Newly diagnosed and questions

[Carol Leashefski]

Hi there,
My male cat Woody has been just dx with diabetes. This is not my first go round with this dx and a cat. However, this cat is very different than my female cat. He was initially on 1 unit twice a day and then when his behavior was very odd (he was under my son's bed and he NEVER goes under there) I knew something was wrong. I travel for work so my husband is the one who is responsible for his care during the week. Initially, when he sent me a text he though perhaps he did something wrong with the insulin shot. That was not the case. He was not absorbing the insulin through the scruff of his neck so now it goes in his flank. He hates it. He is on prescription food wet and very little dry. Everything I have read says no dry. I think that is probably where we went wrong with Salem my last diabetic cat. She had wet and dry. Cats are used to eating throughout the day and so is he. I have now decided to feed him large morning and evening meals and small meals throughout the day. That seems to be working. It is wet food that he is getting.

I have read a number of posts here and on a FB site that Fancy Feast is also a good cat food provided it is not the gravy kind. I don't know if I should get a few cans of that for his smaller meals since he is on the prescription food. People have said the scripted food is not worth it. I really need to figure out a good routine for him when it is just my husband because it stresses all of us out. If he can't get his insulin in the flank I say he should use the scruff and be done with it. It is less stressful for everyone. Thoughts? Does anyone feed their cat regular tuna fish? Woody will be 9 in April. He is on Lantis 2 units am and pm now. My vet wants us to wait another week before we test him but I want to do it this morning so I know his number before he gets insulin. I use the alphatrak2.

 

[Sharon14]

Hi Carol, in the future post your questions in the main Health forum- You'll get more eyes on them there. To answer your question, Fancy Feast Classic is a great, low carb food for your kitty. Tuna is fine as an occasional treat, but doesn't have all the nutrients needed, so is not a good choice for frequent feeding. The scruff is fine for your shots. Perhaps when things settle down and you get a routine going you can try the flank again if you feel it's necessary. I'm so glad you're testing! It's the only way to keep Woody safe and know how well the insulin is working. Things will get easier, I promise! Keep reading and asking questions.

 

[Sheli and Kitter]

Hi Carol, in the future post your questions in the main Health forum- You'll get more eyes on them there. To answer your question, Fancy Feast Classic is a great, low carb food for your kitty. Tuna is fine as an occasional treat, but doesn't have all the nutrients needed, so is not a good choice for frequent feeding. The scruff is fine for your shots. Perhaps when things settle down and you get a routine going you can try the flank again if you feel it's necessary. I'm so glad you're testing! It's the only way to keep Woody safe and know how well the insulin is working. Things will get easier, I promise! Keep reading and asking questions.

Hi there,
My male cat Woody has been just dx with diabetes. This is not my first go round with this dx and a cat. However, this cat is very different than my female cat. He was initially on 1 unit twice a day and then when his behavior was very odd (he was under my son's bed and he NEVER goes under there) I knew something was wrong. I travel for work so my husband is the one who is responsible for his care during the week. Initially, when he sent me a text he though perhaps he did something wrong with the insulin shot. That was not the case. He was not absorbing the insulin through the scruff of his neck so now it goes in his flank. He hates it. He is on prescription food wet and very little dry. Everything I have read says no dry. I think that is probably where we went wrong with Salem my last diabetic cat. She had wet and dry. Cats are used to eating throughout the day and so is he. I have now decided to feed him large morning and evening meals and small meals throughout the day. That seems to be working. It is wet food that he is getting.

I have read a number of posts here and on a FB site that Fancy Feast is also a good cat food provided it is not the gravy kind. I don't know if I should get a few cans of that for his smaller meals since he is on the prescription food. People have said the scripted food is not worth it. I really need to figure out a good routine for him when it is just my husband because it stresses all of us out. If he can't get his insulin in the flank I say he should use the scruff and be done with it. It is less stressful for everyone. Thoughts? Does anyone feed their cat regular tuna fish? Woody will be 9 in April. He is on Lantis 2 units am and pm now. My vet wants us to wait another week before we test him but I want to do it this morning so I know his number before he gets insulin. I use the alphatrak2.

Hi Carol, I'm new to this forum and to Cat diabetes as my cat was just diagnosed as well.

I read that about the scruff of the neck and asked my vet today and she said yes, anywhere on middle or lower part absorbs better. My cat has been doing some hanging out in weird places and after getting him tested today at the vet, he is way too low. We went through a very terrifying hypoglycemic episode. Everyone here on the board was so helpful, they helped me so much threw a night of terror.

The vet said mentioned to start the curve testing the second week after a steady dosage has been achieved. and now she is lowering his dosage from 1 unit 2x daily to 1x daily, but no more insulin until it comes back up to 200.

