New to Message Board with Newly Diagnosed Senior Foster

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CommunityCat

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Hi All;
Just found out last week that our new foster Grandma Marlee is diabetic. A little backgound... She was at animal control in IL, weak, emaciated, and covered in mounds of mats. They shaved 2.2 pounds of mats from her before they decided she should be killed because she was old. We don't know her age, but she appears tobe ancient, I would say in the 12-14 year range. One of our friends pulled her from ACC and she made her way to Wisconsin. She had an odd way of walking, on her hocks and wrists. We had posted about her on our facebook page with video and someone posted that it could be diabetic neuropathy. They were right. She just spent 5 days at the clinic so they could monitor her glucose and get her on a decent dose of insulin. She is on Lantus, .5 AM and .5 PM. She is eating only canned DM. She had been testing around 300 before her insulin and then around 170 later. We are going to TRY home testing! I did buy everything we need and am going to give it a try tonight. I just watched some of the YouTube videos listed here. VERY helpful! She also had a bladder infection and is still on cepahlexin, but is doing better. I have two questions. The first is that the vet recommended 1/2 can A/D in the morning before her insulin and 1/2 at night. She thinks she is starving! She would eat at least 3/4 each time if not more. She was so starved coming in to us that I hate to not feed her. Is there a reason for the limitation? She is just 7 pounds now, still fairly thin. My second question is regarding the diabetic neuropathy. I have read that it is possible to reverse it or at least get it where it's not so severe. Sometimes the insulin helps but some recommend B12 injections. Our vet did not mention this. I also had someone suggest methylparaben. Has anyone used either of these with good results? Sorry to be so lengthy! I just want to do the best we can for her and hopefully some day find her a forever home of her own.
 
I'm so glad you made it over here. I'm Jennifer who posted to you on Facebook.

I would feed Grandma Marlee anything she wants right now. Food is so important. My own cats eat 4 meals per day. The neuropathy can be helped with MethylB12 (Methylcobalamin), it's different from regular B12.

Insulin regulation will also help the neuropathy. She may be able to get off her hocks completely.

Do you want us to try to find someone near you to help teach hometesting in person? I believe your group is in Wisconsin.

I'm sure you'll get great advice regarding the insulin and food. I'm very glad that Grandma Marlee, and of course, Grandpa found your group.
 
First, welcome. And how wonderful you are trying to help Grandma Marlee. Though I should warn you that we don't think of 12-14 years old as ancient. We have a few kitties here that are over 20!

Second, it's methyl B12, as Tucker's Mom, Jennifer has posted.

Third, unregulated diabetics aren't able to properly process their food, so they are literally starving. I hate to go against the vet, but if she were my cat I would feed a bunch of small meals. Check out the food list here (http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html) for canned food with under 10% carbs. These are alot cheaper than the RX food and will be just as good for her.
 
Bless all involved in saving Grandma. As Jennifer said, feed her. Until all things balance out well....insulin/food.....she is starving. Here is the main site for neuropathy http://www.laurieulrich.com/jasper/ Please come back and let us know how Grandma is doing. Would love to see a picture of her also. I love the old ones but once she is feeling better, getting the insulin, putting on weight she might surprise you and look even younger. My Baby (GA) was dx at 13 and lived 5 1/2 great years with diabetes before losing her to heart problem.
 
Welcome!

The first thing I noticed is that you are feeling this lovely lady canned D/M. Diabetic cats should be fed low carb wet food and, generally speaking, the food obtained from vet's offices have far too many carbs for a diabetic cat. Please see Janet & Binky's food chart (link above), and you will see varieties of Friskies, Fancy Feast, etc., that have far fewer carbs than canned D/M, and is also far more economical. For now, I'd feed this sweetheart as much as she wants...she isn't overweight and, until her diabetes is regulated, her body isn't processing food the way it should.

If you change the diet to low carb wet food, please be sure and home test. A change in diet alone can drop the kitty's BG levels dramatically (some here have reported a 100+ drop), and you certainly don't want/need a hypo incident.

Many of us here use Lantus, and the vet has you on a small dose, twice a day. That is good (unfortunately we've seen instances where people have been told to start at 3, 4, or more, units twice a day!), and the results of your hometesting will provide guidance to you regarding doseage in the future.

I'm sure you will have many, many questions...please feel free to post them and we'll do our best to help.
 
