12/23 - New member, hi! I have questions!

Hello!

Tonight I took my 11 year old big baby Bacardi to his vet for a check-up. I bring him in once a year just to have levels checked, etc. I made his appointment sooner than a year because he peed on my couch and I just wanted to rule everything out.

Fast forward to his appointment, the vet says he has diabetes. His number was 259. The last time it was tested it was 144.

He is not exhibiting typical symptoms other than being preoccupied with his water dish but he has always been like that.

I had him on a mostly-wet food diet this year; 1 can of wet in the morning and 1/4 cup of dry at night. This amounted to approximately 250 calories (he is 20 lbs). I was not really thinking in terms of carbohydrates but I’m now seeing that they were pretty high.

The vet wanted to put him on insulin twice a day. Because I myself am a big baby and faint around needles (no, really, I have to leave the room when he gets vaccines or blood drawn) I asked if there was an oral alternative. The vet said we could try Glipizide twice a day and then retest. He also sent me home with Science Diet m/d.

Once I came home and cried a little, I did more research which is how I found you lovely people!

OK so here are my questions: after seeing the significant carb content of his previous food, I can’t help but wonder if maybe his numbers were elevated because of that. Like I said, he doesn’t exhibit any other symptoms (hasn’t lost weight, doesn’t regularly go outside the box - just had two accidents, drinks and eats normal). Am I being a little too optimistic? What if just the diet switch does the trick - should I attempt that first before starting the Glipizide? Is decreasing the carbs AND starting the med too much at once?

He saw the secondary vet in the office and I’m actually not a huge fan of him. I’m planning on calling the primary vet to see what her thoughts are but of course I wanted to post here to see if anyone could offer any advice or words of wisdom.

Ultimately I love him like he’s my child and I would do anything for him. If I have to get over my fear of needles somehow, I would have it be for him in a heartbeat!

 

Hi! You've definitely landed in the right place. Lots of really warm, helpful, knowledgeable people here, so welcome!

I would definitely try a change in diet to see if that makes a difference in your cat's glucose levels, but I would stay away from the Science Diet M/D because it's high in carbs. Most people here feed their cats Fancy Feast classic pates because they are low in carbs (you're looking for something less than 10%) and fairly inexpensive. No need to drop big money on prescription food. Here is a list of wet foods compiled by Dr. Lisa Pierson (catinfo.org) with good low carb alternatives. My Ruby is still on insulin but I saw a massive improvement in her BG levels after taking away all dry food and feeding Fancy Feast. Try the diet switch before insulin or its alternative.

 

Hi there, and welcome to yourself and Bacardi.

I'm in the UK, it's after 3am so sorry for the brevity of this message.

Do you think that with some desensitisation exercises you might be able to get to a stage where you'd be able to stick a needle into an orange? (It's what I was taught to practice on in the early days.)


Mogs
.

 

I have never even thought about trying it with something that isn’t living! The thought of any needle going in any human or animal skin makes me lightheaded but thinking of injecting an orange doesn’t give me the same feeling. If you just set me on the path of curing my needlephobia with one comment reply, then you just made my night/year/decade.

 

Hi and welcome to you and Bacardi.
Yes definitely try the low carb wet diet. I would ditch the dry food...it will be high carb and is not good for any cats.

I would definitely NOT give Glipizide. It makes the pancreas work harder and does not support the pancreas like insulin will.

While you are trialling the low carb food I would go out and buy a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and test the urine for ketones. Ketones can form in Diabetic cats that are not getting insulin so it is important that you test daily for ketones while you are just doing the diet trial. If you see any ketones above a trace you need to tell the vet and insulin may need to be started. It may not happen but it is a good insurance policy. You Justin to collect a urine sample, dip the test strip into the urine and read it exactly 15 seconds later against the colours on the bottle.

good suggestion of Mogs to have a go with a needle in an orange.
Keep asking questions, we are happy to help.

 

I probably should have done research on the food before buying. I was a crying mess in the exam room and when they suggested the food I just said “yes, I’ll take your whole stock.” Should I just take the loss on the $55 and go get Fancy Feast or would it be okay to give him the remaining 20 cans?

 

Oh I know how emotional it is! I cried so much when Ruby was diagnosed with diabetes and we sent her to the hospital. Now that I've found this board though I feel much better because I've been able to learn and take control over the situation. The pet food manufacturers guarantee your satisfaction with their product, so you should be able to bring it back to your vet and get a full refund on whatever is unused.

 

When Lola was diagnosed she was sent home with a bag of prescription food. The vet told me it was guaranteed, so if she wouldn't eat it to bring it back for a full refund. (hint, hint )

A change of diet can make a huge difference. Of course, every cat is different, but Lola only needed insulin for a month before going into diet-controlled remission. (I had been feeding her trendy, spendy kibble prior to diagnosis.) She's still a diabetic and will require monitoring for the rest of her life, but for now at least she doesn't need insulin.

 

Thank you! I honestly wish I would’ve found this board before even making the appointment. I actually sent an email to the vet’s office this morning because I’m just disappointed in the lack of information given to me.

 

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he does well with the diet change. I’m actually upset with myself because I did more research into the food I was feeding him; I thought I was doing well for him by getting grain-free and by feeding mostly wet food. I was very disappointed to see the wet food I was feeding him was still very high in carbs and the dry food was obviously very high too.

 

It's a really good thing you caught it when you did. 259 is NOT a very high number--lots of diabetic cats get diagnosed in the 300s and higher, so there's a good chance that diet will make a difference for your kitty.