Also, the vet (I go to a holistic vet) said I don't need to use the m/d prescription canned food, that taste of the wild (blue buffalo) or core (wellness) are good alternatives. I like blue buffalo food because it is human grade, cold processed (so as not to lose nutrition). I'm not so sure about Core from Wellness. As to your comment about wet/dry, she gave me a site catinfo.org and it talks all about how cats are obligate carnivores with very little thirst drive. In the wild, they obtain the water from their food. I have always fed dry and was floored to read this. I have switched from the m/d because the cost was just too much, plus they don't mention anything about using human grade food. The animal food industry has been known for using diseased meat that is rejected for human use.

anyway, my cats are complaining about this whole change over, liking to have their food available to graze, so I've just started this journey.

Back to testing. I saw how important that it all is with Kitter's response this week. my vet is lowering his dosage from 1 unit 2x daily to 1x daily, but no more insulin until it comes back up to 200. When I do start him back on the insulin, I am going to do the testing at least every time I give a shot.

 

[Sheli and Kitter]

p.s. as a treat, regular tuna fish is probably good, though I'm a bit paranoid about any fish that comes from the Pacific after the Japan melt down and I don't think there is a way to know where tuna fish is coming from. that's just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Carol Leashefski]

Hi there,
Thanks for the info. I was on that site as well and today I researched the info and I bought one of the recommended cat foods as well. I'm upstairs right now but I can tell you he loved it. I also purchased via amazon a self feeder because he was fed dry food as well as wet prior to this dx. This self feeder has ice packs and is for wet food. He was on CD for urinary issues. I say I am done with animals as we have had a rough several years. My female cat Salem had diabetes and that was so stressful. She was still fed wet and dry which was prescription. I did what I thought was research but nothing like today. We put both our dogs down on the same day at the same time. They were 13.5 and 14 yrs old. They aged together and both were ready. It was a tough day for us but we did the right thing for both of them. I lost my jack russell to GI cancer and I just can't see myself with anymore animals after this one. I know that sounds terrible but I am determined to get Woody on track with the right food so perhaps he needs little to no insulin. Thanks again.

 

[Sheli and Kitter]

Carol, that's awesome. I will check into that feeder. I hadn't seen that yet.

Carol, you sound just like my husband about loss and not wanting to invest yourself into loving another animal. We are a 50 something couple with no kids. I will tell you a long story and hope it will help. I have always loved animals and they have always been my "kids". My husband, Andy, never liked cats, but when we got married (at 23), I had to have an animal friend, so we adopted a cat (we were living in apartments at the time). He never bonded with her, but eventually we rented a house and some well meaning mom cat deposited her kittens in my garage which I had forgotten to close. My husband was traveling, so he didn't go through the 3 to 6 week hand feeding period I did, but I knew he wouldn't want to keep them, so I went about finding homes for them. When he got home, I had found homes for 2 kittens, but still had 2 left. He told me under no uncertain terms, that we would NOT be adopting a second cat and those two little darlings had to go. I agreed and proceeded to try to find homes for them, but magically in that next week, he fell in love with one of the remaining boys. It turned out that he and this cat, Kacey, bonded and we ended up keeping him. This was his cat, oh, sure he loved me, but Dad was his soul mate. My husband was sick for several years and this cat was there for him EVERY moment. When Kacey turned 13, he got bone cancer on his lower leg. As cats, seem to have a better recovery rate from bone cancer than humans or dogs, we removed the leg up to the hip. It's not supposed to jump joints, so we thought we were safe. He learned to thump around on 3 legs.

The following year, my husband had a burst appendix and he was in the hospital for several days. I journeyed from home to the hospital for the week, but never noticed that Kacey was not feeling well. When I brought Andy home, we noticed that Kacey was breathing hard. I rushed him to the vet and they told me he had cancer in his chest (a different kind of cancer) and the tumor had burst. We had to let him go right then. Well, Andy never recovered from this. He mourns Kacey to this day, also we lost a 17 yr old lab, a 5 yr old cat to congestive heart failure in the same year. When Kitter got diabetes this year (many years after Kacey left us for a better world ), he said that was it. He wasn't loving another animal so much every again. It just hurt too much to love and lose them. I hope he (and you) can see all the love they give us, and focus on their precious memories. Don't give up on loving them and providing them with a loving home. I'm still trying to convince him of that. It is might be a trite saying, it is better to have loved and lost than never have loved. But I believe it. My 17 yr old lab was the hardest loss for me, maybe because she had been a such a big part of my life for so long, but for far to short a time. I had to make myself allow her to be given relief and pass on because she just gave up on living, but I will never forgot all the loving moments she and I shared, or that Kacey and I shared, or my mare that I had for 14 years, or any of the rest of my animals, and I could go on and on about all those that I lost. But I choose to remember how many precious moments we had together, how they made my life better, how I made their life better. Sorry, I'm just sharing, not preaching or lecturing. These words are not helping my husband, but I hope they help you.

Take care,
Sheli