Hello from Angela & Henry..Guess what? I now have a second kitty with FD

I have not checked in for some time. I don't know if anyone is still checking in that remembers me and my cat Henry (Big Hen). He had the wonky readings and had him on a 10/14 shooting schedule. He still is wonky but sort of regulated running around 280-300 in AM down to around 75-100 ar 6-7 hour peak of Pro Zinc action and has had no shot in PM for 6+ months because he is running between 120-140 at 14 hours from AM shot. He is doing very well health wise, happy and playful at almost 15
Around 2 weeks ago, I had one of my other cats, Monkey (age 13), in to the vet and found out he is diabetic also from blood panel. They were unable to do a curve there as he is always very scared at the vet and was wild. Vet suggested we start at 1 unit for him, but from experience, I know starting too high from beginning treatment can backfire. So I started him at .75 U AM and PM. When he was initially diagnosed at vet his BG was 447 and no ketones. I had him on .75 U for almost 2 weeks, his BG has been running around 400 in the AM and BG at 6-7 hour peak is around 190-200 and then around 380 at testing before PM shot. He is on 12/12 schedule. Today I upped him to 1U AM & PM. Any advice? How long should I hold this dose before doing slight increase? His BG at nadir was about the same today (180) as it had been. Monkey is also on Fancy Feast classics (1 1/2-2 cans daily) like Henry and is eating a very small amount (1/8 cup) of Royal Canin diabetic dry formula. Vet wants Monkey to gain back some weight thus the diabetic dry. He has gained back about 1/2 pound since starting Pro Zinc. Negative for ketones. HELLO FROM BIG HEN!

 

Of course I remember you and Henry! How amazing that you have another DB kitty!

If Monkey were mine, I'd get rid of the dry. I think it's one of the really high carb ones, right? If he'll eat the FF, can you just feed him more of it to get his weight up? Or check out the food list at www.cat info.org and pick a higher calorie but low carb wet. If you can do that, the numbers might go down. I think I 'd try that before increasing the dose. Maybe for several cycles. Then if he is still higher overall, maybe up it by .25 when you can monitor.

With Henry, I assume you have tried decreasing the am dose (even though the pre shot is high right now) to see if you can get two shootable pre shots? I know you have tried lots of different things for him over the years but sometimes something works that didn't work the month before?

 

Yes i have tried decreasing the AM dose with Henry. He is getting 2U. I tried decreasing him down to 1.75U and 1.50 U and his BG would still not be above 150 even at 14+ hours out from AM shot. I am thinking the same about the dry food, it is not super high carb like some of the others such as Science Diet diabetic, it is lower than most of the other prescription diabetic dry foods but I agree and he is gaining weight. Monkey also likes some of the Friskies pates so I will try just feeding more of the low carb wet food and see what happens before upping the dose. Thanks Sue.

 

No advice, just saying "Hi" to you and Big HEN!!! Trust it from someone that knows, Diabetes seems to run in households. Sally and Chewy are still alive and kicking at Diabetic Alley-- Sally has had two severe cases of Pancreatitis, but survived both after ICU stays in the University Vet Hospital. Chewy is still diet controlled! Good Luck to You, Big Hen and Monkey!

 

Can't help with the dosing, but putting weight back on a diabetic kitty that I can do....Miss Autumn is now at her ideal weight of 14lbs, but when I adopted her she barely tipped the scales at 4 lbs. Since her adopted diabetic big brother Maxwell is in remission there is a strict No Dry policy around here. So for Miss Autumn I free fed her as much low carb Friskies as she could stuff into her mouth. And stuff she did, in the beginning she was putting away 22 oz/day. And probably would have eaten more if I would have gotten up every few hours to refill the dish overnight but I'm selfish I like to sleep at night...lol

Now with her since there are also 14 other cats here, I did confine her to her own room, partly so she could eat as much as she wanted and partly because she was new to the household and this place can be pretty overwhelming at the best of times. But if Monkey will eat FF I second Sue, ditch the dry, and feed more canned. And for a couple reason besides the fact that it is more diabetic and species appropriate...Dry is full of empty filler calories. Yes he'll gain weight on it, but the wrong kind of weight, he will turn into a fat kitty not a lean healthy weight kitty. Kind of like drinking soda to gain weight, yeah you gain weight just not good weight.



