AngelaMiao
Member Since 2019
Hello! Newbie here looking for advice for my 10yr old cat named Jack. Jack currently lives with his two cat brothers at my parents house so I'm trying to find a way to keep him in his home without overstressing my parents or ending up with a hypoglycemic cat.
His story started about 5 weeks ago when he started peeing next to the litter box. Last week I noticed that he lost 4 pounds (he used to weigh 21lbs, he now weighs 17lbs) so I took him to the vet and he had a glucose reading of 25 (450) and a urine sugar reading of 56. We haven't started him on insulin yet since his bladder was empty when I took him in so we couldn't do the urinalysis until the next day when his vet wasn't in. He should be calling me today to set up an appointment to make a plan for insulin and diet (will probably go next Wednesday).
His diet is pretty terrible, my cats mostly eat dry food (free feeding) with a can of Friskies pate shared between the 3 cats in the morning. He never had problems with his weight until I brought home my 3rd cat who begs for food until he sees a full bowl, eats a few bites and then leaves the rest for Jack to binge on his own. My other cat is big too (20 pounds) but he's a ragamuffin so he's much more lean being a bigger cat. My oldest cat is a 8lb Abyssinian/Burmese mix who free feeds perfectly and is much more active (he eats on the counter by himself and prefers soft food and real meat so he's not an issue).
As soon as I got the diagnosis (this Wednesday), I went out and bought a bunch of cans of Fancy Feast pate (less sugar than their current Friskies pate) and a bag of Purina DM dry to use for treats and give to my youngest cat when he decides to be a jerk (all my cats open doors). I tried transitioning them straight to wet food only using their usual pate on Thursday, took out 1.5 cans (5.5oz cans) split between the 3 of them - 6hrs later maybe 4 bites had been taken from each bowl. Got a bit worried that they weren't eating enough so I gave them each a 30ml scoop of the DM dry food (which they inhaled) and then tried putting out the new Fancy Feast which they actually enjoyed more than the Friskies (but still didn't eat as much as I wanted).
I'm a bit worried about starting him on insulin, since I only go to my parents once a week and stay overnight (I don't live close enough to go daily), so my dad and brother would be in charge of giving insulin. I'm scared that the might go hypoglycemic while nobody is home since they'd be giving it before work (especially since we're changing him to wet food). Should I maybe wait until he's fully transitioned to wet food before we start the insulin? How big of a difference can a complete change in food make in his blood sugar (he ate REALLY bad before, like way more than the box of food says he should have been eating as a 20lb cat).
Another thing I'm worried about is that my dad and brother agreed to give the insulin (after much convincing and paying off my brother), but they're not too keen about checking his blood sugar. If we were to start insulin slowly, would it be okay for us to limit his glucose testing to a curve test once a week when I'm over? I'd probably do the first one the day he starts insulin, otherwise I don't think I can convince them to do more than check his sugar if he seems sluggish or before giving a PM dose on a day that he didn't eat or get insulin in the morning. Taking him to live with me isn't a great option since I have a tiny house with a big dog - only room for a litter box is in the baby's play room or in the dog area that he would for sure avoid being a timid cat (and he probably wouldn't eat much for a while, took him 3 years to get close to us and he's still afraid of everyone else so imagine with a dog).
Really need some advice on what to expect at the beginning as he starts his insulin and how to manage a change in diet at the same time.
TIA!
His story started about 5 weeks ago when he started peeing next to the litter box. Last week I noticed that he lost 4 pounds (he used to weigh 21lbs, he now weighs 17lbs) so I took him to the vet and he had a glucose reading of 25 (450) and a urine sugar reading of 56. We haven't started him on insulin yet since his bladder was empty when I took him in so we couldn't do the urinalysis until the next day when his vet wasn't in. He should be calling me today to set up an appointment to make a plan for insulin and diet (will probably go next Wednesday).
His diet is pretty terrible, my cats mostly eat dry food (free feeding) with a can of Friskies pate shared between the 3 cats in the morning. He never had problems with his weight until I brought home my 3rd cat who begs for food until he sees a full bowl, eats a few bites and then leaves the rest for Jack to binge on his own. My other cat is big too (20 pounds) but he's a ragamuffin so he's much more lean being a bigger cat. My oldest cat is a 8lb Abyssinian/Burmese mix who free feeds perfectly and is much more active (he eats on the counter by himself and prefers soft food and real meat so he's not an issue).
As soon as I got the diagnosis (this Wednesday), I went out and bought a bunch of cans of Fancy Feast pate (less sugar than their current Friskies pate) and a bag of Purina DM dry to use for treats and give to my youngest cat when he decides to be a jerk (all my cats open doors). I tried transitioning them straight to wet food only using their usual pate on Thursday, took out 1.5 cans (5.5oz cans) split between the 3 of them - 6hrs later maybe 4 bites had been taken from each bowl. Got a bit worried that they weren't eating enough so I gave them each a 30ml scoop of the DM dry food (which they inhaled) and then tried putting out the new Fancy Feast which they actually enjoyed more than the Friskies (but still didn't eat as much as I wanted).
I'm a bit worried about starting him on insulin, since I only go to my parents once a week and stay overnight (I don't live close enough to go daily), so my dad and brother would be in charge of giving insulin. I'm scared that the might go hypoglycemic while nobody is home since they'd be giving it before work (especially since we're changing him to wet food). Should I maybe wait until he's fully transitioned to wet food before we start the insulin? How big of a difference can a complete change in food make in his blood sugar (he ate REALLY bad before, like way more than the box of food says he should have been eating as a 20lb cat).
Another thing I'm worried about is that my dad and brother agreed to give the insulin (after much convincing and paying off my brother), but they're not too keen about checking his blood sugar. If we were to start insulin slowly, would it be okay for us to limit his glucose testing to a curve test once a week when I'm over? I'd probably do the first one the day he starts insulin, otherwise I don't think I can convince them to do more than check his sugar if he seems sluggish or before giving a PM dose on a day that he didn't eat or get insulin in the morning. Taking him to live with me isn't a great option since I have a tiny house with a big dog - only room for a litter box is in the baby's play room or in the dog area that he would for sure avoid being a timid cat (and he probably wouldn't eat much for a while, took him 3 years to get close to us and he's still afraid of everyone else so imagine with a dog).
Really need some advice on what to expect at the beginning as he starts his insulin and how to manage a change in diet at the same time.
TIA!
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