new to the board - recent diagnosis, advice please?

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RLCincy

Member Since 2012
Just found this board today and I'm glad I did. Here's what's going on with my cat Clarence:

He is a 9-year-old domestic shorthair, 12 lbs., dry food diet his whole life, LOVES Fancy Feast when I would give it as a weekly treat.

I took him to the vet 2 months ago after noticing increased water drinking and urination. Glucose reading was 370 and the vet diagnosed him with diabetes. He prescribed Science Diet M/D dry food and Clarence has been on it since. Had him re-tested 2 days ago and the glucose was 390, but the vet said the increase could have been from the cat being overly "amped up" and scared. So basically the food hasn't helped. A urine sample was not taken during the first visit (empty bladder) but the second visit revealed a trace amount of ketones. I am also waiting on the results of a urine culture, since the vet found small amounts of blood cells in the urine.

This is a new vet and I want to trust his judgment, but I'm torn. I'm more than happy to dump the prescription food and go to all wet food, since I know Clarence loves Fancy Feast. Should I do this immediately? He is NOT on insulin yet, so this shouldn't be a problem right? Is the 390 glucose level high enough that he should go on insulin? Quite frankly, I can't keep dropping $300 a month to have him tested, PLUS the cost of insulin...

Any suggestions are helpful. Thanks!
 
Hi,
Since Clarence is not on insulin yet, then absolutely YES, you can ditch that m/d dry and go with fancy feast canned. Just make sure it says "classic" on the can, because they are all low-carb, while the gravy style ones are not.

390 is high enough for insulin, yes. BUT, that Hills M/D is actually high in carbs, and in a sane universe, nobody, even a vet, would ever suggest it is good for a diabetic cat to eat. The only people who think that are the sales reps for Hills. It is garbage, and is most likely the reason you have seen no improvement in Clarence's numbers. It's not formulated to help a diabetic, regardless of what it says on the bag. It is lower carb than other dry foods, but still way too high in carbs for a diabetic.

Also, if you get a meter and strips, you can test him yourself at home, and never have to pay the vet to do it again. And like it sounds like your vet already understands, the numbers at the vet office are probably inflated due to the stress of the trip to the vet. The numbers you get at home won't include "stress" in the numbers.

If you need to convince your vet about the Hills stuff, here's a link to share with him:
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes
The site belongs to a vet in case he's concerned about "don't believe everything you read on the internet" ;-)

Carl
 
hi and welcome to the best place to be if you have a diabetic cat.

A lot of people on this board are incredibly knowledgeable and all are familiar with caring for a diabetic cat. The vets deal with many different animals and cannot be experts on every disease.
The combined experiences on this board do, in my opinion, greatly outweigh what your vet knows.

Go with wet food - most of us had our cats on dry and most were offered the Science Diet M/D and then, most of us returned it.
Its not just the carbs but also the fact that dry food is just so bad because of the dehydration risk. Cats don't drink much water and can easily dehydrate on dry food. My diabetic cat - Honey - was on prescription diet dry food for years. I am completely convince that this is what caused her diabetes and I could kick myself for not finding out about it earlier.

Regarding home testing vs testing at the vets: home testing is cheaper, less stress for the cat and is the only way to go if Clarence does go on insulin - you need to know its safe to give him each insulin shot and that he won't go hypo.

There's a lot to take in and you have to do it in a short time because you have to make some big decisions. Its pretty scarey but we've all been through it and I'm convinced that my cat wouldn't be doing nearly as well as she is if I hadn't followed advice found on this board.

Best wishes, Denise
 
Thank you Carl and Denise.

I will switch to all wet food. Do you recommend one 3 oz. can at each feeding, twice a day?

Regarding insulin, is it too risky to wait another month to make a decision on it? Is it worth it to wait and see if the wet food decreases the glucose number?
 
If the wet food is going to have a positive effect on the numbers, you will see that within just two or three days.

See how he does on the two meals, 3oz. a meal diet. He may need a bit more, but the easiest way to tell is if he maintains his weight. If the numbers do come down, he'll be utilizing those calories more efficiently than he would be if his numbers are high. That's the big problem with diabetes. If it's uncontrolled, a cat will eat like a pig but still lose weight because their bodies can't metabolize food correctly. The initial signs of diabetes that most people notice are increased appetite while losing weight, increase in drinking, and increased urination. As things get better, all of those symptoms show improvement.

Carl
 
My signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools has additional, supplemental methods for checking your cats health.

The link for Vet Interview topics will let you see how up to date your vet is, or what to ask if interviewing for a new vet.
 
Hi, and welcome to FDMB!

Yes, as you rightly say, as your cat isn't yet on insulin this is a perfect time to switch to feeding wet low carb food and completely 'Ditch The Dry'. Because your cat's system is accustomed to dry food you may find that his poop is looser initially.

Monitoring your cat's blood glucose at home will really help your cat and give you a much greater feeling of control over the situation. Oh, and it'll save you a heap of money in vet's fees too!

This forum is a great place to be, and you will soon feel at home here. :smile:
 
Clarence has been on all wet food these past 2 days and is a happy guy. So far so good. He and my wife and I will have to get used to "feeding times" but it seems like it will be a seamless transition! I also bought him some new treats at Pet Smart called Vitakitty. They are all natural high protein chicken breast snacks that he has taken to as well. Anyone have experience with these?

I will look into home testing - fingers crossed he doesn't have to go on the juice...

Talking to the vet tomorrow about Clarence's urine culture and next steps. Thanks once again to everyone who responded. Will keep you up to date on our buddy's progress!
 
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