Yet another newbie

Spud was diagnosed a couple of days ago. Our vet has been very supportive, with tutorials from the nurses and associated literature - a lot to take in. So I gave Spud a morning and evening insulin injection under the supervision of the nurses, and this morning the first on my own. I think it went OK.

Lots of questions of course, but they are probably best left to the vet.

Spud is a real fighter, not sure how many of his 9 lives he has left. During his earlier life we thought we were going to loose him to internal injuries, but the vet worked miracles in patching him up. Now he is 19 years old and rather weak. The diabetes came on very suddenly, with just a couple of weeks between an "all clear" blood test to a very high glucose level.

Anyone else experienced such a sudden onset? I'm curious to know of common that is.

Clive & Spud

 

Welcome Clive. That was a sudden onset, but the good news is you caught it early. Kitties have a better chance of remission the sooner the diabetes is detected and treated. Don't know how common the sudden onset is. What kind of insulin is he on, and how much? What food?

 

Welcome to FDMB!
Elevated glucose may happpen if there is infection of any sort. Has the vet done a dental cleaning recently? Are there any indicators of respiratory or bladder infection?
Was there any kind of allergic issues where he got a steroid shot?

 

Thanks for the reply. Spud is on Caninsulin, just 1iu at the moment, but it is early days and that will probably change. He is on a diabetic food, but we have had to order it and that won't arrive until tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the reply. No dental cleaning recently, mainly because Spud has no teeth left! He cannot eat dried food because of that, and the vet did not stock any wet diabetic food, so we had to order it. The vet did a through check-up a few weeks ago, including a blood test which was clear at the time. Spud had three blood tests (one of which was sent to an external lab) and a urine test leading to diagnosis. He has not had a steroid shot so far as I am aware. We have used this vet practice for various cats and dogs for the past 16 years and have every confidence in them.

 

Diabetic Rx food? Not the best for Spud. Please take a look at this: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

The lower the carbs the better.

 

Thanks, for the link. I'm not sure what the food is, I have put my trust in the vet. I will ask the questions tomorrow (Monday) and report back.

 

It is Royal Canin Diabetic cat foot from their veterinary range. CONSTITUENTS: Protein: 9% - Fat content: 3% - Crude ash: 1.2% - Crude fibres: 1.5% - Moisture: 82.5% - Omega 6 essential fatty acids: 0.6% - Omega 3 essential fatty acids: 0.15% -
Total sugars: 1.3% - Starch: 2.3%.

 

Great, you got the label. Now, look it up in the PDF file. Vets get maybe 1-2 lectures on nutrition, usually from the manufacturer of the Rx foods, so they really aren't experts on it. Dr Pierson of Cat Info specializes in it.
We calculate percent of calories, not weight, for each of protein, fat, and carbohydrate.
For foods not on the list, you can use this online calculator to get the calories from each of these, then calculate the percents yourself..

 

I'm sure you are sincere, but you put me in a difficult position. I don't know what veterinary qualifications you have, I believe that in some countries only 4 years of study are required to get a DVM, rather than the 6 years required by the RCVS. Right now, I'm not going to abandon the trust I have with my vet to some guy I just met on a web forum with a link to a foreign website.

 

The prescription diabetic canned food is acceptable. Just use it if you want. I myself would not since it is too expensive.
On the other hand, I have used the prescription food for urinary problems (crystals that led to blockages) since both the vet and I thought it was best although some caretakers in this forum did not agree.

 

I didn't say to abandon trust in your vet; rather I suggested that most veterinary programs have minimal coursework on nutrition, and that it is often provided by the manufacturers of the prescription pet foods. Perhaps your vet took additional coursework; you might ask.
Per the Merck Veterinary Manual (a common, contemporary, veterinary reference, some of which is available online), there are
3.5 calories per gram of protein
8.5 calories per gram of fat
3.5 calories per gram of carbohydrate
When you have the grams of each in a food, you can determine the calories of each. That, plus the total calories, lets you calculate the percent of calories from each source. Dr Pierson, who is a vet, and specializes in nutrition, obtained the information from numerous US companies for their food, did the calculations, and posted it at her web site Cat Info.
The online calculator was put together by an individual who found the can labels insufficient in that they do not identify carbohydrate info. The calculator provides an approximation from the label values.
Looking up the information is about being an informed consumer, which does not require a veterinary degree.