Unstable Cat with Diabetes

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Bear & Lora, Sep 24, 2018.

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  1. Bear & Lora

    Bear & Lora Well-Known Member

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    Sep 24, 2018
    Hello my name is Lora,
    My 9 year old male cat was recently diagnosed with feline diabetes on August 16th. He was prescribed 2 units, twice a day of Prozinc1 insulin and Prescription Hill's Science Diet. I'm sure this sounds familiar to some of you on this forum. He was taken back to the vet clinic for glucose monitoring August 28th. The Tech said his glucose level was 630 and one testing was above 700 so it wouldn't even show a number on the monitor. My cat (Bear's) insulin level was increased one unit more, twice daily. Bear hasn't had any follow ups since August 28th. Since that time I started to research Feline Diabetes and came upon Dr Pierson's article. It was truly an eye opener in many aspects and I am so thankful I found it.

    A quick history of Bear's situation: Bear had been eating Blue Buffalo Weight Control Diet and had vomited for two days but had decreased the third day. Concerned I went to Pet Smart to look for a hairball remedy since it was July and I found hair and food in his vomit. I asked a Vet Tech to guide me to the right aisle. She asked me why I was looking for a hairball remedy. She told me that even though Blue Buffalo advertises as being good for cats that it was a false claim and recommended I try Hill's Science Diet.

    Bear picked the Hill's kibble out of his mixed food like it was candy. A little less than a week later I noticed he was drinking more water. Needless to say over the next few weeks I had to put a much larger bowl of water down for him. I also noticed he was urinating much, much more. A month of these changes went by and I decided to weigh him as I had noticed he was getting thinner and thought this was a positive change due to a better food (Hill's). To my shock Bear had lost 4lbs in a month. I took Bear to the Vet the next day.

    I explained Bear's history to the vet just as I have in this letter. He was pleased Bear was on Dry Kibble and an indoor cat. He felt like Bear could have a Kidney disease. As we were waiting for the extensive blood panel results he said while we are waiting I am going to test his blood sugar even though the blood panel will have it but I think it will be fine. I can't remember the exact number but it was over 500 and I thought wow, when my diabetic grandmother's was over 500 my aunt said that was really bad. The results from the blood panel were all good except his glucose. In the Vet's parting instructions he told us that if the insulin dosage was too high for Bear he would experience low blood sugar and the symptoms of that could be looking dazed or confused and he might possibly stagger like he was drunk. If this should occur don't panic just put some honey in his mouth and he will be fine, then you'll have to decrease his insulin but make sure to call the office and let them know.

    Now present day I have been incorporating small amounts of canned wet food along with the bad dry food in Bear's diet. I heeded the article's warning to not change him to wet without testing his glucose. I tested him with the Relion Micro for the first time today and it went pretty well. He was due his 3 units of insulin and had eaten some dry kibble about an hour and a half before hand. His glucose was 431.

    I think Bear will switch over to canned wet food easily but I don't have enough information on the process. I have no animosity toward the Vet but know he is misinformed. This Vet was an older man and told me the change in Bear's diet to Hill's Science Diet had nothing to do with his diabetes. As a lay person I don't feel comfortable trying to educate a Vet on the latest findings when he dismissed my concern's over Bear's change of diet being relevant to his diabetes with some arrogance, plus his nonchalant attitude about Bear possibly overdosing on insulin, which I now know could have killed Bear.

    I need to have as much information as possible to help Bear transition safely. I believe the stage is ready. Bear currently weigh 16.6lbs. How often and when should I test him daily and how many portions should I feed him daily. I am using Friskies canned food, pate, and flaked. I am avoiding liver as a first ingredient, sauces, and gravy. At what glucose numbers can I safely reduce his insulin. I will be watching his weight and remember 1 to 2 percent weekly is the safety margin.

    Bear's general condition is lethargy, coordination is a bit low and at times he is unsteady on his back feet, urination has slowed but isn't normal yet and his appetite has decreased some. His coat is lack luster, oily, with quite a bit of dander. Bear is black, all his dander shows up. He is eating about a can and a half of wet and a cup and a quarter dry in 7 to 9 feedings daily. The Vet had said let him eat when he wants and however much he wants. Bear is around the same weight he was when diagnosed August 16th. Bear and I absolutely need some help.
    Lora Mullenax
     
  2. MrWorfMen's Mom

    MrWorfMen's Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Hi handsome Bear and Lora and welcome to FDMB. And kudos for starting to test Bear. Testing at home is the most valuable tool we have to keep our extra sweet furkids safe and get them on the road to better health.

