Newly adopted diabetic cat

I adopted Jackson a week and a half ago. His diabetes was uncontrolled for a long time and his neuropathy is quite advanced. He’s underweight, too. I’m getting started trying to regulate his blood sugar and restore his health. He’s 11 years old and doesn’t have any other health problems such as pancreatitis or kidney damage.
He’s on 2.5 units of glargine every 12 hours. I’m trying to transition him from Purina DM to Tiki cat canned food. Let me know if you have advice! Thanks for providing a resource to help diabetic cats.

 

Welcome Margie and extra sweet Jackson! What a beautiful boy!

 

Ohh that sweet kitty face! Wishing improved health for him now that he has you!

 

Welcome Margie and Jackson!

I am pretty new here too, but your post title caught my eye, as Peacock also came to us already with diabetes. She was a rescue with a bunch of issues, and the shelter did not discover her diabetes until a couple of months after they got her, then she was treated for diabetes for 6 months, but not really regulated, before we brought her home. We have had a really steep learning curve trying to get to know a new cat and trying to figure out how to manage the condition at the same time. This site has been hugely helpful!

Have you been able to do at-home blood glucose testing? Our cat has been very responsive to dietary changes. She was on a diet of both canned and dry Purina DM at the shelter, and based on what I read I wanted to cut the dry food out asap. It made a huge difference in her numbers, enough that the insulin dose she was on needed to be significantly reduced. We also did a trial of Tiki canned food once her numbers were improving, but her BG levels shot back up until I stopped the Tiki. It was odd, since the Tiki nutritional profile seems perfect for a diabetic cat, but it did not agree with Peacock. She gobbled it up, then she spiked. Her numbers have been much smoother on Fancy Feast Classic Pate. She still has canned DM sometimes, when the shelter gives us some, but I still feed at least half FF when she gets DM. I am pretty strict about food quantity, since I am trying to help Peacock lose a little weight. When she arrived at the shelter she was underweight like Jackson, but she went from 8 to 12 lbs in the time she was there, and now she has a bit of a bulge. She is getting closer to 11 lbs now on her at-home food plan.

Best wishes for you both in managing the condition

 

Hi there and welcome!

Thank you for adopting a shelter cat that needs help. He is lucky to have found you. Just wanted to mention the following on food.

Not sure which Purina DM you are transitioning from?

DM Dry is high carb and good to get off of, I think that one is 18%.

The wet has 2 varieties and Pro Plan Veterinary Diet DM is actually listed on Dr. Pierson’s spreadsheet, with 6% calories from carbs. This is the regular canned DM. The Savory Selects DM version is 10% carbs, so that one is too high for diabetic cats.

If you have regular DM canned at 6% carbs that falls in the recommended guidelines for diabetic low carb wet diet.

Tiki is a great option and actually has 0 carbs if it is the regular canned meat such as chicken breast or chicken and salmon.

Just be aware if you are transitioning from higher carb to lower or no carb food, that sugar will drop from that so insulin dose may likely need to be reduced. You can get advice on main Health or Lantus for dosing adjustments with food transition.

You can get help on neuropathy on main Heath. There are others that have had success with some meds or supplements for the neuropathy.

 

Thanks for the advice. I’ve already transitioned him away from the Savory Selects. He’s getting 1/2 can of regular dm and half Tiki cat chicken and egg. I’m slowly trying to get him onto Tiki cat only. I did a curve yesterday that showed him no lower than 280, so I’m not worried about hypoglycemia right now.

We’re still working on getting him integrated with my other two cats and regulated. Maybe time will be the most important factor.

 

What an interesting story. Jackson never really regulated at the shelter and he’s not regulated now. He was only brought to the shelter 6 weeks ago, though, so he’s had less time to adjust. Maybe I will stop trying to switch from Purina DM to Tiki cat. I have been doing home testing and he has a gentle curve of between 389 and 280. Who knows if stress is a factor since he is still getting to know his new home.

 

It is great that you are testing. You will be able to see how Jackson responds to various changes, especially if you are able to spread out the transitions a bit. Hopefully he starts to feel at home quickly.

Maybe he would be fine with Tiki. I know other kitties here are on it. Finding the right path for our cats is a puzzling journey, as we figure out their unique and changing needs.

 

Dr. Lisa advises 10% or lower and considering Jackson is underweight and on a high dose of insulin, the 10% might be fine for him.