Totally new here & introducing Maxx & Mufasa

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

DoubleTrouble

Member Since 2014
Hi my name is Kathi, I am totally new here and totally confused so bare with me please..

Up until October 2013 I didn't even know cats could get diabetes... I took my 11 yr old Maxx to the vet as he was sick and it turns out he is diabetic. His level was in the 600's. We have had a really tough time stabilizing him, but then about a month ago I had the dental work done that he needed. We had put it off in the hopes of stabilizing him first. It was rough and we decided to go ahead with his dental. During his cleaning my vet discovered he had a hereditary disease in his gums (sorry I do not remember what it is called) anyway, it caused a lot of swelling and infection under the gums. He will eventually lose all of his teeth. Right after this surgery, his numbers dropped from 300's to 113....I was so happy. But then he dropped even lower and a night later he dropped down to nothing. I had rushed him to the ER vet since I woke up and found him immobile, just his eyes would move and his head slightly, but he was purring. I rushed him to ER and they said he read no sugar at all. He pulled through and spent the next day at his own vet. At the time of his surgery he was at 6 units of ProZinc 2x a day...after the ER and vet, he was brought down to 3 units morning only. Now he is 2 units every 12. He still has some high readings but as my vet explained it is because he is stressed when this is being done at vet. I will be doing them at home for the first time tomorrow.

I had been feeding a stray, a very friendly stray in my back yard since the summer of 2012. He would come around every morning and would be waiting for me after work. Sometimes he didn't even care about food, just wanted to be petted. Last winter he was injured and came to my door crying, I took him to the ER vet and brought him in my home. In the spring he ran away. He came back the next day and I brought him in again, he ran away again. I figured he was happier outside and let him be. He still stayed 90% of the time in my yard or in the sump next to my property. When we were expecting our first storm this year, I brought him in. I kept putting off his vet visit because Maxx was costing me way too much money. It was getting ridiculous keeping him separated from my other cats so I finally got him to the vet. Long story short, after I got him there my vet did not even want to call me, it turns out he is about 6 or 7 yrs old and not the 2 or 3 years old that I thought. It also turns out he is diabetic also. My vet looked into other options before calling me. She has a client who had had a diabetic cat that she thought would take him because she knew my financial situation, but I got attached to him and do not want to have to give him away. His readings in the beginning were in the 300's... He is on the same dosage now as Maxx. 3 units of ProZinc every 12 hours. It is so hard financially caring for them both...but what other options are there? My vet has helped and done curves for both only charging for one, which is amazing and way kind...but even with that help this is so costly, especially times 2....I don't know what to do at this point, I have maxed out a Care Credit card and am heading the same route on another credit card. I am about $5,000 in debt right now on the cats as we speak. I don't know if it's possible to get help somehow. I hate to get to my last resort which is giving my second guy away. it might be better for him, but heart breaking here. He is such a happy cat here and always with me.

I was referred to a link for possible financial assistance, but the rules were a bit impossible. I am not thinking it is too good of an idea to change their food or treatment. I am learning to curve at home, but I still rely on my vet. Are there any programs that could assist a little?

Any help would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you from the 3 of us.
 
Welcome Kathi and extra sweet Maxx and Mufasa! Have you looked at DCIN? They do have rules to follow but may be a great source to help you manage expenses.

We definitely encourage home testing. You can use a human glucometer. The relion brand from WalMart has the cheapest strips I believe. If you need help let us know! We can teach you over the internet or if someone lives nearby they may be able to come show you. Home testing is important so you don't shoot when they are too low. Without that data, we don't know if it's safe

What are you feeding? There are cheap good foods out there. Friskies classic and fancy feast are great choices and extremely reasonable. You definitely don't need prescription vet food. It's a worse choice since it's higher carb. A wet low carb diet is best. BUT DO NOT change food until you are home testing. A cat can drop over 100 points overnight so you are risking hypo if not testing.

Don't give up yet! Check DCIN out and let us know how we can help! We are here for you!
 
Hi thank you for your response....