This is a picture of my newest FD kitty Cassanova....and he got to this size eating prescription diabetic dry. And yep he's standing up to eat in this, he was quite literally a watermelon with feet at 37 lbs, and on 11u bid of Levemir.



Same guy 8 months later for a diet of low carb canned food and OTJ.

Mel and The Fur Gang

 

Hi Kim!! Big Hen sends head bonks to Chewy and Sally. Glad to hear Sally and Chewy are still doing well in "the Alley". I guess Kim doesn't have numerous 1/2 opened vials of Prozinc sitting aroundany longer...we won't ever forget that..LOL Is Denise still around by any chance?
Hi Mel, Monkey is now off the dry completely. He is eating 3 cans of FF daily and sometimes another 1/2 can of Friskies Pate or cooked chicken breast or drained tuna. He has gained about 1 lb. now since he was diagnosed hes at about 6 3/4 lbs now.
He also has the neuropathy in his hind hocks and is walking down flat on his feet, I have started him on B12 for that.
He has been getting a 50% or more drop at nadir now, today he was down to 150 after his AM injection. I am now dosing 1.25 U AM and PM for Monkey.
And Big Hen of course is still an engima, tweaking his dose up or down or alternate shooting schedule never seems to change the fact that he is too low for insulin pre shot in the PM even at +15 out from AM shot. Tonight he was 98 at +15!
What an amazing transformation Cassanova had in 8 months off dry food! He looks very healthy now.
I don't want to jinx myself and ask for trouble but now I am worried about a cat I rescued 2 years ago. (Lovebug). Some may remember he was hanging around my grandmother's and scratched up his face and was teetering over losing his balance. I got him to the vet and he had an ear tumor in canal that was removed. Anyway, he now lives with my 97 year old grandmother strictly inside. He has had continous ongoing skin problems losing hair around his head, scratching, etc. Tested and treated at regular vet and problem was ongoing. Hes now under special care of UF vet school dermatology clinic for 6+ months all kinds of tests and skin scrapings. It is suspected food allergy, they put him on Royal Canin rabbit & pea hypoallergenic food but he won't eat the cannned variety, he will only eat the dry version. This is the only food he can eat and has made a drastic improvement in his skin and his hair has come back in. Now I am afraid if he continues to eat only this he may become diabetic. He absolutely will not touch the canned version, went on a hunger strike for 2 1/2 days when I gave him only the canned version and he can have nothing mixed in with it to make it more palatable or the allergies will flare up. Hes a big boy about 16 lbs.

 

Hi Angela! WOW - great that Henry is doing so well!!! Love that 98 ! I had to pull G's first post when he saw green for his memorial book. It was definitely a highlight in his journey! Monkey is lucky to have a mom so experienced in FD!

Mel - Cassanova has done AMAZING! What is it about those big old orinch boyz???!!! Gotta love them! My Spartacus was on 11u N when I got him last April. Hefty - not 37#, but large - now he's handsome with the shiniest coat in the house, and on 1.5u! Well, at least the shiniest orinch coat on a boy in my house. Lucky for him that the shelter WAS giving the dry kibble - that's why he was still alive at such an obscenely high dose for a regular FD kitty.

Welcome back. I've been away a while... but hope to be stopping by again soon. Good luck with your multiples (one of my others is diet-controlled too).

 

Welcome back!!

 

Hello, LuAnn! So glad to see you. I was sorry to hear about Grayson, I replied to your post on Facebook when he passed. Grayson had the best care and loving mom and he fought his battle with spirit. I will miss his updates, always a touch of humor mixed in! I am going to try to stop by more often, I just lost my grandmother last Tuesday, she went to the hospital the Saturday before and was diagnosed with end stage lung and liver cancer. It was a shock, she had just been to doctor less than three weeks before and all bloodwork and all was normal and never any indication of this. She lived just 3 days after going to the hospital. She was 97 and had a long, good life but I miss her terribly. Mom and I has to move her kitty, Lovebug in with my mom, he is grieving but adjusting well to his new home. Monkey is doing really well he is down to 300 AM pre shot and dropping to low 1oo's at nadir, doing well on canned low carb. And Big Hen is well, Big Hen. A surprise everday..he actually did not get a shot at all for 2 days under 180 AM & PM pre tests and had a 70 at nadir, but then back up but still is staying to low for insulin in the PM. I guess his pancreas is still sputtering at times.. Thanks for stopping by to say hello LuAnn and Terriy, Big Hen sends purrs and head bonks to all your kitties!