? 4 months in and still not stable...

Hi Everyone,

My 13 year old cat, Rufus, was diagnosed with feline diabetes in September 2020 following dramatic weight loss, ravenous appetite and excessive urination.
He started on 1 units of Caninsulin twice a day and after a month showed little signs of improvement therefore his dose was increased to 1.5 units twice daily. However, this put his blood glucose level dangerously low (BM 1.2) and his dose was immediately reduced back to 1 unit twice daily whilst a glucose curve was carried out.
I was able to carry out his glucose curve at home, BM as follows:
7am (pre food and insulin)- 17.8
7.30 (after insulin and food)- 27.5
This was repeatedly hourly until 1.30pm to identify nadir, which was 16.1.

Having reviewed the results the vet did not feel able to increase his dose again after but also shared her confusion with me regarding the trend of his blood glucose levels and his body’s response to the insulin. She gave me the option to increase by 0.25 of a unit (which is extremely difficult to get accurate even with 0.5 syringes!) or to switch to a long acting insulin which is 4x the cost of his current treatment along with branded syringes, prescription food, regular check ups... etc. We have spent about £1000 in the last 4 months getting to this point.

Just wondering if anyone had any similar experiences, insights or advice as 4 months on and we’re no further forward. His quality of life is poor and he is so food focussed and hungry constantly it’s so distressing. We have been giving him lots of extra food (wet and a little diabetic dry cat food) as he continues to lost weight (he has now lost over half his body weight). He cries constantly, drains the water bowl about 3 times a day along with drinking from the sink/puddles etc and litter tray is totally soaked in a matter of 2 days.
I’d be so grateful of any advice as I’m not sure how much longer he can go on like this, he’s fading away before our eyes.

Thank you so much xxx

 

My kitty was diagnosed October 2020 lost 4 pounds he will be 12 tomorrow. After 3 weeks he was placed on3 units Vetsulin and I give him Glycobalance one can wet and and pm. After 20 minutes of eating I give him the shot. He has 2/3 cup dry Glycobalance for 24 hours for grazing. He still pees a lot but he also lost his gait with back legs and jumping is difficult. Vet feels it will improve He is not ravenous difficulty testing hard to get blood vet wants the number to be around 200 7 hours. Some days it is higher. He may be put on Lantus soon or increase the Vetsulin. Vet has me using the AlphaTrak