EllieMaye
Member Since 2024
Hi fellow feline lovers!
Our story: My name is Ellie and over the span of 35+ years, all of our pets have been rescues. In fact, we cared for a diabetic cat that lived 9 yrs past his diagnosis. He passed in 2009 at the age of 16. So, it has been a while since we've dealt with feline diabetes and this one is different. I have so many questions buzzing around in my head. On Friday, our 5 year old cat (Rosie) was diagnosed with diabetes. Over the last 9 months, we noticed a bit of weight-loss happening since we'd brought home a new cat brother for her. What was supposed to be a playmate turned out to be a full-blown food hogging hoover. She tolerates (basically detests) him and on the rare occasion I see them near each other, I'll grab my camera because it is the fairy tale I'd like to believe. *sigh* Anyway, he's put on a whopping 7 pounds since then while she has lost 1.5 pounds. About a month ago, since feeding her separately from "Jabba The Hutt" she has gained a half pound back. She is completely obsessed with her private feeding times (about 5-6 x's a day), but ONLY with one specific brand of cat food. Sheba "Cuts In Gravy" is the only thing that will do for her. Since we are trying to get her to gain some weight back, we've obliged. We have tried many others, but she looks at us in disgust with our pitiful offerings. She has dry kibble available at all times. The simple explanation as to why we took her to the vet is we wanted to make sure she's actually OK, and that we're doing everything we can for her. We were thrown a curveball when the doctor came in the room and diagnosed her with diabetes. Since Rosie is younger and has never been overweight, that was a complete shock. He'd performed 6 lab tests + a T4 for thyroid. All were normal except for a high glucose reading. Since he was perplexed as well, I asked if there was another test that would confirm, or if this could be a stressed-induced false reading. By this point, I was desperate for any other possible explanation and asked if it could be because she'd eaten 3 Sheba's so far that day. He answered no to all questions and explained it might just be hereditary. His diagnosis is based on her weight-loss + her high BG reading. He prescribed her Vetsulin at 1 unit every 12 hours and for us to bring her back in a week for a recheck. Before we left, I did ask to see the glucometer they used and for them to perform another test which showed her BG at 344. Since then, I've done a tiny bit of research on the matter and I have some questions. Should she have had a urinalysis or a serum fructosamine test done to confirm his diagnosis? If so, should I take her back for one or go somewhere else for a second opinion? I am also concerned that if I give her insulin and she's not really diabetic, she could have an hypoglycemic episode. I have human glucometer at home, and before she got her first dose of insulin, I wanted to check her BG the next morning. That was a debacle. After 4 unsuccessful attempts from her paws, I tried her ears. I got enough blood after 3 tries there and it registered at 215. Feeling uncomfortable with those results (and terrible for doing that to her), I've yet to give her insulin. Is there a better food out there to help her gain weight without raising her BG? Is that much Sheba possibly raising her BG levels? Please help. I do not want to be doing the wrong thing here. I am going to take her somewhere tomorrow. Either back to the same vet, or another one. Any advice at all before we go would be helpful. TIA
Pics below to show glucometer reading at vet and one very stressed kitty.
Our story: My name is Ellie and over the span of 35+ years, all of our pets have been rescues. In fact, we cared for a diabetic cat that lived 9 yrs past his diagnosis. He passed in 2009 at the age of 16. So, it has been a while since we've dealt with feline diabetes and this one is different. I have so many questions buzzing around in my head. On Friday, our 5 year old cat (Rosie) was diagnosed with diabetes. Over the last 9 months, we noticed a bit of weight-loss happening since we'd brought home a new cat brother for her. What was supposed to be a playmate turned out to be a full-blown food hogging hoover. She tolerates (basically detests) him and on the rare occasion I see them near each other, I'll grab my camera because it is the fairy tale I'd like to believe. *sigh* Anyway, he's put on a whopping 7 pounds since then while she has lost 1.5 pounds. About a month ago, since feeding her separately from "Jabba The Hutt" she has gained a half pound back. She is completely obsessed with her private feeding times (about 5-6 x's a day), but ONLY with one specific brand of cat food. Sheba "Cuts In Gravy" is the only thing that will do for her. Since we are trying to get her to gain some weight back, we've obliged. We have tried many others, but she looks at us in disgust with our pitiful offerings. She has dry kibble available at all times. The simple explanation as to why we took her to the vet is we wanted to make sure she's actually OK, and that we're doing everything we can for her. We were thrown a curveball when the doctor came in the room and diagnosed her with diabetes. Since Rosie is younger and has never been overweight, that was a complete shock. He'd performed 6 lab tests + a T4 for thyroid. All were normal except for a high glucose reading. Since he was perplexed as well, I asked if there was another test that would confirm, or if this could be a stressed-induced false reading. By this point, I was desperate for any other possible explanation and asked if it could be because she'd eaten 3 Sheba's so far that day. He answered no to all questions and explained it might just be hereditary. His diagnosis is based on her weight-loss + her high BG reading. He prescribed her Vetsulin at 1 unit every 12 hours and for us to bring her back in a week for a recheck. Before we left, I did ask to see the glucometer they used and for them to perform another test which showed her BG at 344. Since then, I've done a tiny bit of research on the matter and I have some questions. Should she have had a urinalysis or a serum fructosamine test done to confirm his diagnosis? If so, should I take her back for one or go somewhere else for a second opinion? I am also concerned that if I give her insulin and she's not really diabetic, she could have an hypoglycemic episode. I have human glucometer at home, and before she got her first dose of insulin, I wanted to check her BG the next morning. That was a debacle. After 4 unsuccessful attempts from her paws, I tried her ears. I got enough blood after 3 tries there and it registered at 215. Feeling uncomfortable with those results (and terrible for doing that to her), I've yet to give her insulin. Is there a better food out there to help her gain weight without raising her BG? Is that much Sheba possibly raising her BG levels? Please help. I do not want to be doing the wrong thing here. I am going to take her somewhere tomorrow. Either back to the same vet, or another one. Any advice at all before we go would be helpful. TIA
Pics below to show glucometer reading at vet and one very stressed kitty.
