Baby is almost 19 - has CKD + newly dx

Hi, Our much loved Domestic longhaired cat, "Baby" -

Now has glucose in her blood sugar per our newly bought glucose strips. Her internal med doc says test daily for 3 weeks then begin insulin if warranted.

We notice that her urine volume, high with the 100 ml of Lactated Ringers we give her for kidney disease, has decreased. Should we concern ourselves with the urine decrease or keep focusing on the glucose?

So much to learn.

Thank you for the forum.

 

A more accurate way to test is to use a blood meter on the ear. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

 

Welcome to FDMB Deborah and Baby. It's the best place you never wanted to be. It's also a treasure trove of information about feline diabetes, what effective treatment entails and also a very supportive community, many dealing with same or similar issues of diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

As Janet told you, testing the blood sugar is the best way to see what is actually happening at the moment. Using the urine glucose strips only tells you generally what the glucose level in urine that has been collecting in the bladder for an unknown period of time. It's not nearly as accurate and dependable.

If you are considering blood sugar testing like we do here, you can get a ReliOn Prime meter and 50 strips at Walmart for less than $20 and a box of 28 gauge lancets is $2 or $3.

I remember in nursing care many years ago the paper urine testing strips were all we had to measure blood sugar, and then some wonderful,, caring and creative people got busy and now we have blood glucose meters for humans and our beloved furry companions.

I suggest you copy your post here, go to the Main Health forum HERE and create a new thread, then paste the message. I would like to get more eyes on your concerns and questions, and more members monitor the Main Health forum to be of assistance.

Best wishes Deborah, I look forward to seeing more about Baby and how she is doing.

 

My CKD kitty was recently diagnosed with diabetes. Lots of drinking an peeing. There are some great people here who have years of experience caring for diabetic cats. There's a lot to read, here. Stickies at the top of forums are very useful. It's normal to be overwhelmed with all the information and the acronyms and terminology. It will get easier with time and rereading.

I recommend a meter so that you can get more accurate numbers. I came home from Walmart with the items Idjit's mom suggests for $20. Best investment and cheaper than bloodwork

Filling out the signature with info about your cat will be helpful as will a spreadsheet with numbers. I bet that a few days of testing will reveal a good course of action. From the posts I've seen here, vets often give terrible dosing advice; very few have experience managing a diabetic cat. Be wary of vet advice!

Diet has a huge influence on blood sugar. I was feeding my cat premium dry food. She's never been too fond of wet food, but I discovered she love the Hill's Prescription m/d pork flavor and I switched her to that in a single day. Her blood glucose dropped from high to near normal almost immediately. It continued to go down and now she appears to be in remission. I've never been impressed with overpriced, low quality ingredient prescription food, but it's better than diabetes. The food is 13% carbs and we are now searching for a better quality wet food with lower carbs, also trying to avoid high phosphorous which is bad for CKD cats. If you don't know about Tanya's site, it has a wealth of information about kidney disease and the content seems to be updated frequently :https://www.felinecrf.org/

What food is Baby eating? There's a sticky at the top of the main health forum with a chart of cat food with carbs/protein/fat/P. Dr. Pierson's website on cat food is a good read too.

 

Hi, Janet: Saw your video. Such kindness in sharing your skills.

Debbie

 

Thank you Lou, very kind. Glad you mentioned the ReliOn Prime meter as I was just eyeballing the AlphaTrak starter kit at $50.

Not sure why the Vet clinic (usually good for treating CKD) asked us to use the paper glucose strips for 30 days (seems long). Our cat presented with an initial reading of 367, kind of high. Our cat is also an oncology patient, she has fought small bowel lymphoma for a year, and Chronic Kidney disease for 4 years.

Thank you again

 

Hello, Lou - I don't know if my last 'reply' took but thank so so much. I work near a Wal-Mart. Not sure why our vet only wanted glucose urine testing for 30 days. Baby's Fructosamide test (8/21) showed 367 uMol/L (if I have the um correct). That sounds high to me. We love her, she's almost 19, she's had chronic kidney disease, gets 100ml Saline (ringers) a day, has cancer, is treated with chemo, and now this. We want to help her all we can.

 

Hello, Gypsy's parent: Thank you for your kind and thorough reply. The Walmart meter is next up. I should fill our the spreadsheet as it would help. Ditto the signature.

Our cat's appetite is finicky. She has eaten wet food, lower-quality Fancy Feast for several years and I did not have success breaking her of this despite offering the higher-end food. As you know, CKD felines should have lower protein so the new Dx will be a challenge. Yes, I am a devotee of Tanya's site.

