Diabetes in Cats

[TommyCat]

Hi,
My 11 year old girl kitty was recently diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and is on insulin every 12 hours. I caught it early by noting her excessive intake of water and filling the litter box. Can anyone here recommend a good feline diabetes message board? I have a lot to learn.

[Freedom]

Check out my post in this thread:

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=143288&highlight=diabetes+forum+support

[TommyCat]

Thanks, Freedom. That thread is a great help to me. It is at first a shock and a lot to take in with her having diabetes. I just read the thread and your post with all the links. I will be doing a lot of reading and the boards will be a great help. Maggie is doing really good, and I've been doing the insulin shots for a week now. I do it while she is napping in her favorite chair. I start scratching her neck and then pull the scruff up and make a tent and give the shot. I take her to the Vet early today where she will be assessed and a glucose/blood test. I am going to ask how to take a blood sample and check her glucose and do some at home monitoring. Thanks again.

[GILL]

Good luck with your baby. our Patchs was diabetic for 16 years. You do have to keep a close eye on them. A couple of times we came home to a passed out cat and then the run to the emergency clinic. BUT I would not change a thing, she was my girl and she has be gone for 8 years now I still miss her very much. She knew that every morning before she was feed that she had to have her shot.

[lvpets2002]

:( I was so scared one time when I thought one of my babies had diabetes.. However the Test came back negative & I was so releived.. My problem is that I just cant stick a needle into anything.. I guess you get use to it if it is a needed thing to do for your baby.. I mean of course I would do it if I needed to.. Hope your baby keeps doing great with her shots & all.. Good Luck & keep us posted..

[TommyCat]

Thank you Gill & Crew,
Wow, that is amazing that Patches had diabetes for 16 years. It's encouraging for me to hear. Patches was a beauty, as well all the rest of your pet family. That is what scares me is the hypoglycemia and watching out for it. Thanks again.

[TommyCat]

Thank you LVPETS,
At first I was a little anxious when doing the insulin shot. It is a really fine needle which helps, and she doesn't seem to feel it at all. I'm so glad your kitty's test turned out negative.

I did just get back from the Vet, and her glucose is 126 which is good, as it was 421 a week ago the first exam to see what was wrong. I am to keep her on the 2 units insulin every 12 hours, and I will take her back in a week for another recheck. Thanks for the encouragement.

[smokey the elder]

www.felinediabetes.com is a great site, especially for beginners! My RB Moby had diabetes and they gave me a lot of help. They are big on home testing; if you are willing to learn how to do this there are lots of tricks of the trade.

Good luck with your new "sugarcat".

[TommyCat]

Thank you Smokey the Elder for the link and for the good wishes for my "sugarcat" Maggie; that is cute! I am willing to learn the glucose monitor. I thought I would get to talk to my Vet today, but he was tied up in surgery, so all they did today was check her glucose. I do have a call in to ask more questions.

[Moesha]

What kind of food do you feed your kitty? My Morgan had diabetes. He had been on Science Diet Lite as recommended by the vet. After his diagnosis, where he started at 8 units once a day and then went to 5 units twice a day, we changed his food first to Purina DM. He gradually worked his way off of the insulin after about a year or so and his sugar was controlled by his diet. Eventually we changed to a grainfree food, Innova EVO, and he was still able to maintain a healthy sugar level. For the next two weeks I am cat sitting for a kitty with diabetes. No matter how much I tried to get his meowmie to change food, she wouldn't. Mr. Jennings gets 6 units twice a day. Diabetes is by no means a death sentence, as I first thought it might be. Be sure to have some Karo syrup on hand just incase an emergency arises. Keep us posted!

[TommyCat]

Hi Moesha,
Well, I had been feeding Maggie Fancy Feast canned (I know, it's bad, huh!)and Eukanuba Dry, but now her Vet has her on canned Purina DM which she's balking at and does not like it. I'm mixing in some of her old Fancy Feast just to make her eat, but soon I hope to have her totally on the Purina DM. She needs to lose some weight. The Vet says sometimes they do go into remission. I've heard good things about the Innova EVO. Yes, I bought some Karo syrup just in case her sugar gets too low. I sure don't have to worry about her appetite; she seems always hungry, probably she's hoping I'll spoil her with her favorite FF, but no way.

As soon as I get a digital, I'll post a picture.

[Moesha]

Morgan wouldn't eat the Purina DM wet, and he didn't really like the EVO wet either. Although he LOVED his wet food. There is a website with a chart of the protein/carbs in many of the canned foods. I found that Nine Lives Tuna Select was very high in protein and low in carbs. Morgan loved that, so that's what he got. He only got a small spoon of it after his shots. He had been getting it in the mornings all along, but we added it to his routine when he had to have shots in the evenings. That made him so happy. He would remind us that it was time for his shots because he loved that wet food. After he didn't have to have the insulin anymore, he still got his wet food treat.

[TommyCat]

Hi Moesha,
Thanks for the above info on Nine Lives Tuna Select. Did you keep Morgan on some of the Canned DM Purina, or was he eating totally Nine Lives tuna? Maggie loves tuna, so I bet she would like it. It's amazing when they don't mind the shots if they know they can have something good to eat afterwards.

