Winston

Hi,

My poor cat winston aged 5 has had so much over the last 3-4 years. From abscess on head, to injuries from fights, from toxoplasmosis and the list is endless.

The big one was allergies and he was being treated with steroids for last year. over the last 4 weeks he constantly meowing and crying for food. Anyways took to vets as he only had a steroid last week for his allergies and she said his glucose reading was very bad and has diabetes.

Winston is not a lap type cat more of an outdoor "feed me and leave me". Im very worried about giving him injections and the rest that goes with it. Doing all my research on here and other sites. He is going to vets for next 48 hours while they keep eye on him every 2 hours after insulin. Im not sure what type of insulin yet. Obviously very worried and hope i and he will cope.

My main concern is doing the injections before / after work as he is not an easy cat and not a "handling" type cat. I think the best is food down and inject but even when he is eating i tried to grab an area to "where i might inject" and found difficult before he done a runner.

How do people cope socially? Morning injections wount be a problem at say 4am, 6am , but if i am out for a day trip and not back at 9-10pm?? How do you all manage that ? Obviously as much as we love him we need a social life where we will have some commitments and i dont want him to suffer.

Overwhelming, but i will do my best for him.

 

Hello to you and Winston, and welcome to FDMB

A diagnosis of feline diabetes can seem overwhelming at first. I think most of us felt that way initially. There seems to be a lot to take in. But it does get easier. Honestly!
And with a committed caregiver, and a little bit of luck, a diabetic cat can live as long and as happily as a non diabetic cat.

The insulin shots should not hurt Winston. You are only lifting loose skin and depositing insulin underneath into the 'hollow' area you've created. You won't be injecting into muscle. And most of us give the cat their shot while they are eating food.
When I started giving shots I gave my cat his favourite food at shot time, that way I was sure he'd stay put while I was learning the ropes. I'd put some food down and then (standing behind and to the side of him) gently stroke his neck and then locate and pull up some loose skin.
It may take you a few goes to get the hang of it. That's OK. (And if you want to practice giving shots you can do that on oranges. I was nervous of syringes and spent quite a while drawing up water into them and then injecting that into an orange. It really can help your hands to learn the process.)

Also try to be relaxed and 'matter of fact' about it. Take a few deep breaths before you give those first shots.
Cats pick up on our stress, and the more relaxed you are the more relaxed he will be.
It can be helpful to talk in a reassuring voice while you give the shot. And some people find it helpful to tell the cat what they are doing and why (strange but true!).
You will probably be surprised at how quickly you learn to do this. And it will very soon become routine.

If you are often going to be out late (and can't get a friend or neighbour to give the insulin shot) then that may have some bearing on your choice of insulin. Some are more 'flexible' than others with regard to the timing of the shots. Your insulin choices will depend on what part of the world you live in. What country are you in?

Some cats will be on insulin for life, but some lucky cats will go into remission and be able to have their diabetes diet-controlled, temporarily or permanently. Cats with steroid-induced diabetes have a good chance of going into remission (once the steroid treatment is stopped).
Is your cat's steroid treatment likely to be ongoing? Do you actually know the cause of his allergies..?

And what are you feeding Winston at the moment?

Oh, and regarding how it may affect your social life. I've found it to be a mixed blessing. Having to be around to give insulin shots has made some things more challenging. But I've also been able to escape many boring events by using my cat's diabetes as an excuse....

Eliz

 

Thank you. I am from Essex (canvey island).

His allergies are quite long listed i will have to dig up the report form later, but from quite a lot of trees, oak, plants, duck, turkey. (yeast canditata ? Not sure on spelling)

Current food he is on Hills C/D wet pouches & dry biscuits (normally 2 pouches a day and some biscuits later in evening). I am going back to vets tomorrow evening and that is my main question on changing his food to a more suitable diabetic food.... She mentioned (the vet) that we could use other medication to stable his allergies which would mean injecting into mouth. Something i tried before in past and failed badly and was very stressful for both winston and myself. As he is an outdoor cat, i will convert him to indoor cat to try to stabilize his allergies and concentrate on his diabetes. Talking of which do any of you let your cats out with diabetes?

I do have parents that could help now and then but it is a burden as he is such a shy cat he will hide under bed etc. Even does with me sometimes but like u say i guess i will make it work because i will want to.

