Re-Newly Diagnosed Please Help with Suggestions

[brettsegmented]

Hello, I'm about at my wits end I've been dealing with my cat, Oliver's (15), health issues for almost two years. For some history and background I've fed him IAMS his entire life and now I'm worried that I caused his diabetes and for him to have problems. When he was first diagnosed I started giving him Bexacat, but he seemed to develop pancreatitis because he was taking it. I stopped giving it to him per vet's direction and he appeared to be getting better sometimes he would drink a lot of water, but that wasn't consistent. Recently in January I went into the vet and they confirmed that his glucose levels are still high so they recommended that I give him insulin so I've started giving him Vetsulin and it was 2mg or ml (I can't remember without looking at the vial at the moment) per day twice a day. He had a hyperglycemic reaction where he couldn't move on his own and I quickly took him to the emergency vet. (I've read that it might be good to have glucose paste or sugar water on hand in case this happens again?). They monitored him for the day and it cost me a lot of money so I'm wishing now that I had signed up for pet insurance beforehand because now it's a pre-existing condition and there's no way to get it? The most important thing for me is that he survived and was okay. I've started giving him less insulin per vet and er vet's advice, one mg per day twice a day. I took him into the vet this past week to have a glucose curve and they diagosed him with pancreatitis again and prescribed him Hill Prescription Diet. I'm worried I caused this because per forums and lists I was reading I was giving him Fancy Feast for Senior Cat's 7 Plus and not prescription food per past vet visits recommendation (not the latest visit) and because the Fancy Feast is what was readily available at my closest Petsmart store. I still do not want to give him prescription food, one because of the cost, because of everything that I've read online, because it's clear that they push it on you and every vet does that, and because frankly my cat hates it and I have a hard time getting him to eat it. Which he's never eaten wet food until his struggles with diabetes and pancreatitis, and he never eats all of it, and he mostly licks it. So I leave dry food out also Fancy Feast so he can graze during the day and doesn't starve and that might not be the best either. Could any of that have caused the pancreatitis issues? My latest this week is that he's hardly eating even after they've given him a cerenia injection at the vet's and I've given him the medication at home, but he's out, since he's been out he's been throwing up at least once the past two nights so I'm worried about that. The other part is that he doesn't like the Hill's Prescription Food so this morning I went to buy Fancy Feast to at least mix it and he ate some, but not enough, so now I'm worried about the insulin injections and him not eating enough. From what I've seen online some of the best foods to maybe look into that are low phosphorus etc are Tiki Cat, Dr. Elseys, and maybe Fancy Feast. Should I try buying the others that I haven't tried with him yet, is there anything different I should be doing? Please help, I just want him to be happy and as healthy as possible for as long as he can, he's my family.

 

[squeem3]

Don't blame yourself for causing the diabetes Many pet owners feed only dry food because that's what vets recommend, all the fancy marketing by pet food companies, dry is cheaper and easier to store than canned etc. You thought you were feeding what was best for your cat.

Vetsulin is not a good insulin to use. It's too short acting for cats. In other parts of the world, the same insulin is called Caninsulin and is for dogs. Some vets are still old school and do things way out of date. Here's a 2025 guide to current diabetes treatment: 2025 iCatCare consensus guidelines on the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus in cats Feel free to read through it and discuss with your vet. ProZinc and Lantus (glargine) are the best insulin choices.

Insulin is measured in units, not ml or mg. Are you using U40 syringes? Check the box / package of syringes. Did the vet show you how to correctly measure insulin? 2 units is a small dose. The line marked as 20 is exactly that, 20 units and a massive overdose for most cats. 2 units is still a higher dose than what FDMB members recommend. Insulin can pack a punch and even 2 units can cause a hypo.

Yes, you do need to keep items on hand for hypoglycemia aka low blood glucose level. Here:

Sticky - jojo and bunny's HYPO TOOL BOX
Sticky - How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!!

Pancreatitis is common in diabetic cats, even those eating a low carb canned food or raw diet. You just treat when it happens. Info - A Primer On Pancreatitis You'll need to have meds on hand to treat: Cerenia (anti nausea and anti vomiting), odansetron (anti nausea), Mirtazapine (appetite stimulant), buprenorepherine for pain, subq fluids. You'll need the vet to prescribe these.

You don't need the expensive and junk quality Hills food, dry or canned. It has nothing that will help a diabetic cat. Low carb canned food is best. Fancy Feast pates are fine and what many people feed. Any food under 10% carbs is best.

Links to FOOD CHARTS
Cat Food As-Fed Chart

Keep trying to remove all the dry food. Dry food is fuel for high blood glucose levels and makes regulation impossible for many cats. There are only two suggested dry foods a diabetic can eat, Young Again an Dr Elsey. Both brands can still keep blood glucose levels too high in some carb sensitive cats. An alternative to dry food is freeze dried raw or air dried raw.

