Newly Diagnosed Diabetic Kitty

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shebasmomma

Member Since 2013
My name is Monique Davis and my kitty is named sheba. She had been sick for about 2 months and after three visits they finally diagnosed her with diabetes. While they were keeping her to regulate her glucose which was 300 at the time I was researching information. When I went back to get her they had her on insulin twice a day 4 units and gave me hills w/d dry and purina one w/d can food. I read that she needs low carbs and to stay away from dry and to test her at home. They said that I don't have to test at home and said that the food they gave me was good for her. I of course disagree but don't know enough to argue. She does not like the new food. We have 6 cats and of course the changes have upset all of them. It is hard to keep her food away from them and vis versa. I have tried merrick brand cowboy qrill wet food and she will eat it when the can is open and then not any more. I need help to find a food that will help her maybe go to a remission and she will eat. I could use some suggestions from anyone on what they give their cat and how it is working. This experience has already cost us 700 and we are on social security so that makes it tough. I guess I just need some help in the right direction to help her to get better and be the best she can. Any help will be appriciated. Thank you. cat(2)_steam
 

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Hi Monique,

Welcome to the board!
You're right on the "diet" the vet gave you. Many of us feed Fancy Feast (you want to use the "classic" flavors) and Friskee's pate style canned food, and since they are all low-carb, our cats do wonderfully on them.

You're vet also gave you advice that conflicts with ours, which is to not home-test Sheba's blood glucose. We highly recommend that you do that before any shot of insulin. It is also a great idea to test in between shots so that you can tell how well the dose is working.

You said 4 units, twice a day? That's a pretty high dose, especially to start with. Did the vet mention any other complications or conditions that would make that high of a dose logical? What type of insulin did they prescribe?

Carl
 
Hi Monique and Sheba - welcome!

I hope hearing that all of us felt just like you - scared and overwhelmed - and we survived as did our kitties. It's great you are doing a lot of reading. Unfortunately, many vets are not up to date on FD. They usually get a workshop in school and diet information from dry food manufacturers. And, to be fair, they treat everything from hamsters to bulldogs, so they can't know everything.

We have a protocol that has worked for hundreds of cats. Wet, low carb food is best. Did you see this website by a vet - www.catinfo.org. You could share it with your vet. Yes, we hometest. I got a good lesson when we switched from dry to wet. Oliver went down 100 points overnight; if we weren't testing and had given him his usual dose, he would have hypoed.

We have lots of members who feed multiple cats. They'll be along with ideas. It is important that Sheba eat. Some ideas to make the wet more interesting: add some warm water and mix so it's like gravy, add Parmesan cheese or tuna juice, add some low carb snacks on top, try fortiflora (the animal digest that makes dry food so irrestible)

It is hard to go against your vet, but remember, you are the customer. You can tell them you will be testing and you will be feeding wet food. He is your cat; you are his advocate - you're the one who cares the most about his health.
 
Hello and welcome,

First it's a very common experience to have a vet that has a closed mind. Vets are generalists that are amazing in that they' deal with lots of illnesses and lots of different species, but it means they aren't specialized and tend not to keep up with the latest information. There are people on this board who are experts in diabetes and keep up to date so they are often better placed to advise.

First, please remove the 911, this is important for your kitty, but she isn't in immediate urgent danger.

Second, most people on our forum feed the canned classic fancy feasts which are cheap, low carb and most cats love. Or wellness canned grain free which is also worth a try. However if you do move to wet, your cats insulin requirements could drop very suddenly so it's critical you start testing.. so pop to Walmart and get a cheap relion meter and strips. Also pick up some honey or karo syrup and a couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers (for emergencies), and a pack of urine testing ketone sticks. It is important to test her urine for ketones, especially when her blood is high.

Third read some of these links, this is a good start if your cat is on lantus http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18139 they tell you how to test, how to deal with possible hypos and so on.. Very important information. What kind of insulin are you giving?

Lastly, set up a spreadsheet, come over to the tight regulation forum and start posting (see link above) and let us know our progress and questions!
 
