Early stage kidney disease

My 12 yr old cat Nosium is 2 yrs into diabetes and now maybe kidney disease. He was having trouble eating so I brought him in to check his teeth. One looks bad so my vet wants to clean his teeth and see if he can save it. He said he has to give him a rabies shot by law. Nosium hasn’t been acting normal for about 6 wks maybe and I’m concerned about the shot. Does anyone here know of a reason why I shouldn’t do it? Also he had his blood work done which leads them to believe he has kidney disease. I unfortunately changed his food about 2 months ago and didn’t realize how high the phosphorus was until now. I’ve since switched him to Tiki and Weruva both low ph’s. My vet gave me Hills Prescription which made his bg’s go through the roof. When I told my vet this he said it’s still better for him and we’ll up his insulin. He’s on Lantus Glargine, 6 units in the a.m. and 6 units in the p.m. Only 2 months ago he was on 4 units. Then my vet said he would prefer him on the Hills kibble and that’s when I lost it. I told him I thought kibble wasn’t good for cats. Nosium gained a lot of weight from it and now has diabetes and my other cat kept getting UTI’s. And then he said kibble is good for their teeth and weight. I couldn’t believe he said that. So I’m wondering if a rabies shot on Nosium at this stage would be harmful? I do want his teeth cleaned and fixed. I think he started to go downhill when I changed his food and when his tooth got bad. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much

 

Hi Traceylee, I'm so glad to see your post here in the Main Health forum. Could I make a suggestion to edit your signature to indicate the Lantus insulin dosage, it's pretty high and as other members begin posting, they may miss that 6 U twice a day.
I think you were entirely correct to refuse the kibble, there isn't any evidence that I know of that supports that it's helpful for dental health. In fact, when Idjit was eating kibble and would have a barf..the kibble pieces were still whole. Most cats that I personally know, don't actually chew them. In addition, most varieties are way too high in carbs..most of the "prescription" foods, wet and dry are too high, and exorbitantly expensive. I do give Idjit raw gizzards and chunks of muscle meat that he actually does chew and he has a mouthful of healthy teeth. If Nosium has a toothache though, that might not be an option until that's resolved.
I won't comment on the rabies shot or the bloodwork, because I am not knowledgeable enough. I became concerned about the phosphorus levels in canned food, and opted to transition Idjit to a raw diet with a supplement. You may want to visit www.catinfo.org for more information on feline nutrition. We have a food chart that can be filtered to reflect the amounts of carbs, protein, fat, phosphorus and calories HERE from the catinfo.org site. Dr Pierson recommends " start with protein minimum of 40, fat maximum of 50, carb max of 10, and for cats with kidney issues....phos less than 300."
Check out the Lantus forum for more in-depth information on that insulin HERE. The Lantus users will help in any way they can.
I know you are worried and upset right now, but you are in the right place to ask these questions and get some intelligent, educated, and experienced input.

 

Any vet I discussed the rabies shot (located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) was that they can not suggest you don't get it due to the fact that it can be a fatal disease and passed to humans. Not sure about the laws in your area.

Both Jones and his civvie Rain that is CKD are not vaccinated. My vet agreed with my concerns and the limiting factors for giving it. Rain just had her dental done in November with special care taken for the kidneys, so I can say in my experience, it was so worth it to have it done. (She is 14 and 8 years post dx of CKD).

I personally would hold of on the shot until after the dental as that vaccine has quite a whollop to it. If you decide to do it at all.

 

Here 's information on Over vaccinating our animals https://catinfo.org/vaccines-for-cats-we-need-to-stop-overvaccinating/

I was always told that when a cat is sick NOT to vaccinate, My vet agrees with me. I'm so glad you stopped feeding Kibble. Dry food is not good for ANY cat. ( it might be causing the UTI's in your other cats!)It's definitely NOT good for their teeth either! Dr. Pierson has a lot of info about why not to feed dry food. Have you read any of the Yellow Sticky notes at the top of the Main Forum page?
The more you know about Diabetes & Lantus Insulin the easier it will be to Help your kitty.

You'll need to get a Spreadsheet so people can see what's going on with the Dose of Lantus your kitty gets. If you ask, someone will help you to set it up.

This is just my opinion but I would find another vet! I have 3 cats,they had a rabies shot when they were kittens & have not had ANY shots since then. They are 16 yrs old now.

It would be very helpful if you joined the Lantus forum. The people there can help you a great deal with all your questions. Several people have a lot of experience with giving dose advice. Your Nosium is on a HIGH dose of Lantus. The people that can help you need to see his Spreadsheet before they can advise you.

My Cat Ravan has stage 2 Kidney Disease I give him something called Calcitriol which is supposed to slow down the progression of the disease. Once you get some advice about his Lantus dose I can give you some info about what I give my Kitty for Kidney disease.

Dr Pierson's food chart lists the Carbs & Phosphorus, it's important you only feed low Phosphorus food for his Kidneys.

I'd get on the Lantus forum & have the advisors look at his SS & get everything checked out first.Some of the people have been on the forum for years helping people. (They know a LOT more than most vets about Diabetes & dosing)

It can all sound overwhelming but we've all been there before just like you & it will get easier little by little.Everyone here loves Kitties & want to help you!

Hang in there! It will be OK. Hope to see you soon on the Lantus Forum

(do you let your cat roam free? Or is he an indoor Kitty?)

 

Stick with Tiki cat and wuruva. I have my ckd cat weruva bff cans and it brought his phosphorus levels down wonderfully.

 

Hello . I reworded his insulin dosages, I hope it’s more clear. I’ve thought about raw food but I have 5 cats so it sounds costly. Although Lantus isn’t cheap . Thank you for the information.

 

I totally agree. I hope to find a vet that will clean his teeth without the shot. Thank you

 

My cat’s are all indoor. I have 5. They were strays. The vet gave them all shots when we brought them in and that’s been pretty much it for shots. I will definitely join the Lantus forum thank you. I made the spreadsheet but can’t manage to get it on my signature. ☹️ Thank you for helpful information

 

He seems to love them so I definitely will. Thank you

 

I’m having a hard time finding the Lantus forum, can you help me?

 

Lantus is expensive! But many members get Lantus from Marks Marine in Canada, much less expensive.
Here's some information: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/buying-insulin-from-canada.203498/
Lantus forum is here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-basaglar-glargine-and-levemir-detemir.9/
Your signature doesn't reflect the dosage amount of the Lantus, You may try to condense the signature information along these lines: Traceylee & Nosium pronounced No See Um | 12 y.o. |DX April 2017, Lantus 6 U 2Xday |ReliOn meter | Tiki & Weruva low ph formula canned food.
(Just a suggestion, I am no author! ) Take a look at other signatures to get more ideas. You only have 2 lines for the signature and you may want to add more information as you go forward.

 

Ok I’ll fix it thank you. And for the Lantus information. I so appreciate your help

 

I am happy to help. I was pretty lost and confused when Idjit was diagnosed. The members here were so patient and helped me along. I don't think Idjit would be here without the advice, education and support I found here.

 

I just followed the directions to paste the spreadsheet link into my signature block. Can anyone see it? I don't know why I'm having such a hard time

 

Nope....you changed it somehow

Fixed it for you so it should be working for everybody now

 

Yay, I can read it. Thanks so much @Chris & China (GA) You are still a super heroine.

 

I can see it. Lots of yucky black numbers. Hope you find a good dose soon.