Newly Diagnosed Cat Barely Eating

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daniellemason1

Member Since 2013
Hi!
I just joined the forum today, and just found out my cat, Mouse, has diabetes on November 3rd. (10 days ago). They had me start him on 2ml twice a day of insulin starting Nov. 4th, and then I had his first glucose curve last friday (came back great), as well as full blood and uring work (great there too). Suddenly, yesterday, he only wants to take two bites of his food and leaves it. I have him set to eat at a certain time, and give him his shot while he is finishing up eating. First I took the remainder away. But last night I brought it downstairs to see if he had any more, and he didn't. He has never had problems eating before, and I guess it is because the food is new (Purina DM). It scares me to give him insulin when he isn't eating. He hates wet food, but does love canned tuna. Would it be okay to give him this instead, so that I can continue giving his shots. I am afraid I am going to put him into shock if he isn't eating. I am scheduled to bring him back for another curve, next Friday. I also do not have any testing strips of my own yet, FYI. Any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated.
-Danielle-
 
Purina DM is liver based and often not popular with cats. I'd suggest giving him some tuna and then going out to get some Fancy Feast or Friskies pates and see if he is interested. If he loved his dry food, you might crush up some pieces and sprinkle on top of the wet or mix it in. Also some cats don't like the texture of the pate - you can add warm water and make a kind of gravy to see if that helps.

We suggest starting low and going slow - with one unit of insulin and adjusting on hometesting data. Most cats are stressed at the vet and stress raises bg levels. Then doses based on those elevated numbers can be too high once the cat gets home. We would love to teach you how to test at home. It will keep your kitty safe by knowing the amount you are planning to give is safe and you can see how it is working by testing midcycle. It will also save you a lot of money.
 
Hello and welcome to the board

What kind of insulin is it? 2 units is a high starting dose.

Many cats get sick of the Purina DM wet .. they seem to get sick of the liver flavour. So many of us here feed fancy feast classic pates, friskies pates or wellness grainfree canned - see this list of suitably low carb foods: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=94685. He may prefer the fishy flavours although you don't want to feed those every day. What did he ear before? You can also slowly transition him from wet to dry if that helps. A sudden food change can cause diarrhea.

Sooner you can start home testing the better - saves money on vet bills, and more importantly keeps him safe since a food change can very quickly push a cat into remission...

Wendy
 
Hi Danielle and Mouse and welcome to the message board.

Please let us know how Mouse is doing today and what insulin you are using. As Wendy said, the 2U is a high starting dose.

My sugardude Wink loves the Fancy Feast classic pate foods. Maybe Mouse will like to eat those, and they are good for a diabetic cat.
 
Wow thank you all so much for responding!
Things went from bad to worse last week, as Mouse was not eating and threw up Friday night. I took him to the vet, and they suggested wet food (fancy feast) and gave him serenia to calm his stomach. Sat all was well and he had his insulin, Sunday was good until after his evening meal and insulin. Within 1 hour he vomited and went into shock. He had a seizure in my arms on the way to the emergency vet. They were able to stabalize him (his glucose was 28) and get him eating the DM wet. He stayed overnight there, and was taken directly to my vet in the AM. They tested him as coming out positive for Pancreatitis...my guess is from the contant up and down of carbs and insulin, personally, and had him stay all day, doing a glucose curve, and not administering insulin. That was Monday. They decided to also keep in Tuesday to do the curve WITH a LOWER insulin (1 unit). On their first try, they dropped his glucose to 57.He came home yesterday, with vet recommendation of no insulin (no kidding) and now to feed him the Purina EN because of his pancreas and stomach pain. He is on a light liquid opiate twice a day, and I crush some pepcid in his food.

They also wanted me to try the Purina Glucostrips for the catbox, which are confusing, and although I will use them until I finally am taught how to do the blood glucose reading, they are super expensive. They are only reliable for 8 hours and I am not often home when he uses the box. I feel like I could judge them incorrectly, very easily.

He is acting fine, no extra thirst or urine, and I am wondering if the low carb diet could have been the solution in the first place. They never gave me the option to start that way and then see, they just aggressively went after insulin injections.

I am going to keep him on teh EN (got a case) for at least a week, then switch him back to Fancy Feast (he liked it).

Now my concern in doing his blood glucose monitoring. My vet said they will show me, but want me to buy the super expensive Alphatrak 2, though I know pet owners have been doing this for years before this meter came out, with no problem.

