Diabetic Cat....

tigger42065

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Hi,

My friend from work has a cat who has been diagnosed with diabetes about a month ago. She's been giving him insulin shots twice a day, 6 units in the a.m. and 7 units in the p.m. per her Vet. The cat went back yesterday for a follow-up and his sugar level was 590! Needless to say the Vet and she were shocked. Not only was Simba not getting better, he's gotten worse.

Does anyone have any info. on feline diabetes and what type of food might be best for him?
 

luckygirl

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ok, I might not be too much help but I have a dog that is HIGHLY diabetic. We have to collect his urine twice a day, and his level of insulin changes according to his pee. The cat should be on special food. My dog has to eat special food from the vet only, and CANNOT eat anything else, NOTHING. No treats unless approved by the vet, no table food, etc. And the diabetic dog food smells nasty, and sometimes he doesn't want to eat it, he thinks if he holds out someone will give him a scrap of something else, or he can lick the cats plates. And they HAVE to eat BEFORE you give them their injections. Also, I don't know how your friend would just give 6ml in the am & 7 in the pm....what if the cats levels went down??? Then you could be overdosing them on insulin.... On special special occasions we might give him a slice of "healthy choice low salt turkey breast" from the deli counter. It's a pain in the butt I know, and the worst part is that the pet doesn't realize or understand that their diabetic, they just think it's horrible that they can't have anything good to eat (which they associate with "being a good boy & getting a treat") and they get stuck with a needle twice a day.
 
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tigger42065

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Thank you for your insight on the diabetes.....I'm going to pass this along and hopefully she can get her cat regulated better than he is now....right now he's at the vet and may be able to come home tomorrow, they're not sure. I told her it would be better to let him stay there until his levels drop considerably. She realizes that he'll have to be on a special diet, I guess she's just trying to find the best one, if there is a "best"? I don't believe he got table scraps ever, but who knows? : )

thanks again!!
 

trixtersmomma

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Please go to www.felinediabetes.com and read up. There is a list of canned foods there (janet and binkys food chart) that shows the contents of different canned foods that are best for all kitties, not just diabetics. Lowering the carbs with the switch to canned foods with less than 10% carbs (the list will tell you the flavors and brands) can possibly help your friend get her cat diet controled so he wont need insulin. My trixter is diabetic, but thanks to canned friskies with less than 10% carbs, he no longer needs insulin injections. 6 and 7 units is A LOT of insulin, and it sounds to me like the kitty is rebounding. Rebound is when the liver spills out sugar to raise the BG when it is falling too fast, it is a defense mechanism that attemts to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Go to www.felinediabetes.com and ask questions on the forum in the health section. If it wasn't for that site, and home testing trixters BGs myself with a human glucometer (I use the freestyle flash) I would have made my Trixter worse, too. Unfortunately, a lot of vets don't know much about feline diabetes. Print out Janet and Binkys food chart so your friend can get her kitty on a better diet, but PLEASE be sure he/she is testing her cats BG levels herself before changing his diet, as his numbers will dramatically lower from the diet change alone and you risk hypoglycemia (which can kill) if you give insulin (especially that huge amount) without first knowing the BG level of the cat. I hope this helps. Please go to that website, it is truly a lifesaver!
 
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tigger42065

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WOW, thank you so much for all of those websites.....My friend Kelcat4 is on here now, so I'm going to see if I can just fwd. these to her!!

Big thanks again!

Ann
 

sharky

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My cats accupucturist told me that she ( she is a DVM) treats diabetic kittys with Evo
 

trixtersmomma

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I hope your friend can get her cat regaulated and feeling better. High numbers for a prolonged period of time can cause ketones, which are life threatening. Also, a cat cannot be regulated at the vet as stress from the vets office causes a rise in BGs. PLEASE tell your friend to start hometesting her cat. I believe, along with many many others with lots of experience in feline diabetes, that is the only way to give the kitty the best care possible. If money is an issue, you can go to the supply closet section of the forums on www.felinediabetes.com and often times, people will have meters that they are giving away for free. Sending hugs and prayers that your friends kitty can start to feel better soon with a little more effort to control his diabetes. Bless her for being willing to treat, when so many people would opt to PTS instead.
 

buttercupsmomma

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I'm so glad I found this. My 12 year old kitty was just diagnosed today and is currently in the Hospital. The vet painted a glum picture for me and it seemed almost as if he was trying to convince me to put her down. Not an Option for me, she is one of my children and I wouldnt' just put them down just because it now will take more time to care for her and will cost more money. I started doing research and it seems that she should be back to my lovely kitty soon. I am curious as how you check the levels as I specifically asked the vet if there was a way I could do this to make sure everything was fine at home and he said "no". Any info on this would be appreciated as I'm hoping to bring her home Wed. or Thurs.
 
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tigger42065

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Originally Posted by TrixtersMomma

I hope your friend can get her cat regaulated and feeling better. High numbers for a prolonged period of time can cause ketones, which are life threatening. Also, a cat cannot be regulated at the vet as stress from the vets office causes a rise in BGs. PLEASE tell your friend to start hometesting her cat. I believe, along with many many others with lots of experience in feline diabetes, that is the only way to give the kitty the best care possible. If money is an issue, you can go to the supply closet section of the forums on www.felinediabetes.com and often times, people will have meters that they are giving away for free. Sending hugs and prayers that your friends kitty can start to feel better soon with a little more effort to control his diabetes. Bless her for being willing to treat, when so many people would opt to PTS instead.
Bobbi,

Thank you for your valuable info. Kelcat4 is my friend Kelly who has the sick Kitty, and she's just signed up for TCS a couple of days ago because I told her about all of the wonderful, helpful people here like YOU! That's great that she can test her cat at home, I'll be sure to point this out to her if she doesn't see your reply to me.

Thanks again,

Ann
 
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tigger42065

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Originally Posted by ButtercupsMomma

I'm so glad I found this. My 12 year old kitty was just diagnosed today and is currently in the Hospital. The vet painted a glum picture for me and it seemed almost as if he was trying to convince me to put her down. Not an Option for me, she is one of my children and I wouldnt' just put them down just because it now will take more time to care for her and will cost more money. I started doing research and it seems that she should be back to my lovely kitty soon. I am curious as how you check the levels as I specifically asked the vet if there was a way I could do this to make sure everything was fine at home and he said "no". Any info on this would be appreciated as I'm hoping to bring her home Wed. or Thurs.
Hi Buttercups Momma,

I believe that the posting from Bobbi above speaks about testing the cat at home with a meter, so possibly it's similar to what we humans would use? She mentioned that you can sometimes obtain free meters at a website she listed, so maybe you can ck. that out. I hope that helps. Also, there are several websites regarding feline diabetes. See the posting under the Health & Nutrition forum posted a few days back about feline diabetes.

Good luck to your kitty.

Ann
 
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