You mention Fancy Feast as a good food to feed as I've heard a few times. I was feeding my cat Fancy Feast when he became diabetic. BOTH of them. This is so confusing. I am new to this and still learning. The testing I am starting on my own tomorrow...my Maxx is not easy. I finally was able to afford a tester, I have the AlphaTRAK for animals. My vet had mentioned that some people use the human meters, but they don't read the same. Regardless, I already have the cat and dog tester. I am feeling so overwhelmed with this. I thought I was doing it right, but my one cat's numbers have gone up again. I was planning on talking to my vet tomorrow about all this. It does seem odd thought that with my second cat, his numbers went up after changing his food, but then again, he is very stressed at the vet when he goes for his curve so I really don't know. I will know more tomorrow after curving them at home. (If I do it properly and if they BOTH let me) Thank you again, I'll update tomorrow.
 
Once you are testing at home, no more curves at the vet's office, you can do them yourself! There drops 1 big expense.

The AlphaTrak is good, but they nail you on the strips. If you have pet-specific reference values. (next post) for comparison, you can use an inexpensive human glucometer, such as the WalMart ReliOn Confirm, aka Arkray Glucocard 01 at American Diabetes Wholesale. There drops another expense.

Once you are testing successfully, changing the food to inexpensive low carb, over the counter Friskies pates will save you a bundle, too.

Sources of aid want you home testing regularly, feeding low carb, and using a good insulin for cats. You are in the process of doing that, so apply!
 
We suggest using an inexpensive human glucometer with pet-specific reference numbers. One many of us use is the WallMart Relion Confirm, or Confirm Micro, which is also sold at American Diabetes Wholesale as as the Arkray USA Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini (same manufacturer - Arkray USA). It uses a tiny blood droplet and the cost is significantly lower for test strips (like $0.36 each).

Comparing a human glucometer to a pet-specific glucometer is like reading temperature in Celsius vs Fahrenheit. Both are correct. You just need to know the reference ranges to interpret what the numbers mean.

[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​
Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)
 
What kind of fancy feast were you feeding though? Some are very high carb (bad) and others are low carb. All the classic pate flavours are good and thats what we recommend.

The cat tester is expensive for strips so I would keep it as a backup and buy a low cost relion confirm or micro from Walmart. It will save you a lot.

How often are you testing? If you are just getting tests before the shot, or less often , you won't have enough data to really know whats going on. Many factors are at play and things are easily missed if you don't test enough.

I usually recommend 3-4 tests every day as opposed to an infrequent curve as it will keep your cat safe and give you more info!!

- always before the shot - this is mandatory as you don't want to shoot when too low. As a newbie this too low number is 200 but is reduced over time once you have the data to know if its safe.
- mid cycle - 5-7 hours after morning shot depending on your schedule. This is to see how low the cat’s blood sugar is going. The low point "nadir" is what you base dose changes on since you don't want the cat dropping too low (under 50).
- before bed (2-3hours after Pm shot) to get an idea of what the cat's overnight plans are. If this number is less than the pre shot test number you may want to set the alarm for a test a few hours later as this implies an active cycle.


Wendy
 
Hi thank you both for the responses. I was feeding my cats the Fancy Feast Classics, usually the pate' ....I do not understand what a lot of these things mean. IE: nadir? As I said I am very new to this all, not medically inclined at all. I do know humans that have diabetes, but know nothing about it other than they prick themselves to check blood, take insulin, and can't eat sugar. That said, this is very difficult. I understand there are cheaper ways of doing this and appreciate the help so much, but switching these things around without my vet's assistance is something I am not comfortable doing as I fear hurting my cats.

I appreciate the advice, I honestly do, but it is extremely overwhelming to me as I am NOT in the medical field at all (I was in the legal field until becoming disabled) and have never been close to any diabetic's care. All this writing to me above in diabetic terms means nothing to me yet, and just overwhelms me. I will be trying to understand it all, but that will take me time, and right now both of my cats need care. I don't know how to manage all of this. I desperately need help. I cannot afford the vet and totally understand the responses from all, but I don't know what I am doing here. I have the AlphaTrak and while I know it is more expensive, right now I cannot afford to purchase another. I have strips, but will be needing more. Again, I understand making all of these changes, but right now cannot do it without a vet's supervision.

