Just found out my cat has diabetes (what foods UK?)

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shuttler

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I found this forum after desperately trying to look for information on the web.

Yesterday my cat went to the vets for an x-ray because he has a lot of pain in his hind legs and isn't doing much apart form sitting around all day until it is time to eat. I mentioned that he has been extremely thirsty and that the anti inflam drug they gave a week ago has not worked at all.

The Vet did blood work and suspected diabetes so would not put him under for xrays and end some tests off.

Today it is confirmed that my cat Austin who is 14 has type 2 diabetes.

My cat is large and has been dieted constantly for years but never lost any weight, i feel terrible about this.

I have the initial concerns of costs which i cannot afford and most of I am worried cos my cat is in pain right now and the vet cannot look at that without treating the diabetes first.

The anti inflam didn't work at all so I am worried mostly that my cat will spend weeks in pain trying to sort this out before being able to fix the leg pain.

I really have no idea what to do next, the vet is saying just work on the diabetes but doesn't seem overly concerned about the pain and the fct all my cat wants to do is sit in the corner all day.

Any advice appreciated

John
 
Re: Just found out my cat has diabetes

Diabetes is very treatable - and your kitty should feel better soon after starting insulin treatment.

We recommend starting at a low dose like 1 unit BID (every 12 hours) because cats should not be dosed by weight (as dogs are)

Lantus and Levemir are great insulins for cats, but older vets may not be familiar with these modern human insulins.

Read www.catinfo.org about Feline Nutrition - written by a vet, Dr. Lisa Pierson. Cats are carnivores and most "cat" food is not really appropriate. The best food is high protein, low carbohydrate (no grains) canned or raw (moist) food. Dry food has a lot of junk filler that just gets sent to the litterbox because the cat can't process it.

Learn to home test your kitty's blood sugar -- this is more accurate in your normal relaxed environment than dragging the kitty to the vet where he/she will be all stressed out.

We use a human glucometer (don't need to spend the big bucks for the fancy-marketing "pet" meters) and prick the edge of the ear for a tiny blood sample. After a little practice, it is easy for both you and your kitty. (can be tricky at first to find the right spot, get a blood drop and get that blood into the meter test strip)

High blood sugar causes them to feel bad, and the hind leg issue could be Diabetic Neuropathy, which can be treated with Methyl B12. (not necessarily painful, though it looks sad to have them walking strangely and not able to jump)

So -- your vet is right to start treating the diabetes.

You don't need "prescription" food -- google "Janet & Binky's Food Charts" and choose canned foods containing less than 10% carbohydrates. The canned food list is split into OLD and NEW because it got so long.

Go for "Grain Free" and avoid flavors with GRAVY

Just a caution - I just bought some Fancy Feast Chopped Grill, and I think they changed the formula -- on the "LIST", it is 2% carbs, but this new case caused my kitties blood sugar to sky-rocket, so I am going to return the rest for a refund. I sent a request for information to Purina to get new data to update Janet & Binky's Food Charts.

The nutrition information on Pet Food labels is not as complete as on Human food. So it does not clearly state protein/carb/fat content. That is why we use Janet & Binky's Food Charts -- over the years, the more detailed data has been requested and obtained from the manufacturers and collected/published by Janet & Binky.

By the way --- it is cheaper to learn to test blood sugar at home than to take your cat to the vet frequently.
 
Re: Just found out my cat has diabetes

Thank you for taking the time to reply...

So is it the diabetes likely causing my cats hind leg problems? Not once has the vet told me this.

The vet mentioned an initial day in the vets 'stabilising' my cat is that necessary?

So after the initial treatment, the monthly cost can be limited to the daily shots of insulin?

Also is the twice daily shots something we will have to do for a long time is it possible to stop needing the shots?

Thanks again

John
 
Re: Just found out my cat has diabetes

Hi John. Welcome!

