Very Scared- Newly Diagnosed w/Diabetes

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here, and I'm looking for any kind of support.

My 6 year-old cat, BoBo, was just diagnosed with diabetes on Monday. His blood levels are high (374) and he’s lost 5lbs. in 2 months (He weighted around 20lbs, now he’s at 15lbs). What's more, we are hoping that the high level of 374, could be from BoBo eating before the test, and from stress of taking him to the vet- Could those factors make his blood levels spike? We’re really scared, and we are not sure if we have caught it in time. I’ve been reading a lot of information, and from everything I’ve learned, they say that cats can live long happy, healthy lives with proper treatment through diet & insulin regulation. He also has a urinary tract infection; which we are treating with antibiotics.

We’re really scared about giving our cat insulin injections, Does anyone know if it’s really true that sometimes cats can go into full remission, and insulin injections are no longer required?

Besides the diagnoses of diabetes and urinary tract infection, BoBo’s overall health looks good; they checked his eyes, heart, liver, kidneys; everything came back good, plus his coat is still soft and shinny.

We started BoBo on Purina DM canned food & dry food on Monday, in hopes to level his blood glucose. So far, it seems that he really likes the food – Is there any other canned/dry food suggestions for diabetic cats?

Also, has anyone had any success with using oral medications rather than insulin?

We appreciate any advice-
Thank-you,
Chrystelle & BoBo

 

Hi and welcome.

What symptoms, other than urinary tract infection did Bobo have? There's a lot of weight loss there, but wondering was there any increased drinking or peeing?

One blood test at the vet of 374 is really not that high. As you suspected, stress and the UTI can cause that kind of increase. The antibiotics may keep the blood sugar high for the few weeks, but then it will probably come down after the course of ABs and the UTI is gone.

I'm not a fan of oral meds, glipizide. It can actually make the liver work harder and delay getting your cat the help he needs. I am a huge fan of changing the diet and bringing the numbers down naturally.

What were you feeding before the D/M? There are better choices, available at the grocery or pet stores than D/M, and removing dry will be even better. Most of my cats eat Fancy Feast gluten free varieties, one likes raw medallions and another likes Wellness canned, but mainly we do the FF canned, no dry.

Cats can go into remission on diet change alone. It is highly recommended that you start to hometest your kitty if you're giving insulin and changing the diet as the need for insulin may go down quite a bit.

So you're not using insulin yet?

 

Hello, welcome.
Sorry to hear that Bobo is not feeling well.

It's scary and overwhelming at first, there's a steep learning curve... but within a couple of weeks you'll be much more comfortable and it won't be scary anymore.

Sounds like you've already started reading and learning about feline diabetes, that's great. There's tons of info here, and tons of people to answer your questions.

Giving insulin shots is really not hard. I was really scared at first too (I thought I might pass out at the vet's office when I went in so they could teach me how to give him the shots and test his blood sugar - I didn't ). I have to give Odie shots and pills (for something else), and the shots are so easy. He tolerates me giving him pills too, but the shot is really like nothing. He doesn't even notice that I do it.

Yes, many cats do end up going into remission with proper diet and sometimes with insulin for a while.

The first steps are
- changing to low-carb food
- learning to home test so you can keep an eye on his blood sugar levels at home when he's not stressed from a vet visit and where you can test much more frequently (and whenever you get worried that something might be wrong)

Keep asking questions!
Odiesmom

 

you've already had some good responses, so I'll keep it short since I'm still at work...

giving insulin injections is very easy -- the needles are tiny, and you lift the skin away from the muscle and inject just under the skin (sub-cutaneous) NOT into the muscle like vaccinations which are painful.

Most cats hardly notice the injections - especially if you inject while they are busy eating.

phoebe

 

Jennifer-

Thank-you for your quick response!

