Newly diagnosed cat - need advice please!

[concernedcatmom]

Hi all - mom of a 13.5 year old male that has just been diagnosed with diabetes. Thankfully we were tipped off by increased peeing and appetite loss, and the vet says he seems to be in the early stages as the rest of his blood and urine test results are fine excepted for high glucose in both (29 mmol/L in bloodwork) .

We have been given the option of treating via Senvelgo oral meds or Insulin. I'm inclined towards insulin - while it's definitely more time-consuming, having family members already taking it has given me an idea of how it works, it seems to be a viable cure long term, and starting treatment within 6 months of diagnosis may even lead to a remission. Senvelgo seems a new drug where not all the side effects are known, and for an older cat with possible undiagnosed health conditions I don't feel like trying my luck. And I don't know, it seems like just trying to pee all the extra glucose out isn't the best idea long term (unless the diabetes goes into remission), and he might have to go on insulin anyway.

That being said, I have a dilemma: I have to go on an unavoidable 4-day trip in 2 weeks time. That would leave me with a few options -

1. try to find a cat-sitter who can come twice a day and can be trusted to check if my cat has eaten and administer insulin,
2. try to find an affordable vet that can board him for 4 days so they can continue to administer insulin on time
3. start the treatment, hope it stabilizes in 2 weeks, then let him stay without the insulin for those 4 days, or
4. start his treatment after I get back

Unfortunately, I'm not really sure if I would be able to go for options 1 and 2 within my area (near Toronto). So if I'm unable to go with one of those options, what would be better between options 3 and 4? Is there another option I'm missing?

Thanks all!

 

[squeem3]

@Karolina & Nestle @Briana + Binx @Lara & Luciole (Lu) @Kat & Trixie are somewhere close to Toronto.

What are you feeding your cat? One thing you can do is to start feeding your cat a low carb canned food only diet now and learn how to hometest and when you get back from the trip, do a curve on your cat to see what the numbers look like and then start insulin if numbers are still too high (over 11 mmol).

 

[Briana + Binx]

Thanks for the tag @squeem3! Second your idea, it’s an interesting one!

In terms of the 4 options, number 1 might not actually be out of reach. Not sure if you’ve used Rover before, but pet sitters can now include in their profile if they have experience with injectable medication. Unfortunately, they don’t make it super easy to filter for that, so you have to manually search local profiles, but it’s how I found my pet sitter. It’s up to you based on comfort, but an option nonetheless! Another potential option, depending on circumstance, is I’ve had very generous friends/family be open to staying at mine while away and I’ve taught them how to administer, etc. Not an easy one though, but I can offer tips if that’s a possibility.

Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[concernedcatmom]

Thanks for responding @squeem3 and @Briana + Binx

What are you feeding your cat? One thing you can do is to start feeding your cat a low carb canned food only diet now and learn how to hometest and when you get back from the trip, do a curve on your cat to see what the numbers look like and then start insulin if numbers are still too high (over 11 mmol).

that definitely sounds doable!

I'm currently feeding him Hill's Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome dry food because of his chronic constipation (at our vet's advice). However, I've been reading up on these forums, and it seems like this food's carbs are too high (around 37%). After the diabetes diagnosis, the vet has recommended Royal Canin Diabetic diet (wet and dry both), however it'll be a challenge to get him to eat wet food as he has been a kibble kitty for almost his whole life (I have previously made several attempts to get him to eat wet food, no joy). Also the RC dry food still seems to have higher carbs (similar to the Hill's one actually) so I'm planning to look for the other suggested brands here such as Young Again and Dr Elsey's (will have to figure out where to find them in Canada). If I manage to get those, I can definitely start him off on them and start checking his blood sugar at home.


@Briana + Binx sadly I don't have any family or friends who would be up to the challenge, but I haven't given up on finding a suitable sitter who can administer the insulin. Like you say, it would involve finding the right person, but fingers crossed!

 

[Briana + Binx]

Also the RC dry food still seems to have higher carbs (similar to the Hill's one actually) so I'm planning to look for the other suggested brands here such as Young Again and Dr Elsey's (will have to figure out where to find them in Canada). If I manage to get those, I can definitely start him off on them and start checking his blood sugar at home.

I’m not 100% but I think my previous vet started us off with this dry kibble. I think it’s still considered high carb, but available in Canada and lower % than Hill’s. If you can work any wet food in (gradually), it should make a helpful difference. My other cat Sadie isn’t keen on wet food either, so I get the challenge. Hopefully something will work for you! And good luck with the pet sitter hunt, there must be someone out there!