What else can I do?

[Helen & Felix]

Helllo everyone,

The beginning of this week I started noticed my furry son; Felix drinking like a horse and urinating constantly. This combined with the fact he is a little bit chubby ( 17 lbs)I knew something was wrong and had an inking that it was Diabetes. Watching my home vet sedate my poor baby to get a blood sample had me in tears and mental breakdown. We just received the results on Thursday and of course our worst fears have come true, Felix had a BG of 432 (24) and a fructosamine of 479.

Being a super proactive control freak I immediately read everything there was on this site and thank you so much for existing! I switched his diet from completely dry food to all wet low carb where he is currently eating a combo of Holistic select/ Wellness/ and Tiki. I figured since he doesn't start insulin till tomorrow, it was the best time to switch his diets as I've heard it can improve/change his BG levels. I also went out and bough a glucose meter ( contour next) and attempted home monitoring yesterday with success! (little bugger didn't even notice) and the best part was that his BG levels actually has decreased to 288 (16). I don't know if this is due to him not being stressed or the new diet that he is now on but I feel like I can finally breath alittle.

Sorry this post is so long but.. now to my questions... is is there anything else I can do before the vet comes tomorrow with the insulin? are there certain questions I should ask him? ?I feel like I should request a urine test to look for ketones but Felix is not showing any signs of distress, aside from the increase in peeing and water drinking he seems great with a good appetite.

Im also alittle confused with how feeding works with AMPS and PMPS as Felix has to go on a diet too and loose some weight. I know I have to decrease his calorie intake and make sure he doesn't loose more than 1 lbs a month and I am hoping to feed him 4 times day (6 am, 12 pm, 6 pm, 11 pm). Any thoughts and advice will be much appreciated! Thank in advance.

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Hello and welcome!

Great job getting the home testing and food change underway before starting insulin. The FD diagosis is a big shock, but you have stepped right up and done the best things you can do to take control of the situation!

To answer your questions:

1) ketones. I'd suggest picking up some urine dipsticks (should be at most human pharmacies with the other diabetic supplies) so that you can test for ketones at home. Ketones/DKA are things you hope not to have to deal with, but they are much easier to address if you catch them early, and testing at home is easy and cheap.

2) feeding. A lot of us use automated feeders to feed regular meals. It's a little tricky with wet food, but what you can do is freeze chunks of it for the later meals so that they thaw by the time the feeder rotates. We do try to remove food in the 2hrs before AMPS and PMPS, so that we can get a number that isn't influenced by the food; you can do that with an auto-feeder by having the last "meal" be an empty compartment.

I think in terms of getting Felix to lose a little weight, it will be easier to concentrate first on getting the BG under control. You are right to be cautious about inducing a rapid weight loss (bad in general for cats), but with diabetes there's an added risk of ketone development when food is reduced/restricted. I think there's time enough to address the weight once you are able to settle on a decent dose and have stable BGs.

What insulin are you planning to use?

 

[Helen & Felix]

Hi Nan & Amber!

Thanks for the response . In terms of what type of Insulin to use I'm not really sure ( though i have read a bit about each one) We are meeting our vet tomorrow so we will have to see. But since Felix's BG has changed a bit since we initially got the results from the vet I'm hoping that the dosage will be smaller than what was anticipated.

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

If you have a choice, the good insulins for cats are the longer-lasting ones (cats have a fast metabolism). Those would be the depot insulins Lantus and Levemir, and the "in-and-out" insulins ProZinc and PZI.

Keep in mind, the number you got at home was from a "human" meter, which reads lower than a "pet" meter on cat blood, so those numbers may not have been all that different and Felix likely will need to go on insulin-- , but because there are lots of knowledgable folks around here to help!

 

[tiffmaxee]

Lantus or Levimar are the insulins of choice in my opinion. The food change alone can bring the BG down a lot. Many but not all test higher at the vet’s office than at home. Good for you for stopping dry food.

Weight loss needs to be slow or they can develop hepatic lipidosis.

 

[Helen & Felix]

Thanks tiffmaxee,

It was quiet frustrating to get felix to get him to convert from all dry to all wet food, the first day I was going to pull out my hair.

Currently in trying to feed him about 6 oz a day ( split into 4 feedings)- combo of holistic select and probably tiki cat and I also throw some almo in there to entice him but he doesn't seem to be able to eat one whole feeding completely (1.5 oz) or he takes a long time to eat it.. I just finished feeding him and it took him 45 minutes to finish it. Im concerned that this will affect his BG levels (hypo) when we start doing the insulin shots. I know that I read in a forum that as long as they have some food during or before their insulin shots it is fine and the leftovers can be given to him in his next feeding but do I need to try to get him to eat a whole feeding before/ during the insulin shots? if so.. how can I get him to eat it in full and alittle faster? or can I say feed him at 5 am ( giving him an hr) and then give his insulin shot at 6 am?

Im sorry I have sooo many questions and he hasn't even started his insulin yet, Im alittle panicky as tomrrow is looming closer.

 

[Sarah Smith]

You don't have to apologize for asking questions. You are trying to help Felix and the best way to do that is with information. Luckily the folks here are full of great knowldege! I'm sure it will all go well tomorrow

 

[tiffmaxee]

Many cats are grazers and won’t eat a lot at one time. My Max was that way. I fed him several small meals each cycle. For Max who had chronic pancreatitis and later CKD small meals kept him steady. The only rule is no food two hours before insulin so that the results aren’t food influenced. Most of us test, feed, shoot in about 5-10 minutes.

We like questions around here so ask away. I know it’s overwhelming at first. We all have been in your shoes.

 

[Steph & Quintus & L & O]

Regarding insulin: definitely do make it clear to your vet that his diet has changed. I changed Quintus's diet and didn't tell my vet because at the time I didn't realise it was important, which led us to (near miss!) nearly overdosing him badly and sending him into hypo.

 

[Lillie]

Same here- I changed my cat's diet from dry to all wet at the same time he went to the vet for a curve. Since he was still testing high at the vet's due to stress and previous diet the vet started him out on a much higher dose of insulin than was needed. He did end up with a minor hypo one week later due to this and me not yet home testing. Diet changes can make a big difference.