? Newly Diagnosed and Difficulty with Food

Status
Not open for further replies.
EmilyT

EmilyT

Member
Hi All,

I’ve been coming to this site and forum about a dozen times or more daily in the last week since we got a diabetes diagnosis. I can’t begin to put into words how grateful I am that this exists ❤️ Spencer and I have had a hard week but we’re getting there with so much support and information and inspiration in this group!

Spence doesn’t seem to have much of an appetite, or I’ve traumatized him because food has been happening with needle pricks all week. He’s 12.5yo, 13lbs. He’s on ProZinc 1.5 units twice daily starting Nov 2nd. His BG was sitting around 360-400 any time I managed to test for the first 6 days after starting insulin, and he was eating around the right amount or a bit less during that time… but yesterday/day 7 he went from just over 400 first thing in the morning pre-food/insulin, then we caught it at 3hrs post insulin at 295 and at 12hrs post insulin was at 325 - all of this was very encouraging except that he ate about half what he’s supposed to eat all day.

Today our pre-test this morning started below 300, 3hrs post we we still almost exactly the same… and 12hrs later and time for his next dose his BG is 220 but he isn’t eating so I’m still holding his insulin plus I’m a little startled by the sudden drop that doesn’t seem to be happening at a time I think is expected for a glucose curve.

I gave him a Churu and he ate it all, and I’ve been able to get him to eat some of his wet food if I bring it to him in a different room than usual, so I’m suspicious that his not eating is more about avoiding more needles (he’s so smart, it wouldn’t be the first time he decided he’s gonna train me). He’s also only pooped every other day for the past 4, but he’s barely eaten and what he has had is mostly sauces, so it’s possible there’s just not enough for him to poop… but he’s also had bouts of self-resolving constipation in the past, so he could be avoiding eating if he’s backed up maybe too. His BMs seem normal when he goes.

I know 220 is still high but since it’s continued to decline I’m worried about giving insulin when I can’t closely monitor him overnight, even if I can get him to eat a meal. Any thoughts? Am I missing something that’s an emergency? I’m so overwhelmed and terrified about all of this and I feel completely inadequate as his momma.
 
Last edited:
I should have also said he’s always had primarily wet food with limited dry food available (we call it his snacks but he only ever has any if I’m sleeping or away from home which is almost never), but he was on Purina OM for his weight which is maybe the worst thing he could have been on. He's now on Purina DM but he’s always refused all pates so he’s getting the one in gravy. He’s only eating maybe 1/2 can these past two days in 3 meals (morning, midday, and evening). I’ve removed his dry food snacks, but I am still using the kibble as treats if/when he wants to play catch/goalie… he has always been very picky and also won’t touch any of the 12 different freeze dried protein treats I’ve bought to try (not exaggerating and good lord some of them are smelly).
 
Also he had no ketones when diagnosed Oct 31/24. But I don’t have ketone test strips yet to check him now… do ketones develop after treatment has started usually?

I’m also sorry I don’t have my spreadsheet and signature done, I didn’t plan to start posting but I’m spinning out a bit right now and don’t know where else to turn.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
I’m very glad you have decided to post.
It is really important that diabetic cats eat and eat well. Do you think he could be nauseated? Or does he just not like the food?
There is no need to feed pates if he doesn’t like them. There are plenty of other foods to choose from. They just need to be low carb 10% or under carbs. He is a FOOD CHART
Ketones can develop at any time that a diabetic cat is not eating enough food or is not getting enough insulin or maybe has an infection. So it is a good idea to have some Ketostix at home so you can check.
Please get the spreadsheet set up so we can help you with the dosing. If you need help I will ask @Bandit's Mom to contact you. She is great at doing them and fast.
Are you feeding snacks during the cycles as well as the 2 main meals? If not, please do that as cats do much better with those snacks…during both cycles?
If you are worried about if the BG is high enough to give the insulin, you can always stall, don’t feed and test again 20 minutes later and see if the BG is rising. 220 is high enough to give the dose. I will tag @Suzanne & Darcy as she is our go to person for prozinc insulin.
Keep posting and asking questions.
 
Thank you so much for your response! The combination of terrified and overwhelmed, which I’m sure most here are familiar with, has me feeling unsure about everything.

I’ll figure out the spreadsheet today and get it uploaded. His BG was back to 370 this morning and I did end up skipping his dose last night.

I don’t think he’s nauseated, and most likely he isn’t eating because I really want him to eat honestly… he’ll gobble up Churu treats, which my vet said are diabetic-safe, but I’ll buy some other low-carb wet foods today to see if I can tempt him with something new. I’ve been giving him about 1/4 can of Purina DM in gravy for his meals (he won’t eat more than that at one time) plus usually 2 snacks of about 1/8 can during the daytime cycle and I leave out another 1/4 can at bedtime for him to snack on overnight. He rarely finishes any of these meals/snacks but lately he’s barely touching them. I can get him to eat around 1/4oz of DM dry as a game (one kibble at a time) if he’s in the mood.

I should note that he’s always been very picky, and very spoiled (as I believe cats should be lol) and he could easily be punishing me for ear pricks which we are both hating but getting better at - but his poor ears look so bruised and I hate that he’s suffering for my learning curve.
 
