Poor Phoebe

Hello! I am Maria and my kitty Phoebe was diagnosed with diabetes on Thursday. She has been taking high doses of prednisolone because she also has gastric lymphoma. And the vet is certain the high dose is what precipitated her diabetes.
Phoebe came to me at a cat rescue adoption event I attended with desire to adopt a different cat. I used to volunteer for this cat rescue org and they knew me well. I arrived too late to adopt the orange tabby I had my heart set on, but I was not too late to step up when a young couple showed up with a cardboard box. The tiny feral kitten inside could barely move and was having difficulty breathing, but she bit my finger ravenously, only once, when offered food. She was too weak to try for another bite. This poor little soul's gums had absolutely no color at all and she was dark with fleas and flea dirt. The couple told a sad story of watching the mommy cat running back to the kitten again and again to encourage her to keep walking when all she could do was take a couple steps then fall over from exhaustion. They decided to step in and pick up the kitten: if they had shown up five minutes later than they did we all would have been gone. If I had been earlier to the adoption show I would have been home already with an orange tabby. So much lined up just right for this kitten on this day. So I assumed foster care of the kitten. The regular vet the group used was already closed for the day and they instructed me to take her there the following morning. As I drove home with this kitten I decided to take her to an emergency hospital rather than wait until morning. It was a good decision, the vet said she was in the process of dying - moribund - when I took her in. This poor kitten was starving and had flea anemia. Kitten got life saving blood and recovered quickly. She was better the next day and ate ravenously to restore her tiny body to it's full weight over the next weeks. It took Phoebe several years to learn that she didn't need to gulp her food or defend her bowl from the other cats; that the next meal was always going to be there for her. She had the awful habit of eating the other cats' food vomit too. It's what a starving kitten learned to do to stay alive. Phoebe has always been a very grumpy cat and I owe this to her difficult fight for survival and her first experience with humans involving needles and clippers and the clinical handling it took to save her life. Phoebe is about ten years old now and I have tried to give her the best indoor kitty life possible, but she is grump and that's just how it is. I love her to pieces. I call her my snow leopard because she has a very wild-type lynx point coloring. Her pretty blue eyes are always scowling, but she plays and enjoys the company of my other cats and will even come sit on my lap sometimes! I figured by the time she got old enough to require medications I wouldn't be able to give them. She is the only cat I have difficulty handling, and her screaming could wake the dead, I swear! But we do it! I am able to give her oral meds! It's a constantly evolving process and I follow her lead to make it a positive experience.
So here we are, Phoebe and I. On a new adventure together. And I hope she will be able to get used to whatever we need to do to control her blood sugar. Oh how I hope.
I am so glad to have found this group because there is SO much for me to learn, and I am terrified of her going hypoglycemic while we strive to get her all good again. I won't have a problem keeping feedings and injections regular. I already have all my cats on a feeding schedule and I work part-time as a cat sitter so any kind of scheduling changes or enhancements will not be a problem. I just want to get this right so Phoebe will enjoy her life!

 

Hi Maria and Phoebe. Welcome to FDMB.

Phoebe was so fortunate that you were there for her that day. She is truly blessed to have you.

While it can be scary and overwhelming to receive a diagnosis of feline diabetes it is something that can be easily managed with a proper diet, insulin and hometesting. Often just a diet change can make a significant difference.

We recommend a low carb/high protein canned or raw food diet. Dry food is high in carbs. Many of us feed our cats either Fancy Feast or Friskies canned food. The pate flavors have lower carbs than anything with gravy in it. If you have more than one cat, then all of them would benefit from eating just canned food. It also will make it easier to keep Phoebe from sneaking dry food and reduce the chance any of your other cats develop feline diabetes.

There are several insulins that work well with cats. Lantus and Levemir are human insulins you will get from your pharmacy. If your vet prescribes either one of these, ask for the prescription for the pens instead of vial. You will get 5 pens in a package. Since they are packaged in smaller containers, you will be able to use almost every drop before the insulin becomes ineffective. With a vial, it becomes ineffective long before you can use all of it, so you end up throwing a lot of money away.

Prozinc and BCP PZI are pet insulins. These you will get through your vet's office. All of these are long acting insulins and cats respond well to them. Insulins to avoid are Vetsulin, Humulin and Caninesulin. All of these are short acting insulins that have steep drops. They work better in dogs than cats.

With any insulin you want to start with a low dose, usually 1 unit twice a day. Over a period of weeks, the dose can be increased to find the optimal dose. Increases are done in 1/2 unit increments and you will wait at least one week between increases.

Hometesting means testing a small drop of blood before every shot. Most of us get blood from our cat's ears, though you can also test from the paws. There are pet glucose meters available, but they are expensive to buy and use. Most of us use human glucose meters. If you are in the US, the Walmart Relion Confirm and Micro meters are good meters and inexpensive to use. However, almost any brand will work. Besides being less expensive than the pet meters, the strips are easier to get, especially if you need them quickly.

There is a lot of info on this site. If you have any questions, please ask them. That is why we are here. You have a lot of experience on this board and we are here to help you.

 

If you are already giving insulin, your first step is glucose testing, for safety. Changing to lower carb food may reduce the glucose levels 100-180 mg/dL and may reduce insulin dose by 1-2 units. Ideally, this would be blood glucose, however that may be something you need to work up to slowly. Begin by massaging and handling her ears and her feet.

While you work on that, see my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for supplemental observations to help you evaluate her. Urine ketone and glucose testing using KetoDiaStix or generic (ask at the pharmacy if not out on the shelves) will be helpful in ensuring she is safe.