New diabetic 11 years old

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SabrinaTiger

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Hi my cat Tiger who is 11 was just diagnosed with diabetes. I think this is really hard and honestly have been crying all day because i feel bad and also because of all the new adujstments. We took him in because of UTI suspicion with a lot water drinking and peeing inside even though he is an outdoors cat. Turns out he has an UTI but because of Diabetes.

There is this new medicine the vet told us about that you feed orally once a day. We have ordered it and we were told that for the first week with the medicine we have to monitor his pee with sticks to make sure there isnt levels of ketone. This is one of the things i find difficult because he has been going to pee and everything outside his whole life. Now we have to teach him to use cat toilet inside and he doesnt understand it yet. We even had an accident in the living room. My struggle is that i dont want to take his choice of being outside but at the same time i have to teach him to pee and poop inside. Im not sure how to do both and im sure it confuses him too.

Second of all am i a bit unsure about his food. We bought dry kibble from the vet for diabetes called Purina but im not sure if its the best or if there are better alternatives. If there is better please let me know and im based in Northern Europe fyi so i might need alternatives.

Third of all werent we given any instruces on measuring his glucose levels which i realised when i came home. Obviously we are gonna measure his urine to make sure he doesnt react badly to the new medicine but i think we also have to make sure his glucose levels turn more normal with the medicine?

I apologise if what i have written is confusing, i am just really lost and feel quite sad. The vet bill was also really expensive and so is the medicine each month but i dont wanna lose my cat. He is everything to me which is why i get so sad about it.
 
SabrinaTiger said:
Hi my cat Tiger who is 11 was just diagnosed with diabetes. I think this is really hard and honestly have been crying all day because i feel bad and also because of all the new adujstments. We took him in because of UTI suspicion with a lot water drinking and peeing inside even though he is an outdoors cat. Turns out he has an UTI but because of Diabetes.

There is this new medicine the vet told us about that you feed orally once a day. We have ordered it and we were told that for the first week with the medicine we have to monitor his pee with sticks to make sure there isnt levels of ketone. This is one of the things i find difficult because he has been going to pee and everything outside his whole life. Now we have to teach him to use cat toilet inside and he doesnt understand it yet. We even had an accident in the living room. My struggle is that i dont want to take his choice of being outside but at the same time i have to teach him to pee and poop inside. Im not sure how to do both and im sure it confuses him too.

Second of all am i a bit unsure about his food. We bought dry kibble from the vet for diabetes called Purina but im not sure if its the best or if there are better alternatives. If there is better please let me know and im based in Northern Europe fyi so i might need alternatives.

Third of all werent we given any instruces on measuring his glucose levels which i realised when i came home. Obviously we are gonna measure his urine to make sure he doesnt react badly to the new medicine but i think we also have to make sure his glucose levels turn more normal with the medicine?

I apologise if what i have written is confusing, i am just really lost and feel quite sad. The vet bill was also really expensive and so is the medicine each month but i dont wanna lose my cat. He is everything to me which is why i get so sad about it.
Click to expand...
@Bron and Sheba (GA)
@Wendy&Neko
@Bandit's Mom
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
If your kitty has been diagnosed with a UTI please do not give the oral medication.
I am going to add a link below which will tell you all about the new oral drug for feline diabetes.
***While it can work in some cats, we have had several cats who have not had good outcome with it. There are contraindications to using these new oral drugs and one of them is a UTI at diagnosis. And there is the real risk of ketones forming which can increase quickly to the much more serious diabetic ketoacidosis.
If your kitty is a diabetic you are going to have to go down the insulin route with him. Please don’t let your vet tell you otherwise.
We can help you with all of this.
The best insulins are Lantus or Prozinc for cats. And canned /wet food is best. The DK dry you got from the vet is too high carbs.
We can help you with food as well. Not sure if these UK lists will help.
UK FOOD LIST
UK INFORMATION
Where is Northern Europe are you based? I will try and find someone who may be able to help with supplies.
I would recommend buying a human glucose mete for testing the blood glucose. That is what most of us use here.

Information on oral drug.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-treatments-for-feline-diabetes.284789/
 
SabrinaTiger said:
We have ordered it and we were told that for the first week with the medicine we have to monitor his pee with sticks to make sure there isnt levels of ketone. This is one of the things i find difficult because he has been going to pee and everything outside his whole life. Now we have to teach him to use cat toilet inside and he doesnt understand it yet.
Click to expand...
If you do want to test for ketones, and it a good idea even if you start insulin (recommended), there are also blood ketone meters. It's like testing kitties for blood sugar, but a meter that tests ketones levels instead or in addition to blood sugar.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi and welcome to the forum.
If your kitty has been diagnosed with a UTI please do not give the oral medication.
I am going to add a link below which will tell you all about the new oral drug for feline diabetes.
***While it can work in some cats, we have had several cats who have not had good outcome with it. There are contraindications to using these new oral drugs and one of them is a UTI at diagnosis. And there is the real risk of ketones forming which can increase quickly to the much more serious diabetic ketoacidosis.
If your kitty is a diabetic you are going to have to go down the insulin route with him. Please don’t let your vet tell you otherwise.
We can help you with all of this.
The best insulins are Lantus or Prozinc for cats. And canned /wet food is best. The DK dry you got from the vet is too high carbs.
We can help you with food as well. Not sure if these UK lists will help.
UK FOOD LIST
UK INFORMATION
Where is Northern Europe are you based? I will try and find someone who may be able to help with supplies.
I would recommend buying a human glucose mete for testing the blood glucose. That is what most of us use here.