WOW! Just did the home testing based on the videos I saw! It went just fine! She didn't even seem to notice. I am so excited. AND she was at 209 before she was fed or her insulin. I am very hopeful that just getting her eating well will get her on the right track. We were feeding the DM because it was donated to our rescue, but also have access to the ground Fancy Feast mentioned in the articles. I am sure she would like that better anyway. I will see about getting her the MethylB12. It would be wonderful if she could walk better. I was also having problems with her getting litter stuck to her hocks because she was having a hard time trying to cover in the box. She was really getting it caked all over her. I switched her to the Breeze litter box system with the pellets and it works like a charm! She didnt seem to mind at all and jumped right in and used it. I will try to load her before (shaving) and after.
 

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209 right before her evening shot is a very good number for a lady that just started Lantus! I would suggest you consider holding her dose at .5 BID until you see the effects of changing her diet. If Grandma Marlee's BG drops the way others have with a change in diet, you may not have to increase her dose, or...dare I say it?...maybe she will be able to go OTJ (Off The Juice), and be diet-controlled. B.K. and Chester will be crossing their toes for Grandma Marlee! :RAHCAT
 
that is GREAT news. 209 is a really nice low number for a newly diagnosed diabetic. (great news refers to your testing already!!!)

my cat cleo, at age 17, is still a young girl, ahem! :)

the sooner we catch the diabetes and get them regulated the greater their chance of going into remission after only a short time on insulin. keeping them on under 10% carbohydrate wet food is a big part of the equation.

congratulations for taking good care of this little lady. :)
 
Everyone already seems to have you in capable paws! Just wanted to Welcome you to the FDMB family and thank you for taking such great care of that little lady.

My civie Onyx has his 15th birthday this month and he tells me he is still just a kitten really..lol

Mel
 
Update and a question on Methyl B12. Grandma Marlee is THRILLED to be getting more food. Purring instead of yelling at me! Definitely a happy Grandma.
My question is regarding the Methyl B12. What type are you all using and how are you giving it to your cats? I have been looking online and found lozenges and "instant dissolve microtabs". I was assuming these would be tablets I could cut up or crush! Or did I just not find the right thing yet? And then do you pill your cats or is it safe to put in their food? Grandma is taking the cephalexin in her food without a problem.
 
Just a correction here, but DM canned gets approx 7% of its calories from carbs (If I remember correctly) so it is perfectly suitable from that perspective. Its ingredients, however, are not super so if Grandma likes other foods you can transition them in as well.

Jen
 
I used to crush up the tablets and mix in Troubles foos it was cherry flavored but he never noticed it and it didnt raise his bg's either. God bless you for taking SUCH good care of Granma!
jeanne
 
You are doing a great job and Grandma Marlee should be feeling better in no time.

I use a pill crusher to crush up the pill and hide it in food. Usually it is never noticed.

Soon you should consider dropping the "Grandma" from Marlee's name. 14 is not old by most of our standards. She is just middle aged. And once she starts feeling better, she will probably start acting younger too. :lol:
 
CommunityCat said:
Update and a question on Methyl B12. Grandma Marlee is THRILLED to be getting more food. Purring instead of yelling at me! Definitely a happy Grandma.
My question is regarding the Methyl B12. What type are you all using and how are you giving it to your cats? I have been looking online and found lozenges and "instant dissolve microtabs". I was assuming these would be tablets I could cut up or crush! Or did I just not find the right thing yet? And then do you pill your cats or is it safe to put in their food? Grandma is taking the cephalexin in her food without a problem.
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If I may suggest, for Methyl B12, Look for Xobaline, 3mg tabs you can pop down the throat or hide in food, we give 1 tab /day. We got ours from LifeLink online here:
http://www.lifelinknet.com/siteresources/Products/Xobaline-cats.asp

Good luck!
 
Nice to see you around CC. And nice numbers for GM.

We have used the Xobaline here too, and this month LifeLink is having their periodic buy-two-get-three sale.

It is just amazing the amount of matting that was happening.

Can you give us GM's and CC's back stories. How did you come to find her/have her in your rescue, was she in a feral colony, I know you have a Grandpa too---are they related/friends/from the same colony, what is the nature of your rescue?

Sorry, I'm nosy.