We actually have two cats, Bo-Bo & Halo… This problem started about 6 months ago, when we noticed that (at the time, we thought, Halo) was peeing on the bathroom rugs. We all thought that it was Halo, so we took her in and everything came back fine. Then the peeing on the bathroom rugs stopped. Yesterday, we caught BoBo peeing on the bathroom rugs (So, all along it was BoBo for the past 6 months; but he also used his litterbox, so we didn’t think it could be him -we feel horrible about not suspecting him,). This morning, we were able to get fresh urine off of the bathroom floor (for he did it again) and take it into the vet. The vet confirmed the UTI & told us that he is in the first stages, and he should be fine with the antibiotics that were given. Being that he has had this UTI issue for the past 6 months, makes us worry – but the vet did a full blood panel, and everything came back good; except his glucose level.

BoBo’s other symptoms besides the weight loss has been; increased appetite, increased thirst, and increased urination (which, some…I suppose could be from the original problem of a UTI) – Except from the peeing on the bathroom rugs, his overall behavior hasn’t changed, he’s still playful, he doesn’t hide, hasn’t been lethargic, his coat looks and feels great.

We were feeding BoBo; Fancy Feast Tender Beef Feast, Classic, along with Friskies dry food, plus we would give him treats of Tuna.
Since we found out on Monday, we’ve switched his foods immediately.

Right now, the vet wanted us to try the food change alone, and re-test his blood glucose in a week, to see if there are any changes to these levels. So, right now, we are not giving him insulin.

We actually have a 2nd opinion set up for Monday morning – (BoBo doesn’t seem to like our current vet)

Thank-you,
Chrystelle & BoBo

 

Hi and Welcome.

You have found one of the best knowledge bases for feline diabetes on the web.

Purina D/M canned isn't too bad to be using. According to the food charts it is below 10% carbs, which is where we want to be. If you find the D/M is too expensive to keep using it. The food charts at this link can help you make an informed choice for more economical alternatives. http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html My Atlas kitty is on D/M can and dry. We're still feeding dry as he was down to a low of only 6lbs and near death. He has gained back nearly 5lbs. and could still use a few more. So his insulin needs are a bit higher than some cats around here. So until we hit a maintain weight stage, he gets a bit of kibble. Again according to the dry food page it isn't too bad, but a strictly can diet will be his best meow!

Please refer to the HYPO page and what to do until you're more comfortable with Bobo's diagnosis. viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15887 Learning to home test can help prevent and even manage a crisis like a hypo.

This all can seem overwhelming and quite scary, but I find most people and cats get it together in a few weeks.

Some cats can go into remission too. They don't know why, but it can happen. Every cat is different.

 

Odiesmom, phoebe & blue,

Thank-you so much for your advice!

All of this does seem to be very stressful, but I am very thankful that I found this message board, for it has already helped us feel better about this situation.

I will keep asking questions, and reading other posts to gain more information – As my college professor would say “knowledge is the key to success”

Once again,

I appreciate all of the advice given =)

Chrystelle & BoBo

 

I know in my search engine the message board comes up first.

Did you find the home site? There is a tremendous amount of documented information there.

http://felinediabetes.com/

 

Don't beat yourself up about not knowing it was Bobo, I have a hard time figuring out which of my cats are doing what, they are good about hiding things.

If this were my cat, I'd go back to the Fancy Feast Gourmet Beef Feast and forget the dry and the D/M. My cats eat the beef feast, chicken and beef feast, chicken and liver and savory salmon flavors, all the classic gourmet feast kind, the loaf varieties. As I mentioned, my newest eats Wellness sometimes, but she was a dry food addict up until the end of May when I got her. She went into remission within days of switching to canned only. Some cats will go into remission of food alone, but some like my Tucker will be insulin dependent, but either way, it's easy to treat.

Even my cats in remission, I still "treat" them by giving them good food and checking their BGs once in a while.

As others mentioned, giving shots is easy and like Pheobe said, there's no pain.

By the way, Halo can eat the same food and Bobo, switch them both to canned only and they will both be healthier.

Check out this site by Dr. Lisa Pierson, DVM.
http://www.catinfo.org/

 

Many of us feed FF and Friskies.....canned only. Remove all the dry and go buy some Keto-Diastix. Those are urine test strips that test for ketones and Glucose. Catch some urine and test him for glucose. IMHO, a UTI plus vet stress can raise those numbers up. Did the vet see any glucose in his urine?

 

I agree with what everyone else has said already: low-carb food, home-testing blood sugar, etc.