Yes, the leg issues could be neuropathy, related to the diabetes: http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Neuropathy

Some vets like to keep the cat for the first cycle of insulin. It isn't a bad idea - just in case your cat has a reaction to insulin - which rarely happens. But if you start hometesting, there really is no need. You can keep track of exactly how the insulin is affecting him. Here are some links on hometesting: http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/harry/bgtest.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8

Some cats do go into remission. My Oliver did, 6 months after starting insulin and changing his diet to wet lo carb. PS. Don't feel bad. I fed Oliver Science Diet Lite for years, hoping for him to lose weight. As soon as we changed, his weight went down and stayed there.

Keep reading and asking questions. There is a lot of great collective knowledge on this board - everyone here has or had a diabetic cat - and some great info. (Start with the FAQ's)
 
Re: Just found out my cat has diabetes

John.

Every cat is different, but there are many kitties here that with diet and good care have gone OTJ (off the juice). But even if your fur buddy doesn't the shots are no big deal, nor is doing the ear pokes at home to test the BG level.

The initial cost can be high, but depending on what insulin that your kitty is on, you won't have to buy as much as say treating a diabetic human. And yes, the diabetes can cause your kitty's hind leg problems. I'm sure others with more experience than myself will be chiming in shortly.

Hang in there and ask tons of questions there is a wealth of knowledge here and everyone will be pulling for you. Diabetes if a very treatable condition. And there is almost always someone with eyes on the board that can jump in to help. Even if it is just to help you to remember to breathe. =)

Mel & Muse (GA)
 
Re: Just found out my cat has diabetes

OK so far I gather I'll need to have the initial days stabilising and then I will need the daily shots plus the testing equipment right?

I can manage the diet carefully myself and with monitoring work through this without necessary Vet bills?

I am happy to pay, just naturally want to keep it to a minimum and not get ripped off by the Vet. Good excuse to give up that gym membership I say ;)

Anyone in the UK able to recommend the urine testing strips and ear prick tester I can get hold of?

Also anyone UKers recommend a brand of food?

Thanks, I feel a little better already.

John
 
Re: Just found out my cat has diabetes

John, I'm sorry to hear your kitty has diabetes, but this is hands down THE BEST site for learning how to manage your kittys diagnosis. Everyone here is more then willing to answer any and all questions you might have. None of them are stupid so don't hesitate to ask. Hometesting with a human meter is going to save you a lot of money, that way you don't have to go to the vets every week or every other week to see what your kitties sugar levels have been at. You will monitor those at home. Plus, you can find a lot of low carb wet cat food at your local market that will be cheaper than any prescription food your vet may sell you and that is going to save you a lot of money too. This is a very manageable disease and before you know it your kitty will be back to his old self!
 
Re: Just found out my cat has diabetes

Hey John, Please edit your first post and add UK to the TOPIC/Subject

In fact, you can edit the topic to include "What Foods in UK?"

That will attract attention from some of our UK folks
 
Re: Just found out my cat has diabetes

Any human BG meter will work well. I think there is a thread here on what people are using. Basically you will be using the same stuff they sell in stores for human Diabetics. But since I'm in the US I'll leave it up to the others to recommend brands that are readily available in Europe.

And yes, there is no reason to pay a vet for curves because you can do it at home and get better results, you will also want to test before every shot.

Mel & Muse (GA)
 
Re: Just found out my cat has diabetes

There is a learning curve with home testing -- it takes a bit of practice to prick just the right area of the ear and then getting the blood into the test strip.

First test yourself a few times to see how much blood is needed to get a good test --- then start poking your kitty

Watch the videos
 
I am wondering if you mean by "initial days stablizing", that would be at the vet's. There is no need to have any more than one day at the vet in the beginning. As I said, if you are hometesting, no need to even to do that.

Most cats are stressed at the vet - strange noises, strange smells, people who are not the daddy, maybe not the usual food at the usual time, etc. Stress raises bg levels. So if your vet keeps your cat for longer than a day, his numbers may not be accurate. Many cats are more than 100 points higher at the vet's than at home. The danger is that if your vet bases his dosage on these higher, stress-related numbers, the dose may be too high once the cat gets home and relaxes.