I read about the Walmart Relion Micro Meter and strips, and would love suggestions otherwise.

I don't know if handheld or lancet pens are best, and I don't know what size to use, starting out.

What I do know is that I have spent nearly $2000, hurt my fur baby, and nearly killed him when it seems like I could have just changed his food.

Please advise what you do for blood monitoring. Also, if I am only able to test twice a day, when is the best time to do so? I can give him curve testing on the weekends, but that is about it.

Again, I can't thank you all enough for responding.
-Danielle
 
We can teach you how to home test. We have taught hundreds of people how over the internet. Here is how we do it: Video for hometesting

Here is a shopping list:

A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. Some members stay away from any meter with True in the name and the Freestyle meters. Some people think they are unreliable and read lower than other meters. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 26-28 gauge is good. Any brand will work as long as the lancets match your device.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking. You can also use a prescription bottle filled with very warm water. It provides a good surface to poke against.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats

How to get the cat ready for home testing

First pick a place where you want to test. Some people use the kitchen counter, a blanket on the floor, between your legs while sitting – whatever works for you. Take the kitty there and give him/her lots of praise while you play with his/her ears. Give a treat and release. Next time, add the rice sack (thin sock filled with raw rice, heated in the microwave until very warm but not hot) or a prescription pill bottle filled with very warm water. Lots of praise, treat and release. Finally add the lancet so he/she will get used to the noise. The hope is that when you finally poke, they will be used to the process and know a treat is coming!

It does sound like you may not need the insulin, if he is in numbers that low at the vet (where cats are usually stressed and their levels are usually elevated) The best way to know that is to test at home. For now, off insulin, test in the am and pm to see how he is overall. If he stays below 120, insulin is not needed.
 
You don't need an expensive pet meter to test. Most of us here use human meters and the ReliOn glucometers are fine for testing, especially because they're so much less expensive for the test strips than any other meter out there yet just as accurate. Here's a great document of ear testing tips that also might be of help.
 
What kind of insulin was it? I did wonder if the dose was too high..

Sooner you can move him back to FF the better, the EN is 13% which is too high in carbs.

While not on insulin twice a day is fine and should give you enough info.

If he does go back on insulin I usually recommend 3-4 tests a day but it does depend on your schedule...

- always before the shot - this is mandatory as you don't want to shoot when too low. As a newbie this too low number is 200 but is reduced over time once you have the data to know if its safe.
- mid cycle - 5-7 hours after morning shot depending on your schedule. This is to see how low he is going. The low point "nadir" is what you base dose changes on since you don't want him dropping too low (under 50).
- before bed (2-3hours after Pm shot) to get an idea of what his overnight plans are. If this number is less than the pre shot test number you may want to set the alarm for a test a few hours later as this implies an active cycle.

Wendy
 
Oh, you poor love,

It sounds like you and your cat are having a really tough time time right now. :sad:

Do please continue to post on this forum. It's the best site on the planet for advice and support for diabetic cats.

Keeping fingers crossed that your cat is feeling better really soon.

Big warm reassuring hugs to you from a freezing cold England (Brrrrrr....)

Eliz
 
Wendy,
He was on Humulin N. 2 units.
Since he is not on insulin now, I want to see what he is doing naturally. He actually decided last night that he was done with the EN, anyhow, and we are back on Fancy Feast. I intend to get his monitoring supplies this weekend.
I would like to start checking him next week, after he has been eating the FF, regularly for a week. (to see, again if low carb diet can do the trick). I unfortunately, will not be able to test him in the am, midday, and evening, as I commute a long way to work, but what is your suggestion about WHEN I test based on when he is fed? Should I test before food in the morning or after? (Same in the evening?) Obviously I can do the mid-day test on weekends.
Basically if he is between 70-170 we are awesome, right? ( I read that somewhere). If I was getting over 200, he would be showing a need for insulin, and I should talk with the vet, correct?
When the vet tried to re-introduce 1 unit to him, after being off for a few days, he was reading 258. When they checked, he had dropped to 58.
I know that there is a serious number, where the sugar starts "spilling" into the urine and Ketones are possible. What is this number in a diabetic cat?
 
Fancy Feast pates are great if he will eat them - low carb. Generally we say a cat is in remission if, off insulin, they range from 40-120, with the majority of the time in double digits, for two weeks. I'd test him when you can so you get a range of numbers. Generally, if their pancreas is functioning, they go down in numbers after they eat.