Is there any org that would be able to assist either financially or with strips or insulin while I am trying to make these changes? I cannot do it alone now, I have maxed out my credit cards and don't know which way to turn and they both need medical supplies, food and help NOW, while I learn more.
I have looked at a few of these suggested links, and they seem to stress the same points and rules. I cannot agree to terms when I cannot yet make the changes required blindly. Yes I know there is help here on the internet and appreciate it, but again, this will take me time. My vet has already gone above and beyond with no charge services, huge discounts for Mufasa (sometimes no charge at all) but still, on a fixed income and with still needing to buy insulin, food, etc....I still am in serious trouble and way overstressed. Help Please...

Thank you so much, again much appreciated.
Kathi, Maxx and Mufasa
 
Hello again

Sorry its a lot to take in at first so let me try to address your questions one at a time

Food - you said "usually the pate". Anything that is high carb can spike blood glucose for up to 24 hours and that can cause diabetes in cats if fed on a regular basis. So if you fed a high carb one every day or two, in some cats that can be enough to trigger it.
So from now on just feed classics and nothing else. not even dry treats. We can recommend good treats if you want. Or to save money, feed the friskies pates - those are low carb and cheaper as they come in big cans!

Testing - Unlike humans, cats can go into remission. This means if you shoot insulin and don't test and they do go into remission, you can overdose. Or a food change can cause his blood sugar to come down, and again if you don't test you could overdose. However with cats you test the ear and the ear has very few nerve endings unlike our finger ends. So they don't feel it. My cats sleep through the testing - there is no pain.

Ask your vet how much a pack of strips are for the alphatrak. and then go to walmart.com and look at how much a meter and strips are for the Relion confirm or Relion micro. You might find it cheaper to buy a new Relion meter instead of alphatrak strips!!

insulin - The insulin should last you six months if you keep it in the fridge.

Wendy
 
Hi Kathi! Glad to see you found your way here. :-D

My first suggestion before you make the food switch (you're feeding prescription dry still, right?) is to learn how to home-test. Once you get the testing down, then we can work on the food change because the food change alone can cause a significant decrease in sugar levels (BGs). You want to be able to carefully monitor during this change so you can drop the dose appropriately in response.

As to the AlphaTrak, because the strips are so expensive, what some people will do is buy a human meter and use that for testing for the most part and then use the AlphaTrak on the days that the vet wants to see the numbers. This way, you're not wasting expensive test strips as you're learning to test and you can test as much as you want throughout each day/night without worrying about running out of strips. The ReliOn meters from Walmart are a favorite around here because the strips are so inexpensive.

As to your vet, we strongly advocate "training up" vets to the latest information and studies regarding feline diabetes management. As my vet told me a couple of weeks ago, I know more about managing Michelangelo's diabetes than he ever could hope to know. And as I told him in response, I know how to manage it, but he knows how to treat the complications that might arise. I don't expect him to know when to change Michelangelo's dose because if I did, then I would basically have to leave Mikey at the vet's 24/7/365. The AAHA Guidelines for Diabetes is a great place to start. It discusses the three most important things for us to manage our extra sweet sugar babies' care: (ultra) low carb food, a good insulin that works well in cats, and home-testing.
 
Thank you both so very much...ok this makes sense about the food. When I said usually the FF pate, I meant once in a blue moon they got something else. I have learned the dry is not great. I try not to give it to them but when they were diagnosed, I had been giving them "cookies" which they love. They became pieces of the dry diabetic food (Science Diet) so that will take us a little bit to get rid of completely. My vet also suggested they have some for their teeth. I have them now down to about a 1/4 cup in an entire day. We are still working on that. I may try to replace with tiny pieces of boiled chicken. Thoughts?

I am having a very tough time with the testing. Yes I know understand the importance of daily testing, but wasn't even able to get it at all yet. Why they had to go to vet for the day again. They are wonderful there and I went in and did the testing as they watched this morning, and I will do their last tonight as well. Tomorrow I will test after they eat, before insulin. I am just extremely low on strips and when I say no money I mean none...why I have so desperately been trying to find some assistance such as discount strips. I understand about the human meter being cheaper...I just have nothing to even get it with.