We are really in favor of hometesting and curves at home. Some people send their spreadsheet to the vet for dosage advice.

The "equipment" for testing: Meters are usually pretty cheap - sometimes free. The strips are the expensive part. We got strips for our Precision Extra on ebay for less than half the price in the stores. You want a meter that sips and takes a tiny droplet. Lancets are cheap.
 
Hi ya John, I am from the UK: ) I found a great forum last week which lists all the ingredients in all UK pet foods. It has helped me loads!

I have noticed a huge change in my DB cat since I changed his diet to wet food. Before he was just eating felix and whiskers but his BG levels were always high. He doesn't drink or pee as much as he used to either. My fluffy is on bozita tinned food, he loves it. I buy it from zooplus, they stock the tetra packs too which is handy if you only have one cat (saves it going off) The only thing with zooplus is you have to order it in bulk, well like 6 tins or tetra packs. I know there's another Uk site (can't remember it off the top off my head, will come back to you on that one) that sells bozita singularly, you could buy a selection of different flavours first to see what your cat likes then head over to zooplus and bulk buy cos it is cheap. I love zooplus they stock alot of cat goodies, I get my cat litter from there too, saves humping it home. I am not advertising for zooplus but if you spend over £19 you get free delivery.

I know Asda have just started stocking a new food which is the only high protein wet food available in Uk supermarkets. I have yet to get some, people on the other pet forum I go to have said some Asda's stock it others don't, it's only just come out so hopefully all Asda's will have it in stock. Will be quite handy incase I ever run out of Bozita. The food is called toplife chicken dinner, I think it's in a tetra pack. They are only doing one flavour at the moment, better than nothing I guess.

Talking of Asda, I got my blood glucose monitoring system from their. I bought 2 last week because they was on offer, they are only £4. It's the strips that can be pricey, I have looked online and you can get them quite cheap from ebay, much cheaper than what you pay in the shops. I was worried that because it was so cheap it might be crap, but people here have said it's a good one. I have the freestyle freedom lite, you only need a tiny bit of blood to get a reading. You get all you need in the kit. My vet wasn't too keen on it, she wants me to buy and animal one, the strips are too expensive though.

Hope what I have wrote makes sense, I have a slight hangover.

Before I shoot, please be aware that when you change your DB cats diet to high protein wet food you have to alter the insulin levels down. I stupidly didn't do this and my cat had a hypo, he actually didn't need as much insulin because the wet food was working wonders. Luckily it was only a mild hypo, still it shouldn't of happened, completely my fault through lack of knowledge at the time.

I will pop a link to the UK pet fourm.

http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-n ... -cats.html
 
Here's a link to where you can buy the bozita tetra packs singularly. The food costs a bit more than what you would pay for regular whiskers etc but it is well worth the money, my cats don't leave any waste in their bowls, when they was on whiskers and felix they would lick the jelly and gravy then leave the chunks.

http://www.mutleyandmog.co.uk/cat/cat-f ... -cat-food/


I hope Austin gets better soon. x
 
Hullo from Hastings E Sussex

I dont know where you are, but we might find a member who is near you and can help you with testing (Some of us hang out at WWW.Sugarcats.com )

When looking for cat food, look for those in JELLY, they have fewest carbs. If you look at Janet's list you will find that a mouse is about 4% carbs, where most dry food comes in at 50%

Buy a box of GLUCOSE powder (about£1 ) for emergency HYPOS (too much insulin, too little food)

We had three Sugarcats (one at a time) and found that the best insulin was INSUVET(beef) PZI but remember that every cat is different! Just remember that although you will be told to get new insulin each month we found that if kept in a fridge it was good for over 6 months.

Regarding food..... there is nothing wrong with a nicely chopped slice of meat from your Sunday joint. (Friends and family were always amused that at Christmas dinner, the pile of plates waiting for turkey was always topped by a saucer for the resident cat !)