 

Hi again,

(Am waving from Surrey!)

The majority of folks here are in the US where keeping cats indoors is much more the norm. Those of us in Europe or Oz/NZ are much more likely to let our cats out. It's a cultural thing.
My cat has always been an indoor/outdoor cat. And I've been lucky that it doesn't seem to have affected his diabetes. But it can be tricky if a diabetic cat can get access to the food of neighbouring cats (especially dry food), as that can mess with their blood glucose levels.

Regarding food, most of us here feed ordinary low carbohydrate wet food (many ordinary foods are suitable). Very few people on the forum feed prescription foods.
However, for a cat already on insulin we usually recommend that the diet is only switched to lower carb if/when the caregiver has learned to test the cat's blood glucose at home. That's because lowering the carb content of the food can lower the blood glucose, and the insulin dose may need to be reduced also.

I expect the prospect of testing a cat's blood glucose at home seems a bit daunting, especially since you've not yet tried any insulin shots! But it usually isn't much harder than an insulin shot (and neither is it painful for the cat). Most cats can be 'hometested'. But there are a minority of cats that aren't amenable to it, or who aren't amenable to it at first....
Rewarding a cat with treats can often win them round. And some of us started out by just holding or massaging an ear for a couple of seconds and then rewarding the cat with a treat; and then gradually working up to testing. (That's what I did, because my cat was 7 kg of 'claws and attitude'. But now he actually enjoys the process because of the treats!)

Regarding the allergies, it sounds like some of those allergens (the plant ones in particular) could be hard to avoid. Have you ever tried keeping Winston indoors before? And if so, how did he react?

I know there's a lot to take in at first. But please don't feel you have to know or do everything all at once. Take it at your own pace. And remember to breathe...

Eliz

 

Thank you.

I have kept winston indoors before because of certain illness he has had, and it was very challenging. Constantly crying to go outdoors and he seemed quite depressed.

With the "feeding", Can i only feed him morning / evening with insulin? For example could i feed and insuling cat at 6am, then feed him 11am a few biscuits and then insuling / food 6pm and a bit more food later at night 10pm? Or does that cause diabetes to get worse hence only 2 meals a day??

I will have to keep him in and get used to it. I am not sure on the home testing my vet said every 10 days bring him in to test if i want. Got an appointment tomorrow its all new, i am still worrying how i will manage with the injections, and also how he will react off steriods for his allergies. I want the best quality of life for him and if i cant get that i will have to consider PTS. He is my baby so will do my best. A lot of other people would have PTS when he had all his other problems and i stayed strong for him and got him better, so i thought..

 

my poorly winston today before i took him vets where he stay for a few days :









When he had toxoplasmosis :










When he had abcess to head






Happier times

 

Welcome to FDMB, the best place you never wanted to be.

There are 4 things you'll need to manage your kitty's diabetes:
- You - without your commitment, the following won't work
- Low carb over the counter canned or raw diet, such as some of the Bozita brands on Zoo Plus. See Cat Info for more feline nutrition info.
- A long-lasting insulin such as Levemir, or Lantus; because of your country, you may have to start with Caninsulin.
- And home blood glucose monitoring with an inexpensive human glucometer such one by Bayer or Abbott (the pet ones will break your budget!)

 

Had a call from vet his first insulin was a small dose and he had a hypo turn. They want me to take him home tonight so he will eat (he never eats in vets) and take back tomorrow where they will try again!!

Really not happy about this, and think if it happens again tomorrow it maybe end of the road. maybe being dramatic but i dont want him to suffer any more.

 

Please don't give up hope. Diabetes really is treatable.
Does Winston have any other health conditions at the moment apart from the diabetes?

I'm guessing, since you're in the UK, that the vet is prescribing Caninsulin.
May I ask a few questions:
Do you know what dose the vet gave Winston?
Do you have any blood glucose results from today?

And what were you feeding Winston prior to the Hills CD?

Eliz

 

I am not sure , i go in 2 hours to talk and get winston.

Dose - again dont know will ask and find out. apprently a very small dose, but that could mean anything!
Glucose - no dont know will update later.

Prior to hills c/d he was on Hills Z/D Dry biscuits , prior to that his main food was Gourmet cat pouches.

