Hindsight is 20/20

I'm the person who notices everything about my animals, and those around me. I have saved lives from noticing minor things. Thankfully, when I was first learning, I had a close friend who was very knowledgeable to tell me what was important or not (and she got lots and lots of texts and calls!). I also worked in health care, and some things translate to the animal world. I care a lot about animals, and can't just sit back knowing something could be wrong.

It was a very busy summer- it was way too hot, work was crazy, we were renovating our house to sell it, and we were also in the process of buying a new place. We also tried to squeeze in a couple of mountain trips for our sanity.

Fast forward to moving day. It was an organized chaos- family who could lift moved things, those that couldn't either fixed things, cleaned, or cooked. The cats settled in quick it seemed, but Rhubarb was having trouble walking. We brought her to the vet- and he said diabetes. I was blindsided, and then realized I saw all the signs and misread them. I feel horrible.

Rhubarb is around 13 or 14. She has been overweight for years despite portion control. She's been slowing down as we expected for her age. But during the spring and summer, she seemed increasingly tired. Once summer hit and we were crazy busy, I thought I kept forgetting to clean the litter box or fill waters. It was hot, the water seemed to be evaporating. Rhubarb was acting funny, laying in weird spots, but she also remembered moving before, and was stressed from that, and from all the changes with renos. It was hot and she doesn't like the heat. She didn't always finish her food. She didn't always beg like usual. And sometimes she begged despite having food. I picked up some healthy treats for her. She seemed so stressed, so we gave her extra love and attention, hoping that the move wasn't going to kill her. Even our other two cats were being less annoying to her!

Hindsight is 20/20. How did I see all that as anything other than possible diabetes? She was drinking lots, peeing lots, lethargic, losing weight/coat condition, etc. That's classic signs. Instead, I attributed the symptoms to other things, until she developed neuropathy that anyone could see. Me- the one who notices everything, to the point of people saying I pay way too much attention. My poor girl is hurting, because I didn't notice all the signs.

Ok, enough beating myself up- I can't change the past. I'm doing everything I can now to learn and care for her with diabetes. I'm hoping that you all will be able to answer questions I may have, offer support if needed, and I hope that at some point, I can help out others in return. If you made it to the end of this, thank you.

 

Welcome Majandra and Rhubarb. This is an excellent place to be to learn how to help Rhubarb feel better. Please tell us more about how you are treating Rhubarb, have you changed her diet, begun insulin treatment and are you home testing? I will tell you from experience that home testing is the best way to keep Rhubarb safe, and that changing the diet to an a wet low carb food will lower the blood sugar level. Please create a signature that will provide kitty's pertinent information with your posts. You can see Idjit's info in the gray text below my message. Here's a link on how to do that: signtaure
Many of us missed signs that something was not quite right, many of us fed our cats less than optimal diets. We can't change the past, but we can get to work on today and make tomorrow better. There is excellent information here for you to read, there is the Health forum to post in, and specific insulin support group forums too. There are hundreds of members, all at some stage of the "sugar dance". Let us help.

 

Welcome! I love your kitty's name! We can help.

 

Thanks
Vet said try diet change before insulin.
She was on dry hills d/m before dx, switched to wet of same. She didn't like it so switched to purina d/m bits in gravy. Clinically she seemed better with switch. i found some better ratio foods to try. She is now eating natural balance reduced calorie turkey etc. My first successful test was with one touch ultra, first thing in morning and was 18.7 (ref rge 3-7). Another first thing test was 22.1. I will try her again maybe during day to see what she reads at.

 

Majandra, it can be a good idea to try a diet change before starting insulin and testing is certainly going to give you information on how the diet change is affecting kitty's BG. I am unable to determine the carb percentage of the Purina D/M bits in gravy, but I do know that most "gravy" foods are too high in carbs. There is a wonderful filterable food chart in the Main Forum: FOOD CHART
I suggest you do some research there to see if you can find the food you are giving her there and determine the carb percentage. Dr. Lisa Pierson created this food chart (and has a great website about feline diets www.catinfo.org.) 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."
Many of us feed Fancy Feast classics and Friskies pates. With a change of diet and a very short period of insulin support, Idjit has been in remission for 6 months.
Please do keep testing, as far as I can determine the 18.7 reading would translate to 336 and the 22.1 to 397 in US measurements. Both quite high. I am tagging @Kris & Teasel for more input as she is much more experienced than I am.
You are going to get more input and response if you post in the Feline Health (Main) Forum. Link -> MAIN

 

Purina ProPlan DM pate is 6% carbs as fed and the "Savory Selects" chunks in gravy is 10% carbs. The dry version is higher but I don't recall what the % carbs is.

Please repost on the main health forum where more people will see it.

 

I've got a couple posts going in the main forum now