Blackie

Well, here we are. we don't know what to do at this point as we have been treating our cat Blackie for a year for diabeties. I have to tell you, he was a feral cat and lived outside until last year. Neutered and gets his annual shots and exams, a friendly good kitty. So last year when he was diagnosed we brought him and his 'girlfriend' Petunia indoors. They have taken well to living in the house. Blackie is 10-12 years old, we think.

We home test using an alphatrac but have a human testing meter as well if needed.

For the first 4 months he did well on Lantus, 1 unit twice a day. BG below 150. Eats only canned food, mainly fancy feast classic, low carb, no dry food. Then in January the BG started to rise and we had to eventually reach 2 units twice a day, going up a .5 unit at a time. Slowly it kept rising, and before we knew it, he was at 6 units twice a day on Lantus. After some more tests at the vet, we found he had Pancreatitis. No tumors. He takes a half a pepcid each day, and he eats about 6 oz of food for breakfast and again for dinner. He eats only twice per day, no free feeding. drinks water, but not too much. Has not lost weight, about 14 lbs. His activity level was good until recently, now his hind legs are bothering him and we have started to give him B12 for that.

The pancreatitis does not seem to have gotten worse or better, but we know it has an effect on the insulin. Since he did not respond well any longer to the Lantus, we have switched to Levimer in the hope it works better. But we are now at 5 units twice a day. He gets his shots at about 7am and 7pm.

His BG is typically anywhere from 290 to 350 at +4 and +6 but pre shot is typically around 425 to 450, so we don't see a huge drop whether it is 1-2 units or 5 units. We are afraid to raise the insulin dose much higher.

At this point we fear insulin resistance, but are hopeful there is something we can do. We are off to the vet today because he is not having a good day, walks a few steps and then laying down. Seems to be having a great deal of trouble walking. We don't know what to do next, he is laying under the basement steps, alert but out of the way for his morning nap.

Is there anything we can do to get his BG under control again?

 

Welcome to FDMB.

Its great that you are home testing!

The chronic pancreatitis may be a part of why he is hard to control.

Here is a Primer on Pancreatitis which may give you some ideas to discuss with your vet.

Also, just to check out some food options in case you are feeding a prescription diet, pop over to Cat Info to do some reading and review the food list linked in the column on the right side of the page.

 

The leg weakness is likely due to neuropathy due to the high BGs.
I would try raising the dose. and see what happens. Some cats require a high dose and one cause is acromegaly.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...-other-high-dose-conditions-what-we-know.375/
There are tests that can be run.

 

Thanks...we are comsidering everything. He was looking great until a couple of days ago. When we got home from the vet today he was having a lot of trouble walking and is staying in the basement. He didn't even come up for an evening snack, but we brought it to him. It seems his hind legs are really unsteady and he is very cautious about steps. We increased his insulin to 5.5 units tonight. His BG was 351 at the vet, maybe a little higher than at home due to the stress, but still high. They took a urine sample and blood for several tests. I hope we can narrow this down a bit.

 

So sorry Blackies having such problems. My cat Is also on Levemir 4u and going up. He also has neuropathy and is on Zobaline to help that. Did your vet check Blackies teeth? An infected tooth can raise BGs. I hope the blood work can answer your questions, and that Blackie improves soon. Please keep us posted.

 

Hi there, sorry I don't know your name. I also have seen others here discuss Methylobalamin ( Methyl B12) for neuropathy. I believe one source to get it is Vita Cost. @BJM, I think it was a post from you? Dosing 300-500 mg?

 

You'll want to compare the dose with Zobaline.
Vitacost has been mentioned as a source for methyl-B-12 which does not have anything in it which would be harmful to the cat. I was not the original poster, though.

 

Thanks. We are giving him the Methyl B12 for a few weeks. But the rear leg problems seem to have gotten rapidly worse over the course of just a few days. He was walking and climbing pretty well and able to go up and down stairs fine through last saturday. Then on Sunday he had severe hind legs issues, very wobbly, walked a few feet and had to lay down. He has had several tests, and they showed nothing we did not know. The only thing that has shown up is crystals in his urine. So he has a ultrasound this satursday where they will also check his pancreas. Today he can only walk a few steps, front legs are fine, good appetite. We hope he doesn't get worse.

 

What is his potassium level?

 

we have the results, that is the one thing we didn't think of....get back you on that.

 

Could it be that he needs to be back on the Methyl B12? I have had no experience with it so, I don't know if it is something that you can be on for longer periods of time. Also, have you had his teeth looked at, maybe needs a good cleaning, red swollen gums that are inflamed and /or a bad tooth or teeth that need extractions could also cause the BG to stay high. Just a thought.

 

Merlin could not walk. Diabetic neuropathy affected his front and back legs. It was horrible for at least 6-8 months. I had to put rugs down throughout the house (we have saltillo tile) so he wouldn't slip. He was on Zobaline ( I purchased at VitaCost and iLife Link). I also bought Methyl B12 at GNC. They assured me that there was no additives, dextrose, etc. It was cheaper but harder to crush. Anyway, it took him about 8-9 months to start to see improvement. Today, you can't even tell that he was so crippled. The Methyl B12 helps but you have to get their numbers down to also help too.