I will also discuss food with my vet tonight and bring the sheets that someone gave me on the FB page...I printed them. I understand everyone favors Fancy Feast, I know it's cheap, but as I said, that is what they ate for a few years until they were diagnosed. I did find Wellness and Weruva (sp?) today before I saw the list. I am going to ask vet about them. I had just bought a case of the Hill's MD....she may take it back, she is great like that.

I have to rush now,,,have to get to my human doctor for me, but I will be back after I get my babies back tonight and speak with vet.

Thank you again so very much, everyone.
Kathi, Maxx and Mufasa
 
p.s. I do get it about the human meter and am going to try to see is someone can help me get that today. I'm just not sure what the heck to do with the numbers...thanks have to run
 
You can request a free kit through the link at the top of each page, which I've copied for you here. And don't worry about knowing what the numbers mean just yet; we'll help you through that learning curve, too. ;-)
 
Don't beat yourself up about testing. It's a process that you and the kitties learn together! It took all of us time to learn. Have you looked online? There are YouTube videos showing how. Take a deep breath. You're going to do great! Did you check the link BJ posted? Lots of great organizations out there that want to help!

Where do you live? If someone is nearby we might be able to come show you how to test.

Don't stress! I know you are worried and it's a lot to process but we have so much experience in this board and we want to help! We are all paying it forward from when we were new! Ask any questions you have and well gladly answer!
 
Hi Thank you so very much. I missed the post from BJ earlier, but thank you so much, I will definitely look into it. Just got back from the vet, My Maxx is doing great, my other guy not so much. Losing way too much weight, but is eating like a pig. My vet went over everything with me and we did some blood work to rule out pancreatitis or thyroid. We are increasing his food for now. We have also changed insulin to Lantus, I have a script and will get it tomorrow. Just praying that Mufasa is ok.

Thank you for the tips on testing. I did get some help from my vet office. When I brought the kitties in today, they had me do the testing. They corrected me on a couple of things and we are good to go. Of course, they behave differently when home. Mufasa is easy, Maxx not so much. But we will get there.

I discussed the food issue with her as well. We are looking into it, but she does not recommend switching back to Fancy Feast as that is what they were being fed when they became diabetic. I have actually pulled my other cat off of it as well. I will be speaking with her again tomorrow regarding the blood work from Mufasa, so for right now we won't be doing anything with their food until we know what else needs to be done. I gave her the printouts that someone gave me regarding the food. So we will be addressing that very soon. I did purchase Wellness and Weruva today for my non-diabetic cat. She is a Main Coon and currently weighs 16 pounds. My doc had put her on a weight control diet, but I am going to try the above foods as well. I'm not as worried about her food as much as I worry about my boys.

Thank you all so very much for your help. I will be looking at the links everyone supplied me with tonight and tomorrow.

oh, btw Rachel, I'm sorry, I am located on Long Island.
 
Ask your vet to write the Lantus prescription for the pen and then you can use the Lantus Savings Card and pay only $25 per pen. You do not want the pen tips that come with the pen. Instead you use the pen as a mini vial with regular insulin syringes (depending on state laws, you might also need a prescription for syringes). As long as you keep the pen refrigerated, it should be good till the last drop, which is about 2-4 months depending on dosage.
 
Thank you so much for the tip. Unfortunately I didn't know and I already have the script which I need to fill tonight. They need it for the morning. Yes, I have a script for the syringes as well. Wish I had known. When I have to renew I will definitely use this.
 
The vial should last about 4-6 months or longer as well, as long as you keep it refrigerated and don't shake or roll it. I also used a vial in the beginning and then switched to the pens later on. Since you're treating two kitties, you'll probably get more use out of the vial, anyway. ;-)
 
Hi, yes, we are cutting the dry. Right now one of them needs the dry, but the other just gets a few "cookies" (aka diabetic dry food) a day. I'm not making any other changes with their food right now because just today I changed their insulin. As both veterinarians and the feline nutritionist I spoke with today said it is best to keep them both on the Science Diet until they are stabilized. Making changes to both food and insulin at once could spike or drop their levels too sporadically. Both cats levels were already too high when diagnosed to attempt to use non-diabetic food to stabilize them. It's very costly and this is where I'm having the biggest problem. I have tried a few of the links that people have reached out to me with...they generally have the same rules regarding assistance that don't work with the treatments my cats are on. I had hoped to get help, not with the vet bills, but with my cats treatment plans. I haven't had any luck. I'm surprised to see that these assistance programs try to change a cat's treatment in order to assist. The same methods don't work for all cats as I am seeing in my own home between my two cats. I don't want to jeopardize their health. I don't even know where to turn at this point.
 