 

back from vet, he had the "recommended" dose on insulin which is caninsulin. (not sure on the actual dose).. He started at 27, went to 14 2-3 hours later then at the 4-6 hour mark he had a dip below 5 . Since gone back up to the late 20's.

He came home and scoffed all his food and drank a hell of a lot. They want him back tomorrow morning to start again on insulin on "half dosage" and monitor him for 12/24hours. Then depending how he reacts to dose he can come home and i start injections.

I have an hour appointment tomorrow to go into detail so was unable to get specifics but ill write down a big list of questions and get the answers

 

Maybe get the shopping list for UK foods from Elizabeth and see if you find some local low carb foods to pick up and test before starting the insulin.
With that strong of a reaction to insulin, their dose maybe too high. Suggest they start at 0.5 units first (insulin is measured in units).

 

thanks the vet said to keep food the same until we get insulin under control. If he does not settle insulin then can try new food but for now she thinks best keep it as the same.

i am not saying your advice is not best / correct just from what my vet said ....

also to remember that my cat not only has diabetes but allergies to certain foods, so therfore the current Hills C/D is best suited. I think long term we will switch , but for now keep it as it is...

 

Help / question :

Winston is on 0.5 of insulin, yesterday evening i done my first dose and it went well. this morning not so... Maybe i was too tired or rushed it but the needle afterwards looked bent, and i am not 100% sure insulin went in. I think it did.... Obviously i will now wait to his next dose. He seemed very very quite like he was on a low. He was the same yesterday prior to going vets prior to any insulin. I hope i done it ok as i have had to leave him to go work. He eat 3/4 of a packet of wet food and i injected, he then left the rest. He had a couple of biscuits and i picked up the food before i left .

* also i done a few test runs on 0.5 and it seemed just literally a couple of small drops. Im sure that is correct as it is a small dose? "

 

What is the syringe cap color?

If red, you have U-40 syringes and 0.5 is pretty visible, a few millimeters from the needle tip

If orange cap, you have U-100 syringes and the 0.5 unit is very small, maybe a millimeter or so.

 

Hello, yes they are red caps. Yes i can see a couple of small drops , its just suprising maybe how little insulin can actually have an affect on the cat.

 

Hi,
How is Winston doing today?
.

 

I would say no change. He just very very very quite, all he does is lay down flat like superman and sleep / rest. HE wont play with any toys or be active. Ive bought new toys and everything but no change. Now and then he comes down and gives me a meoww. i hope he will improve soon he started his first insulin on WED when he had a hypo and then lower dosage 0.5 thursday. Now being saturday i was hoping he would be more "with it"

 

Can we get you started using our grid to record your glucose tests? It will help us give you better feedback. Instructions are here.

Understanding the spreadsheet/grid:

The colored headings at the top are the ranges of glucose values. They are color-coded to clue you in as to meaning.

Each day is 1 row. Each column stores different data for the day.

From left to right, you enter
the Date in the first column
the AMPS (morning pre-shot test) in the 2nd column
the Units given (turquoise column)

Then, there are 11 columns labeled +1 through +11
If you test at +5 (5 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +5 column
If you test at +7 (7 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +7 column
and so on.

Halfway across the page is the column for PMPS (evening pre-shot)
To the right is another turquoise column for Units given at the evening shot.

There is second set of columns labeled +1 through +11
If you snag a before bed test at +3, you enter the test number in the +3 column.

We separate day and night numbers like that because many cats go lower at night.

It is merely a grid for storing the info; no math required.

 

hey thanks for that info . My vet has told me 26th may he booked in all day to monitor his levels. She said that i wont need to home test yet until he settles and back in vet on that date to allow insulin to take affect...

Once i have mastered the standard injections i will do home monitoring as per many recommendations. Just to add fuel to the fire he only had a steriod injection week & half ago for his "allergies" ... Something which we now wont repeat now we know diabetes.

 

Your vet is incorrect. Home testing is for the cat's safety. You need to know he isn't going too low on the insulin and vets guess at the first dose you are told. All it takes is food refusal, diarrhea from food change, or vomiting a fur ball for your cat to sink into dangerously low numbers. If you identify them, you can intervene before your cat becomes fatally hypoglycemic.