[jennielynn1970]

My one foster cat, Calloway, was diagnosed with diabetes, and he did not respond well to the insulin. His glucose levels were over 400 almost everytime we went in for an appt, it was horrible!! I had him with me for about 3 years, but 1/2 a year of that was him being diabetic (he's still around, but with another foster placement that can do injections more often when needed).

What I found that helped with the eating was buying Stage 1 in babyfood. Chicken, Turkey, Ham, Beef, Veal.... Calloway LOVED this, and would eat it rather than eating the wet food. He HATED the wet food. Stage 1 is just the meat and the broth, so it's good for them.

I hope you find something that will work for you that your kitty will like to eat. The food prescribed by the vet is just not tasty stuff.

[TommyCat]

Thank you Jenn,
You're so right; the DM food looks awful, and it must also taste blah if all our cats won't eat it. Thanks for the suggestion of the baby food. It's too bad she can't eat the Fancy Feast, but it is too fattening, and she is overweight. I was at Petco today and bought a few cans of the Nine Lives Tuna Select, which Moesha recommended, to see if she likes it. And now I have the baby food suggestion, too. Fortunately, she is doing very well on the Lantus Insulin, so I am relieved. I am glad Calloway is still around and doing okay. Thanks again, and I'll keep you all posted.

[Moesha]

Hi Moesha,
Thanks for the above info on Nine Lives Tuna Select. Did you keep Morgan on some of the Canned DM Purina, or was he eating totally Nine Lives tuna? Maggie loves tuna, so I bet she would like it. It's amazing when they don't mind the shots if they know they can have something good to eat afterwards.

Morgan never would eat the canned DM. I did try to vary his canned food on occasion, but like I said, he didn't really get much of it at all anyway. One can lasted him 4 or 5 days at least. I was a stingy mom! LOL

Here is a link (http://www.felinediabetes.com/diet.htm) to the website with the food charts. There are some varieties of Fancy Feast that are listed as high protein/low carbs. If you click on that Janet and Binky link, and then you have links to canned and dry chart tables. That's where I came up with the 9 lives select tuna. Each kitty is different and I'm sure you'll find what works best for you and your kitty. Keep us posted.

[TommyCat]

Thanks Moesha for the link. That is great, and I am glad to see some of the Fancy Feast is on it. Yes, the DM can I open for Maggie lasts a long time for her, too. She gets 3/4 FF and 1/4 DM right now. Thank you and thanks to everyone for all your suggestions and support. Her appetite isn't lacking, so I know soon I will find something she likes. I am going to try the Nine Lives tomorrow.

[TommyCat]

Hi Moesha,
Some good news with Maggie and food. I bought a 4 pack of the Nine Lives Tuna Select, and she really likes it as long as it's fresh from the can. Once it's refrigerated, she's a little picky. I can return the DM to the Vet, but I will still try to sneak some in to see if she's changed her mind and just give it one more chance. I bought a glucose monitor yesterday and thought I'd learn how to do some in-home monitoring. I'll still take her to the Vet weekly.

[Moesha]

That is good news. Perhaps you could let it sit on the counter for a little while to warm back up or even put it in the microwave for just a few seconds to take the chill off of it. Your Maggie is certainly in very good hands!

[TommyCat]

Thanks Moesha. She has been good with the insulin shot. I'll try leaving it on counter before feeding. I tried a little warm water, but she left most of it. She's still getting a little of the Fancy Feast. I need to go back on that link and check out different FF's. She likes the gourmet (ground) which isn't listed.

[jennielynn1970]

Calloway's favorite was to get a treat of the babyfood while he was getting his shot. The sweetheart actually jumped up on the window seat in the kitchen when he heard the jar lid pop, and would meow until he got his babyfood, lol. Gave him the babyfood, and the shot and he was a happy boy!!

[TommyCat]

Oh that's right, the baby food; thank you. You had mentioned in a previous post that it worked for your cat, and I didn't forget about that suggestion. I have that in mind, too, for her.

[Taz_Zoee]

My friends cat was diagnosed to be diabetic. She fed him dry Wellness, I don't know which kind, it is in a red bag. She stopped his insulin when her life turned upside down with the death of her husband. I watched him for her for four months and he never had a relapse. He also actually lost a pound while in my care. I have no clue how since he was mostly confined to one bedroom.

I wish you luck with your diabetic kitty. I always thought I could never give shots, but I had to do much worse than that with my RB Taz. I had to give him sub-q fluids, so now giving a shot is a breeze for me. Yes, when it's your babies health at stake you will do things you never thought you could. :)

[TommyCat]

Hi Taz_Zoee,
That was so sweet of you and a gift of love to step in and care for your friend's cat for her. I'm sorry about your RB Taz. My Vet did say sometimes a cat can go into remission, so I'm hoping and praying. I know what you mean about doing things for a beloved pet. My other cat died over a year ago of cancer, and I was giving him subq fluids, with some difficulty. So this needle is a breeze in comparison. I will have to ask about the dry food next Vet visit. Originally, her Vet said no dry, canned only, but Maggie is always looking for her dry kibbles.
Thanks again.