Rachel...I may have missed some posts here, I am not sure. I am looking at your very first one to me, I am not sure what DCIN is. Can you tell me how to find the info?
 
Diabetic Cats in Need. They go by the AAHA Guidelines I linked above, meaning a good insulin (Lantus is perfect), a low carb diet (you're transitioning), and home-testing (which you're working on).
 
Thank you so much. ;) I did wind up finding it. Yes, my cats were on ProZinc, but we just switched to Lantus today, we'll see what happens with that one. They are on a low carb diet, and as far as the home testing I am starting to do that now. It's just been very hard with all the side issues.. I have been at the vet 2 times this week, the insulin today cost $190...I'm having a tough time paying these bills. Sorry, just extremely stressed over this all, it's bad enough worrying about your cats and then having to stress over finance on top of it. I'm sure you know. Thank you again so much for helping. :smile:
 
Finances are hard, I know! At first, with all the changes, it's rough.

It is a good idea to wait until you can test consistently to change food. You don't want to cause a huge drop and risk not knowing and hypo. However, there is a lot of data out there that explains why wet low carb food is best. My cat never got close to being stabilized or regulated until she started eating only low carb wet food. After that, her numbers were dramatically lower with no insulin change and she finally started to feel better. Friskies is around 50 cents a can. It's cheap and classic pate or special diet works (we fed only special diet because Gypsy was SO sensitive to carbs and those are around 5%).

I strongly recommend you consider this once you test at home regularly. It's cheaper for you than science diet and better for your cat.

Keep working at it! We are here for you!
 
Thank you for your reply Rachel. I appreciate it. I have discussed the food change with my two vets, one specializes in diabetes. Both of the cats had very high numbers at diagnosis and Maxx has been responding well with the Science diet. We are looking into the benefit of other foods. Trust me I know they are cheaper, but most of them are much higher in fat which is also not good. The other cat was a stray, we are not completely certain of other health issues he may have, he was only diagnosed about 4 weeks ago. He was not responding well with the ProZinc and continues to lose weight. Why the vet changed insulin. I understand about the carbs, but the other nutrients matter as well. Mufasa, the stray, was already too high to attempt adjustment with food. I had been feeding him Fancy Feast classics, (both cats) when diagnosed. As has been explained to me by the different vets, it's more beneficial to keep them on the prescribed Science diet and Royal Canin (both wet) until stabilized and change their foods later. The other foods may be a quick way to bring down the levels, but there are other issues to consider. With the stray, we are waiting for some test results. Prozinc and Lantus both work differently so right now their readings will be a little sporadic. Sunday I will be doing a 4, 6 and 8 hour curve and reporting it to the vet. I am hoping this will work better and really praying that we will find what is wrong with Mufasa and it won't be another excessively expensive issue.
In the meantime I have looked at the financial assistance links that were given to me and am currently emailing the DCIN program. I also have heard of another program that assists seniors with ill cats, I will be looking into that as well as my Mother is a senior.
Thank you again.
 
DoubleTrouble said:
His level was in the 600's. We have had a really tough time stabilizing him, but then about a month ago I had the dental work done that he needed. We had put it off in the hopes of stabilizing him first. It was rough and we decided to go ahead with his dental. During his cleaning my vet discovered he had a hereditary disease in his gums (sorry I do not remember what it is called) anyway, it caused a lot of swelling and infection under the gums. He will eventually lose all of his teeth. Right after this surgery, his numbers dropped from 300's to 113....I was so happy. But then he dropped even lower and a night later he dropped down to nothing. I had rushed him to the ER vet since I woke up and found him immobile, just his eyes would move and his head slightly, but he was purring. I rushed him to ER and they said he read no sugar at all. He pulled through and spent the next day at his own vet. At the time of his surgery he was at 6 units of ProZinc 2x a day...after the ER and vet, he was brought down to 3 units morning only.
Click to expand...

