Overwhelmed mother of a newly diabetic boy...

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AngelaTheGeek

AngelaTheGeek

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Hi everyone. My boy, Bubba, is turning 6 next month and we just found out on Feb. 14 that he has diabetes. He has always been on the bigger side, maintining 15-15.5 lbs. for most of his life. We have always fed him "healthy" food in the proper amounts, and no vet has ever told me he was overweight; he was just a big cat. I brought him to the vet because he seemed to be getting too skinny. I started noticing his spine, shoulder bones, and hip bones. Finally, when could feel his ribs, I took him in immediately.

It nearly knocked the wind out of me when the vet called and said he had diabetes and his glucose level was over 500. He also had liver issues, which might be because of the diabetes, so I had to start giving him a pill and two insulin shots each day. Needless to say, I was freaking out. I couldn't imagine giving him shots! When I finally saw the tiny needle and drop of insulin I would be giving, I started feeling a little better.

Well, when he was diagnosed two weeks ago, he was only 12.3 lbs, and when I took him back for a glucose curve last Monday, he was only 12.1 lbs. He lost weight and his glucose level had increased to 600+.

To make matters worse, the vet tried to get urine all day, but Bubba would not drink at the vet. He had gone in his carrier on the way to the vet, so he had nothing to give... The vet is afraid that he has an infection that is preventing the insulin from working, but he can't verify. So, he gave me clavomax (up to 3 pills and 2 shots per day) to try to clear up an infection if it's there, and we are going to try again for urine tomorrow.

I have been working crazy hours with overnight trips, but I have an amazing partner who helps with feeding and shots... I finally came across this page and am starting to feel better. I'm still learning, and I know it will just take time, but it definitely helps to know I've found a resource. At the very least, I now understand that diabetes is not a death sentence... and that is definitely a relief.

A little about me: Late twenties, 4 crazy cats, 1 amazing partner. I work from home most days, with occasional trips to see my clients, so I am with my cats almost all the time... and I LOVE it! :)

Thanks,

Angela
 
Welcome Angela! You've come to the right place, there are a lot of amazing people here that have helped me a lot. First off, can you answer a couple questions?

1. What type of insulin were you given? How many units per shot?
2. Define "healthy" food. Are you feeding an all wet low-carb diet?
3. Would you be willing to home test?

I'm sure people will be here soon, but I know they'll ask these questions so I thought I'd get them out there.
 
hi there and welcome :)

As mentioned, we need more info...like what insulin for starters and what dose.

Cats who are newly diagnosed feel like crap and often don't eat altho they usually drink a ton. Their liver values go wonky but if treatet soon enough this will reverse. if not treated soon enough and if nutrition isn't gotten into their system, they are at risk for hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) and/or ketones and both are serious.

You cat needs to eat and you need to force feed if necessary. an infection is possible but the above scenario is more than likely the problem. clavamox may make your cat even more nauseous which won't help the situation. and your cat needs insulin. If you start testing blood glucose levels at home you will be able to get a much quicker handle on the situation. You also need to test urine for ketones (again, see above).

have you read the faq yet? it might help answer some more of your questions

Please, do not delay acting on my suggestions of food and ketone testing, and please consider learning to test blood glucose levels soon

Jen
 
Hi Angela and welcome to FDMB. While a diagnosis of feline diabetes can be a shock and overwhelming at first, I want to assure you that it is a very managable disease. The three most important tools for getting your cat's glucose levels regulated will be diet, insulin and hometesting.

For diet, you want a low carb/high protein diet which we recommend either canned or raw food. You do not need to give your cat prescription food either. Many of us feed our cats either Fancy Feast or Friskies. Dry food is high in carbs and that is why you want to get Bubba off any dry food as soon as you can.

There are many different insulins available, but longer acting insulins such as Lantus, Levemir and PZI work best for most cats. Most cats only need 1 to 2 units twice a day to maintain regulated glucose levels. You want to start with a low dose (1/2 to 1 unit) and only increase it slowly over weeks to find the dose that works best. This is where hometesting is important.

Hometesting means that you test your cat's glucose levels before every shot. You can use any human glucose meter for testing including store brand meters.

There is a lot of information on this site. I recommend reading about these first as well as the information on hypoglycemia. Also, feel free to ask any questions you may have. We have all been where you are now and we are here to help.
 
Wow! So many responses already... thank you all! I must admit I'm still fumbling through the information, so that's why I didn't disclose all information yet. To answer the first few questions:

JenElliot:

1. What type of insulin were you given? How many units per shot?

He's on Humulin N. We started with 2 units twice a day, but after his test last Monday, my vet increased it to 3 units twice a day.

2. Define "healthy" food. Are you feeding an all wet low-carb diet?

Well, what I thought was "healthy" was a natural dry food. Now Bubba is on the canned prescription food the vet recommended. I am more than willing to change his food to anything that will help him, I just didn't know about my options before coming here.

