Newbie

[Sarah/Nancy]

Just found out last week my cat Sarah of 16yrs has diabetes. Just started insulin this week. How long will it take for her to stop peeing so much. She also had a urinary track infection but that seems to be clearing up. All in all she is doing ok have not started to bg test at home yet because she is going back next week to have bg ckecked by vet.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Welcome. I'm pretty new myself but can tell you that the peeing hasn't gotten less for Max. It did when we thought he was in remission after a month on lantus but he had to go back on it. When the BG is where it should be that should take care of it. The clearing of the infection might help as well.

Elise

 

[Arienna]

Theo's peeing cleared up within a week of them resolving the DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis) and the accompanying infection. His BG has thus far remained high... but every cat is different.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Hi Sarah's caregiver and sugarprincess Sarah and welcome to the message board.

I'm Deb and that handsome tuxedo pictured to the right is my sugardude Wink.

Would you share your first name with us?
What insulin are you using?
What is the dose of insulin?
What food are you feeding?
Would you like to learn how to home testing the BG (blood glucose) levels? It can save you a lot of money and all those trips to the vet. Plus, it will help to keep your kitty Sarah safer, if you know what the BG levels are before you give Sarah her insulin.

We'd like to help you get Sarah feeling better and get those pee patch sizes smaller. How big would you say the pee patches are now? Big as your fist? larger than your fist? smaller than your fist? Really sticky still? How many times a day?

 

[Sarah/Nancy]

Thanks all for the nice welcome my name is Nancy and I just started her on Humilin N this past week. This is what the vet gave us. She takes a total of 2 units a day about an hour after I feed her. Her urine infection is clearing up and she seems ok except for the peeing which by the way is still alot. she goes about 4 times a day and pretty big puddles because she will not use litter box still. Fun times, I'm feeding her Fancy Feast Classics wet. Still a little dry not alot. trying to get a some weight back on her. She is about 14 or 15 yrs young i was never really sure how old she was when we got her. My daughter brought her home from a friend. I havent started ckecking bg yet taking her back next wed for vet to do it then I will start. A little nervous about sticking her ear. She takes the shot ok though. there is so much to read overwhelmed to say the least. Seems like this is going to be a bit risky for her.

 

[ebuckley]

I know just how you feel. I was in your shoes a few weeks ago when I found this message board. But the generous folks here have totally saved the day for Napa and me. It is overwhelming, but oh so very helpful. And just like everyone said it would, it is getting easier for us.

Napa's urine output has decreased but not quite back to normal after starting insulin about a month ago. I wish I could help out with the outside the box problem. But if she does go in the box again, we got Worlds Best Litter and it doesn't gunk up as much as Tidy Cat under Lake Napa.

 

[BJM]

Litterbox Avoidance

After you rule out any medical issues (infection, stones, etc) here is a list I compiled previously. Some of the items may not apply.

***********************************************************************

You might try an integrated approach using multiple options from the list below on a consistent basis:

* start with crating, using a medium large crate (30" long is big enough for cat and a litterbox) until progress. She probably won't go where she'd have to lie in it ... but if she does, something is wrong and it may be medical.

* tarps and newspapers may be easier on clean up if you don't crate her

* feeding on a schedule and then placing her in the litterbox (maybe in a crate) within 15-20 minutes after eating, until she goes, then praising and letting her out.

* Feliway/Comfort Zone - friendly facial pheromones which reduce stress and may reduce marking behavior. Cheapest prices are usually on the net (ex http://www.LambertVetSupply.com ) I've used it and it helps.

* Cat Attract litter - supposed to help attract cat to litter box

* rule out arthritis or constipation - pain causes box avoidance

* watch if the other cats ever attack her in the box and if so, you may need to keep her separated from them. I've got one the others attack, completely unprovoked.

* littebox should be 1.5 times length of cat, litter cleaned frequently, but avoid really strong smelling cleaners as cats may avoid them due to the scent.

* you've got to get residual odors out from areas which were 'nailed' - Nature's Miracle is one option and has good reviews. It _can_ require repeated applications.

* regular play sessions of about 15 minutes to reduce stress and promote bond with you

* reward desirable behaviors - if you see her use the box, praise and treat her

* put unpleasant textures in places she has peed to encourage avoidance

* read some of this author's books: http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/ she's pretty good - ex "Starting from Scratch"

Good luck.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Hi Nancy! Thanks for introducing yourself.

She takes a total of 2 units a day about an hour after I feed her

How often are you dosing the Humulin N insulin? Is that 2U broken up into multiple doses over the course of the day?

There are 3 better insulins for use in a cat than the Humulin N your vet prescribed. Lantus, Levimir and Prozinc. The problem with the Humulin N in cats, is that the duration is so short, usually lasting no more than 6-8 hours. It also drops the BG's really fast and then shoots the numbers back up quickly because of the short duration. It's good you are waiting an hour after feeding before you give this insulin. Because it's so fast acting, your kitty Sarah needs to have food on board in order to counteract the effects of the quick onset of the Humulin.

That's great that you have started to feed your Sarah kitty the Fancy Feast classic pate foods. Those are nice and low carb and are a big help for our diabetic kitties in getting their BG (blood glucose) levels controlled. A food change to a low carb food like that can drop the BG's 100 points or more. Once you eliminate all the dry food, you may find the BG levels dropping even more.

Once the UTI clears up, that can drop the BG numbers also. Hope it does this for your Sarah.

Perhaps this article from a vet journal, would help you and your vet to understand more about treating diabetes in cats. AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines in Dogs and Cats was published back in May 2010 and gathers together some of the more recent information on treating diabetes.

I havent started ckecking bg yet taking her back next wed for vet to do it then I will start. A little nervous about sticking her ear

Most of us use human glucometers for home testing. The test strips and the meter costs are so much lower for a human glucometer than a pet specific meter. I switched from an Alphatrak pet meter to the Relion Confirm almost a year ago and have been very happy with it. It needs the same small blood drop size as the alphatrak and the Relion test strips are 1/3 to 1/6th of the cost of the Alphatrak test strips (price varies with your vet's markup). We have reference ranges for the pet meters versus the human meters if you're interested.

We have ear testing tips for you too. Let us know if you'd like to see these and I'll give you the link.