I keep on meaning to touch on this. Was it FORLs? That's quite common in older cats and dental infections (of any sort) might be what made him diabetic in the first place.

DoubleTrouble said:
We are looking into the benefit of other foods. Trust me I know they are cheaper, but most of them are much higher in fat which is also not good.
Click to expand...

I created this sorted version of the catinfo.org food list and added an extra column showing the protein/fat ratio to help me easily spot the higher protein foods. The cheapest are the Friskies Special Diet Turkey & Giblets, which are low in phosphorus, higher in protein, and low carb, but there are quite a few other options.
 
Hi, I wasn't sure what the FORL was, but when clicked on the link you supplied, I read it and knew that is not what it is. I still do not remember the name of it, but if this helps, it is a hereditary disease found mostly in orange tabbies (just like the black dots they get in their mouths and around eyes is also mostly found in orange tabbies)... I should say both boys are orange tabbies, even my Main Coon has Orange Tabby coloring (she even had the black dots in her Mouth and around her eyes already at 3yrs old) My vet explained that Maxx's dental disease is definitely what made it impossible to control the diabetes, as I had written, once he had the procedure done, his level went down to 113...after he dropped completely and had to be rushed to ER, he shot all the way back up again to the 4-500's....
Thank you for the additional chart regarding the food. I have already brought the printout to both of my vets. My one vet actually has been to this site often. He said possibly changing food after they are stabilized could be an option, but it's not overall healthy to change it now. Some cats are ok with those diets, but it would not be beneficial to my Maxx, and not at this time for Mufasa (we don't have enough health info yet, waiting for his test results) He is aware that Maxx was fed Fancy Feast and then Mufasa as well, he does NOT like Fancy feast at all, says it is a bad food, but a couple of the ones on the list are ok. Both vets have told me changing their diet now would not benefit either one of them. :sad:
 
Why exactly does your vet consider the Fancy Feast to be a bad food?

Which of the Science Diet foods are you feeding?

Which of the Royal Canin Foods are you feeding?
 
Ohhh I love the orange kitties! I had one years ago. So adorable!

What kind of tests are we waiting for?
 
Hi Kathi!

Welcome to you, Maxx and Mufasa!

I totally understand what you are going through...not wanting to go against your vets advice. I was in the same place back in November. My vet also "specialized" in feline diabetes. For her, that meant she went to a week long conference once. She told me I did not need to home test, test for ketones or take Cobb off dry food. She was wrong on all 3 counts. Her advice could have cost Cobb his life, especially since his numbers on the dry food were in the 500-600 range every day. It was a recipe for DKA (something that could have killed him or cost me $1,000s to treat!).

The first thing you need to do is get all the cats off the dry food. They do not need it for their teeth. Taking away the dry food could bring their numbers down by 100! Cobb's numbers shoot up when he eats 3 pieces of kibble...a 1/4 cup would do him in!

Second, the reason your vet is pushing the prescription food is because they make money off of it, if you buy it from them. We were buying Royal Canin diabetic, which had about 13% carbs. I now feed Cobb Friskies Special Diet pate, which is 5% carb. A HUGE difference!

A lot of us trusted our vets because they are supposed to be the experts, and some almost lost their cats because of it. I'm not saying that to scare you, but the people on this board live FD day in, day out and really do know what they are talking about.

Just wanted to share some things I've learned! Changing the diet and finding the right insulin dose could set Maxx and Mufasa up for remission, but it is a lot of work.

Welcome and good luck!

~Suzanne
 
BJM...I honestly cannot remember and do not have his records with me right now. I will be talking with my vet on Monday and will ask her. I will post it back here.
 
Deb & Wink, hi, thank you for responding. I've been told by a few vets through the years that FF is not a good food. I would give it to my cats as it was one of the cheapest, but then started feeding them better. Having financial problems, I began feeding my cats now the FF for about a year, maybe longer, they were on it when they were diagnosed. They were both put on Science diet m/d diabetic cans and I have the dry as well, but we have been taking them off of the dry. The Royal Canin was also diabetic wet.
 
