? Can cats catch a virus from a human

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Kitty mom, Jan 2, 2016.

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  1. Kitty mom

    Kitty mom Member

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    As some my know I'm trying to figure out what's behind the sudden rise in bg in my two OTJ cats.
    I don't believe both would fall out of remission at the same time, there has to be something going on here.
    My question is can a cat catch a virus a human had?
    My hubby was sick for a few days with just a not feeling good think, there was no one thing wrong he just felt sick, could they have caught what he had?
    I'm wearing a hole in my head from scratching it.
     
  2. Larry and Kitties

    Larry and Kitties Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Not at all common but it can happen. Has there been a recent change it the indoor weather like temperature?
     
  3. Kitty mom

    Kitty mom Member

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    Nov 2, 2014
    Larry , I can think of anything that has changed. Yesterday when I tested Dasher he was at 95 down from 147 in hindsight I should of tested Blitzen too but we were on our way to the movies.
    I will interested to see where Dasher is at today, if Dasher is in normal range when I test him later then I'm thinking Blitzen will go back down in time too. When is the best time to get a accurate bg number for OTJ cats , I'm thinking 4 to 5 hours after eating?
     
  4. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

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    That'll give you a good picture of fasting BG.

    You might also try feeding after the long fast then getting tests at +1, +2 and +3 after the meal to check how the pancreas is responding to inbound dietary carbs.


    Mogs
    .
     
  5. Kitty mom

    Kitty mom Member

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    Okay thanks
     
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  6. Kitty mom

    Kitty mom Member

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    Okay I just tested; Dasher 103 & Blitzen 107 this is 3 1/2 hours since their last feeding.
    Blitzen came down from the 130's since his last test 4 hours ago.
     
  7. Kitty mom

    Kitty mom Member

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    So now I'm wondering about something.
    After dx we switched to the lower carb FF and was feeding every 4 hours and over time we went to every 5 hours as well as a tablespoon of YAZC , these two were like clockwork on the 5th hour. Lately it seems we've gotten to anywhere from 5 to 7 hours between feeding sometimes as long as 8 hours....could this be anything?
    Could they need to be kept on a more frequent feeding schedule?
    I'm apologize if I'm driving anyone crazy with think this or that being the reason but I'm determined to get to the bottom of this.
    If they are in fact both coming out of remission so be it and we will get them back on Lantus, however I find it hard to believe it would happen at the same time and remember they both became diabetic pretty much at the same time.
     
  8. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

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    That's a definite possibility, and one that has very much been borne out in Saoirse's case. When her numbers started trending upwards after her insulin was withdrawn the only way that I could find to keep her in the normal range when I could not get another Lantus Rx for her was to control when and how much she was fed.

    After monitoring Saoirse for so long I think despite her achieving a technical remission, the remission was never that solid. I think her pancreas never recovered sufficient function to secrete enough basal insulin between meals. I would often see a significant spike in her numbers if she fasted too long (impaired fasting glucose - a symptom of metabolic syndrome/pre-diabetes); a good feed and they would drop back into the normal range again.

    The human pancreas produces pulses of insulin in response to inbound food and I assume that the feline pancreas works similarly. I leveraged that pulsing capacity to help keep Saoirse in the healthy BG range. I split her daily food allowance into mini meals and I fed her every 2-3 hours (timed feeder is vital). Also from what I have read my understanding is that the size of meals can influence how much insulin the pancreas stores ready for the next meal. Again I think that the feline pancreas may work similarly. Feeding Saoirse every 2-3 hours is better for her blood glucose levels than feeding her smaller meals more frequently.

    The time of day when food is consumed can also affect BG levels. For example, if Saoirse doesn't each much in the hours around midnight but eats larger meals after about 4am her morning BG levels tend to be significantly lower (on or off insulin).

    There is another phenomenon I've observed in Saoirse and have read here about other cats is that the actual carb content can influence BG regulation. Some cats do better at different carb levels and lower is not always better. For example, Saoirse does better with carbs at about 1.5-4% than she does at <1%.

    Suggestions:

    * Go back to the feeding schedule where Dasher and Blitzen had better numbers. Monitor how their BG responds before and after meals as suggested above. That should give you a better idea of what their pancreases are up to.

