new to forum-outside diabetic cat

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aghboo

Member Since 2013
My cat Boo was diagnosed with diabetes in May 2013. On ProZinc insulin-was up to 7 units twice a day and now down to 5.5 units twice a day. Vet did not recommend diet change-0n dry food. Cat was weighing 9.7 lbs when diagnosed and has gained up to 14.8 lbs in about 2 months. At one point this cat weighed 18 pounds. Vet mentioned may have to change diet if continues to gain weight. Boo is a long, tall neutered male cat that is outside all the time, so no control in activities he does, amount of water he drinks and is on dry cat food when ever he wants it. Have not started testing blood sugars at home yet. Last 2 visits at the vet-bloodsugar was 65 and 44 which led to decreases in insulin both times. I am thinking his diet needs to be changed. Have another non diabetic cat-would a low carb wet food diet affect this cat badly? What is best way to change to a wet food diet after already on insulin? Any information provided will be greatly appreciated. Did try Fancy Feast classic can of food to see if Boo would it it and he did without hesitation and the other cat did not seem to mind it either.
Alena
 
When you switch Boo to low carb food his blood glucose numbers can come down a lot and fast, and with those numbers of 65 and 44 at the vet (where most cats are stressed and the stress makes their numbers shoot upwards), I would not do the food switch until after you have started home testing. You also might want to lower his dose, as well as home testing, once you do the food switch.
 
You might want to look at this Body Condition Score charts to see where you cat falls. body condition scoring

We are so used to seeing our cats overweight, it is difficult to accept that what looks skinny to us is actually a healthy weight for them.

I would not recommend the change to the low carb food unless you are home testing and drop the insulin dose. A change to canned food can drop the BG levels 100 points.

When are those BG (blood glucose) levels at the vet in relation to the time of the insulin shot? It makes a big difference in how to interpret the readings.
 
Switching to a low carb food like fancy feast classic pates is a great idea but only after you start home testing. In fact with those low numbers at the vet I would be inclined to home test as soon as possible as he could be too low even on his his existing food and you dont want a hypo!.

Wendy
 
The blood sugar readings at the vet is 4-5 hours after insulin dose and that is why he is gradually lowering the dose of insulin. I will check out the body conditioning score sheet and compare my cat-thanks for the information. I had been considering home testing and now I must really contemplate this since it is highly recommended by the forum and with the low blood sugar readings I sure do not want a hypo reaction.
Alena
 
And in order to control his activities, what he eats, and to ensure he comes home for testing and shots, you may want to consider making him an indoor only cat.

If you feel he must go out, then put him on a leash and only allow him out while you supervise him. Take him for walks and such.

The only way to know for sure how much insulin to give and if it is even safe to give insulin is by home testing. Then you can confidently change the food and know just what is going on with him.
 
Heres some info on home testing

How to: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13c_CPZVKz27fD_6aVbsguadJKvjSrSAkD7flgPPhEag/pub

Getting started shopping list
1. Meter ie Walmart Relion Confirm or Micro.
2. Matching strips
3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool.
4. Cotton balls to stem the blood
5. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound
6. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against
7. Ketone urine test strips ie ketodiastix - Important to check ketones when blood is high
8. Sharps container - to dispose of waste syringes and lancets.
9. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken
10. Karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
11. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast

A while ago I remember this story of a cat that was getting fat even though the owner had it on a diet. So she put a note on his collar saying "if you feed me, please call XXX". and she got 10 calls. If he is outdoor he can easily get into contraband. Can you enclose him better in your yard so he cant get out or just have supervised outside time at least till you get him controlled?

Let me know how you get on with home testing or if you have questions - and then we can work on his diet change :)

Wendy
 
Since he enjoys the outdoors, you might construct a "catio" - a screened in safe space that would protect him from hawks and dogs, etc, while letting him enjoy the grass and such. With a cat flap in a door, he could come inside if he wanted.
 
Boo has never been an inside cat and not sure how that would go. He is very good about coming up in the morning and evening for his injections and then I do make sure he eats some dry food. SInce the food is out all the time, I think he is probably eating at other times as well. In the two months since he was diagnosed, we have only missed one shot, as he was MIA, showed back up in the am for the next injection.

When you start home testing, if I remember what I have read, you test before his insulin injection, like in humans. Will I need to do a glucose curve as well and how soon should that be done and for how long of time period. I am off work on vacation right now but do work full time. He does see the vet on Saturday for a blood sugar test. Should I use the same glucometer that the vet uses if on the list of recommended meters or does that matter, as long as I maybe test at the same time as when the vet does to determine if there is a lot of difference in meters.

