We’re back

Hi everyone, I was here about Myrtle 2 years ago when Myrtle flirted with diabetes for a few months and then went into remission for 2 years. Her bg has been a little higher over the last couple of weeks but still in normal range and I thought she may have had a uti as she had been peeing a little more than usual on some days but her bg was still in normal range. Today she started peeing and begging for food and her bg was 19 (342). We rushed off to the vet and we are trying a couple of antibiotics to make sure that it’s not an infection spiking her bg as it has done before (but not this much) before going back on insulin. My question is as she is constantly hungry, do I just feed her as much as she wants? - low carb wet and raw of course. I don’t remember her being this hungry last time...

 

Yes, feed her as much canned food as she wants. Right now her body is not processing food properly and that is why she is vet hungry. If you can also start weaning her off the dry food that will also help lower her glucose levels.

Did they do blood work check on her? Also, does she need a dental? Infection or bad teeth can also cause the glucose levels to rise.

 

Thanks for the response Lisa. She had some basic bloodwork done last week, just showed that her kidney function is just starting to be deteriorate but stable over the last 2 years. I don’t think infection would have shown up as she had just finished a short round of antibiotics for the suspected uti. Her teeth are good. She may have some gut problems but nothing obvious. She has always been prone to uti’s so fingers crossed if that is the problem and we blast it with this double antibiotic treatment that she’ll be back to normal. She was 7.1kg (15.6lbs) when she was first diagnosed, lost weight and has been stable at 5.3-5.5kg (11-11.5lbs) for the last couple of years so she’s not particularly overweight either. In addition to wet food, she has only been getting 10 grams (less than half an ounce) of light dry food a day as it seems to help her poop and she loves it but I’ll cut that out for now too. I’m so stressed, she was not a particularly compliant patient with the bg testing and insulin shots.......

 

Yes I would definitely cut out the dry food. How are things going?

 

Hi Bron. We’re struggling through the cold Melbourne mornings - Myrtle’s bg seems to always be a teeny bit higher when it’s cold. I tested yesterday afternoon and she was at 20.9 (376). I called the vet to ask how long it would take for the antibiotics to kick in and he said a couple of days. He suggested I give a little insulin anyway so I’m picking up some today as well as some tramadol. I thought it may be worth seeing if this spike in bg is pain induced. - I really dread the thought that her diabetes might be back both for her and for me. I have had one of the worst years of my life with major life stuff going on and I really don’t know how I will cope if I will need to start again with everything that goes with feline diabetes. But as I just advised someone in another thread: deep breath, one step at a time.

 

Oh I’m sorry it hasn’t resolved. What insulin were you using before? Looks like isophane which I don’t think it is suitable for cats. I’ll look it up. Lantus (or glargine ) we call it in Australia is a much better long acting insulin for cats. I would push for that insulin and just start with a small dose such as 1/2 unit to start with.
I used tramadol for Sheba. 10 mg twice a day.
I’m sorry you are having a bad time.
Yes it’s cold here in Sydney too. I’ve just come back from a walk and my fingers are so cold I can hardly type.

 

Just looked up isophane. Also known as Novolin N. Yes I’d would definitely ask to swap to glargine. It is used by most vets here in Australia.

 

I also meant to mention that tramadol is bitter and it made Sheba froth at the mouth. That can be solved by buying some empty capsules, I bought them online. I forget the size now. Maybe a 4. Then I halved the tramadol (20 mg tabs) and put 10mg in each capsule. No problems then.
You can ask on the main forum about the sizes just to check.

 

Thanks Bron. I am in Melbourne Australia. We used isophane last time and she did so well on it (remission within 2 months) that I’m hesitant to change. My vet is extremely experienced (probably one of the busiest vets in Melbourne) and he tells me that he doesn’t particularly see a difference in cats using glargine to isophane - we did discuss it but seeing as Myrtle did so well last time we will stick to what works for her and maybe change later if we have to. Thanks for the advice on the tramadol. I’m an old hand at having elderly and sick cats and find wrapping every pill in a small bit of raw chicken breast is the easiest way to get anything foul tasting into them it’s nice and slimy too so it just slides right on down their throat.