3. Would you be willing to home test?

I've already ordered a meter and strips and should get them this week. That's what I've been doing the most research on. I want to know what's going on with him all the time, with as little vet stays as possible, as Bubba does not do well there.

Jen & Squeak:

Bubba is eating fine and not throwing up... well, except once, but we are pretty sure that was because he ate grass. I am researching all of the diet information and will be getting him on a recommended low carb diet. I am hoping they will be able to test his urine tomorrow and then we will hopefully have a better understanding of what's going on.

Thank you all for responding and I'm sure I will definitely have more questions coming soon!
 
C A U T I O N Changing to a low carb canned diet can reduce blood glucose values as much as 100 points (other member's reported experience).

Since you are already giving insulin, home testing will make sure that any diet changes are accompanied by safe levels of insulin shots. Please don't make any diet changes until you are able to test, as you might wind up giving too much insulin for the changed blood glucose.

It seems like your vet may be unfamiliar with some of the newer, longer acting insulins available for use in cats which frequently do a better job than Humulin N. Lantus, Levemir, and PZI are 3 relatively new ones which are described in their respective forums here. Once you've had a chance to do some reading and over the initial shock of your cat being diabetic, you may want to discuss changing insulins with your vet. These newer insulins have some good research behind them showing better control of the diabetes and in some cases, remission.

The most active forum here seems to be Lantus and there is a lot of documentation here which you can share and discuss with your vet. You may want to check your local veterinary community for a vet with experience in using Lantus, Levemir, or PZI, at least for a consult if you wish to stay with your current vet.
 
Thank you BJM. I'm not making any changes without consulting my vet. I feel like my vet would be open to discussing all options, so I am gathering everything I can on the different insulins and such. I will be talking to people in my area that have cats with diabetes, as I've already discovered two connections through friends, to see if there are better vets, but in the meantime, I will do my homework and talk to my vet about the options.

I'm still cruising around the message boards to see what else I can learn.
 
Hi Angela,
I just wanted to make sure that you have seen the Humulin primer at viewtopic.php?f=19&t=303 - there is a lot of great information there about how the insulin works. The important thing is always feed before giving his shot. Because the insulin acts quickly, he needs to have food in his tummy before hisinjection. When you get you glucometer, you should test and then feed, and then maybe half hour later give his shot if he has eaten at least half his breakfast. I have recently switched from Caninsulin which acts similar to Humulin. And also, not to be an alarmist, but it is really impostant to read up on hypos and be sure that you have all the supplies listed in the info. I was very glad that I was given that advice and had a few cans of Fancy Feast Grilled chicken with gravy in the cupboard.

For most cats, this disease is not hard to manage. The key is that it really needs to be managed at home, with your vet as a partner. You are the one who sees your kitty every day and knows if he is acting normally or not. And by testing at home you'll be in much better control of the disease and (bonus!) save lots of money by not taking him to the vet every 2 weeks to have his blood glucose tested.

The other thing that people will soon want to see is the data that you begin to collect. There are directions on the tech page for setting up a spreadsheet. AMPS means the bg # before his morning shot and PMPS same for evening shot. +1, +2 etc are tests taken one hour after his shot and two hours after, and so on. Because members are in many different time zones, actual times are not that useful.

Whew - I've said a lot more than I had planned. You're doing well. Look forward to learning more about how your kitty is doing.
 
Humulin-N is classified as an intermediate acting insulin and has a 12 hour duration in people and dogs. However, cats metabolize insulin faster so most cats will only get six to eight hour duration from Hum.-N. If you give the insulin every twelve hours, that means your cat goes four to six hours every cycle without any insulin.

Hum.-N drops BG fairly rapidly in people and this action would be even more pronounced in cats. What you end up getting is something that looks like a roller coaster ride. If BG drops too rapidly, the body has a compensatory metabolic response that produces a "burst" of glucose. This is known as a rebound effect and the BG then increases back up to the high numbers again. It seems to defy common sence, but being on too high a dose of insulin can raise BG.

With BG that high you should also be testing for ketones. High ketones can cause a condition called DKA. DKA can be life threatening and very expensive to treat. My cat has had DKA twice.

Diabetes is more difficult in the beginning. Get your cat on the right type and dose of insulin,. Many cats do go into remission. Having a vet that is up to date on feline diabetes is also very important.
 
Hello! I'm new to the board, too. You'll find everyone very friendly and with a lot of helpful advice.

I'm wondering what your vet has tried in terms of obtaining urine. Manny is a heavy drinker but it took well over a year before any vet could get urine off of him. At the time, I worked in a clinic and I would keep him all day on fluids and he refused. We'd even use a needle straight to the bladder but he was also a large cat and we could never get it. Last month when he went in the vet actually got urine and I was astonished because it was just a glucose check! Have you tried leaving him at the vet for the day on fluids? For *most* cats this works.
 
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