new to board..kitty is a diabetic,has asthma&had fatty liver

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the board, and warn you this may be a tad long. My kitty Bubba is five yrs old. In Jan I brought him to the vet because I was smelling a strong smell from his mouth that almost smelled like rubbing alcohol. The vet stated he had a gum infection and gave him med's, ran blood work and also gave him his asthma shot, That night Bubba went down hill fast
I rushed him in again and told my vet that from what I have just read I feel he has diabetes. Sure enough he did, He stood there almost a week to get regulated and developed fatty liver!!!!
as he stopped eating. I rushed him to a bigger facility and admitted him ASAP. Bubba is my heart and I cant tell you how lost, sad and insane I became during this.
He was touch and go for a while.

During that time, I came here and read a lot. I went out and bought all the fancy feast mentioned on that list and swore off all dry food.
Bubba stood at the new hospital for about a week, didn’t need a feeding tube by the grace of god.
For about two weeks bubba received insulin at home but during that time he went into some sort of remission and no longer needed it.
I purchased the Alpha Trak and test him about 3 times per week, His range is 80- 100

This is my main question that I am going crazy with...Bubba can no longer get his asthma shot ..Does anyone have a kitty that has asthma as well as diabetes?
I don't think the hand held pump device will work with Bubba! He is a tiger when I take his blood
I feel like I have not been able to breathe since Jan, I know that we have made a lot of progress but I watch him like a mad woman and feel afraid I will go thru that nightmare again.. Just being honest..

I bought a Honeywell purifier and do not use the ionic portion as I was told by two vets that the ionic particles released are not good for the lungs of an animal.
Can you guys give me suggestions on his asthma and what to look for once in remission? thank you so much for the ear!!!

 

I have an asthma cat and a diabetic cat -

The only way to properly treat the asthma is with an inhaler. I belong to a yahoo group -

felineasthmarelief@yahoogroups.com

I recommend joining that group (on it, I'm Hillary & Sydney). The moderator on that board is great (name is Kat) and she can really give you guidance and tips on how to use the aerokat on your baby.

Also, have you seen the Fritz the Brave video? It's a great demo on how to use the aerokat. I know for people with challenging cats, they wrap them in a towel or blanket and then administer the inhaler.

And while the inhalers are steroid based, it's not the same issue for diabetes as the injection steroids are.

And if you need to order inhalers, the least expensive place is 4 corners pharmacy online.

http://www.4cnrs-asthma-allergy.com/flovent.html


The smell on the breath, did it smell more like nail polish remover than alcohol? That's a sign that the cat has ketones and you did the right thing by taking him to the vet.

I'm glad to hear he is doing better and that you found the information on here helpful.

Let me know if I can offer any additional information for you.

 

Hi there! I whole heartedly second everything Hillary has suggested. I am also a part of the Feline Asthma Relief yahoo group, and they have been invaluable. My Oscar too was tipped over the diabetes edge by cortisone shots for his asthma attacks, but we are now on the flovent inhaler and doing great! There are methods to get Bubba used to an inhaler, which will take time, but many kitty mommies have been quite successful with their difficult ones. We are here to support you and never hesitate to send a message to one of us here if you have any questions! cat_pet_icon

 

Yes, Jock has asthma too. Inhaled steroids don't affect his blood sugar as injected or pill ones would. Go for it, you're in good hands with the people above and the Aerokat.

Also, make absolutely sure your kitty eats something every day (to avoid recurrence of fatty liver) and ask around for veterinary SAM-e pills, which can help heal the liver. (My vet had me buy some when Jock had fatty liver, and he healed much faster than expected.)

Yes, your kitty is in remission with numbers of 80-100 every day, hurray! But keep checking blood sugar once in a while and make sure no high-carb food passes his lips. Kind of like AA, once a diabetic, always a diabetic, even if not currently on insulin, and if he ever gets into the high-carb food again he risks relapse.