You'll also want to test for ketones, which are a not-common but still possible side effect of unregulated / under-regulated diabetes. If they're caught early, they may be treatable at home; if they're caught in the later stages, they may require hospitalization at a 24-hour care facility. You can read more about ketones here.

Blue has already pointed you to Melissa and Popcorn's signs and symptoms of hypo and how to treat it. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll find a 'Jump To' box that'll let you switch to a different forum. Use it to visit the Health Links forum. Melissa's hypo post is there, as well as Jojo's post on stocking your hypo toolkit, nutrition information, home-testing tips and videos, etc.


Are your bathroom rugs washable? If so, you can put them in a regular laundry cycle with a couple of cups of white vinegar; that'll get rid of the smell. While you have the rugs up, give the floor underneath a quick wash with vinegar as well. (Though if the floor underneath is unsealed wood or concrete, chances are the urine has already worked it's way into the material. Linoleum, tile, and sealed wood should all be fine though.) What we would do is splash some white vinegar on the linoleum and give it a quick swish around with a washcloth, scrubbing at any spots that needed it. If the urine had been there for a while, we'd let the vinegar sit for about 5 minutes, then mop it up with a bath towel. Throw the washcloth and bathtowel in the wash with a cup of white vinegar, and everything's fine. If it's possible that the urine got on the underside of the litterbox, remember to clean that as well. Some stores carry white vinegar in gallon jugs; in my area cost runs from 1.89 to 3.29 a gallon, so it can pay to shop around.

If there's a possibility that your cat has urinated elsewhere, you might want to consider getting a black light. You can find them in the fluorescent bulb section of some hardware / home repair stores, or you can get a product called StinkFinder at your local pet supply store. Wait until dark, turn out all the lights, and move the black light over the suspect surfaces. Urine (and some other substances) will fluoresce in the light, making it easy to mark the spot for clean-up.

We used white vinegar for almost everything, throwing what we could in the wash, and using a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and water on stuff that wasn't washable. Other folks prefer enzymatic cleaners, some of which can also break down the urine odor.

HTH, and good luck to you and your Bobo --

Jean and her Gwyn

 

Welcome!

Nobody has nagged you about starting to hometest, so I will be the nag. If you test BoBo at home, you do away with any vet/travel stress which can raise bg levels and you can save a lot of money on vet visits. It's a good idea even before you start insulin, because you can see if the wet lo carb food is helping. (Some cats need only a diet change; others need insulin.) Get rid of all that dry. See this website for the explanation by a vet: http://www.catinfo.org

We all hometest our kitties just like we would if we had diabetic children. Then we know if it is safe to give insulin and whether the dosage needs to be raised or lowered. Here is a good site with the basics: http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/harry/bgtest.ht and a video to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8

As much as the shots and the hometesting seem difficult at first, they soon become second nature for you and your cat.

 

A big thank-you to everyone again!

Tuckers Mom :
At first… the vet’s advice was that we only feed BoBo with Purina DM dry food – But BoBo loves the canned food …after reading these posts – Looks like the canned food, is actually the best for him. He definitely eats more canned food, than dry – but now that I’ve had to do an inventory of his past eating habits – He does in fact, eat a lot of dry as well. (I will get him off of the dry food).


Hope & Baby:
I have looked into buying the Keto-Diastix: I have plans on picking them up tomorrow. The vet didn’t mention his glucose level in his urine (I wish I would of asked).

JJ & Gwyn:
We’ve been washing our bathroom rugs & mopping our bathroom floor, but we will definitely try both with a couple of cups of white vinegar (Thank-you for that tip!)

Sue & Oliver:
We certainly want to start home-testing right away (We’re just waiting for the products to arrive). Doing away with the vet/travel stress is our goal (We know that BoBo will have to make more visits to the vet (due to his condition) but looking for at home testing for in-between visits, is exactly what we want) That’s the thing… we do not want to give BoBo too much or too less insulin. We ordered the Purina ''Glucotest'' Feline Urinary Glucose Detection System (hope that’s a good system to begin with)

-Chrystelle & BoBo

 

HI Crystelle/Bobo
This is my 3rd time trying to write a reply. My computer keeps doing funny things so I will do this quick for now and come back.