    * Keep a daily log of meal times, food amounts and carb kilocalories. If you do feed products with different carb ratings you could again do the pre-meal and +1/+2/+3 postprandial tests to see whether different carb values make a difference to pancreatic response. (I record feeds using the 'Insert Note' function on Saoirse's spreadsheet so that I've got her food info easily accessible and in context with her BG data - it makes for easier identification of trends and anomalies. The log can be invaluable as a guide to optimising feeding schedules.)

    * If you don't already have any, consider using timed feeders to optimise night time feeding schedule.

    * If you find a schedule that works, stick to it until it no longer works. :)

    * If you're getting any blood tests run for Dasher and Blitzen, perhaps ask the vet to include tests for liver function (precautionary).

    Hope that gives you some ideas.


    Mogs
    .
     
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  9. Jan Radar (GA)

    Jan Radar (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Great information Mogs and kitty mom. Thanks for sharing your observations. I can only share my experience with my one cat who is now back on insulin.... when he was off insulin he insisted that he be fed a mouse size portion of food every few hours which I understand from my vet is a very normal and natural schedule for cats. I don't have scientific knowledge about whether this type of eating helps the pancreas but I know my cat is happier when he eats often. Now that we are back on insulin I have continued to feed him every few hours. So far I've not seen a reason to deviate from this plan.
     
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  10. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

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    @Jan Radar -

    All my cats have been natural - non-greedy - grazers, too. I often think that trying to feed Saoirse only twice a day (as the diagnosing vet insisted) would feel to her the way I'd feel if I had to eat a three-course roast dinner twice a day. :confused:


    Mogs
    .
     
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  11. BJM

    BJM Well-Known Member

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    Whenever you have a hypothesis/idea about why something is happening, you might try using a 'single subject ABA' design where you
    A) observe/test with no intervention
    B) make a intervention and continue observation/tests
    A) reverse the intervention and continue observation/tests

    If the intervention was likely responsible for any differences in what you observed, those will go away when you return to A. If you want these back, reintroduce the change.

    If you can repeatedly, reliably demonstrate that an intervention X causes change Y, you've supported your hypothesis.
     
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  12. Cat girl

    Cat girl Member

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    Sep 29, 2015
    Yes cats can catch some colds and flu from humans and give them to us as well but it don't happen too often that I have noticed.
     
  13. Melanie and Smokey

    Melanie and Smokey Well-Known Member

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    Feb 24, 2010
    No. The human cold virus is different than the cat cold virus. There are not many things people can catch from cats and vise versa. We looked into this because my husband gets flare ups of the herpes virus (cold sores) and a couple of our cats would get flare ups that looked like feline herpes.
     
  14. Julia & Bandit (GA)

    Julia & Bandit (GA) Well-Known Member

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    I also wanted to add that the YAZC can sometimes cause elevated BG for some cats over time. I knew a diabetic cat in remission whose owner started supplementing the canned food with YAZC, and over a period of months her cat's BG started slowly creeping up. After removing the dry food and a very short stint on insulin, he went back into remission.

    Some diabetic cats are sensitive to even the low carb dry foods because they are not low glycemic foods. I've never tried the YAZC with Bandit, but just a few pieces of EVO dry will immediately shoot his BG up into the 200-300 range.
     
  15. Cat girl

    Cat girl Member

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    There are many things cats and humans can't spread but I know for a fact that some upper respiratory diseases and some flu viruses can be spread back and forth between human and cats and other animals too.most flus mainly comes from birds and pigs to start with.i use to work at humane society so have dealt with a lot of sick animals and have had vets confirm that it can happen.you can also look online and it says it all over that upper respiratory diseases and some flus can spread to your pet.i have had one of my cats catch an upper respiratory disease from me before.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2016
    Reason for edit: spellings
  16. Cat girl

    Cat girl Member

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    Can you really give your dog or cat the flu? - Oregon State University
    Oregon State University › archives › oct
     
  17. Cat girl

    Cat girl Member

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  18. Cat girl

    Cat girl Member

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  19. Cat girl

    Cat girl Member

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    Last edited: Jan 10, 2016
    Reason for edit: Mispellings
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