I will send you a PM with my tel no in case you want to talk. In hot weather we spend most of out time in the garden, but we are available in the evening till 11 pm

Mary
 
Hey everyone

sorry for lack of updates over the weekend

Thanks you all for the advice and support.

Austin is now on a wet food whiskers in jelly diet which I understand to be perfect for his needs. We are going to the vets to have a chat and get the insuline sorted, but have decided against taking Austin in to avoid further stress. He is currently very relaxed at home and not stressed and being more sociable so I dont want to upset him further.

I think we can get him stable at home and monitor and treat him accordingly.

I'm curious about what we do about letting him out? at the moment he doesnt want to go out, but I am concerned about him eating foods out of the house he shouldnt or being fed. I wouldnt have a problem with him being a house cat if thats what he wants
 
Does he wear a collar? Maybe you could add a tag or note, saying DO NOT FEED - like a Medical Alert tag stating Diabetic.

If he does go out and catch a mouse or what-have-you -- that is fine low-carb food. It is only if he runs to the neighbors and eats dog food or something -- that would be a problem and cause his blood sugar to go high.
 
I think I am concerned about him eating at a neighbours more than anything. I guess it could be too risky to let him out as he does tend to roam around.
 
You could talk to your neighbors and mention that your kitty is diabetic and should not eat dry food ...

or if his walk-abouts are very important to your kitty's quality of life -- then you can adjust the insulin to accommodate his lifestyle.
 
Hi and welcome.

We are are also in the UK (Derbyshire). Where are you?

The best food we have found is Tesco Luxury chicken selection. It's only 2% carb. They do a fish selection too but most people here agree that fish should be kept for occasions when you really need your cat to eat and not for everyday.

Tesco also do a Finest poultry selection that is even lower carb but it's really expensive. Over £5 a box.

Whiskas in jelly is ok but the Tesco's is even lower.

I totally understand your concerns about the neighbours feeding Austin. Rhinog wears a collar that says 'diabetic-do not feed'. We got it from www.kittycollars.co.uk He did still manage to get some dry food from a neighbour but once we explained to them about the importance of his diet they took the dry food out of his reach.

Most pharmacies in the uk will be able to sell you a blood glucose testing meter for under £10. It's the test strips that are expensive. Most are about £20 a box. Whilst you are in the pharmacy pick up a box of ketostix so you can test Austin's urine for ketones. These should be about £4.50.

Glad Austin is relaxing!

Ruth
 
Phoebe_Rusty_Tiggy_Norton said:
Does he wear a collar? Maybe you could add a tag or note, saying DO NOT FEED - like a Medical Alert tag stating Diabetic.
Click to expand...

Maybe personalize a collar to say "Diabetic - Do not feed" ? Something like these collars: http://www.gotags.com/dogcollars.php A bright hard to miss color with contrast lettering would work best, I think.

A medical alert tag is also a good idea. IMO, diabetic cats should have one just in case they somehow get outside and is found by a well meaning stranger. Here is one US web site http://www.gotags.com/medical.php and I'm sure there are similar sites in the UK and other countries. My cat had both a medical alert tag with "Diabetic - Needs Insulin Daily" and the vet's phone number and vet ER's phone number on it and a regular tag with my phone numbers on it.
 
Hi, I am in Middx. Some of the things I found out and wished someone could have told me in the beginning:

Agree that the hind leg problems could be due to diabetes, in any event Methylcobalamin (Methyl B-12) won't harm and can work wonders in my opinion. cheapest way is from ebay, you want the 1000mcg strength. See Sugerpets website for some info.

As per all the other advice, you'll need to learn to home test. I have the Abbot Freestyle Lite which requires a small drop of blood, but there may be others that you prefer. The cheapest strips are from ebay or direct from Abbots who post them free of charge. Ditto for the lancets. My v et told me about testing on the pads of the feet and this helped a lot when her ears bruised and took AGES to heal. Options are what this business is about :-D

I used to buy syringes from the internet too, but my insurer won't pay postage, so in effect it costs me less to buy the dearer ones from the vet! Do hunt online tho.

