Oscar is Our Diabetic Devon (Canada)

We were using glyburide for at least 5 years (prescribed by our vet where we used to live). Presently our new vet has him on 1 unit of Caninsulin in the morning, diabetic wet food and glyburide in the evening. Oscar's BG readings are between 14 and 16 in the evening.

Any input would be of interest to us. We love Oscar.

 

Welcome to the group fellow Canadians! Oscar is a cutie. How old is he?

I have not seen another cat on oral medication here (there may be some I don't know about) and find it intriguing that he was managed on the glyburide for 5 years. What were the reasons for the addition of insulin? Less BG control or other health issues?

You will find a wonderful group of very experienced people here willing to share their expertise. The support here is nothing short of amazing! I have only been here for a few months so I am not one of the experts but I have learned and continue to learn so much from these folks and am so grateful I found this site. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

 

Welcome to FDMB.
Interesting.
Generally, we avoid oral meds as many of them push the failing pancreas to work harder. (Never mind the whole "pill the cat" issue for some!) doing that may finish destroying the pancreas so the cat will never get off insulin.
And for insulin, the cat's metabolism is fast enough that insulin needs to be given every 12 hours.

 

Hi Bob & Sheila...I'm another Canadian so, welcome...though none of us want to be part of this group because our cats have diabetes...there is a tremendously supportive group of members here who are so wonderful to get to know.

I can only tell you what our vet has told us...oral meds do NOT work effectively and may cause damage as BJM has already said. Our cats need to be on injectable insulin and most of us here are using Lantus or Levemir while some are using Caninsulin and ProZinc and a few others. One way or the other, a shot every 12 hours is necessary to gain full control. Lantus offers a more "flat curve" but, consistently lowers the numbers and keeps them there, along with the low carb foods.

Take a read on the home page topics and you'll find some really interesting pieces of info and...keep asking questions as we are all still learning and everyone's questions help everyone else to learn and research too.

Welcome to the group!

 

Hi Bob & Sheila, another Canadian here. I don't really have the knowledge to give any advice/suggestions, I'm still learning. I can tell you, though, that this board is a godsend to those of us with diabetic kitties. There is an abundance of great info on here, lots of very informed people. In fact, I use this board to manage Lulu's diabetes; even though I love my vet, I go with the advice on here.
btw...Oscar is adorable, but you already know that
Welcome to the group!

 

Thanks everyone for making Oscar feel so welcome. I have revised my profile page as I initially used an incorrect email (technologically declined LOL). So here we are again. Please read the description on my revised profile page and offer input if you wish.

 

Is Oscar a Sphynx? I love hairless! I have a dog that is half dachshund half Chinese Crested. And my sister and I both want a Sphynx!

 

Sorry Shelia, just re-read that he is a Devon. But he is still adorable!

 

Hi Sheila, have to stop by and say hi to a fellow Canuck. Welcome to you and Oscar. What a handsome fellow, and such a wardrobe!

 

Hi Sheila,

It took me a bit of digging to find your message. When you have a question and are just continuing on with the thread (conversation) you started, you can just type your message/question in the box beside your avatar of Oscar at the bottom of the page.

I took the liberty of copying your message here......
Sheila said,

"Hubby and I have a 10 year old Devon Rex named Oscar. He was diagnosed diabetic about 4 1/2 years ago when we lived in Cape Breton. Back then he was put on Glyburide.

In Welland (a month ago) he got switched over to 1 unit of Caninsulin in the morning and 1/2 glyburide in the evening.

We feed him 3 meals of diabetic cat food a day. Our other 4 cats are on a different food. I supervise when he eats to make sure he doesn't get robbed by the other feline pirates.

Another household debate we have is whether to test before eating of after. Hubby is a non-insulin diabetic and has a glucose meter which we use for Oscar.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. We want to help our boy get on the right track."

To answer your question about testing, it is best to withhold food for at least two hours before testing. Test then feed Oscar and give him his shot either while he eating or after he has eaten.

I know someone has complete instructions for setting up your signature (the grey notations you see at the bottom of most of our members messages. Your signature will provide others on the board with useful facts about Oscar that will help us help you and keep us from asking the same questions over and over. @BJM is it you who has those great instructions for setting up a signature. If so, can you help Sheila out please & thank you!

The board is pretty easy to use but they aren't always intuitive if you are unfamiliar with them. This was my first board too so I fumbled around a bit! You will get the hang of it!

 

We do have a sphynx but Oscar is a Devon Rex.

 

Oh Shelia, I would love to see your Sphynx!

 

Here are the instructions to add tidbits to your signature. It will help us give you feedback.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name,
cat's name,
date of Dx (diagnosis)
insulin
meter
general location
any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.