Congrats on pulling your kitty through!

 

Thank You all! May I ask one thing? How does one know when its time for the inhaler since its not as fast acting as the shot? Is this done daily?
He is not coughing at all yet and normally the depo shot lasted about six months.(((wish I knew then, what I know now about the shot and dry food )
So if I am correct we are looking at July or Aug. One dr is for the inhaler and the other is not. Says to many give up on it. On the other hand one is for home testing, the other is not..My gosh!

To answer the question about Bubba's eating habits..I watch him like a hawk now when it comes to food because of the Fatty liver and when he first came off of insulin
he was in the low range of 65-70 so we feed him a bit more and he the dr's main concern was to get him to eat with fatty liver.
Hence the name Bubba he is a big boy to start and the Dr said for his size ideal weight is about 16 lbs
He is now at 18!!! and I am pulling back a bit of food because I dont want to create more problems in the future. Any idea how many cans of FF should my chubby one be eating? Also how many times a day should I be feeding since he is a grazer vs gobbling it all up? I know he is eating the other cats food!!

bubba has had the following tests ran in the past month

Chest Xray- OK
Full Blood Panel- OK. ( liver looked good)

The only problem I came across was one day of vomitting, and off to the vet we went. Nothing was found but I feel he was sensitive to the beef FF. ? He ate it for a while
but I think his tummy is sensitive to it now.

I will check out the Sam E..No one mentioned it to me..Thank you again!!

 

The flovent (or flixotide) inhaler needs to build up in the cat's system, similar to how insulin needs to build up in the system.

Sydney doesn't cough either, rather she was breathing heavy and more deeply than normal and I could her her breathing (which isn't normal). My vet was honest and said she didn't know anything about the inhalers and cats. Yet she was willing to learn and said she would provide me with scripts and such as needed.

I told her that I joined a feline asthma group and was getting help through them.

I give Sydney 2 puffs/twice a day of the 220/250 level.

I started her on the lower dose (110) and as she was still breathing deeply and heavily it was recommended to raise the dose - which meant buying new inhalers.

While I waited for the 220/250 inhalers to arrive, I gave her 4 puffs/twice a day on the 110 inhaler. She didn't like sitting still for 4 puffs.

Since the inhalers are expensive - I will sometimes use 2 puffs on the 110 and 1 puff on the 220.

The good thing about this, unlike insulin -at least for us, there is no set time I give this to her. I get her in the am - before leaving for work and then in the pm anytime before I go to bed.

The albuterol (ventolin) is used as needed as it is a rescue inhaler and intended to help open the passage ways. I will give 1 or 2 puffs of that and then the flovent. The albuterol is inexpensive - can be gotten for about $10 as it's on the list with most pharmacies. It's good to have this on hand, just in case, but not necessary to use daily.

I haven't used the shots, so don't know how effective they are and how they work. Only that it's a steroid that could lead to diabetes and I will only use it as a last resort.

 

An inhaler is usually given roughly 12 hours apart, but doesn't have to be exact like it is with insulin. Flovent takes about 2-4 weeks to build up in the lungs before it is at full effectiveness, so it is common to have kitty on a long acting shot or prednisone until the flovent kicks in. With my vet, I had to suggest an inhaler treatment and push for an x-ray diagnosis to get anything done. Luckily, they listened to my concerns and worked with me! With the proper training and gentle exposure - it is not stressful at all to give a cat inhaler treatments!

As for food - The biggest issue with most foods and weight is that most foods are very high carbs/fat, which will inherently cause weight problems. If you put Bubba on a high protein/low carb food, it will probably be lower in fat, and kitty will gain less weight with it. Higher protein also makes a cat feel more full, so he may eat less anyway. Most cats require between 200-300 calories a day, but this # can change according to activity level and other health issues. I might try 3-4 cans of Fancy Feast a day (9-12oz) and see if that satisfies him ok. That should be around 240 - 320 calories.