My vet says the PZI can last 2 months, others will tell you that it lasts longer.if it gets clumps that won't disperse or if it won't mix then you probably shouldn't use it. I keep my last bottle in the fridge as backup in case I ever drop my current bottle. be nice and gentle with it! Also see utube for info on injecting and testing Blood Glucose (BG)

I probably wouldn't leave my cat at the vet either - the BG will be falsely elevated due to stress. Go in to learn and get help with how to test and inject, use and store insulin etc. 2 people in the begining days help a lot, its hard on your own when you start out.

You'll start by shooting every 12 hours. Take advice here about going off juice in the (possible) future.

Print off the symptoms and treatments for hypo episodes. Get runny honey and gluco stop in case. I keep an envelope with emergency money , telephone numbers and directions to the after hours vet at the door.

Keep track of BG readings and amount and time of all shots. You can do a chart as the peeps here will show you, or make up your own and just write it as I do. Make sure if you home test to learn about doing BG curves so you know what readings are at nadir when insulin is as peak activity - most NB before you increase insulin as this tells the story of how your cat reacts to insulin.

I agree that zoolpus is good and easy to use. Orders can take 5 days to get to you. Bozita is excellent, cats seem to love it. The link fluffy73 gave is excellent but zooplus has lots of info on each product so you can read and make some decisions more easily. Feed little and often if you can, certainly at least 4 times/day: once around each shot time and then at nadir (about'ish 6 hours later). Automatic cat feeders very useful!

Good luck, keep reading and learning!

Kay
 
Hi and welcome to FDMB.

Looks like you have received a lot of good advice.

The Whiskas is fine ?(under 10%) but what I have picked up is the link to the pet forum regarding food. It focuses on the meat/protein content. With diabetes it is the carbs that you need to be mindful of as much/more so.

Whiskas and Felix has been 'dished' here, but actually they are 2 of the lowest carb contents and very reasonably priced.
I used Felix 'As good as it looks' pouches. They are 3.4% carbs (I prefer under 5% as this is what kitty would get in the wild from it's natural food source-mice)
It does have some plant extracts in, not ideal but was not an issue with my cat. It is important to hold in your mind that ECID (Every cat is different), so can always vary.

The pet forum states Tesco finest isn't any good. Actually for a diabetic cat it is. It is approximately 1% carbs.

Bozita is 8% and Felix bites 3% (using the figures they quote).

Initially let your cat eat as much as he wants-his body can not rocess the food properly and thus always thinks he's hungry. This improves as you get his Bg's under control.

I got a one touch ultra and accu check aviva through ebay-can't comment on the Freedom lite. It is the strips that cost. Again, Ebay is the place to go. Genearlly £5-10 for a box of 50 strips. You want to ry and stick with people who have 100% feedback, certainly not less than say 98%. I was gazumped by someone selling accu check aviva out of date strips. You can't use them because of a chip you have to insert. One touch you can use slightly out of date (not really recommended but I've never had probs, though not months out of date)

By switching Lucky from dry to wet (no insulin) she went from 457to 254 in 7 days. That's how many carbs were in the dry!
She sill needed insulin.
As for your vet saying kitty is type 2, afraid there is no way they can know that.It will take time to work out which kitty is. Type 2 you have a shot of getting them off insulin, type 1 not.

Sadly, vets in UK are woefully behind on up to date research. Most prescribe Caininsulin-there has been a warning on it's 'sister' Vetsulin (same insulin, different name in USA), with the manufacturer stating cats should go onto other insulins.
The pther one is PZI-This has been reformulated and it seems the one nearest to it is Prozinc. Came out last November. Have heard some good things about it. Being in Germany we were fortunate and able to get Levemir prescribed. This and Lantus have had fantastic results. Unfortunately vets won't prescribe.so would say Prozinc is probably your best option.
You should always test bg before shots and then intermittently depending on where you are in the 'sugar dance' (our name for treating FD) and kitty's bg numbers. Also people have to work around their own lives.
Plenty of people here can help you with this as well as tips as to how to get blood samples without distressing you and kitty.