The renal threshold is fairly hotly debated but I think we generally say that keeping a cat below 180-250 (on insulin) will help his pancreas heal.

If he is in the 200s, yes, I probably would consider insulin again but it would be great if you could get a milder, longer lasting type like Lantus, Levemir or ProZinc. In most cats, Humulin acts pretty harshly, dropping them early in the cycle and then rising back up, and lasting several hours less than a normal 12 hour cycle.
 
Here are some reference range numbers for the blood glucose levels.

BJM said:
Conceptually, it is somewhat like reading a thermometer in Celsius vs Fahrenheit. Freezing, for example, is 0 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here are some glucose reference ranges used for decision making using glucometers. Human glucometer numbers are given first. Numbers in parentheses are for non-US meters. Numbers in curly braces are estimates for an AlphaTrak.

< 40 mg/dL (2.2 mmol/L) {< 70 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- Treat as if HYPO if on insulin
- At nadir (lowest point between shots) in a long term diabetic (more than a year), may earn a reduction.

< 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) {< 80 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- If before nadir, steer with food, ie, give modest amounts of medium carb food to keep from going below 50 (2.8).
- At nadir, often indicates dose reduction is earned.

50 - 130 mg/dL (2.8 - 7.2 mmol/L) {80 - 160 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- On insulin - great control when following a tight regulation protocol.
- Off insulin - normal numbers. (May even go as low as the upper 30s (1.7 mmol/L){60s for an AlphaTrak}; if not on insulin, this can be safe.

> 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) {> 180 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- At nadir, indicates a dose increase may be needed when following a tight regulation protocol.

200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) {230 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- no shot level for beginners; may slowly reduce to 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) {180 mg/dL} for long-acting insulins (Lantus, Levemir, and ProZinc) as data collection shows it is safe

180 - 280 mg/dL (10 - 15.6 mmol/L) {may be 210 - 310 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}- Any time - The renal threshold (depending on data source and cat's renal function) where glucose spills into the urine.
- Test for ketones, glucose is too high.

>= 280 mg/dL (15.6 mmol/L) {may be >=310 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}, if for most of the cycle between shots
- Uncontrolled diabetes and thus at risk for diabetic ketoacidosis and hepatic lipidosis
- Follow your insulin protocol for dose adjustments
- Test for ketones; if more than a trace level of ketones, go to vet ASAP.
Click to expand...

Like most people that started out with an Alphatrak, I switched to a human glucometer pretty quickly. Those test strips for the Alphatrak are just too expensive and a human meter works just fine for what we need to do to test our beloved kitties.
 
Hello everyone,
Update on Mouse! I finally was able to get his first blood meter test last night (after 2 weeks of a low carb diet, and no visible symptoms of high BG), and it was 54! Could we be in remission? Is this blood sugar too low? It was only about 1 1/2 hours after he ate his dinner meal.
 
Hurray on all fronts - eating, a successful test and a lovely number. If he has not had insulin, this is a normal non diabetic number. Cats generally run from 40 - 120 off insulin.

But remember he is a diet controlled diabetic, so no dry food ever in his future. And keep testing every so often so if he decides to rise, you will be on top of it.
 
daniellemason1 said:
He has never had problems eating before, and I guess it is because the food is new (Purina DM).
Click to expand...

My cat really doesn't like the Purina DM either. He ate it heartily when he was first diagnosed, and then flat out refused to eat and we had a bit of a scare with some low numbers. We switched foods after that. Weruva and Wellness Core worked for us for a long time, but he eventually got sick of that too. Now he is eating Fancy Feast Classic Pates and loves it! Maybe he will get sick of FF too eventually but for now, it amazes me at how much more of it he will eat. He eats more of FF than any other food we have ever given him. Maybe give another brand a try and see what your cat thinks. There is lots of helpful nutritional info on this forum to help you pick a another food that is just as good for your cat. :-D
 
WOOHOO Danielle! GOOD JOB! HEY MOUSE! U haz a WONDURFUL MamaBean!

Oh how WONDERFUL to have a diet controlled kitty! BIG HUGS!!!!

ps - the closer to normal that Mouse's numbers are the less he'll want to eat because his body is able to USE that food right! Diabetics with high numbers are actually sort of 'starving'....
 
Thats great!! 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 so keep testing at least once a day and let us know when you get to day 14!

Wendy
 
Let us know before you get to day 14! We like to cheer beans on in this amazing adventure to OTJ.

I may even make up one of my little poems to help celebrate! ;-)
 
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