Newly Registered Member and Cat

[Mermista's Mom]

Good Morning,

My name is Leanna and my beautiful, precious cat is Mermista. Mermista is 11 1/2 years young and was recently diagnosed with feline diabetes. According to the most recent medical information given by my veterinarians she has no other health concerns. A healthy weight for Mermista is between 10 and 12 lbs. This past September she weighed 14 lbs and had been given a clean bill of health.

The feline diabetes has resulted in a significant weight reduction. She now only weighs about 10 1/2 lbs.

November 18, 2014 Mermista was taken to the veterinary clinic to be evaluated for her polydipsic (drinking an excessive amount of water) and polyuria (excessively urinating) behaviors. Labs were performed that determined her diabetic diagnosis, including the somewhat pricey yet according to The Cat Fancier's Association Complete Cat Book, absolutely necessary serum fructosamine test. After this last lab was evaluated the veterinarian was confident about Mermista's diagnosis.

She was hospitalized for 5 days. November 24, 2014 I started giving Mermista 3 units of insulin (Novolin N) per the veterinarian's recommendation. I received some instructions from her doctor however the most useful information I received has come from VetVid, a youtube.com video series.

Since I have also learned how to home test her glucose. I work very closely now with another veterinarian, who by God's grace, has been treating his own cat, Tux for the same illness.

I am learning how to document Mermista's gb and the units of insulin she receives. Mermista gb during her peak so far has been between 512 and 522 mg/dl. However, during the trough of the bell curve Mermista's gb has been 122 mg/dl.

According to my veterinarian that is ideal gb for the trough (for Mermista) when just starting insulin treatment.

Currently, per my vet's instructions Mermista now receives 4 units of Novolin N.

Considering the wealth of information available on the internet and support systems like this message board; Mermista and I are optimistic about her perfect recovery and complete remission.

Sincerely,

Leanna (KY)

 

[Tammie56]

My 12 year old male cat was diagnosed in October of this year. His blood glucose was 495. The vet put him on Lantus insulin- 2 units morning and night and with his change in diet, his last reading was 138. We found a great variety of low carb foods at http://www.catinfo.org. We also feed him EVO dry kibble and recently tried him on Tiki Canned which has 0 carbs. Luckily there is more food available now than in previous years and it's a lot cheaper than what you purchase at the vet. Check out the website for a great array of food. Big Boy goes back tomorrow for another glucose test. We're hoping for great numbers. The change in diet has made him feel as good as his 6 month old sisters.

Tammie

 

[Larry and Kitties]

This reaction to the N insulin "Mermista gb during her peak so far has been between 512 and 522 mg/dl. However, during the trough of the bell curve Mermista's gb has been 122 mg/dl."
is what is to be expect and is really about as good as it will get on N insulin.
That means if you want a lower overall BG, which is what yo want, you need to change the insulin to a longer action one. I would recommend the human Lantus or Levemir insulins.

 

[BJM]

Novolin N (NPH) tends to last only 6-8 hours in the cat. It hits hard and drops them fast. Good control may require dosing every 8 hours, instead of every 12.

Because your vet is familiar with NPH, have him go look up Prozinc. Prozinc tends to last 10-12 hours in the cat, and has a more gentle curve. It is a bit more expensive than NPH, and gives you better sustained glucose control. It also is an in and out insulin, like NPH, so your vet will have less to learn in changing.

As far as food goes, switching to a low carb canned or raw diet may drop the glucose levels as much as 100 mg/dL and the insulin dose may drop as much as 2 units lower. If you change what you are feeding, do so gradually, about 20-25% different food per day, to minimize GI upsets and food refusal. And reduce the insulin, maybe 0.5 units per day, lest your cat end up hypoglycemic. We say "Better too high for a day, than too low for a moment".

For dry foods, although not recommended, Young Again 0 Carb (internet only, 5% calories from carbohydrate), Origen 90, and Evo Cat and Kitten are under 10% calories from carbohydratea.