Monique,
I wanted to add a couple of things....
The food that your vet prescribed is too high in carbohydrates (which you already understand). However, those carbs might be elevating Sheba's blood glucose enough to stop that dose of 4 units from pushing her BG levels down to unsafe levels. If you want to switch to a lower carb menu, then that dose may very well be too much insulin.

Please let us know what type of insulin it is. I think you will need to lower the dose when you switch the food. And, that you will need to start home testing ASAP so that you know for sure that shooting insulin is safe and that the dose makes sense given where her BG numbers are at.

Carl

Oh, also. Sheba is a absolutely beautiful kitty!
 
Thanks for all the advice so far. She has been on wet food for the past two days and her insulin is Novolin N. Should I not give her any tonight until I get the strips tomorrow. I will also try the fancy fest but she doesn't really like pate. I will let you all know how she is doing and any other advice is greatly appreciated and thank you for your help. I think she is a beautiful cat too. My husband got her for me. She is also 6 years old. ;-)
 
The wet food she has been getting has only 4 carbs in it so I am not sure about how quickly her gulcose will go down and not comfortable about the insulin dose. Also how often and how much wet food should I be giving her I don't want to starve her or over feed her. She has been use to dry anytime. (I know bad momma but I didn't know) She presently weighs 13 lbs.
 
There is a formula on Lisa Pierson's feline nutrition site that gives an approximation of number of calories per day.

Required calories per day = [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70​
You will need to adjust if you see that Sheba is gaining weight on the number of calories per day.
 
Prescribing Novolin N suggests your vet is rather out of date. It lasts about 6-8 hours in the cat leaving 4-6 hours without insulin.

Preferred insulins for feline diabetes include Lantus, Levemir, and ProZinc.
 
N is not a great insulin for cats. Fast acting and short duration. Please, until you can hometest, maybe lower the dose down to 1 unit. A 300 reading at the vets probably includes a stress elevated number also. The main thing you need to do until you switch insulins is always feed her at least a 1/2 hr. before giving her the N insulin. Food needs to be on board for that insulin. Welcome and Sheba is a beautiful tortie.. looks like a tortie in the picture.
 
Hi again,

Is it Novolin N, or Humulin? Sort of the same, but not exactly:
Humulin N and Novolin N have a peak action rate of four to 12 hours after injection, depending on the patient and the dose. The main difference between the two is that Humulin has a longer-acting time of up to 24 hours, while Novolin tends to be effective up to 12 hours.
Click to expand...

That info relates to humans, and cats apparently metabolize insulin twice as fast as humans do. Either insulin isn't really great for treating cats, because it acts too quickly, and doesn't last long enough.

Given that, I think 4 units is most likely too high with the switch to low-carb food, and I'd skip the shot until you can get some test strips tomorrow.

Carl
 
Also as far as testing and giving snacks to make it less intense. What are good snacks to give that are not going to undo all the work with the low carb wet food?
 
Freeze dried chicken or beef with nothing added.
Boiled or baked bits of same.
 
Thanks for all your advice. I am going to get the fancy feast and meter and strips tomorrow morning and I have ordered some treats. I will keep you posted on how things go with the testing and sheba. I am also going to check for a vet who specializes in cats that may be a better vet for sheba and more up to date on diabetes. I feel much better after talking with you than I did talking with the vet. your help is very appreciated and sheba thanks you to. :-D
 
Until she is regulated she will be hungary a lot. My Payne went down to 7 pounds at her Dx and I was always looking for acceptable food. I like raw food as treats .... ground turkey meat, chicken giblets cut up, gently poached chicken breasts.

But testing before each shot is the important thing. You should never give her a shot without knowing her BG# and 4ux2 is a lot of insulin! Also your insulin is not the best. I would be worried about a vet who doesn't know that ..... you might need to look for a more knowledgable one. I needed to change vets and am very happy, although he mostly follows my steps :)

You can do this, you have already come a long way.
Nancy and Payne
 
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