    2 units to start with is a bit higher than normal and increases of 1 unit at a time is a lot and can cause the ideal dose to be missed. A normal starting dose is usually 1 unit with gradual increases of .25 to .5 units as dictated by BG levels/nadir.

    For the vet to suggest he was happy Bear was eating kibble is crazy but not surprising. Unfortunately vets tend to get most of their nutritional training from the big name food makers such as Royal Canin, Purina and Science Diet so many try to push the so called Prescription diets which in many cases are no better and sometimes worse than supermarket diets.

    Those PetSmart folks who claim to be Vet Techs are in my experience food company reps and they will push "their" brand of food without much if any real understanding of feline nutrition. Had a very interesting conversation with one when my little girl was diagnosed and it quickly became clear she was totally clueless!

    While I doubt less than a week of Science Diet directly caused the diabetes it may have helped bear cross the tipping point. Don't know the carbs in Blue Buffalo but it's certainly not low. Most dry kibble is extremely high in carbs and there are only a couple of brands that are appropriate for diabetics that won't eat a wet diet. While dry kibble is not good for diabetics or any cat for that matter and suspect as a potential cause of FD, there are lots of cats that eat it for their whole lives and don't get diabetes. That said, it certainly doesn't help ward off diabetes.

    Some cats do not show those initial symptoms of hypoglycemia and it does boggle the mind how vets can be so non-chalant about giving pet parents instructions when prescribing insulin. I take it your vet did not suggest home testing. Again not surprising and far more common than it should be.

    The hind leg weakness you are describing is likely diabetic neuropathy. Getting BG under control will help with that and most cats recover completely. Many here give their cats a supplement called Zobaline to help with the neuropathy.

    At minimum, we suggest testing 4 times daily.....before each shot and one mid cycle test in each 12 hour cycle and no insulin for new diabetics if BG before shot is less than 200. As you get more data, and understand how Bear is reacting to the insulin, the no shot number can be reduced. The reading I've recommended below explains this in more detail.

    Let's get you started on the road to getting both you and Bear feeling better.

    First of all it would be very helpful if you would set up a signature. That is the light grey text appearing below my response. In the signature we include information about kitty and ourselves. You can include your general location, Bear's age, sex, any other medical conditions, diet, Type of insulin, type of glucometer and anything else you think is relevant. The signature makes it easier for us to help you without repeatedly asking the same questions over and over.

    To set up a signature, click on your avatar and select signature. A box will pop up and you type your info in (3 hard return or "enters" limit) and then click on SAVE CHANGES button under the text box.

    Secondly, we have a great spreadsheet to track BG readings. It's easy to use and automatically colour codes BG readings so that patterns can be more easily identified. It lives on Google docs so you can put a link in your signature and your spreadsheet will always be available to anyone here helping you. The instruction for setting up the spreadsheet are HERE and THIS document explains how to use the spreadsheet.

    Last, when you catch your breath,;) hop over to the ProZinc forum http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/and do a bit of reading. There are stickys there to help you understand ProZinc, how it works and how to work with it along with how to deal with hypo situations.

    Keep the questions coming. We're here to give you as much support as you want or need.
     
    Bear & Lora likes this.
  3. JeanW

    JeanW Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2017
    Welcome Lora! Bear is indeed very beautiful and is blessed to have you as his pet parent since you are clearly devoted to him and willing to learn everything you need to know about FD.

    You've gotten some really great info above. Testing at home is the #1 most important thing of all.

    There are a lot of very knowledgeable and experienced people here who are willing to help. :)
     
    Bear & Lora likes this.
  4. Bear & Lora

    Bear & Lora Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2018
    Test reply
     
  5. MrWorfMen's Mom

    MrWorfMen's Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Having trouble posting?:banghead: It's a common problem because of the filters being used to stop spammers. If there are any links in what you were attempting to post, take them out for now and you hopefully will have better luck.

    Great job on the signature! :)
     
  6. Bear & Lora

    Bear & Lora Well-Known Member

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    Sep 24, 2018
     
  7. Bear & Lora

    Bear & Lora Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2018
     
  8. Bear & Lora

    Bear & Lora Well-Known Member

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    Sep 24, 2018
    Maybe it's recognizing I'm not a spammer now
     
  9. MrWorfMen's Mom

    MrWorfMen's Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Looks like you should be Ok now. The controls on the board have been tightened up immensely because there have been some horrendous spam attacks and that has unfortunately impacted new members a lot too. If you keep having trouble go the Technical support and look for a thread about posting issues. The moderators will help out.:)
     
  10. Bear & Lora

    Bear & Lora Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2018
    @Djamila Unstable Cat With Diabetes
     
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