Newly diagnosed 2; Lucifer

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Cever

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Hi,

My name is Carla and my 15yr old cat Lucifer (named after the Disney cat from Cinderella) has been diagnosed with diabetes today. I know a little about the disease in humans, as my father in law has type II and an uncle of mine died a while back of type I. But this is my intiation in the field of feline diabetes and I am a little at a loss.

Back story:
We noticed that he was losing some weight for a month or two now, but outside of that he didn't have any symptoms until about three weeks ago. Well, as far as we knew. He did drink lots and lots. But about three weeks ago we noticed that kitty litter kept accumulation on his hind paws and quarters. At first we thought it might have been the combination of peeing a lot and the kitty litter, so we switched the latter. Then last week I noticed that he seemed to become weaker in his hind legs and I made the appointment at the Vet's. Then last night (they live in their own room in our basement), Luci didn't come upstairs anymore. That worried me, but our appointment was this morning.
At the Vet's they told me it was diabetes, and after testing they told me his bloodsugar was off the charts. I.e. they couldn't measure it. But since he tested negative for ketoacidosis, they didn't keep him and sent us home with a prescription for twice daily insulin (1 unit) and wet food M/D. My cats were both on exclusively dry food.


I gave him his shot this morning, and then just now when I gave him his food.
But I am still so worried Because he refuses to eat and he is soooo weak! But logically it can't be a hypo since he had such a high bloodsugar.
I plan to call the vet in the morning, but if anyone has some experience for me they could share I would be much obliged. It doesn't help that my husband is in Europe for business and don't really have anyone to turn to here. We are originally Dutch and have only been in the country for the last year...

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble..
 
Welcome! It is very scary and overwhelming at first.

Yes, he needs to eat. This vet has great ideas for transitioning. www.catinfo.org. You also can try dressing it with something he likes - a treat, tuna juice or tuna. Some else that sometimes help is to chop up the food, add warm water to make a kind of gravy.

Good starting dose. What kind of insulin?

Start reading the other threads from new members, read the Health and Nutrition links on the main page and the FAQs. We found it a good idea to print off stuff and keep it in a 3 ring notebook.
 
Cever said:
Back story:
At the Vet's they told me it was diabetes, and after testing they told me his bloodsugar was off the charts. I.e. they couldn't measure it. But since he tested negative for ketoacidosis, they didn't keep him and sent us home with a prescription for twice daily insulin (1 unit) and wet food M/D. My cats were both on exclusively dry food.

I gave him his shot this morning, and then just now when I gave him his food.
But I am still so worried Because he refuses to eat and he is soooo weak! But logically it can't be a hypo since he had such a high bloodsugar.
I plan to call the vet in the morning, but if anyone has some experience for me they could share I would be much obliged. It doesn't help that my husband is in Europe for business and don't really have anyone to turn to here. We are originally Dutch and have only been in the country for the last year...

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble..
Click to expand...

Welcome Carla.

It could be pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas. Try finger feeding the food (canned and very mushy) or getting an oral syringe from the pharmacy and syring-feeding Lucifer.

And, if you are giving insulin without testing his blood glucose, it could indeed be a hypo; you don't know how the insulin is affecting him. Please read the following link and print it out if you can.
How to treat hypos

Here's a spot of reading on nutrition to get you started: Cat Info. You'll note the emphasis is on low carbohydrate, all canned diets.

To see some information on various brands of cat food and the % of calories from carbs:
Binky's Page
Pet Food Nutrionional Values Comparison
Aim for under 10% of calories from carbohydrates. Notice that a lot of these foods are available over the counter and for much less than prescription veterinary diets. A readily available product are Fancy Feast pates - ex Turky and Giblets. You might be able to get him to eat that, especially if you warm it up a bit.
 
Cever said:
Hi,

My name is Carla and my 15yr old cat Lucifer (named after the Disney cat from Cinderella) has been diagnosed with diabetes today. I know a little about the disease in humans, as my father in law has type II and an uncle of mine died a while back of type I. But this is my intiation in the field of feline diabetes and I am a little at a loss.

