Blake (Holly's Dad)
New Member
Hello! My name is Blake and my 9 year old cat, Holly, was diagnosed on 11/1/24. The diagnosis was a complete shock because nothing about her behavior had really changed.
11/1/24: I took Holly to her annual vet appointment where Holly went from 15.5lb to 10.6. Warning bells immediately started going off for the vet, who initially thought it was hyperthyroidism. Asked if I would do a blood test to determine if it was. Got it sent out that morning and that afternoon when I came back with her brother, Daniel, for his annual, the vet informed me that she was actually diabetic. Glucose was at 524. And we started exploring our options. The vet wanted to test her ketones to make sure she wasn't in DKA and if she wasn't, the vet wanted to get her started on Bexacat or Senvelgo. They were waiting for the ketone meter to come in and in the meantime, the vet wrote me some prescriptions for diabetic food and wanted me to do a urine test at home to determine if she had sugar in the urine. *surprise* she did and it confirmed that she did indeed have diabetes.
11/6/24: I got Holly started on the Royal Canin Glycobalance dry and wet food. She immediately took to it. She screams at me when it's time for meals. She gets about an 1/8 and half a can every meal.
11/7/24: I take Holly in for her ketones test and her ketones were just barely too high to start Bexacat or Senvelgo. I think the upper limit is 2.4 and Holly's were 2.8. So Holly got prescribed Lantus insulin at 2 units to start. And we scheduled a glucose curve to happen on 11/15.
11/10/24: Holly gets started on insulin after a delay from the pharmacy. She is accepting of getting the insulin shots.
11/15/24: I drop Holly off at the vet at 8am for her glucose curve and I pick her up at about 5:45. These were her results.
We did discuss about me possibly doing my own glucose curve at home. I'm looking to getting my own glucose monitor and we also did discuss using the Freestyle Libre.
I'm hoping that the 3 units helps get her sugar down. I did discover she was grazing the other cats food, so to nip that in the bud, they get their own wet food mixed with their dry food and locked in the cat room, so they can finish their food in peace.
Is there anything else that I could be doing to help Holly? I might increase her food to 3/16 cup twice a day but I honestly don't think she'll really eat much more than that.
Any advice, tips, or tricks would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
11/1/24: I took Holly to her annual vet appointment where Holly went from 15.5lb to 10.6. Warning bells immediately started going off for the vet, who initially thought it was hyperthyroidism. Asked if I would do a blood test to determine if it was. Got it sent out that morning and that afternoon when I came back with her brother, Daniel, for his annual, the vet informed me that she was actually diabetic. Glucose was at 524. And we started exploring our options. The vet wanted to test her ketones to make sure she wasn't in DKA and if she wasn't, the vet wanted to get her started on Bexacat or Senvelgo. They were waiting for the ketone meter to come in and in the meantime, the vet wrote me some prescriptions for diabetic food and wanted me to do a urine test at home to determine if she had sugar in the urine. *surprise* she did and it confirmed that she did indeed have diabetes.
11/6/24: I got Holly started on the Royal Canin Glycobalance dry and wet food. She immediately took to it. She screams at me when it's time for meals. She gets about an 1/8 and half a can every meal.
11/7/24: I take Holly in for her ketones test and her ketones were just barely too high to start Bexacat or Senvelgo. I think the upper limit is 2.4 and Holly's were 2.8. So Holly got prescribed Lantus insulin at 2 units to start. And we scheduled a glucose curve to happen on 11/15.
11/10/24: Holly gets started on insulin after a delay from the pharmacy. She is accepting of getting the insulin shots.
11/15/24: I drop Holly off at the vet at 8am for her glucose curve and I pick her up at about 5:45. These were her results.
- 8:37a - 359 mg/dL
- 10:23a - 350mg/dL
- 12:30p - 400mg/dL
- 2:30p - 435mg/dL
- 4:50p - 550mg/dL
- 5:23p - 600mg/dL
We did discuss about me possibly doing my own glucose curve at home. I'm looking to getting my own glucose monitor and we also did discuss using the Freestyle Libre.
I'm hoping that the 3 units helps get her sugar down. I did discover she was grazing the other cats food, so to nip that in the bud, they get their own wet food mixed with their dry food and locked in the cat room, so they can finish their food in peace.
Is there anything else that I could be doing to help Holly? I might increase her food to 3/16 cup twice a day but I honestly don't think she'll really eat much more than that.
Any advice, tips, or tricks would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.