You are doing great with GM. Especially self-teaching the hometesting, and doing so immediately after you got her back from the vet.
 
where is wisconsin.. I'm in the midwest too!!! who knows maybe we are living close to each other!!! !I have 5 cats and one is a grandma of 18 yrs of age!! geeezzz you are an angel to take this grandma and just love her up. :) :)
 
I'm going away for awhile but will check back tonight.. I will help if you are close to where I live. God Bless you for adopting that girl!! I LOVE my grandma -Briquette..all my cats are rescues and I love them all VERY much like family. :) :) :)
 
You regarding food:; Maximum Calorie is very low carb and is used across the country in emergency clinics, tube fed and syringe fed.. once it is warmed up Maximum Calorie becomes very palable. Look at the food listing found on the main page of this site that compares the calories and carbs.. it is one of the very highest for calories and 5% carbs. Maximum Calorie is a IAMS prescription diet in canned only. Sold at the vet. It is what brings nutrition to the cat or dog that is anorexia/malnutrition/cancer/tube feeding/trauma/wt loss/major surgery/severe burn/performance/orthopedic procedures....

I syringe fed it to my cat Khan after both hospital stays.. He then was slowly introduced the Fancy feast --it was all I could get him to eat.. I was just thrilled he would eat.. well he did want the EVO dry but threw it up on and off.. Khan was under wt by 6+ pounds.. if I didn't find this site Khan wouldn't be with us.
 
My 11 yr old Khan was have a horrible time walking when he was first diagnosed... and now he is doing much much better. once diabetes is under control and the cat gets some nutrition things are bound to get better. :) :) :) You are awesome for rescuing that girl!!! I know I will only have rescued cats.
 
I am with Community Cat in Whitewater, WI. We are primarily a spay/neuter organization, working very hard with farms and feral cat colonies. Most of the cats we have taken in have come from trap/neuter/return projects. Grandma Marlee is the rare exception. She was brought into animal control in Bolingbrook and was going to be killed just because she was over ten. A friend of ours who also works TNR in IL was trying to get her sprung but had nowhere to take her. At the time I had a foster home who was looking to foster Grandpa, but we didn't have his heart issues under control yet. So when we heard about Grandma, it seemed like fate had stepped in and said 'here's your next foster!' At the time we didn't know she was diabetic, but we would have taken her anyway. We have no clue how old she is. She was found matted like that in a little section of forest. She could be a good looking 20 year old or an awful looking 8 year old! I am assuming she is probably younger than she looks just because she has had a rough life. We also have Grandpa, who came from another project in Illinois. He was found by an organization called Spay it Forward in IL, brought to Chicago by Illinois Valley Cat taxi, treated at PAWS Chicago, and then transported to Community Cat. He shows what can happen when groups work together! He was emaciated. Came in at 4 pounds in late August, unable to hold his head up or move more than a few inches, almost no fur, and he had been shot by a pellet gun. He is now 7 pounds 8 ounces and doing awesome. He does have a heart condition and does get daily medication but is strong and even cops an attitude if a kitten annoys him. We love him like crazy. He will go up for adoption soon, just waiting for him to gain a little more weight and have a dental cleaning and extractions. Marlee will need a dental too, once we have her stable. The vet said that may help her diabetes too. We just love the old kitties. Such personality. I get so upset when people want to surrender them and trade them in because they got a new kitten! They have no value to some people. But we know that's not everyone! Marlee will also be put up for adoption after she's stable and has her dental. If they don't get adopted, they will stay until they eventually pass on, whether that's one year or ten! But as hard as it is to let them go to a new home, we know we have to in order to be able to take in the next one that would be killed somewhere else. You can meet more of our cats at www.commcat.org. We call ourselves reject rescue. (-: Most of ours are not considered very adoptable, but we know there is someone for everyone! Marlee continues to do awesome on her new plan. She's eating great, and her blood glucose readings have been good, nothing to freak me out yet. Just ordered the Methyl B12, thanks for the links! She is such a strong girl. I know she will be OK. We are going for a glucose curve next week Tuesday which I plan on doing myself. I think we will be OK! So much less money than having the vet do it and so much less stress for her!
 
What great work you and your organization do! :thumbup I'm sure you and Venita could share some great stories of rescue, rehoming, fostering, and transporting.

The dental will very likely help stablize and regulate Grandma. Pain, infection, etc., all raise the BG level. In fact, after B.K. had his dental (long overdue, but B.K. had other plans apparently), I was able to drop his Lantus by .25 U.

You absolutely can do your own curve, and it will likely be far more accurate than one at the vet's office - vet stress can send BG levels through the roof! B.K.'s BG level can raise 300+ from vet stress, and even the most mellow Chester will go up 100+.
 
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