Thank you all for the information, I have learned a lot about having a sugarcat on the juice.

Alena
 
You dont need to use the same meter as the vet. Its a good meter but the strips are expensive so unless you have lots of money we recommend human meters like the Walmart relion brand. They are almost as good but a lot cheaper!

You should always test before each shot. Then you really want a test midday (5-7 hours after the morning shot) if you can do it based on your schedule and his!. And one before bed. That will tell you just as much as a curve, esp if you vary the time for the midday shot. Otherwise a few tests at the weekend is good too. We also recommend you set up a spreadsheet to track results but we can help with that once you have the kit.

Given he is a solely outdoor cat then you do have extra challenges. You cant watch him if he drops low and get extra tests in , so I suspect so he might need to stay on dry. That means he will probably need a higher dose of insulin and is unlikely to go into remission but if we can get him regulated then that is good too.

here is a shopping list
1. Meter ie Walmart Relion Confirm or Micro.
2. Matching strips
3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool.
4. Cotton balls to stem the blood
5. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound
6. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against
7. Ketone urine test strips ie ketodiastix - Important to check ketones when blood is high
8. Sharps container - to dispose of waste syringes and lancets.
9. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken
10. Karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
11. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast

Wendy
 
Just took Boo to the vet and his blood sugar was 100. The vet does not recommended changing his food since his blood sugar is where he wants it even though he gained weight again. Now at 15.4 lbs. Is on 5.5 units of Prozinc insulin twice a day. It seems to me that more water is disappearing from the water bowl-not sure he is drinking more as have not seen him doing so. So not sure his blood sugar is in good control. Do not have to go back to the vet for 1 month.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Alena
 
100 at the vet? That's low for a vet visit since stress usually spikes blood sugar. I recommend you start testing ASAP, that way you can see how he is really doing and we can go from there.
 
Do you think this cat should be checked for acromegaly? Not real familiar with the symptoms.
Is it normal for the cat to gain weight while getting their blood glucose under control? At one point this cat weighed 18lbs before diagnosis. Vet does not really have a recommendation of how much this cat should weigh.
alena
 
Not yet. The insulin will help him better process food even if not quite regulated and put weight on. But, sorry to harp on, without home testing I don't see how we can really known what's going on there. He may even be getting too much insulin now.
 
aghboo said:
Do you think this cat should be checked for acromegaly? Not real familiar with the symptoms.
Is it normal for the cat to gain weight while getting their blood glucose under control? At one point this cat weighed 18lbs before diagnosis. Vet does not really have a recommendation of how much this cat should weigh.
alena
Click to expand...

That's a huge weight gain, and I have to say that my first thought was acromegaly.... diabetic cats don't gain like that.

I really do not believe in this calculating the right weight for a cat, and I do not believe most people can. The cat, if fed properly, will regulate his own weight, unless your cat has always been known to eat everything put down to eat.

I think you may want to see if you can keep the cat indoors for a curve at home.... you need to get him off the dry food because maybe he does not need that much insulin at all. One of my cats was very carb sensitive and her numbers would be in the 400s if she got ahold of even a mouthful of dry food.

You have been very lucky so far, giving insulin at a high dose to an outdoor cat, but I think you need to get a curve done on the dose and food you are giving now to see what's really happening.
You want to test before the shot, feed as usual and give a shot. for your curve, you need to test every 2 hrs after that shot and until the next shot..... that curve will tell you how his current diet and dose are working. From there, you can see about planning to change the diet and the dose.

There is no point in testing for acromgaly and IAA now until you know what's going on, and you change the diet. Do you think you could do a curve once a week with him; it would give you info to know how you can safely make changes.

Gayle
 
I plan to go to Walmart this weekend and will get a Relion monitor and test strips. Since I am off work until Tues-will try to start checking his blood sugars and see what the results are. I may be able to do a every 2 hour check if I am able to stick his ear. Thank you again for all your information. I know I am full of questions as this is still so new for me.
alena
 
Great! Once you get the kit we can advise on testing. Usually four tests a day minimum, always preshot, one midcycle (5-7hours after morning shot) and another before bed. For the midcycle one we can work it round your cycle. We don't always need curves and spot checks can give more info.

Keep asking questions, that's why we come here!
 
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