Let me see if I can do better. Kind regards to you.

 

Baby is a precious darling girl, and if her BG at diagnosis was 367, I would want to know what her BG is at home in a less stressful environment, and not have just one number to rely on. And, if the testing shows continued high blood sugar levels, depending on her current diet, then she might need insulin before 30 days. It might make her more comfortable to get the blood sugar regulated, while she is dealing with the cancer and CKD. We really need to throw this out into the Main Health forum, and get more eyes on the issues you are dealing with.

Ok, it took me a minute to back up and read your response to Gypsy's Parent. I have some information regarding the "lower protein" thinking for CKD kitties. I will locate that and send it to you PM.

We have members here who have dealt with cancer, CDK and diabetes in their kitty kids, so you have an opportunity to draw on others' experience and knowledge.

More pertinent information in the signature and a spreadsheet would be most appreciated.

Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the country/time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

We are going to be here for you, Deborah.

 

Thank you, Lou - so kind. I have done version 1.0 of the tasks requested.

 

Welcome Deborah and Rodriguez.
As you are not starting insulin for a while, I would also test for ketones while you are waiting as ketones can form in the blood in untreated diabetic kitties as well as kitties that are being treated for FD. They are easy to test for. Just buy a bottle of Ketostix from Walmeat, about $10, collect a urine specimen and test the urine with a test strip and read exactly 15 seconds later. Anything above a trace needs vet attention.

Also FFeast is high in phosphorus which is bad for CRD cats. Have you looked at alternate foods.?
Lou mentioned protein to you. I'd look at that too as the newer thinking is for high protein until late in the disease CRD.

Unless the blood glucose levels go back down to normal with lower carb food, I would not leave it 30 days before starting insulin.
Great to see you here. You'll. get lots of help and support

 

Thank you Bron (and Sheba).

Looks like 2 day's of testing show positive for ketones and sugar in urine. I will ask my signif other to report to vet.

Looks like one of us will need to take on cooking for Baby if we want her to live the best life she can. A small price. I still work; he's retired.

 

Deborah, as I told you I use the FoodFurLife supplement with raw meat for Idjit, and even if you decided you wanted fully cooked, or partially cooked meat for Baby, it's not that hard, and doesn't take that long. I just use a food scale, and a food processor in my preparation, plus a bowl, utensils, and my little glass baby food jars that can go in the freezer. You don't need a grinder necessarily. I like to keep things simple, and my DH has helped with preparation so he could do it in my absence.

 

If there is anything above a trace of ketones in the urine you need to go to the vet. Do not leave it.
Your kitty needs to start having insulin now to prevent more ketones developing.
Ketones can rapidly lead to DKA which is a very very serious illness in cats. Catching it early is much easier, safer and cheaper than having to treat DKA.
Is he eating well?
Please take Rodriguez to the vet now if there is anything above a trace of ketones in the urine.
Thinking about it.... as he is an untreated diabetic I think any ketones in the urine at all needs prompt attention.

 

Thank so so much. am emailing doctor tonight. His partner covers until Wed but don’t want to delay as you point out

Thanks

 

Thank you I will give this a try on Friday

 

Please keep us updated

 

Hi, I made an error (thank Goodness): While Baby's urine glucose strips have shown twice the highest sugar, her tests were negative (not positive) for ketones.

Thank you.

 

I am very glad to read this Deborah!

 

Thank you, Bron and Sheba. The vet now says that once we have a 3rd sample of confirmed glucose in urine then they will proscribe the insulin.

Baby used to have copious urine but now it is scanty. I will have to ask about increasing her Lactated Ringers. I have the (cheaper) blood glucose meter , a box of strips. Am steeling myself for the ear lancing...I know I will need to distract Baby and follow the many examples.

Glad this list is on our side.

 

Deborah, let's take the discussion out into the Main Health forum. You just create a new thread there, like you did here. That way more members can meet you and Baby, and help out with suggestions while you learn to test. It's ok to use the cheaper meter, if you are talking about the ReliOn. Many members use it and do rely on it.

When you post in the Main Health forum HERE we can provide links to videos and tips for testing, how to condition Baby to accept the process better with treats and give you the link to the spreadsheet to record insulin and testing data.

It's doable, sometimes in the beginning it's a little rocky, but we all learned and we will help you as much as we can.

 

Ok, I gave it a shot (not literally).

Thanks, Lou.