Newbie with a probable diabetic civie

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ladylei

Member Since 2012
Hi all!

I know my cat hasn't been officially diagnosed yet with diabetes. Considering his age and some symptoms he has shown in the past (now that I know what they are in cats), I think it is a high probability. My boy Moonshine is 3yo, and had been peeing outside the litterbox. So I took him in right away, which unfortunately was over 24 hours after he peed a small amount with blood in my tub because of this past holiday. Thanks to Dr. Lisa Pierson's website I knew to add some water to his wet food, but kept a close eye on him in case I had to take him to an emergency vet.

By the time the vet saw my Moonshine there was no more blood in the urine, he was back to peeing normal amounts, and no signs of stones or infection. However his urine did have a glucose level of 275, which blood work confirmed. So my husband was sent home with a month's supply of Rx diet m/d and told to bring him back in a month for testing. After my freakout of being diabetic kitty dumb, I have been gorging on information to be as prepared as possible for caring for a diabetic kitty.

-Lei
 
Hi there,

Welcome aboard! A lot of vets put great stock in the rx diets, and its really not necessary. Science Diet products have lousy ingredients. I am sure you know all that after reading Dr. Piersons site ;-)

275 is not too high, but high enough for insulin.. its very possible that diabetes caused the urinary tract issue, since sugar in the urine makes it a breeding ground for bacteria. On diagnosis my Merlyn had a UTI. Did the vet run a culture and sensitivity?

Oh wait the 275 was for urine?? hm I dont think I have seen that measurement for urinary sugar. 275 looks more like blood glucose level. Do you know what the Blood glucose was?
 
First off I would drop the dry food- science diet is NOT a good food choice, anyway, and pick up low carbed canned food. This will hope to keep away any future UTI's forming because of dehydration. Take the food back and say your cat wouldn't eat it and get a refund.

Also pick up a meter to test with and start that off right now. It could be Moonshine is pre-diabetic or that high number could have been vet stress- either way, getting some testing in while Moonshine is at home and relaxed would be the best second change to do.

Heather
 
His BG level was 275. The whole idea of changing his diet without testing seemed incredibly risky and just plain insane to give insulin without testing. My vet is really pushing for me to buy the AlphaTrack monitor if he is diabetic while I would rather have a human one and know that I can get the supplies cheaply and widely available just in case.

The vet did run a C&S by doing a direct draw from his bladder, and that was clean except for the glucose. No signs of infection, no blockage, no stones, no blood.

According to the latest charts thanks to Dr. Pierson my cats' food is typically between 0-3% carbs although not sure on the rabbit since that one is missing. I'll probably get a Relion from Wal-mart to save on costs and to do home testing today though. The fact my husband is pre-diabetic means the money wouldn't be completely wasted anyway.

Though I'm slightly miffed that Moon tricked us into a second helping of dinner last night, though he seems just fine today and was so last night. I think a wall chart to mark off when Moon has gotten his dinner is in order, because I'm terrified that we'll kill the cat if he is definitely diabetic.

Ugh, I can't tell if I'm stressing a normal amount or being too stressed out and need my anxiety meds adjusted. Does everyone feel like they are going to kill their diabetic cat?
 
Unless he is obese, you may free feed him - lack of insulin makes it difficult to use the glucose calories, so he's starving. If he's a "scarf 'n' barf" cat, freeze part of it to thaw slowly and slow him down.
 
Moonshine is a little overweight because we had been free feeding the cats. My older calico Tootsie was gaining quite a bit of weight, so they both have been having their food portioned and scheduled. If they are hungry still they get a tiny bit of dry food to nibble on. Problem with Moonshine is he'll always say he's hungry and act like he's STARVING even if he was just fed, and has a full bowl of dry kibble. He's very dramatic about everything. The tiny bit of dry food is the best compromise I could make with him without locking him up every night.
 
No. Dry. Food.

For any of your cats.

It makes the kidneys work too hard and may cause renal failure.

Read more at Cat Info.
 
Hi there and welcome!

It sounds like you've already learned quite a bit since Monday! :thumbup Have you started blood testing yet? And yes, I would ignore your vet and buy yourself the less expensive ReliOn.

From what it looks like, you haven't started him on insulin yet, so I would take this as an opportunity to do what everyone else has recommended above: remove ALL dry food and feed low carb, wet food only! If you do, he might pleasantly surprise you and not even need to go on insulin. :mrgreen:
 
I have and I HATE doing any dry, because it can cause CRF. I've lost a cat to CRF and it is not pretty. In the final stages constantly giving IV fluids which I did for months, force feeding at times, trying to reduce the phosphorous while keeping the protein high enough that the cat's body won't cannibalize itself. I tried just flat out doing no dry food and it hasn't work out without misery for everyone in my household (and my neighbors since I'm in an apartment) and a lot of messes for my disabled self to clean up. I finally have my cats used to an eating schedule so they eat the food on schedule and have been phasing out the dry kibble with Moonshine. We're almost there to no dry kibble.

I have to wait until tomorrow(later this morning technically) for payday to get the testing supplies, as I've already depleted my bank account and over. Can't even buy more food or necessary medicines for the humans because we spent money on a new pet water fountain, vet care, and the Rx diet food (which will be going back now that I'm not shell-shocked).
 
I also lost my last two cats to CRF. My first one who came down with it, I spent almost 2 months doing the sub-q before it was his time to say good-bye. :cry: About a year and a half later, my second one also came down with it, however it presented differently in her and we never even got to the point that we were able to do sub-q before she also said good-bye. :cry: Looking back, I have a very high suspicion that she had been an undiagnosed HyperT, which may have contributed to the state of her decline. She ate more than my 22-pound male cat yet never weighed more than ~4 pounds her entire life, but she was a rescue kitty from an abusive home so we always thought that's what had stunted her growth. At the time, I had no idea that the Hill's Prescription w/d I'd been feeding them all their lives was probably what caused it. I try not to beat myself up about it because my heart was in the right place even if my trust in the vet's food recommendations wasn't. :?

Depending on how much you spent on the pet water fountain, I might take that back as well, if I were you.

Once you fully transition your kitties to wet food, their need for extra water decreases significantly. And if you add extra water to the wet food, they more than likely won't even drink water often enough to require a water fountain. In fact, since Mikey was transitioned to wet food last month, in both his water fountain and his water bowl (he's spoiled and has upstairs and downstairs "dining areas" in my 2-story apartment), the water level has not moved at all (and yes, I replace it often). This is after his excessive drinking was one of the reasons I brought him into the vet's in the first place. He was emptying BOTH his bowl and water fountain daily in the week before his dx!
 
My older cat Tootsie was taught by my late Boo to always drink moving water and avoid sitting water. Tootsie taught the same to Moonshine along with rolling in the tub. The pet fountain is a fixed item as my cats refuse to drink water otherwise unless it is dripping from the tub faucet. When the older pet fountain died we had to leave the tub constantly dripping, and I rather just have a pet fountain than have a constantly dripping tub faucet. It's bad enough to clean cat toys and cat fur out before using the tub as is.

I'm nervous to be doing the blood testing on his ear but hopefully we'll both get used to it in time.
 
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