Murphy 9/29/10 Diet Question

Murphy is doing okay on her insulin, 2 units Lantus twice per day, but just okay. She is a sick little girl though. The d. cati mite is being treated with injection Ivermectin, I'm not crazy about it, but with her feline asthma, she cannot afford to have a respiratory crisis because of a lime dip.

I'm stooped about the diet change. I've been thinking about switching to the Evo cat and kitten canned, which is really high in protein, low in carbs, and has a low magnesium level for my Siamese, Oscie, with struvite issues. It is grain free, and the dry has a really good guaranteed analysis like the wet, and since they have been grazers all their lives, I have to leave some dry out. If anyone has any other ideas on diet, please let me know. Friskies, 9 Lives, out of the question. I'm seriously thinking that this is the best thing for them both to eat, which is the trouble -- they both want each others' food, and so they have to eat the same thing.

Murphy is not controlled on her insulin yet, and I have an idea it might be from the Purina OM diet, but I cannot tell. The pancreatitis appears to be at bay, although she did have a little barfy when I was at work on Monday. Other than that, she appears to be feeling okay, but I can tell she's sick, it breaks my heart.

Lisa and Murphy

 

lisa i just looked at your ss and i think she looks nicely regulated. great #'s. i'm afraid i'm not understanding the food issue. i'm going to read you post until i understand what the problem is. :razz:

 

think the problem is i don't understand the words in that first paragragh. hope others stop by to see that. but what makes you say the diabetes is not regulated.. blues and greens all over the place!

 

The blues are from the Freestyle Lite meter I had rec'd from Abbott. The yellows and pinks are from my OTU 2 so I'm unclear as to why I get such different readings. I even rec'd a new OTU 2 meter the other day from LifeScan and it's the same numbers basically. My vet said there really isn't much difference between a pet monitor and a human monitor, although I have read that there can be as much as a 39% difference because of the blood supply we are testing is different than in humans and the calibration of meters can be off.

So, I'm still new at this, and I just talked with Murphy's vet and she said her numbers are coming along okay. Not to jump the gun and it's going to take some time. I suppose, and hopefully someone will agree that as long as we keep her out of the 300 range, we're doing okay.

Once we get the diet changed, and she's getting higher protein, hopefully we can reduce the insulin. She's got a lot going on with her health right now, and I hope things will be better in a few months. If we can get rid of this darned d. cati and MRSA that has continuously erupted over the last year or more, than that's going to be terrific. It is possible, she said that, it may lie dormant and reappear at some point. If she gets somewhat controlled w/ her diabetes, her immune system might rise a little.

So many things to learn. It's certainly still as stressful, although I am over the emotional part of it. Almost like grieving yet they are still alive. It's just sad.

 

i know, i've been there. still go there sometimes for the simplest reasons. tom's late coming home one evening...i think he's gone for ever...love hurts.

 

Yep, sure does. I hate this Ivermectin I have to inject her with. I just want her to feel good for a few years, you know? With the asthma and all the infections and now the mites, poor thing, I just hope she knows I've given her everything and done my best to give her the best life I could. I've taken such good care of her, that's what sucks -- then a vet -- doesn't Dx her and this is what we have.

I'm whining. Sorry.

 

lisa i have confidence things will get better for ms.murphy., i really do.

 

You don't have to leave dry out for cats that are grazers. That's what I thought too, but the cats do adjust. If your house isn't really warm, then there isn't any problem leaving wet food out during the day. Some people freeze the food in cubes, and others put wet food into a timed feeder (with cooling packs), but I don't bother with that. The reason is that I read that cats will often hunt and then bury their food for later eating. Their gastro tract is short and acidic so they can eat things easily that a human couldn't. So a couple hours in a climate controlled house? No problem.

I also battled MRSA on two of my cats - one with a surgical bladder implant and one with a tracheostomy due to airway problems. After much effort, we were able to finally get rid of it. Suffice it to say, constant handwashing with hibiclens, all beds covered with bleachable white towels, etc. all played a role. I also used MyClyns, which is the only germ fighter approved for spraying in the "eyes, nose, mouth, and open wounds".

If you want to boost your cat's immune system, check out Dr. Villalobos' tips on immunonutrition. I particularly recommend the agaricus blazei; it had a tremendous positive effect on boosting Danny's immune system during his chemo -- as proven by weekly bloodworks.

good luck,
laur