Newly diagnosed 15 year old male cat

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He was playing with toys and following me around the house like he used to do. It's amazing to see that he "feels good" again. I had no idea how slow he had gotten. I thought that maybe he was just getting old. Boy, I was wrong. His frisky spirit is back!
 
jenniferg627 said:
He was playing with toys and following me around the house like he used to do. It's amazing to see that he "feels good" again. I had no idea how slow he had gotten. I thought that maybe he was just getting old
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Now you know why one of the mantras we have is, "A cat is more than a bunch of numbers." The 5 P's, peeing, pooping, purring, preening, and playing in combination with the appetite tells us a lot about how a cat is doing. From what you have said, he's doing much better. Congrats!
 
Just a quick note on Howie. He's maintaining a pretty good level and receiving 2 shots a day. It has been difficult to find that happy medium but I think we have finally done it. Thanks to all in helping me understand this disease and all of the tips and recommendations offered.

Jennifer
 
Howie is doing great! He eats and drinks like normal, activity seems to be better and he hasn't needed a shot since Friday morning. We were doing shots every 12 hours, with him not going over 200 for a week. Last week we were able to keep it between 55 and 160. Friday morning he was around 150, he got a shot and by evening, was still at 90. He's been staying between 70 and 120 since. Is it too premature to be excited? We are obviously still testing his BG levels but think we will start testing only once in the morning and once in the evening to keep things in check. I am just shocked at how quickly he responded to the insulin (less than 3 weeks of injections).
 
If you get 14 days with glucose between 40-130 mg/dL and no insulin, he'll be officially off the juice (OTJ).
 
He might well be going into remission, to help him you want to give frequent mini meals through the day instead of a few large ones. That way it will help support and not overwhelm the pancreas.

Keep us updated!

Wendy
 
Thanks guys. That's what I'm trying to do is many frequent small meals and keeping a close eye on his numbers. Cautiously optimistic.
 
Paws crossed. We want 14 days of 40-130 or so. No dry food or dry HC treats either. After 14 days we can give tips to keep him OTJ if he gets there. If he doesnt, he might need a small amount of insulin to help support the pancreas a little longer. But lets see!

Wendy
 
We have no dry food in the house. We do keep the snacks just in case he dropped and gave them once (45). He and his sister got 2 each last night. I am trying not to give any of that stuff. His daily intake is Fancy Feast classics, which were his favorites to begin with (so we were lucky there). He's been fine with just the wet food for a month now. Weight is good, food/water is good. I will keep a close eye on him.

Thanks again everyone! I will post an update in a week or so!
 
The last dose was 9/27. He did get to 150 on tuesday night but immediately went down to 105 by the time I went to bed. He's been under 130 since Wed and still no shots.
 
Ok then count today as day 5. Also it will help his pancreas if you give frequent mini meals instead of big ones. And no high carb foods at all including treats. If he can stay 50-130 for 2 weeks then we consider him in remission.
 
My little guy, Kitten, was 15 when he was diagnosed (it was steroid induced) and he went into remission rather quickly as well. This board and its wonderful people was indeed a Godsend.

From Kitten and I...fingers and paws crossed....GO HOWIE!!!!
 
Thanks! You guys are awesome! Howie's doing great. He's still staying between 55-120 every day. I couldn't be happier!
 
Just a quick note to say hi and post an update on Howie. He has continued to stay in the normal range (60-80) since my last post. I am continuing to feed the same foods (FF Classics) and his weight is stable. Is there anything else I should be doing?
 
There are a number of things on my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools that may be helpful - regular weight checks, keeping track of water consumption and output, how to check for dehydration (any time you see vomiting or diarrhea!), and so on.
 
Wow its been 2 weeks already.... so CONGRATULATIONS!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Tips to stay OTJ

We say a cat is in remission if the cat can maintain BG levels for 14 days between 40-120 with most of that spent under 100. However, please keep in mind that once a diabetic always a diabetic.

1. Never feed dry - not even treats. If you change wet food types, be 100% sure the new food is also low carb and same low carb % as your current food. Some cats are very carb sensitive and an increase from 3-6% to 8-10% can spike the BG’s. Don’t feed if you aren’t sure!
2. Weigh every 2 weeks to 1 month to watch for weight changes. Too much of a weight gain can cause loss of remission.
3. Measure blood once a week, indefinitely. You want to catch a relapse quickly.
4. No steroids or oral meds with sugar - remind your vet whenever giving you any medication. Always double check.
5. Monitor food intake, peeing and drinking. If increasing, a sign of losing remission.
6. Regular vet checks for infection such as dental , ear or UTI. And get them treated quick!

If he does fall out of remission you need to be more aggressive and resolve issues/ back on insulin as soon as possible as the window for a second remission is tight if any.


Wendy
 
I guess I'm a little overkill....I still test once a day. If you say once a week, maybe I can ease up a bit. The funny thing is he doesn't mind the tests at all. I did notice that he has a harder time jumping on the couch and beds. So I got him a set of stairs and my dad built a ramp for him. He loves it. I have been monitoring the water/urination and it seems to be normal. Nothing close to what it was before diagnosis.

Needless to say, he looks and feels much better. His coat couldn't be more clean and silky. I had noticed that he was starting to get scruffy looking...even with me cleaning him and all. Now, he's cleaning himself more often and is a lot more playful. I think we caught this just in time.

I will be out of town for 4-5 days in a few weeks, so I will continue testing daily and then let it go while I'm gone. That's a lot to ask of someone taking care of them while I'm gone. SOOOOOO glad we are off the insulin. It was going to be tricky for someone else to do it.

Very thankful for everyone on this site. All of the support and advice has been a life saver. My vet really thought this would escalate to me having to make the choice of putting him down. Now, he's a very happy boy!!

dancing_cat
 
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