Newly diagnosed

Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum, but I thought it would be good for me to join since my baby boy has been newly diagnosed with diabetes. I have two cats at home, Mork and Mindy (brother and sister rescued from a shelter), and they are 3 1/2 . I refer to them as my "medically fragile" cats. They have both been through a lot of medical issues in their short lives! "Morky" was sick as a baby and has had other illnesses, and his sister, Mindy, has been sick before with undiagnosed conditions (but is better now!). So, now Morky has diabetes. He has not been regulated yet, but we just started giving him shots. The vet has him on 2 units of Humulin N/day for now, but tomorrow we are going back for a check-up and I'm sure we will go to twice a day. I will talk to my vet about Humulin though, because from what I've read it sounds like that's not a good option. Morky has neuropathy as a result of the diabetes, and it's so hard to see him like that. But, I hope as he gets regulated that he will improve. However, there are a couple other strange symptoms, and I don't know if this is related to the diabetes. He is normally a VERY vocal cat, and ever since the diabetes, his meow is very hoarse/muted. His purr also sounds like he has a lot of mucus in his throat. He has been tested for hypothyroidism, and that has come back normal, and it also doesn't seem that he has a URI. Has anyone else noticed these symptoms with their diabetic cat? Any feedback is appreciated!
Thanks!
Christine

 

Welcome.

You have a lot on your plate, but you're doing great. Sounds like you really know your cats and that's going to be a big help. Have you seen the basic primer information on Humulin:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=303

Mork has diabetes now? Not Mindy, right? What were his health issues before? I'm asking because I'm wondering if he had to take steroids for anything? Or if he's on a special diet?

I'm not an expert on voice issues, maybe some type of infection, but hopefully others can help you there. I was thinking Hyperthyroidism since that could cause a tumor in the general area, but you said he tested negative for hypothyroidism, I assume you mean hypert and a T4 or freeT4 test was done. He's kind of young for that anyway.

Neuropathy can go away once the blood sugar is regulated. My Misty had it, not too severe, but it did go away quickly. We gave her Methyl-B12 to help, not regular B12 but Methyl-B12.

The best and safest way to help Mork right now is to hometest your kitty. You'll be able to see how quickly he metabolizes insulin, and if he's anything like my Tucker, he metabolized the N too fast, within 6 hours it was done and he spent the rest of the time in high numbers. I gave him insulin BID (twice per day) but he was still high for at least half the day and feeling cruddy.

There are better insulins, Lantus(Glargine), ProZinc, PZI or what I use Levemir which is close to Lantus.

On a side note, I usually refer to my group as being "Medically Challenged" :mrgreen: I like your medically fragile reference.

 

Welcome! I loved the Mork and Mindy show! Are they anything like their namesakes?

Second on Jennifer's post. I don't think anyone here presently uses N except for a few new people. It seems to be an insulin that vets prescribe in the beginning, for whatever reason. It hits hard and doesn't last very long. Check out the info Jen gave you on it. The longer lasting, gentler insulins are easier on the kitty and easier to regulate with. You might want to check out the Insulin Support groups and get a feel for Levemir, Lantus or PZI: viewforum.php?f=5 then you will have some info for your vet.

Definitely go to twice a day. Even the longer lasting insulins only last 12 hours in cats. N usually peters out in 4-8. If they only get one dose daily, they are on a roller coaster. Up at the beginning, going down with the insulin, then up for the rest of the day and night.

For the neuropathy, getting him regulated will be a huge help. Lots of people here also use Methyl B12. You can find it at health food stores.

You will get lots of information here. I love my vet, but she treats a few diabetic cats a year. She started us on a high dose and didn't mention hometesting. On this site, we learned about food, hometesting and to lower the dose. We read and reread and copied pages off. It meant Oliver was off insulin within 6 months. Everyone here has or had a diabetic cat and treated them successfully. It's hard to take advice from people on the internet, but we all have experience with diabetic cats.

 

Hi Christine,
Welcome!

Others have gotten you started, so I won't add too much else at this time... but please ask any questions you might have.

A few questions for you:

Are you home testing?
What kind of food are they eating?
Do you know what Morky's test results were at the vet's? Did they test for something called ketones?

Diabetes is a steep learning curve, but it gets easier pretty quick, really!

Odiesmom