Transitioning your cat from dry to wet food

Go slow with the diet change. It'll likely have an impact on blood glucose levels. Ideally you should be monitoring blood glucose levels closely while you do a diet change. Did the vet say anything about daily testing?

 

[CORKY]

Hello, I'm about at my wits end I've been dealing with my cat, Oliver's (15), health issues for almost two years. For some history and background I've fed him IAMS his entire life and now I'm worried that I caused his diabetes and for him to have problems. When he was first diagnosed I started giving him Bexacat, but he seemed to develop pancreatitis because he was taking it. I stopped giving it to him per vet's direction and he appeared to be getting better sometimes he would drink a lot of water, but that wasn't consistent. Recently in January I went into the vet and they confirmed that his glucose levels are still high so they recommended that I give him insulin so I've started giving him Vetsulin and it was 2mg or ml (I can't remember without looking at the vial at the moment) per day twice a day. He had a hyperglycemic reaction where he couldn't move on his own and I quickly took him to the emergency vet. (I've read that it might be good to have glucose paste or sugar water on hand in case this happens again?). They monitored him for the day and it cost me a lot of money so I'm wishing now that I had signed up for pet insurance beforehand because now it's a pre-existing condition and there's no way to get it? The most important thing for me is that he survived and was okay. I've started giving him less insulin per vet and er vet's advice, one mg per day twice a day. I took him into the vet this past week to have a glucose curve and they diagosed him with pancreatitis again and prescribed him Hill Prescription Diet. I'm worried I caused this because per forums and lists I was reading I was giving him Fancy Feast for Senior Cat's 7 Plus and not prescription food per past vet visits recommendation (not the latest visit) and because the Fancy Feast is what was readily available at my closest Petsmart store. I still do not want to give him prescription food, one because of the cost, because of everything that I've read online, because it's clear that they push it on you and every vet does that, and because frankly my cat hates it and I have a hard time getting him to eat it. Which he's never eaten wet food until his struggles with diabetes and pancreatitis, and he never eats all of it, and he mostly licks it. So I leave dry food out also Fancy Feast so he can graze during the day and doesn't starve and that might not be the best either. Could any of that have caused the pancreatitis issues? My latest this week is that he's hardly eating even after they've given him a cerenia injection at the vet's and I've given him the medication at home, but he's out, since he's been out he's been throwing up at least once the past two nights so I'm worried about that. The other part is that he doesn't like the Hill's Prescription Food so this morning I went to buy Fancy Feast to at least mix it and he ate some, but not enough, so now I'm worried about the insulin injections and him not eating enough. From what I've seen online some of the best foods to maybe look into that are low phosphorus etc are Tiki Cat, Dr. Elseys, and maybe Fancy Feast. Should I try buying the others that I haven't tried with him yet, is there anything different I should be doing? Please help, I just want him to be happy and as healthy as possible for as long as he can, he's my family.

Welcome to FDMB
So sorry that you and Oliver are going thru so much all at once, but you are in the right place. The best insulin for cats are ProZinc and Lantus they are a 12 hour insulin gentle on the cat, Vtsulin/Caninsulin, is a dog insulin it hits hard and fast in a cat, and you are correct Hill Prescription Diet or any "prescribed" food, is bad for a diabetic cat they contain over 20% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, Sadly, vets do not think about our pocket, but their own, most of the time they have no idea what's in these foods aside from the fact that they are making commission selling it, and nothing good is in these foods; most members feed Fancy Feast pates or Friskies between 0-10% carbs, as well as Oliver should be on a feeding schedule, feeding small meals or snack between 3-4 times during the day beside the two main meals before shots, the transition from dry or high carbs to wet low arbs needs to be a slow transition, not to upset Oliver's stomach and it can dive the levels down. Home testing is very important before each shot to avoid hypoglycemia, including 2-3 times during the day, you do not need a pet meter, the strips are $1.00 each, any human meter is just as accurate, most members use the ReliOn Premier meter and strips (Walmart) the meter is $9.00 the strips $9.00 for 50 or $17.88 for 100 is good to have extra strips handy. My Corky is 14 years old, and I do not feed Senior foods. any dry food are very high in carbs, if Oliver is going to continue grazing you need to make sure he does not feed 2 hours before testing, since it affects the glucose levels. , also cats are very sensitive to stress, and what major stress than a visit to the vets office, therefore when glucose test levels are done, it will be much higher, that can cause for an unnecessary dose increase, regarding the pancreatis and other issues I will tag a member that can give you a better light on these issues, Always know Oliver is your cat, your vet needs to listen to you, and you need to be comfortable with his treatment as well as your pocket, if the vet suggest doing a curve, this can also be done at home, a curve is simply testing every 2-3 hours for 1 cycle (12 hours) this avoids stress on Oliver your pocket and realistic glucose levels, We are very numbers oriented, we can assist you with most issues
and dosing advice, so we can all be on the same page, we would like you to create your signature and Oliver's spreadsheet, links below

Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/