Based on the food chart, would you say Tiki Cat would be the best commercial food to start with trying? It looks like it meets all the criteria that I’ve seen people looking for: high protein, mid fats, no carbs, low phosphorus?
 
We have all been subject to the terrified and overwhelmed state at the beginning of this journey. It truly gets easier!

Tiki Cat is a very good brand of food. Depending on your finances, it's also one of the more expensive brands. Lots of members use either Fancy Feast or Friskies pate style food. If your cat isn't a pate lover, the Tiki Cat has varieties that will be more to your cat's preference. (Just an FYI, most canned cat foods that have "gravy" tend to be high in carbs. As an example, the Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers foods are 15 - 20% carb vs the Classic line which is 0 - 3%.) Many cats get turned off to DM. It's not got a particularly good list of ingredients so I'm not surprised that Spence may have lost interest. The dry DM is very high in carbs and has no reason to be considered a diabetes friendly food. In addition to canned food, some cats are very happy with a raw food diet. If that's a possibility we can provide you with information about a raw diet.

Will Spence eat human food? If he's not interested in the freeze dried treats, some cats will happily scarf down cooked chicken. My guys also like jerky style treats so that may be an option.

You're a good observer of Spence's behavior. One thing to keep in mind is that an uncontrolled diabetic cat may be quite hungry a lot of the time. As numbers are getting better, their appetite normalizes. Just keep an eye on how much he's eating and that its a typical amount of food. You also can feed several small meals throughout the day. Just pick up any food at least 2 hours prior to shot time.
 
Oh I hadn’t considered jerky-style treats, but that would be worth trying! As far as human food, he’ll beg for what I’m eating but doesn’t often like anything if it’s not my dinner.

Spence has been on vet prescribed diets his entire life, and always primarily wet food, so I’m used to his food costing a bit. I’ve picked up every variety pack of Tiki Cat wet food my local pet store had, but it looks like the after dark pate is a no-go? I saw somewhere it said it’s actually not low carb - could anyone confirm? They’ve got a “silver” one too for 11+yo that I can’t seem to find the carb % in any of the lists either.

I gave him some regular after dark chicken Tiki Cat and he dove in and lapped up all the juice/sauce but still isn’t really touching the pieces of meat…. He’s unfortunately only actually eaten about 120-150kcal daily the past 2 days so he’s definitely not getting enough… the vet said 280kcal is ideal.
 
I also got a couple cans of Weruva Chicken FrickaZee and FF Pate, so I’ll keep trying and keep my fingers crossed.

It looks like maybe the Tiki Cat after dark pates are about the same carb (10%) as the Purina DM in gravy… so are both too high to be feeding him?
 
Ideally you want under 10% carbs on an As-Fed basis. Dr. Lisa's list is As-Fed.

Yes, the Savory Selects is considered medium carb food. No need to toss if he likes it, you can use it when his numbers are a little low and you want to raise them up.
 
EmilyT said:
I’m still so confused about what carb % I’m supposed to be looking at. Weruva has everything online which makes them my new favorite company, but there’s 3 different carb %s listed: ME Profile, As-Fed, and Dry Matter Basis.

https://www.weruva.com/pages/cat-nu...DMBpmQLOiwxECzRpzZZ6EKnGSEa8UvMAaQI2-cotn_2dZ
Click to expand...
Not saying Spencer has kidney issues but you can try these
low carb/ low phosphorus
if you tap on this link and look at post #32 I listed some Weruva pates for another member that's low carb/ low phosphorus with kitties with CKD
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-11-8-and-i-am-tired.283363/#post-3124085

You want the metabolizable energy profile percentage of carbs to be less than 10%, and the phosphorus which Weruva lists in Minerals to be less than 250 mg per 100 cals. So you have to look at two different places in the Weruva charts. This is where I was told where to look by a member


You can even check out the soulistic pates
https://www.soulisticpet.com/pate
When you click in one of the flavors then click on
COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (link to page)
and look at the same two places like on the weruva
 
Diane Tyler's Mom GA said:
Not saying Spencer has kidney issues but you can try these
low carb/ low phosphorus
if you tap on this link and look at post #32 I listed some Weruva pates for another member that's low carb/ low phosphorus with kitties with CKD
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-11-8-and-i-am-tired.283363/#post-3124085

You want the metabolizable energy profile percentage of carbs to be less than 10%, and the phosphorus which Weruva lists in Minerals to be less than 250 mg per 100 cals. So you have to look at two different places in the Weruva charts. This is where I was told where to look by a member


You can even check out the soulistic pates
https://www.soulisticpet.com/pate
When you click in one of the flavors then click on
COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (link to page)
and look at the same two places like on the weruva
Click to expand...

Thank you!! ❤️ I’m definitely going to try some more of these Weruva foods. He ate up the Chicken Frick-a-Zee last night and this morning.

His BG this morning was the highest it’s ever been at 500, but he has eaten more (all LC wet except the Purina DM). And with the highest BG I’ve ever tested he jolted with his shot and the needle came back through and poked me so not sure if he got any insulin or how much…. I’m feeling completely defeated right now.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top