Gracie

Gracie is a rescue cat, approximately 8 years old. She is usually a wonderful affectionate girl, but now she just tired and listless. She has always been overweight, and indulged her instead of restricting her food. She passed her annual physical in late June and the vet was pleased she was down to 13 pounds. Two family emergencies took me out of town two separate times this summer and an excellent caregiver took care of her.
the caregiver She noticed a change in Gracie, but thought she was depressed because I was gone. When I returned last Sunday I was alarmed at how thin and listless she was and took her to the emergency animal hospital. She was down to 10.5 pounds. They kept her two days, diagnosed diabetes, and referred me to a clinic specializing in cats. New vet performed her own test, confirmed the diagnosis, prescribed insulin, and scheduled a second test in 2 weeks. I am giving Gracie insulin injections twice a day and feeding her Purina DM. She wants her old food and is still pretty listless. Last night she sat in her litter box for half an hour, something she has never done before. She is urinating and defecating normally. Her new vet is just out of school and strikes me as somewhat indifferent. When I expressed concern at Gracie's weight loss, she asked why I wanted her to be fat. When I asked how the disease would affect her, she replied Gracie probably had three more years to live. When I said she I was worried about the listlessness, she shrugged. I don't think she is a good fit , but I also realize how guilty I feel at failing to put her on a diet and at missing the signs something was wrong and worry that I am projecting my failings on her. Friends have given me the names of other vets to try. Gracie has been through so much, I don't want to put her through any unnecessary trauma, but I also want to be sure I am doing the right things for her. Any ideas would be welcome. Should I try another vet or wait and see how I feel after Gracie's next appointment in 2 weeks? Is listlessness normal at this stage?

 

Welcome! I'm new here too and understand how you're feeling. Many of us have felt some guilt at not recognizing the signs of diabetes. My cat Colin, lost a lot of weight and I was happy, thinking he was just slimming down. But when he got downright boney, I took him to the vet where he was diagnosed with diabetes. So you're not alone! What insulin and how much, is Gracie on? Is she eating the Purina DM dry or canned? The dry is very high in carbs, while the canned is not. Carbs are generally considered bad for diabetics, so you may want to change her over to a low carb canned food. Many of us use Fancy Feast classics, or Friskies pate. Stay away from the kinds with gravy they are full of carbs. Before you change foods, you should start to test Gracie's glucose levels with a glucose meter, because a change in food can lower her glucose levels drastically. If you're not checking for that, you could give too much insulin. Lastly, breathe! and educate yourself about Gracie's condition. That is the best way you can help her.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome. Gracie is on 2 units of insulin. I'm feeding her Purina DM. I'm still nervous when giving shots. Is listlessness common in first weeks of treatment? I don't want to miss a warning sign. Again, many thanks for your kind response.

 

Is that 2 units 2x/day? What kind of insulin? Yes, listlessness is a sign of diabetes, but sitting in the litterbox usually means she's not feeling well. Is she eating and drinking well? As I said, I'm new at this too. It's scary and overwhelming. If you don't think this vet is a good fit, go with your gut and find a new one.

 

The insulin is Humulin U and she gets it twice a day. Thanks for the support. By the way, Colin is very cute!

 

I'm not familiar with Humulin insulin, Colin's on ProZinc. Before I found this site, I didn't even know there were different kinds! There is a forum for users of Humulin if you have questions about it's usage. Do you think you can learn to test Gracie's glucose levels with a meter? It's very easy to learn to do, and it can really help to get her regulated. Oh and Colin says thanks for the compliment! Would love to see a pic of Gracie

 

I wish I had something better to tell you than to try a new vet. :-/ Stormy was only listless when his blood sugar would crash (his Vetsulin caused bad spikes and crashes), but once we got it regulated with his Lantus, he's been back to his normal, crazy self. Like humans, diabetes affects each cat slightly differently.

Don't feel guilty about not noticing the signs - the important thing is that you're getting Gracie help!! And don't feel guilty about getting a second opinion, either!! Not sure if you have mobile vets in your area, but if you do, that might be an option to help take some of the stress off both of you!!

 

Are you sure it is Humulin U? Eli Lilly manufacturer's the Humulin and stopped manufacturing U (and L) types of Humulin more than 10 years ago.
Lilly now only manufacturer's the R and N types of humulin and mixtures of those two.
R is fast acting and last 3-6 hours in cats while N lasts 8-10 hours

 

Got the insulin from vet, it only has their label on it, which says Humulin U. It is given every 12 hours.

 

What else is written on the vial?
Is is a milk white suspension after mixing? Unmixed is there is small white particles at the bottom and clear liquid above?
Where are you located?

 

Insulin is milky white. I roll it between my palms 20-30 times and invert it 3times to prepare it. I'm in St Louis.

 

Yes, that is a suspension insulin. However, it can't be Humulin U since Humulinis Eli Lilly's trad name for a family of insulins using human insulin injection [rDNA origin]) suspension as a base. Human insulin is produced by recombinant DNA technology utilizing a non-pathogenic laboratory strain of Escherichia coli.
U stands for Ultralente.
Maybe the insulin is human rDNA origin insulin compounded with large sinze zinc particles to maae compounded U insulin but it is not Humulin U.
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/ultralente insulin
I would ask the vet for more information about the insulin. U insulin was great for cats, I sued it on two of my cats back before 2005 when was discontinued.

 

Every cat is different and each have different life experiences. My cat J.D. was diagnosed at 11 and lived to 20.

 

@Graciebc Here's a helpful primer on Humulin: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/humulin-n-primer.303/

We have lots of diabetic cats here that have lived to a ripe age. One is 19 and had a dental a few months ago! 8 is a very young age.

There is no need for an expensive prescription diet to manage your cat's diabetes. You need to focus on a low carb, canned/wet diet under 10%. Please see this chart. Since your cat is underweight, some low carb kitten food that are higher in calories may help Gracie gain weight: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

The listlessness is not normal. It's hard to regulate cats on a harsh, fast-acting insulin like Humulin. Gracie is very unlikely getting 12 hours of benefit on this insulin; most, if lucky get up to 8 or 10 hours of benefit. CJ was on Novolin, which is the same as Humulin, just a different manufacturer, and would act lethargic and hungry after 8 hours, proof that the insulin wasn't working.

I'd suggest seeing another vet recommended by friends. You need a supportive vet that works with you, not against you.

If you click on @BJM's profile, you'll see handy Vet Interviewing Tips to help guide you with your new vet visit.