Welcome!!! You are in a great place and you have been given terrific advice.
1. meter - human ones are fine, you do not need an animal one. Walmart relion - great
2. food - remove all dry, skip the dm. we use Ff classic flavours.http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html
3. oral medications are not a good option in getting the pancreas to heal.

4. possible remission - you betcha. We are OTJ (off the juice) since April 3. have a look at our spreadsheet, profile and OTJ video that are in my signature

5, insulin - if and when, stay away from vetsulin/caninsulin. Lantus is excellent.

 

Most people here just use regular human glucometers. Depending on the model, it's much cheaper than animal-specific ones.
You prick the ear, get a tiny drop of blood (it doesn't hurt them), and test.

The one you mention seems to be something you add to the litterbox? The other problem is that you want to test *just* before giving him insulin, to make sure it is safe to do so... I don't know your cat, but there's no way I'd get Odie to pee on-demand :smile:

Odiesmom

 

Everyone's already given you tons of good advice so I'll just say the ones that are most important to me.
1. get rid of ALL dry foods, and that includes those little treats. If you want to give treats, you can get a few kinds that are 100% a single ingredient, like freeze dried fish or liver or chicken. PureBites is the ones I get for mine.
Take a look at the link for Binky's page which lists all sorts of good foods that are low carb. And that DM foods, not the best of ingredients and totally too expensive.

Just like with humans, there are diabetics who do not need insulin and control by diet alone. A coworker of mine and best friend is of that type. And the same goes for animals because there have been other kitties who have changed their diet and then never started on insulin or were on insulin for a very short time.

So yes, it IS possible.

2. get a regular meter like humans use. Relion or OneTouch or AccuChek or something like that. no matter what, it's important to test and not give insulin without first testing to see if your kitty even needs it.
Don't be worried about testing; it's easy peasy, honest. Even my Shadoe literally sleeps through my testing by pricks to the ear tip. One thing to note: many people say that your kitty's ears "learn" to bleed and it's true - at the start, you may have troubles but don't dispair.

3. get the ketostix and test for ketones whenever you can. It's very important to know even if it's just a trace. With the higher numbers, especially in those 300s and up, the chances are much higher of the possibility, so best to test and get negative all the time.

4. Insulin choice - your best bet, if you are even going to need insulin, would be Lantus or Levemir. I started on Caninsulin with Shadoe and it did not help at all. Switching to Lantus showed great results.

OK that's it for me for now.
Please don't hesitate in asking any questions you may have; someone will come along to help you.

 

Also, I agree that glipizide isn't great for cats.

Regarding the Purina glucotest pellet things: most folks here do blood-sugar testing, because it produces more immediate results. Urine testing will give you an idea of what the sugar levels were in the past few hours, but won't give you the immediacy and the level of detail you need. From the Pet Diabetes Wikia:

 

Welcome Chrystelle & BoBo

You've gotten awesome feedback - which ever insulin you pick, you'll be on your way to helping BoBo heal and to become a happy healthy kitty. cat_pet_icon

Home testing, low carb wet food diet, and with support from this wonderful community, you'll get a handle on it and be able to manage feline diabetes.

Good luck to you and take care!

 

All of the warm welcoming & advice has certainly made this issue seem treatable and I’d like to give my sincere wishes to everyone & *hugs* & *kisses* to your kitties =)

Randi & Max:

Since I joined, I have without a doubt gained some valuable information. I have listened and shared this information with my family, and we are trying to stay optimistic & adjust to this diagnosis. We’re hoping that our 2nd opinion will bring good news, and the changes in BoBo’s diet has worked. If not, we will continue on this journey.

I don’t have a meter yet, but I will be picking one out tomorrow – we want to start testing right away.

BoBo loves the Fancy Feast flavours – So, I’m glad that everyone has recommended it.

We’ve decided not to do any oral medications, for as you have stated “not a good option in getting the pancreas to heal”.

