Introduction

Rupert or Roops was diagnosed with diabetes in late January of this year. Within a week or so he was put on Prozinc. Lose dose (1 unit 2 times per day) Over the course of a few months the dose was gradually increased. He is currently receiving about 5 units 2x per day.

Prior to treatment Roops was a fluffy cat, weighing over 20 pounds. He lost about 6 pounds before he was diagnosed, as well as muscle mass (according to the vet). His once soft fur became dull. He was also spending too much time in our tub, drinking water. That bothered us - a lot. Knowing what we do today, we should have taken him sooner, or realized this was not normal for a cat. Roops has always had a hearty appetite, and drank a lot. In future we will be more guarded.

Roops was put on a diet. Given special food. They recommended he eat a half can of cat food (small can) per day. Or three quarters a cup of dry kibble per day. Some days he will eat pate, other days he turns his nose up to it. Changing a cats mind not easy. It is our hope that he will begin to eat just wet food. In future we will only offer that to all our cats.

After several visits we mentioned that Rupie seemed to have problems with his one foot/paw. The vet examined it but could see nothing wrong, and said perhaps it was inflamed. It did not improve. It became worse. Finally we asked if he had neuropathy. The vet confirmed our fears. Thankfully that vet believed in B12. A shot was given each visit to the vet. We noticed changes afterward. Positive ones. he had more energy and was more able to jump on furniture, beds or climb stairs with greater ease. Unfortunately not all vets believe in B12. His neuropathy has not improved as we hoped. He is now receiving 0.05 units once a month, but my daughter is giving him it once a week. She has said a good portion of the actual dose remains in the actual needle. After reading online I believe his dose too low, and not administered often enough. Another problem getting needles to give the injections. My daughter also gives him Vitamin E. She picked them up from a local pharmacy. she breaks the capsule open and applies it to his paws.

The good news, his fur is soft again. It is no longer dull. And he seems to be gaining weight although that is not necessarily a good thing. But he does not look gaunt anymore. He purrs, preens (can do cat yoga now) and plays. We carry him upstairs and help him on high furniture.

Roops is about 10 years old and of unknown origin. We love him dearly. He is precious to us. He lives with his older sibling, Ollie. Both neutered. Ollie is another ginger boy of about 15 years. He never had the desire to eat or drink as Roops has.

btw Roops hates riding in cars. He sings the entire trip there and back and will not take comfort in talk. He sings before we have left the house. It distresses him so. It has an impact on his digestion. We have had to give him probiotics after returning from the vets. We also found he was almost a cripple when he returned from the vet's. (after blood curve tests). If or when we do take him back to the vets, we are seriously considering going elsewhere. The trimmed him nails without permission or acknowledgement. Sent him home without saying a word. The cat was already under stress as it was. For those reasons and others we will go elsewhere. My apologizes for not knowing how to send an intro properly. Live and learn. Eastern Ontario

 

Welcome Roops and his mama!
There's tons of information and knowledgeable members here! . If you could setup your signature with some information, it's helpful before posting on Main Health Forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

The majority of us are data driven and use spreadsheets to track our kitty's BG levels. All you need is a Google account, if you need help setting it up we have people to help: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

And I like to give this link to new members: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

See you on the Main Health Forum

 

Welcome to you and Roops! Adorable pic of your baby We have quite a few Canadians here which can help because sometimes there are differences in what is available in Canada vs US in terms of foods, syringes, etc.

Lots to take in, but sounds like you and your daughter are committed to helping your boy feel better, you are at the right place, lots of support and good info here.

Yes, good to get cats on wet food, not just any wet though, needs to be under 10% carbs for diabetic kitties and that is also good for your other cat to keep them both healthier. Dry food is just too high in carbs and cats need extra water when eating dry. Dry food is also a common culprit with urinary stone formation.

You can review information about feline nutrition at www.catinfo.org, and the food chart Dr. Pierson has on that website is also linked HERE Not all canned food is low carb.

Many of us start out feeding Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pates, because it is usually easy to find and it's affordable. However, changing to a wet low carb diet from a dry diet or a higher carb wet food should be done gradually, as low carb food can significantly lower the blood sugar.

Half a small can a day? That is equivalent to what a 2 lb kitten should eat. A non diabetic 15 lb cat would need 4 small cans per day just to maintain weight, uncontrolled diabetic cats often need more because their bodies can’t process food well when their sugar is too high. Once their sugar is better controlled, they can eat what they need for their weight and tend to find a healthy weight. Usually the weight issues (high and low) are linked to dry food and unregulated sugars.

Are you testing his blood sugar at home? It’s important, especially since he seems to be on a high dose of insulin. There is a “Prozinc Forum” here also and experienced Prozinc users may be able to help you look at Roops insulin needs. Sometimes cats are on higher doses than they need to be. Vets often increase off of information that may not be accurate, such as one high reading in their office or a curve at vets, which are unreliable because when cats are stressed their sugar skyrockets! Unless you are testing at home no way to see what is actually happening. By the way, once kitty is used to testing, you can do a curve at home where Roops is comfortable and get much more accurate data on your own.

Testing can sound scary for you and the cat, but it really is just getting the cat used to it and making it a good experience for them. Training with low carb treats such as plain chicken breast cut up in bite sized pieces and being patient, not forcing them. We have lots of tips to help with the testing process if you have not started that yet. Eventually 99% of kitties come over for their tests without a struggle and it just becomes part of their day like anything else.

A lot of people here use human meters because the test strips are much more affordable. I started with a pet meter because I thought that is what I had to use, but will be switching because I just can’t afford the pet strips anymore.

In regard to the neuropathy, there are others here that have had some success and can give advice on what works for them.

Going forward you can post general health questions in the “Main Health Forum”.

One thing that would also help is if you can set up a signature for Roops with particulars like his weight, diagnosis date, type of food, other health conditions, type of insulin, etc. this will help other members to answer your questions and not have to repeatedly ask about the basics of your cat.

Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

 

I was in the middle of my very long post, so may have duplicated some of your info, did not feel like typing anymore, so just hit send

 

No worries

 

Thank you for all your help. I think I have set up my signature. Aside from getting him on pate (he has some issues with fish/can make him sick) we are most concerned about his neuropathy. We need to get more needles for his B12 shot. I still believe his dose too low and not administered often enough. Sharing a pic of our dear Rupie when he was first taken to the vet's this past January. He was a sick kitty. We feared the worst. He had lost so much weight ...for a cat. About six pounds. We were shocked, overwhelmed but thankful we were given more time to love him, and be with him. All for the love of Roops...

 

Looks good. You might want to add next to kibble in signature that you are transitioning to low carb, but he has fish issues, need to find a good option. I don’t want people to keep mentioning kibble is too high, you know that, don’t need to keep being reminded, you are doing the best you can right now

I saw you had cross posted under another thread last week. I know you are still trying to get the hang of it. Best to start your own thread specifically for Rupie on the neuropathy, less confusing. Then responses come directly to you.

I suggest you go to the main Health Forum and start a new thread with title such as “need help treating neuropathy” you will get more eyes seeing that way. Also if you see a place where you can add a question mark to the front of the subject line, that will help. There is a drop down.

What you could do if you want is just copy your response above because it lists concern about the neuropathy but also mentions you are trying to switch food. And post that copied info to a new post in Health Forum with the title about need help with neuropathy.

Let me know if you get stuck

 

YOu can use insulin syringes, that is what I used for my Badger's B12 shots.