I am so scared for my Bella

Hi all,



This is my beautiful girl Bella. She was diagnosed on Thursday. She was drinking a ton and not acting like herself, so I took her in. Her first elevated blood test was on Wednesday at 676, and then Thursday she was at 472. Her vet started her on 1 unit of ProZinc twice a day. She hates the shots I ordered her an AlphaTrak (just came in today) and her level at 7 hours after her first dose was 599. I measured again right before I fed her -- AlphaTrak said it was too high to read

This all started from a depo shot less than a month ago. At that time, she was completely normal, except really itchy due to a bad flea allergy. She is on better flea control now thankfully, but I still kick myself for letting them give her that shot. If I could go back in time....

I am so scared for her. She has kidney disease, which makes all this so much worse -- the low carb approach has to be done carefully with her. The vet has warned me about her losing too much weight, as she already has some fatty deposits on her liver. She is only 8 and has been my best friend since she found me 6 years ago. I will help her fight, but she has to help herself and eat -- which she isn't doing enough of.

I don't know why I'm posting. Maybe because I just need someone to tell me she'll be ok. She goes for a curve this Thursday, the results of which I'm sure will be to up her dosage.

I felt alone until I found this forum.

 

Welcome to you and your beautiful girl, Bella!

This is a good starting dose.

Newly diagnosed kitties often have very erratic responses to insulin at the beginning.

There are others here with diabetic kitties who also have kidney disease. They can give you advice on feeding.

Is she normally a finicky eater? Getting enough food into her very important. Serious complications can develop in any cat that isn't eating enough but more so in diabetic cats.

We can help you get Bella on track if you're willing to be more hands on in her treatment. The essential tool is what you're doing already - testing blood glucose at home. There's really no need to have a curve done by the vet. Cats are often stressed there and that can lead to elevated BG values which in turn leads to the vet increasing the insulin dose, often by too much.

Please repost on the main health forum and include:

• Bella's date of diagnosis
• the insulin she's on
• the glucose meter you're using
• what food you give her
• any other health issues/meds she has.

 

Welcome! I'm so sorry you have to be here, but so glad that you are here. You are most definitely not alone. This is a wonderful, wise place with some of the most caring people you will ever find. It sounds like your little Bella has a lot going on, but you're doing some of the most important things you can do to help her right now: you're seeking to learn more about her conditions, you're reaching out to people who can help, and you're home testing.

As Kris said, go ahead and post in the Main Health Forum, and maybe also in the Prozinc forum since that will be your insulin (mine too!). The main forum can help you with the kidney disease/feline diabetes issues, and the prozinc forum can help you with interpreting the BG readings and working on your dosing.

Oh, and here is a list of foods that can be used for cats with both conditions:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/112NvvzgxEBOtkb42rA0XR8GeShw9xXs9kccf9-olK7I/pubhtml

 

Thank you both. I will post in both places.

Kris & Teasel, she is not normally so finicky. I have never been able to make her eat on command (except treats), she's a grazer. What I have done for now is keep the dry food readily available and about 30 minutes before insulin time, I feed her half a can of wet Fancy Feast. She'll eat maybe 2/3 of it and leave the rest for later. She is eating less now than before she was diagnosed (and before she started feeling bad).

Djamila, that spreadsheet is a lifesaver. I hope I can find something on that list that she'll eat.

Can someone tell me if she has a decent chance of coming out of it if we get her glucose under control? I just need some light at the end of the tunnel....

 

It might be a good idea to be testing her for ketones since her numbers are high and she's not eating well. You can buy the test strips at any pharmacy for about $10-15. You put the strip under her pee, or collect a sample (we can help you figure out how to do that - it's pretty easy), then in a few seconds you get the results. Here is some information about testing.

Testing for Ketones: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1quta5WLEjdO0Y_t2dAYSwN84h-LNZWxOdtVsJDKZ16A/pub

Every cat is different, but I can tell you that many cats do go into remission, and many more get to the point where their diabetes is controlled and they have a high quality of life and restored health. It does take care, but as you learn more about all of this, it quickly just becomes routine.

 

Getting her blood glucose under better control will definitely help. It can take time, sometimes quite a bit of time, and as we always say here, "It's a marathon, not a sprint." The people who do the best are those who take the time to learn as much as they can by reading the info here, are willing to adopt a structured home testing regimen and keep their data logged on the spreadsheet we use here so it's easier for us to give advice. There's a huge learning curve at the beginning so break it down into small bits and ask any/all questions. We all know how overwhelmed you feel because we've been there.

 

Djamila, I forgot to mention that. Sorry, my brain is everywhere I got some KetoStix from the vet and have been testing every time I catch her going to the litter box. All have been the highest level on glucose, and all negative for ketones thankfully.

Kris & Teasel, I have been reading everything I can find. What do you do about the constant worrying? I have to go to work tomorrow (going to check on her over lunch) and I'm so scared something will happen while I'm gone.

 

So glad to here negative for ketones! It sounds like you have a pretty great vet - he started you on a good beginner dose, has you home testing, and told you about ketones. That's way way better than most vets do!

As for the worrying, it gets better with time. But I also think worrying is just a by-product of loving our fur babies. Kind of like parents never stop worrying about their human kids, right?

Are you a real ballerina? Or is that just your user name?

 

Your level of worry will be reduced as you learn more, gather blood glucose data that will show you her response patterns and become more confident in your ability to handle "surprises". Being open to asking questions here also helps.

 

She is so ooooooooo adorable!!!

 

I'm convinced the vet where I take her is the best -- they only hire the best doctors and they're all up on new studies and trials.

I did aerial dance for a long time. I still do, but not as much as I used to -- "adulting" gets in the way, as they say

I am glad to hear that, I don't know how long I can go on like this. She is all I can think about. I guess Bella gets the stress not-eating from me -- I'm the same way currently.

Thank you! I used to say "She gets her looks from me"

 

The worry will subside a bit as you start to feel more in control and empowered. The first two weeks are overwhelming. We are here to help.

 

Not too much to add, except Welcome .
Bella is adorable! You've found a great place to support YOU and Bella . You're Vet sounds like one of the few good ones for FD, can you see if they are OK if you decide to take a more "hands-on" approach like we do here? Also, they will probably be increasing her dose and please let us know what the new dose is. I'm sure everyone knows what I'm hinting here but I will continue upon received information.

@Djamila Wonder where you found that list What purrrfect timing that was!

When you are ready, here is the link for the Spreadsheet we use to track BG: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

And some information in your signature will help those of us with bad memories: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/