We’re hopeful to start BoBo on Lantus (If in fact, he needs the insulin)

-Thank-you for your support =)

Odiesmom:

Yes, the Purina “Glucotest” is something that is added to the litterbox, but now that you have mentioned it... BoBo wouldn’t be one that would pee on demand either lol.

Like you’ve said... It’s best to test BoBo before giving him insulin (If we put him on it) Perhaps we will use the “Glucotest” for our other cat, Halo... for she weights 18lbs - & could be next, if we don’t change her diet too.

Thank-You =)

Gayle & Shadoe:

Yes, tons of great advice here!

We’ve gotten rid of all of the dry foods, and we’re keeping both of our cats on canned food.

It’s comforting to know that diabetes can be controlled, and even put into remission.

We do feel uneasy about the possibility of having to poke his ear & give him insulin shots – But we will do everything and anything that is best for him.

We will also pick up the keostix to test for ketones – From reading, sounds like ketones are very serious.

We would like to start BoBo on Lantus (If he needs it)

Thank-You =)

JJ & Gwyn:

Thank-you for your advice on urine testing vs. Blood testing. What you have said makes perfect sense...Blood testing sounds more reliable than anything else – and being that diabetes is something that needs to be regulated – doing something that is dependable is the best action.

Once again, thank-you =)

Ronnie & Luna:

I agree, awesome feedback!

This has been a great support line, I hope I can extend the act of kindness that has been shown to BoBo & me in the future =)

Take care too!

-Chrystelle & BoBo

 

You are making all of the right decisions! The Walmart brand meter and strips (Relion) are among the least expensive. (Strips are what will be your biggest expense.) If you start Lantus, please ask your vet to write a prescription for either cartridges or pens (vs. the vials). The box of 5 pens/cartridges ends up being more economical than the vial due to lifetime of insulin once opened.

All of the information about how to store Lantus, dosing, and everything else you can possibly think of is located in the starred notes at the top of the page on the Lantus Insulin Support Group page. Those of us in the Lantus group are very numbers oriented so getting familiar with home testing and starting a spreadsheet and a profile (info on how to set these up and link them to your signature is in the Tech Center) will be very helpful if you decide to post in the Lantus forum. (It is a wonderful group of people there.)

As for home testing, when you're ready to start, if you indicate where you live (city/state), there may be a member near by who can help you learn how to test. I learned to test and shoot by watching videos on YouTube. Doing this is really easy. Just remember that old commercial -- "Never let them see you sweat." If you are confident and know you can do this, you will communicate your confidence to BoBo. If you're nervous, he will pick up on that and also be nervous. One key to testing -- treats! Cats will work for food. If they know there's a treat waiting, you are more likely to have a cooperative cat

Changing diet back to low carb canned may help to regulate Bobo. Whether or not he needs insulin, it will help you to know if diet alone is working if you test.

 

HI there! I'm late to the party, but you've gotten terrific advice and I can see that you have read and are educating yourself, quickly. We are started here, afraid and overwhelmed and had a million other emotions, so we understand. I was a basket case, myself! It will amaze you as you take the information and act upon the suggestions, how your stress level will begin to come down and your confidence will come up.

YOU can treat your kitty and YOU can help BoBo live a long and happy life with feline diabetes, even if BoBo doesn't go into remission. Everything that you do will be one step forward and the rituals will simply become habit, like brushing your teeth every morning and night.

There's a lot to learn in the beginning, but as you see, folks here will answer your questions and help you along your way. You and BoBo are going to do just fine. I can already tell.

The number you got is not all that high, especially considering the UTI and possible vet stress. Calliope was 500 at diagnosis and had lost lots more weight. I thought she was just old and that's what was going on. What did I know! Turns out she'd had FD for a while, but we changed the food, immediately and got started on a low dose of lantus and less than a month, later, she was in remission. This happened because of the help we got HERE. Yes, the vet prescribed the lantus, but the vet prescribed dry MD food and a much higher dose of insulin. I decided to trust my new cyber friends of ONE DAY and it was the right decision for me. I extended Calliope's life by coming here. Alas, the kidneys went before we were ready to say goodbye, but we had over a year and a half more together than we would have had and for that, I'm eternally grateful.

Hope to see you and BoBo around, often!