Fanny Mae the cat that hates everything

I don't even know where to start. My cat Fanny Mae was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday it comes a s a complete shock as she showed no symptoms that you typically see. The problem is a can't touch her so no insulin or BG checks. My only hope is to try to control it with diet, she doesn't like canned food. I am getting her to eat a few small meals throughout today of Purina DM canned but it doesn't seem like she is eating enough.
I feel abandoned by my veterinarian she is like " well best of luck to you" when I asked when we recheck her she said " but we can't touch her without sedating her!"
I am very frustrated and sad. She is sick because I got tired of trying to get her to eat a raw or canned diet and her refusing day after day. I knew the risks of a dry food diet but I did it anyway because it was easy.

 

Hang in there - we have ideas!

First, what did the vet use to make the diagnosis? If you can share the test values with us, we may be able to give you some idea about how those cats with similar tests fared.

Most dry food is high carb with the following limited exceptions in the US:
Evo Cat and Kitten Dry - about 8% calories from carbohydrates.
Stella and Chewey's freeze-dried
Young Again 0 Carb - internet only, 5% calories from carbohydrates.
She may be willing to eat one of those, especially if you change gradually, about 20-25% per day.

Another alternative is to bake a low carb canned food to a dry texture, using a shallow pan (ex jelly roll pan) and a temperature suitable for baking crackers.

Because you appear to be dealing with the equivalent of a feral cat, take a look at my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools, particularly urine ketone and glucose testing with KetoDiaStix or generic (ask at the pharmacy, or get online). Take some plastic wrap and crumple it up along the perimeter of the litter box, then monitor her for a pit stop (often within 20 minutes or so after eating).
Also, measuring her food and water, elimination, and behavior. There are older protocols for using these tools to monitor and manage the cat.

Freeze dried meat, poultry, or seafood can be used as a treat, if she likes it. If so, and if you're willing to work at it, you can use treats to shape behavior. It will take time and patience. Think of 1 thing you want her to do, then break it down into very tiny steps. Each week, you'll ask her to do 1 step towards the behavior and when she does, you'll give her the treat. The first thing might be getting her to come to a specific location where eventually you may be able to give her insulin.

 

Thank you! This sight is a blessing.
My vet did a chem. panel and a UA , then glucometer. Her urine showed a glucose level of over 2000, no keytones. I think she said her BG level was 250.
Thank you for the food ideas I will try them!
I have been training her with treat rewards that is how I was able to get her in the carrier to get her to the vet. (She had a loose tooth) I am not optimistic I will ever be able to touch her. I have been working with her for 10 years

 

I just set up a Secondary Assessments Spreadsheet for you. It won't be as precise as blood work, but it will let you document what is happening so we may detect some patterns.
If you don't have one, create a Google Drive account.
Then go to the link above and do File, Make a Copy. This will save it to your account.
You can rename it for your cat.
Then do a File, Publish to the Web, copy the link it gives you and you can put that in your signature.

Feel free to adapt it to track things that seem important. You might add another page for lab work, for example.

 

When you have a moment, could you add a few tidbits to your signature? It will help us give you feedback without having to go look in all your past posts.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name,
cat's name,
date of Dx (diagnosis)
insulin
meter
general location
any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.

 

250 is high, but it isn't really awful, so you might be able to get this under control with diet.

But I had another thought. You said her tooth was loose. Were her gums ok? Any infection? Dental infection can raise blood glucose. Once the infection is gone, the glucose will go down. So if she had an infection, her high glucose might be temporary.

 

Yes she had 3 very infected teeth removed! Vet said she had trouble suturing the gums on 1 because they were so bad.

 

That, believe it or not, is encouraging!
Glucose tests at the vet may be from 100-180 mg/dL higher than at home.
Changing to a low carb diet may drop the glucose 100-200 mg/dL.
With both of those factors taken into account, there is a real possibility for diet control.
The most important thing you can do is urine testing for ketones. That may alert you to an emergency if she ever tests at more than a trace in fresh, uncontaminated urine.
And thanks for updating your signature!

 

Great! I know it sounds weird to be happy about an infection, but it's very possible that that is the cause of Fanny Mae's high glucose. She was given an antibiotic? Now that the bad teeth are out and once the antibiotic takes effect, her glucose may well return to normal. As BJM said, while she is recovering, be very watchful for ketones.

Switching food would be beneficial even if her glucose comes down. And watch out for the classic signs of high glucose - excessive peeing, drinking a lot of water, weight loss - that may indicate Fanny Mae's glucose is high.

 

This is good news to hear! Yes the vet gave her the antibiotic Convenia. After vomiting of and on yesterday she finally got a giant hairball up this morning. I never thought I would be so glad to scrub a hairball off of the carpet! She has been feeling great since. Normal water intake and normal urine output . She also really likes the Fancy Feast classics!!!!!!!!!

 

Be aware that some cats have had serious adverse reactions to Convenia, so monitor those secondary assessments diligently.