Information on oral drug.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-treatments-for-feline-diabetes.284789/
Click to expand...
Hi i was let know the risk of ketones forming but not because of the uti but because it usually needs to be followed up within the first week of using the medicine. But i am gonna call the vet again and ask because what i read online from you and google worries me honestly. Maybe insulin injections is better. I will also ask about the glucose meter, thank you so much.
I am based in Norway.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
If you do want to test for ketones, and it a good idea even if you start insulin (recommended), there are also blood ketone meters. It's like testing kitties for blood sugar, but a meter that tests ketones levels instead or in addition to blood sugar.
Click to expand...
Is that another device only for ketone then or is there a device that measueres both ketone and blood sugar? We were only told to measure the urine but at the same time we struggle right now with getting him used to peeing inside after 11 years. Also my family keeps letting him go outside.
 
There are meters that can measure the ketones and the blood glucose. Let me find some for you.
Yes insulin would be better to use in my opinion.
 
Blood ketone and blood glucose meters

*Nova Max meter
*Abbott Precision Xtra blood and ketone meter
*Abbott Freestyle Optium Neo glucose and ketones meter.’

There are others available. Amazon has these. Can you use Amazon in Norway?
You would be better getting the meters online than from the vet…I doubt they would have them.
Don’t let them talk you into getting a pet meter. They are much more expensive some to run and are not necessary.

If you go down the path of using insulin…and I think that is the best thing for your kitty…we can help you with dosing.
We recommend using Lantus (glargine) insulin or Prozinc for feline diabetes.
We have a a spreadsheet you can use and that helps us help you with dosing. These are the only two that the American Animal Association recommends.
More information about that later if you are interested :)
 
Hi Amazon is honestly a bit hard to order from as it takes a really long time for it to arrive and sometimes i never arrives either which it to scary for me to depend on right now with the diabetes. Maybe i can ask the pharmacy if they have some, i will also ask the vet and see what they say. Also im not quite sure what a pet meter is? Is it the one that measures just blood sugar levels?

As for the insulin i see we have Prozinc which is an alternative. To be honest i feel a bit confused as it seems right now i have gotten two different messages from the vet and the net about the insulin medicine. I called the vet and they are gonna call back and so i need info on questions i have. I dont wanna endanger my cat if it is dangerous to use the new medicine while he has an uti but at the same time it is easier than insuline shots. I live with my parents and might move out later this year for my master studies so im thinking forward with how to give insulin shots in the future.
 
Hi Sabrina, I agree with Bron. Do some reading on Senvelgo/Bexacat on Reddit, there are many people that have had issues with safety. We investigated this two months ago at our diagnosis, and the injectable insulins are just way more tried and true.

Lastly, it might be tricky at first, but you can do insulin injections by yourself!
 
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Hi i was wondering if anyone could measure the food for me. I am using Purina right now diabetic dry food and i have to give 60 g for a day but i dont have a kitchen weight to weigh it. Could someone weigh 60 g kibble for me and see how much that is in dl or big tablespoon. I am aware the us has different measuring system so a tablespoon work too.
 
I also spoke with the vet and we agreed that we are going to start the medicine next week when he is done with the medicine/ antibiotic for the uti. I am aware of the risks but for me it is worth trying because if i start insulin shots i cant switch to the other medicine. I will test his pee the first 7 days with the medicine and then 2 or 3 other day the next week for ketone level. As for the medicine it is not needed to measure blood sugar.

I do trust you guys but as i am based in Norway which is further away i also feel i should trust the vet. My cat was diagnoses yesterday it hasnt been a while. I am going to try the medicine next week on him when he has finished his medicine for uti. And i pray that it will go fine. For now it is only me who can make sure that he gets everything for his diabetes. My parents arent that serious about i feel, so i need something easy for me and my cat. I am also not going to be home a lot if i move. I might be moving to another country for my studies so i need to think about the future with this and him getting his medication while im gone.
 
Please read this post on the new medications for feline diabetes. The presence of a UTI indicates these treatments (SGLT-2s) are not a good choice. Unfortunately, not all UTIs respond to an initial course of antibiotics. It could look like the infection is under control only to recur and this is even more likely if your cat is prescribed one of these medications since they increase the risk of a UTI. Waiting long enough to be sure that the UTI is gone could put your cat at risk for developing ketones if the diabetes is untreated.

@squeem3 - I don't recall if Steve and Jock were outside of the US. I also can't think of someone who's in Norway.
 
Steve and Jock were in the UK. A Google search does show some Norway members who have posted around 2010-ish but none have posted since then. Hopefully European members can assist the OP with tips.
 
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