Rachel....I didn't plan it this way lol...For some reason I always wound up with Silver or Brown Tabby....I also had two Siamese mix. I took Maxx in 12 years ago when a friend showed up with him at my door. He had been stuck in the engine of an elderly woman's car, my friend stopped on the side of the road to help her and found him in the engine. The woman had just left TJ Maxx parking lot and heard a "horrible noise" coming from her car so she had pulled over. She brought him to my house knowing I would take him (even thought I said no when I opened my door to find her standing there with him and a sly grin on her face) I kept him. The next day I realized his paws were bleeding...they were burned and blistered. I took him to the vet and he healed beautifully. He's been my baby since. (p.s. his name came from tj MAXX as if you didn't figure that out lol )

My Main Coon (non-diabetic) I happened across when I was visiting a friend in New Jersey. Found her in the woods in a mountainous area. She was 1lb 2oz...took her to a vet there, fed her human baby food and she did fine. I didn't learn until she was growing that she was a Coon. She is so beautiful, Orange Tabby coloring with the biggest "collar" of supped long white hair around her neck, crazy fluffy tail, short little arms and HUGE white paws. She now weighs 16 pounds.

Mufasa my newly diagnosed diabetic, just walked into my back yard 2 years ago. I fed him and after about a month he allowed me to pet him, actually demanded it. He is a lover for sure, always wants pets and to be held. One day he came to my door meowing louder than ever (he always used to come to my door and meow, not always for food, usually just for pets)..when I opened the door this time he had a layer of snow on him and a bleeding, swollen head....that was it, we went to ER and he's been my cat since. He's been inside since this November, and after being diagnosed with diabetes, will never see outside again on his own.

Anyway, this is how I came to have 3 "yellow" cats....I love them dearly. Maxx was the first Orange Tabby I ever had, now I have 3, LOL

Mufasa has been losing too much weight. He eats like his food may run away, and in a few minutes I could practically put the plate in his cabinet! She ran a test for his thyroid...I just got the results today, that is fine. YAY! She is also now testing him for a UTI, and a complete blood work up again. Pancreatitis is a concern as well.

Thank you so much for responding. I hope your kitty is ok. :smile:
 
Hi Suzanne

Thank you for responding. I am so sorry that you had such a bad vet, but they aren't all like that. I am very lucky to have mine. She actually is highly skilled with diabetes. She has had a very good success rate with these kitties. She has studied quite a bit and not just a convention. She's not in it for the money. As far as the BG Curves and home testing, she has encouraged me to do it, for financial reasons but for accuracy as well. (stress rasies their level as I'm sure you know) She has offered to have her assistants come to my house to help at no charge. When we discovered that Mufasa was a diabetic as well, she offered to take him to her own home until he was stabilized at no cost to me! Now she discounts off many of his bills, because she knows how costly it is. Even with all that help, it's still a lot for me..(I am now disabled on a fixed income...btw, she doesn't even know this, she did this out of compassion for me having two diabetics) She has given me so much of her time, sits and thoroughly explains everything. When my Maxx was in the ER, she phoned and had lengthy conversations with the vet there. I have to say she is not a conniving or uneducated vet.
As far as the diabetic diet, I can assure you she is not pushing prescription diet for the money, I do NOT get the food from her, I get it from my other vet that is closer to my home. She has thoroughly explained to me the benefit of Maxx being on prescribed diabetic food v supermarket food. After coming to this site, I questioned her as well as my other vet, they both agree that for now my cats would benefit more on the diet they are on. He has been on this site as I stated earlier and says that the diet they like on here may work for some cats, but not all. Again, he also claimed once stabilized, it may be a possibility. But he disagrees with using Fancy Feast at all. He did mention a couple of foods that appear on the lists that a few people have linked me too. (much appreciated) It is not good to focus ONLY on the diabetes and not have a well rounded food. Yes low carb is definitely the way to go, which is why they are on the diabetic food, but going low and having higher fat, or phosph, etc. as many of the listed foods do is not healthy either. I was advised that to properly stabilize them, it is not good to drop kick them with the focus primarily on the carbs., their overall health needs to be taken into consideration, and every cat needs to be viewed individually.
I do know that since the food change Maxx's coat has become shiny again, he is much more playful again, and he just looks much better.
This is confusing as hell to me, because you're always afraid to do the wrong thing. I am still learning so for me right now, I am not comfortable to make any changes without my vet.
Suzanne, please don't take me wrong, I am grateful and totally appreciate your response and trying to help me. I will be switching their food when we can. I wish I could just do it now, but my vet says it does take some time.
Again thank you so much ...much appreciated. :smile:
 
