Newly diagnosed and frustrated!!

[Gryff's mom]

My beloved fur-child, Gryffindor, was diagnosed this morning with early FD and a UTI...and I'm feeling very overwhelmed :shock: . I'm certain I can handle the injections and she isn't supposed to have her 'curve' checked until she's been given 5-7 days of her insulin. My problem is, at present, she won't eat. This might be attributed to the fact that she also has a urinary tract infection and was just given her first dose of amox. this afternoon. Even before the UTI she was extremely fussy about what she eats and the vet has advised me to change her to a higher protein diet. In the past I have tried to find the stinkiest, fishiest messy food on the market but she wants nothing to do with it. She only wants her kibbles. I know that she has to eat before I can administer the insulin but how do I make that happen?! Please help! Thanks

--Gryff's mom, Kris

 

[j_o]

What has Kitty been eating all a long? Are you changing his diet right now that could be why he won't eat. Please before you start shooting insulin start home testing it is very important and could help save Gryffindor from going to low after you start insulin. Also what type of insulin is the vet starting him on and how much per shot? This is managable just very over whelming at first just know we have all been there and there are lots of people on here waiting to answer all your questions and help you along the way

 

[Tara & Buster]

Some kitty's are kibble crack addicts. Here's some help on transitioning cats from kibble to wet food: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes On the right hand side there is a link on how to transition your cat from kibble to wet food. Lots of good information. I am fortunate in that my cat will eat anything and everything I put down for him so I don't have any first-hand advice. I'm sure others will come along with helpful tips.

Welcome to the boards! I know this can all be overwhelming, but everyone here on the boards has been where you are and we're here to help! Hang in there!

 

[LynnLee + Mousie]

eating is most important right now, even if it has to be her kibbles because no food, high glucose, infection, etc....is a recipe prime for ketones or ketoacidosis which can be expensive to treat at it's best, or fatal at it's worst. yeah it might take a little longer to get the glucose levels down but we're not talking forever.

dr. lisa pierson is a world renowned vet with her knowledge on nutrition and kitties and she has a section on her site about transitioning stubborn kitties. her site is www.catinfo.org and if you look to the right of the home page you'll see a link about transitioning.

i would let her have her kibbles if she'll eat that for now and check out the transitioning tips and work on that. there are i believe 2 kitty kibbles that are lower in carbs than the rest so even perhaps try working them into her diet as a start. they are wellness core and evo crap i'm drawing a blank on that one :shock: but i'm sure someone will have that for you in just a few. i know petsmart carries the wellness core though.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hello and welcome to FDMB,

All of us here understand how overwhelming this can be at first. We have all been where you are now, so please know that you have our full support. :smile:

Just a thought but...maybe you'd find the situtation a little easier to deal with if you divide it up into bite-size chunks of 'short term' and 'longer term' goals.

Short term - It seems to me that the most important thing right now is that your cat eats. So don't be shy about feeding her favourite foods. Some people find that sprinking food with tuna juice or parmesan can tempt appetite. Don't concern yourself about changing her diet right now. You will have plenty of time to do that later.

Longer term - Yes, a change of diet will certainly help the diabetes AND will help prevent any subsequent UTI's. But don't attempt to remove the dry food until you've learned how to test your cat's blood glucose at home. Removing dry food can dramatically reduce blood glucose ('BG') levels in some cats and so can mean that a reduced insulin dose is required.

You say that your cat was diagnosed with "early FD and a UTI"..? Well, the UTI may be raising your cat's BG levels, and once the UTI resolves the BG levels may drop. The word "early" would seem to imply that your cat's BG numbers aren't that bad. It will be interesting to see what those levels are once the UTI resolves....

 

[Maggies Mom Debby]

You say that your cat was diagnosed with "early FD and a UTI"..? Well, the UTI may be raising your cat's BG levels, and once the UTI resolves the BG levels may drop. The word "early" would seem to imply that your cat's BG numbers aren't that bad. It will be interesting to see what those levels are once the UTI resolves....

I totally agree with this. The UTI could be the only reason your cat's glucose was high. Did the vet tell you what the number was?

 

[KPassa]

You say that your cat was diagnosed with "early FD and a UTI"..? Well, the UTI may be raising your cat's BG levels, and once the UTI resolves the BG levels may drop. The word "early" would seem to imply that your cat's BG numbers aren't that bad. It will be interesting to see what those levels are once the UTI resolves....

I totally agree with this. The UTI could be the only reason your cat's glucose was high. Did the vet tell you what the number was?

Me too! When my cat was first diagnosed with a UTI and high BG levels, the vet wanted to take a "wait and see" approach. His numbers were too high (in the 500s) to NOT give him insulin while we waited for the infection to clear out, but the vet was hopeful that once the infection was gone, his numbers might return to normal. In my case, his numbers did drop (to the low 400s), but never returned to normal. In your case, however, it sounds like they're not that high to begin with, so there is hope this might be a side-effect of the UTI. I hope that's the case for you and your cat's sake.

 

[Gryff's mom]

Thank you all so much for your kind words of support and considerate information. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone. :smile:

Right now my main goal is to continue with her amoxicillin and get her UTI under control so, hopefully, she can regain her appetite. Luckily she is drinking water and voiding. Regarding her new diagnosis of FD, she was actually tested a little under two weeks ago, while her blood glucose was slightly elevated and she was dumping a small amount of sugar in her urine, her fructosamine was normal. My usual vet advised me to monitor her behavior and bring her back for a follow up fructosamine in 4-5 weeks. She has always been a VERY nervous kitty (thanks to a horrible start in life from awful and irresponsible pet owners). Bringing her to the vet is quite the ordeal for both of us so I'm sure this played a huge factor in her elevated BG (mine BG was probably high as well, lol). It was her lethargy and lack of appetite that prompted me to bring her in to the Veterinary ER yesterday, 10 days after her normal fructosamine.

I've decided to hold off on administering her insulin until she's eating again. It's been months since I've tried changing her food to soft, so currently she's not even eating the food she normally likes. Today I've started giving her small amounts of a high protein/nutrient liquid formula for senior cats via a small kitty bottle. She's not too fond of that...at all! I'll monitor her BGs at home as well. If I see that her numbers are out of range then I'll start with the prescribed 1U of Lantus (glargine) daily. I've read that this form of insulin has worked very well with Feline Diabetes. The Vet himself has a cat with the same issue and he swears by Lantus. We'll see how things pan out. I'm saying a prayer to St. Francis that she turns a corner soon...for the better.

Thanks again, Gryff's mom, Kris