Vet probably wants/ed to do a curve. Cats bg's can go up by as much as 100 points at vets (Lucky's always did. Btw the numbers I gave were intravenous blodd-different and more accurate than ear prick-but distressing too)That's why it's not very helpful.
Also may ask to do a fructosamine test. This isn't very helpful either as it just gives you the average bg over the previous 1-3 weeks. Kitty could have been 300 at one point in the day, 50 at another and you get 200 as your number-doesn't tell you anything other than average/poor etc glycaemic control.The fact that your cat has FD means porr glycaemic control initially.

As you gain control of BG, kitty's neuropathy should improve but people here definitely endorse givng the methyl B as well. Need to make sure it's the right one.

To start off, getting syringes from vet, then doing your homework. To my knowledge (and was the same for us) you can only get BD brand syringes. Depending o your insulin they can be u40 or u100-least the vets get that right (to my knowledge).

As others have said, keep asking questions. It seems a lot to take in intially but actualy you can get into the swing of it very quickly and it doesn't take over your life.

Please don't just give your cat food off your plate-it doesn't have taurine in-essential for cats health. s a treat supplement ok.

Good luck. :mrgreen:
 
OK so we are back from the Vets and you were all very helpful and I was VERY well prepared for everything he said.

The first thing he said he wanted to do was to get him in for 2-3 days to monitor his glucose levels and do blood tests and such to work out what he needs to do.

On asking him if I could do this at home to keep his stress levels down they said sure and he went on to tell me about getting a urine sample to bring in for them to test. I asked if a blood test at home would be easier than a urine test and he told me that ear pricking at home is 'a bit of a grey area' and some might say it was illegal to do at home!

No idea if that is true or not but he suggested after this doing urine strip tests at home myself and we now have some. The advice he gave was good, but it seemed that every step of the way he wanted me to bring the cat or urine in and them test it when it seems i can just test it myself easily enough!

So he said our diet change was fine and to see how we go with that and see if we notice an improvement on dietary changes testing daily alone at first before we look at injections.

My cat seems much more relaxed, despite the leg problems over the last few days and one visit to the vet and he is mega stressed again.

So does this sound like a good first step?

Testing the urine and the diet change and then if no improvement we look at injections?

Thanks

John
 
Sounds good for starters.

Testing blood at home is not a problem -- many others in UK have tested their cats at home. In fact, some have said their vets recommended testing blood sugar at home, so I'm surprised that you got a different answer. (whereas in US - almost NO vets mention testing at home as an option, or support it)

No one can order you about in how you treat your cat. People can suggest and recommend (the vet is included in this) and you need to educate yourself and make a decision on what you will do.
 
Hi,

testing at home isn't a grey area. It isn't illegal it's just that alot of vets don't support it (for whatever reason). Great that yours sort of does.

My suggestion would be-get the glucometer and test strips (one vial to start you off). Test his bg before you fed and then 1 hour later and 3 hours later. If it goes right down to under 120 then your cat is diet controlled.

It is unlikely this will be the case but not definite. If kitty has neuropathy, suggests he may have been diabetic for a while. The majority of cats need insulin if only for a short time to give the beta cells (cells produce insulin in pancreas) chance to recover-bit like a crutch.

The urine strips will just tell you how concentrated his urine is with glucose-not tell you how high his bg is.
Alternatively, you can just monitor with the urine strips, but if they don;t come into the normal range pretty quick, then he needs insulin.