Wendy

I'm sorry this is a bit late, but you mentioned earlier you could recommend a good treat. Could you please let me know? I cannot get one of my cats off of the habit of begging for treats. I'd like to stop with the dry kibble. Thank you so much. :smile:
 
Hi Kathi, No worries. Our number one concern is Maxx and Mufasa. It wasn't that my vet was bad, conniving or unknowledgeable, just that it's difficult for vets to be knowledgeable in every disease. And I was in the same place you are in with not wanting to do anything or make changes without their guidance or knowledge. And I was sitting at my house thinking, who do these people think they are, telling me my vet is wrong? :smile: Ultimately though, by learning what I've learned here, I realized this really was what I had to do. You found this board for a reason!

Like I said in my previous post, the Royal Canin diabetic is still very high in carbs. I feed Friskies Special Diet which is low in phosphorus. Many people have seen that, with diet change alone, their cats have either not needed insulin or become diet-controlled diabetics. I'm definitely not saying to not listen to your vet, just encouraging you to not take only their advice. You may see by switching to a different food, your kitties may not need insulin at all! Also, by treating the diabetes as your main concern (as long as there are no other health issues), you might see greater changes since the whole body works together and high blood sugar can affect nearly everything. While every cat is different, when Cobb was eating the Royal Canin diabetic, his numbers were still through the roof. I wasn't buying the food from my vet either, but it was eating up my wallet.

The people on here really know what they're talking about. They've helped hundreds of cats to OTJ (off the juice -- the juice being insulin). Lantus is a good insulin and there's a published protocol for its use in cats. It takes a lot of work but it is worth it to see your cats feeling better. Good luck!
 
Hi Suzanne,

I'm sorry I didn't realize you had written again. It's not that I don't want to make changes without the vets, I just feel she is doing it right. I understand the low carbs for sure. I wish there was a cheaper food that had low carbs AND low phos and fat. I looked at the Friskies Special diet, the only one that had somewhat low phos had higher carbs than what I am currently feeding my cat, the other had higher fat and lower protein. I'd rather keep my cats on the food they are on. I have looked in to Weruva, and will discuss with my vet, but it is more expensive than their diabetic food. I understand what your saying as far as making the diabetes a priority, I actually am, but to not consider the associated possible illnesses would be foolish I feel. I know most don't agree with me and that is ok, I just don't want my cats to have other issues because I treated their diabetes too aggressively. It's like trying to lose weight by not eating a thing. I am doing a lot of research on this on my own, and find that what my vets, nutritionist and ER vet have told me is dead on. I see many of the kitties that eat only low carb focused diets do go into remission and rather quickly, but after long term use of those foods, many develop the associated diseases (ie; Renal failure, pancreatitis, etc.) I would rather treat my cats' diabetes in a manner that would benefit them and not lead to other problems.
I still forgot to get the nutrition info on the Royal Canin wet food. I will have to look into it. I'm pretty sure Hill's was better.
While my cats are not in remission, they have improved and both are doing much better than they were. I can literally see the difference. As I have said, this is all new to me and I am researching a lot on it.
I have been home testing and will be doing another 12 hour curve on them Sunday.

I really appreciate you input, and thank you so much for it. Everyone's responses have helped me and I have done a lot of research based on the help of those responses.

I really hope you and your kitty are doing well. :smile:
 
The uptick in renal disease in cats is more likely due to years of eating dry food and a continuous state of mild dehydration straining the kidneys. When the cat gets older, it starts to show up, as do many diseases associated with aging (heart, thyroid, etc). See veterinarian-written Cat Info for more explanation and discussion of how various nutrition approaches impact the cat.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top