Back story:
We noticed that he was losing some weight for a month or two now, but outside of that he didn't have any symptoms until about three weeks ago. Well, as far as we knew. He did drink lots and lots. But about three weeks ago we noticed that kitty litter kept accumulation on his hind paws and quarters. At first we thought it might have been the combination of peeing a lot and the kitty litter, so we switched the latter. Then last week I noticed that he seemed to become weaker in his hind legs and I made the appointment at the Vet's. Then last night (they live in their own room in our basement), Luci didn't come upstairs anymore. That worried me, but our appointment was this morning.
At the Vet's they told me it was diabetes, and after testing they told me his bloodsugar was off the charts. I.e. they couldn't measure it. But since he tested negative for ketoacidosis, they didn't keep him and sent us home with a prescription for twice daily insulin (1 unit) and wet food M/D. My cats were both on exclusively dry food.


I gave him his shot this morning, and then just now when I gave him his food.
But I am still so worried Because he refuses to eat and he is soooo weak! But logically it can't be a hypo since he had such a high bloodsugar.
I plan to call the vet in the morning, but if anyone has some experience for me they could share I would be much obliged. It doesn't help that my husband is in Europe for business and don't really have anyone to turn to here. We are originally Dutch and have only been in the country for the last year...

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble..
Click to expand...

Welcome to the site Carla; you are in a good place now, here, and we can help you get Lucifer onto a healthy track.

First, what insulin are you giving of 1u dose shots. I prefer Levemir, but Lantus and even PZI are good insulins.
Depending on the insulin, you'll do things a bit differently, and decide on doses differently.

I'll comment on the food first. Vet food is not very good and has poor ingredients, so you will be best to return that food and tell the vet your cats won't eat it and you want your money back.
Here are some food links for you. Look through Binky;s list and pick some foods that are under 10% carbs which is best for Lucifer and even your other cats. Many people just feed their cats fancy feast pates or friskies pates... no grilled or gravies.
Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition

Since you mentioned going low, hypo, here are some links with info for you but cats are not great at showing signs, so just like your relatives did, it's best to test Lucifer's BG at home.

List of Hypo symptoms
How to treat HYPOS-They can kill! Print this out!
Jojo’s HYPO TOOLKIT

You can pick up a normal human BG meter at the pharmacy, Relion is good and has the most economical test strips, but you can use others if you prefer. I like Bayer contour the best, and also OneTouch. Just stay away from any of the Free Style meters as many people have had false readings. When you pick up a meter, test strips, and lancets for the meter, also get a container of KETOSTIX so you can test Lucifer's urine for ketones.
Testing on cat’s ear

For the weak hind legs, talk to your vet about neuropathy and giving Lucifer B12 as it will help to clear up the leg weakness. B12 is great for many things and I give my cats B12 shots weekly which has helped with pancreas inflammation a great deal.
Jasper-neuropathy site-B12 dose

Please ask any questions you have, and someone will be able to help you get the answers.
 
Thank so much for the replies, they do help.

Luci has Lantus as insulin. So that should be good I guess. I will try to pick up a blood tester tomorrow, although shopping with my two baby girls (1 and 3) on my own is quite difficult. But Luci is worth it, definitely. I tried finger feeding him, but no go. Same goes for their normal dry food and the leftover whiskas wet food from his sister. Who does like his M/D, btw. I am glad to say that he is drinking.

We'll see how tomorrow morning goes, but chances are that I will be calling the clinic again!
 
Hi, just a follow up...

Luci is in the emergency hospital right now. He is severely dehydrated, not eating, probably has got panceatitis and elevated ketone values in his urine.
Thank you again for your advice, I don't think I would be this alert in bringing him to the animal ER without it.

Carla
 
I hope he gets better soon! Once you are home with him, you'll want to start hometesting. The above links are great. I wasn't sure I could do it at first, but it's easy now. When you switch to low-carb wet food and start giving insulin, you are likely going to get much lower numbers than before, so it's important to hometest. Since he's so high now, hypo probably isn't a big concern, but it will be something to watch out for later.

I'm sorry he had to go back in, and I hope they get him straightened out soon!
Please come back and update us when you can. Good luck!
 
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