Your quite right to not put him in vets if he gets stressed-won't get accurate results and then if they do prescribe insulin they may tell you to start on a higher dose than he needs. (The ethos of this board is start low go slow-so we strongly advocate starting at 1u maximum and increasing in .25u increments. This way cat doesn't hypo and you don't miss cats ideal dose)

Maybe look at the other foods I listed that are lower in carbs than the Whiskas in jelly. (if you post the moisture % and the others, I can work out for you).All are approximate because of the way the law works-unlike humans!

Good luck :mrgreen:
 
I'm confused..

Tested Austin's pee yesterday and today and both results are on the normal readings. This is the first test since his diagnosis bloodwork. I guess he's been on the whiskers about a week, could it really be that simple for my cat?
 
Hi Shuttler,

When you say normal readings, do you mean you've got a negative reading colour? (like a faint beige?)

It is possible if you caught it early. It's just the possible neuropathy that seems odd.

Has he slowed down eating and peeing? Like not emptying his water bowl anymore?

Did you find if there were any other users near you? Getting a bg reading would give you a definitive answer.

On the old FDMB board there was analternative treatment group who just used things like urine samples to manage their cats, for reasons such as cat being too fractious, but doesn't seem to be one on this board.

He'syour cat and you can see him where everyone else can't. If your happy with how he's doing, just keep a log of what he is eating, how much he pees,what his coat looks like (first thing usually to go dull etc with diabetes-endocrine system),playfulness, how his legs are-can he jump etc and take it from there.

I don't suppose the vets have a glucometer that they would be willing to let you borrow for a day and do a curve at home? Be cheaper and less stressful for him.

Let us know how you get on. :mrgreen:
 
Yup it's a negative reading right on the bottom of the scale!

He seems really well apart from his legs, meaning doesn't go out or exercise though. He's being sociable and toilet is normal other than struggling to get to his tray. He's really enjoying the wet food

It sounds promising but I'll grab the blood tester anyway, what readings am i looking for?

Thanks again for the help

John
 
Great news :mrgreen:

Anything under 120 is considered a non-diabetic number (sometimes under 140 ok too)

You would expect number to go up after food and then 2-3 hours after food, if you test again, should drop back down into under 120. A lot of cats there normal range is 40-60!
I don't think you will but just in case-if you do see such low numbers a cat can't hypo unless they have actually had insulin.

Might be worth looking at getting some of the methyl b12. I haven't used it and I always refer people to Hilary/Maui. Although she's in the states, she knows exactly which type you need to get. Just pm and ask her. I don't think it's expensive.

So, if you test.

Test before food (least 3 hours since he's had any)
+1-Should see a higher number
+3-should see a lower number

If your unsure, just post your numbers here for others comments.


Another thing-if he looks a tad dehydrated (pull skin up and should 'snap' back if he'sok. Slow/sluggish ifnot. Add a little water to his wet food. Just gets that bit more in him.

Good luck
ps-what's his name?
 
Thank you.

His name is Austin

Good to know about the hypo, I'll consider that if we get to the needing insulin stage. Hoping Austin is lucky enough to respond to the diet change

John
 
Scritches to Austin cat_pet_icon

Don't worry about the insulin for now.We'l help you with that too if it comes to it.

One more thing-if you think hes starting to go down,you could get some keto-diastix. These test for keytones too.In the main this is a lack of insulin.It's recommended if your administering insulin, I honestly don't know if you should test for them if your not giving insulin. If a cat gets them it can be very serious.

All sounds very positive for now-so go enjoy your boy :mrgreen:

Edited-Just a quickie.This is one of our long timers Deb/Spot. He has yo-yoed OTJ (Off the juice) several times. Look at his numbers-this is just an exampe of what you would see for a cat that is managing to bring his bg's down by himself. His are higher than most, but still in the OTJ zone :-D

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22354
 
Well Austin continues to eat, but isn't moving of his bed other than that during the day. He's still completely avoiding the litter tray which I assume is the problem with his legs.

