Carol in Chicago - newly dx cat

My 10 year old diagnosed last Saturday with blood sugar 574! On 1 unit q12 hrs for four days now -I have several issues
1) I adopted him 5 years ago and he has never been able to tolerate any canned food - he likes it, but like clockwork, after 2-3 days, he has a day or two of vomiting, won't look at the canned food, won't eat anything for about 12 hrs, then resumes dry food. Two vets think he may have some IBD. After the diabetes dx, I started giving him canned food, but again, he go sick after 3 days. So he's on Purina DM dry, likes it fine. He also is a grazer, he will only eat a bit at a time, so I can't really meal feed. I'm been taking it away after a few hours in the morning
2) constipation - I am having to give him SQ fluids every day due to dehydration - but in the past 4 days, he has only had a few small pieces of stool His old dry food was full of fiber, so he never had an issue. How to get fiber into him now? I tried pumpkin, no luck (wouldn't eat it)
His blood sugar today at hour 7 post insulin was 412- yesterday it was 340 (at a random time). Again, he nibbles through the day. I'm supposed to do a insulin/glucose curve in a week. Suggestions welcome

 

He's on provinc insulin
I really need advice about what to do about the constipation

 

Hi Carol
What kind of wet food did you try him on? You could try a 1/4 Pepcid AC with the food. And feed tiny amounts, seeing what may stay down. Hiding the Pepcid in the food as I was transitioning, really solved my problem. And I never gave too much at once, and stuck to ONE flavor for a few days. After that, it was a bit easier to sneak a tsp of pumpkin in too.
It would be worth a few more tries, as the dry Purina is much too high in carbs and is keeping your glucose values way too high.
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes

 

Thanks so much for reply- over the past five years, I have tried many different brands & flavors of canned food - mostly fancy feast (pate), Science diet, Iams, but a smattering of others at Petsmart as well. I start with 1 tsp in the morning & night, repeat the next day, 3rd day give it 3x a day. He definitely keeps it down at the time - problem is about day 3 or 4, he vomits for a day, won't eat anything, and won't look at canned food for a long time (food aversion it seems). about 24 hrs later, he'll start eating dry food again. This same pattern has been repeated every couple of months for 5 years - now that he is on insulin I am so hesitant to try it again. Yet I really want him to go to canned food. I give him a probiotic "culturelle" into which I've been inserting 1/4 pepcid. I've tried pumpkin - he won't eat it. Constipation now a huge issue with no fiber in his diet, and I'm having to give him SQ fluids. I'm trying miralax (only thing that worked on my other cat) - I look at laxatone and those hairball remedies, but they have corn syrup and sugar so I don't want to give it -- again, suggestions very welcome

 

Hi Carol,

Psyllium husk is another fibre source - a little really goes a long way as it really swells up when it absorbs water. I'm not sure whether there are any caveats about using it as a long-term treatment. A visit to felineconstipation.org might give you more ideas.

If you can't get anywhere with the wet food, some members here feed their cats Young Again Zero Carb dry food which is low carb. They only sell online, but they do offer trial packs. Their customer service team is very helpful. (Warning - there have been reports on this board experiencing digestive upsets when trialling/transitioning to this food.)

I think that Evo Cat and Kitten (?? not 100% sure of product name) is another dry food that is fairly OK carb-wise for diabetics.


Mogs
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Hi Carol and Murphy. Welcome to FDMB.

I am assuming Murphy's blood sugar of 574 was taken at the vet. If so, it was likely elevated because vet BG (blood glucose) readings tend to be higher, especially with a stressed cat.

I am also assuming from your post that you are home testing (checking Murphy's glucose levels). If not, let us know and we'll give you good tips. You can also do the glucose curve at home and save yourself money. Plus needless stress for Murphy.

Has a vet ever considered giving Murphy budesonide? My cat Bonnie has IBD and since being on budesonide, she no longer vomits. But I also have her on a limited ingredients diet and switched her to a novel protein (duck), something she has never had before. Now I am getting her to eat raw food.

Could you mash up some pumpkin in canned food and force feed it with a syringe to Murphy?

Has the vet done an ultrasound? Has Murphy been examined to rule out any obstructions or other issues going on that could explain the constipation?

 

Just saw your other post http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/constipation-advice.142401/.

Good to see the Miralax helped Murphy!

 

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Hi Carol!
Why don't you go ahead and rename this post, something like "Newbie Constipation Help Needed". You can get more eyes on this post that way, and don't have to retype!
Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

 

Oops sorry! I didn't see all the new posts!

 

yes, the 574 blood sugar was at the emergency vets - I know it's still too high I'll be doing an insulin curve on Monday at home (I'll check this site for instructions). Murphy has never been formally dx with IBD but I absolutely think he has some component of it. My plan for this week is to try to get him stabilized food and bowel habits wise (went cold turkey off his old food, getting used to this new one) and then try to improve treatment next week. I'm so hesitant to try canned because of how sick he has always gotten, and not sure what I would do with a day or two of not eating and vomiting now that he is on insulin. I'll definitely talk to my vet about the budesonide. thanks for all the tips