologies for sounding like a broken record but home testing might shed some light on why he's not feeling like he was before insulin.

 

[Sandi Durtschi]

What's the best way to home test that won't break the bank?

 

[Sandi Durtschi]

I took away his dry K/D and will see how he does. Wish me luck!

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

What's the best way to home test that wont break the bank?

If you live in the US, WalMart is the place to go!! Their Relion Confirm or Micro meters are favorites around here because they take the tiniest sample size and the strips are affordable ($36/100)

Also, get some lancets (to poke the hole with) that are for "Alternate Site testing"....usually 25-28 gauge....the ones that come with the lancet devices and kits are usually 33 gauge and are too small for most new ears.

I like to get cotton cosmetic pads to hold on one side of the ear (to protect my finger from being poked) and then to fold over and apply pressure after poking.

Some Neosporin with pain relief ointment (not cream) is helpful with healing the little pokes too

Here are some videos done by other members here showing how to home test:

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

With the kidney disease at play, Fancy Feast probably isn't the best choice of food long term so while it's fine till you get Chancy eating better, it would be a good idea to try to find something with lower phosphorus in it that he likes. Here is a link to a number of food lists to give you some ideas.

I'm sorry to hear Chancy is feeling worse now than before starting insulin. It's not unusual because Chancy has become used to high BG numbers and the insulin is now pushing his BG down and his body is fighting back a bit because it's become unaccustomed to lower BG levels. It's also quite possible that the vet has skipped right over the best dose for Chancy because 3u after only 2 weeks is a hefty dose.

Kudos for wanting to home test because that is by far the best tool to help you get Chancy regulated and keep him safe.

One last thing.....please DO NOT take the K/D away from Chancy just yet. It's high carb and removing it could cause his BG to drop dramatically and reduce his insulin needs. Best to be home testing before removing the dry food from the mix so you can monitor to make sure Chancy's BG is not dropping too low.