Other cats where in the garden and he looked annoyed he couldn't go out the other day but refused to go and exercise. Whilst I know his diabetes seems under control I do feel bad for him just sat in one spot all day and then having trouble with the toilet at night.

If his legs don't improve what's next? Are there further treatments or does he become an inactive cat for good?
 
Hi,

doesn't sound very good.
Is he going to the toilet at all? If not that's serious.

I'll contact Hilary and ask her to post info about methyl B12 for neuropathy.

Some cats won't use a litter tray because they associate it with pain. I'm questioning crystals which is serious and need vet (hence asking if he's going at all?)

His diabetes should not be preventing him from exercising.
Have you ordered or got a glucometer yet?
 
Sorry I should make it clearer, he is going to the toilet but not in his littertray. Just around his bed area.

Glucometer is on it's way, but his urine levels still read normal daily.

He seems pretty ok but just unable to walk so it is preventing him from exercising.
 
Hi,

it sounds like he may have some form of urine infection and is associating the pain with his litter tray. A visit to the vet may be wise.

I have pm'd Hilary about givng some Methyl B12 advice.

Good news on the urine levels :mrgreen: Keep up the good work!
 
How do you come to that conclusion about the litter tray as he happily goes to the toilet on what ever is nearest to his bed? I assumed it was just down to him not being able to support his hind legs which is why he wont climb in to the tray?
 
His hind leg weakness is a good reason to not walk all the way to the litter tray.

My first diabetic Norton had a brain tumor that caused him to walk in circles -- this made it very difficult for him to use the litter boxes which basically had a front entrance and high walls on the sides.

Our solution was to get a very large flat tray with walls only about 3 or 4" high on all sides. This we set away from walls so he could walk in and out from any direction.

This may not be a solution for your darling. Can you get either disposable puppy pee-pads or bed-wetting sheet protection pads to place on the floor near his bed?

There used to be a product called "Cat Paper" which was absorptive on one side and waterproof on the other side -- unfortunately it is no longer made.
 
hi sorry for taking a couple days to respond.

Here is the methyl B12 I used and highly recommend:

http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Vitamin-B-1 ... cobalamin/

Why? simple

1) it doesn't contain any sugars or fruit flavors, like the ones others use
2) it's simple to use - open capsule and mix into wet food
3) it's 5 mg which is the strongest dose you want to give - you give one capsule daily
4) if it's too much (as typical amount given is 3-5 mg) - no big deal, cat will pee out what he doesn't metabolize

I see you are in the UK - I believe this company ships internationally, of course you can look for methyl b12 in a local pharmacy, but check the ingredients - you want one with the least amount of extras
 
Hi everyone

apologise for my lack of contact on the board, but you can take that as a good sign for our cat Austin.

Thanks to all the great advice on this board he is doing incredibly well!

He is up and walking again and almost perfectly normally. The change in diet has made him back to himself, infact looking back I don't think he has been this happy in years! He is less grumpy and more sociable and comes up on the sofa every night to be with us something he has not done for years.

He goes out daily for exercise too and I saw him climb a big fence the other day :D

Thank you all so much again!

John & Austin
 
Hi there. I have a diabetic cat (diagnosed back in July) who started on Oral medication and is now on insulin. I was wondering whether you gave Austin the recommended B12 due to bad legs? You say that he is much better now and even jumping fences. Is this just purely down to the diet? If you gave the B12 where did you purchase it from (UK owner)? Many thanks.
 
choc chick said:
Hi there. I have a diabetic cat (diagnosed back in July) who started on Oral medication and is now on insulin. I was wondering whether you gave Austin the recommended B12 due to bad legs? You say that he is much better now and even jumping fences. Is this just purely down to the diet? If you gave the B12 where did you purchase it from (UK owner)? Many thanks.
Click to expand...

I literally just changed his diet and he improved :D
 
Jen & Squeak said:
Just a note to choc chick, that diet change is not often enough and that shuttler's kitty Austin is very lucky :)
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. I was very ready to go down a medicine route and ended up being lucky!
 
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