next »

[zarathustra]

<I don't understand why this is a "Child Board" but I'll post here anyways. And no, my cat doesn't have a faculty position.  ;)>

My diabetic cat is driving me crazy.  He's app. 10 years old and a large kitty at 17-18 lbs.  He's been diabetic since Feb. and went into remission briefly between  April and July.  He's on Vetsulin at the moment, at 5 units per shot (2x a day).  When his diabetes emerged, he peed on all my best pieces of furniture.  Tonight, he peed on the dishwasher right in front of me, twice. Something is clearly wrong.

He also has asthma, for which he's on steroids, which interfere with the insulin (or does the insulin interfere with the steroids?).  About 2 months ago he developed crystals in his bladder (a result of the insuline or the Diabetic Management food he's on) which also caused him to pee on my furniture.

To try to manage the urine ph balance and his diabetes, I his meals are half C/D management (for the urine ph balance) and half diabetes management (a low carb crunchy food).  I'm buying a high-quality, vet recommended food (also expensive).

My problem: the cat now seems to develop problems about once a month, which require going to the vet's overnight for a couple of nights and getting all sorts of tests (blood sugar tests, urine tests, x-rays of his lungs, etc.).  The bills are amounting to $150-200 each time.  This is the first pet I've ever had with chronic health problems.  My vet is excellent and I don't feel like I'm getting bilked or anything. 

When kitty first got his diabetes, it seemed at first he had any easy case: 2 units a shot seemed to work and he went soon into remission.  Now he's a peeing machine, even on insulin.

I'm just wondering when some folks drew the line, or how often their diabetic cats developed complications, or if it was just a matter of finding the right adjustment: different food, more cat-litter maintenance, anything???  I know folks posted about their cats before, but that was back in Feb. about diabetes emerging.  I'm wondering more about the fallout...

Thanks!

[dept_geek]

Let's see.. a few things
- You can do blood and/or urine glucose checking. Blood is easier, I thought.
- Try & make him exercise several times a day. That will help regulate the sugar a little.
- Keep really good records. Record his "mood", peeing regularilty, what he eats, drinks, does, etc. You are looking for the feline equiviliant of a food diary for finding what food(s) a person might be sensitive to.


My beast lasted four years after his diagnosis. His kidneys failed and he stopped eating & drinking. But we did pretty good up until then.

[zarathustra]

Good idea!   It'll blow my vet away, I'm sure. 

Incidentally, they (vets) seem to have no inkling that a diabetic kitty's urine doesn't seem to "clump" very well in clumping litter, which is something I noticed when his glucose levels are off.  The litter become very muddy and super sticky and super-impossible to scoop in any quantity.

[collegekidsmom]

My diabetic cat got better over time. I used the high quality vet diabetic management food, and the amount of insulin went down and down over time until she just required a little bit. She really got better. I think it was about 4 years, and all of a sudden, even though her blood looked better than ever, she got very thin. So, for a while she was really good, then really just declined fast. She was 16+ when I had to have her euthanized. I think the food made the biggest difference in her recovery from the diabetes. She had other unrelated problems but was much more comfortable after the diabetes was resolved.

[zarathustra]

My diabetic cat got better over time. I used the high quality vet diabetic management food, and the amount of insulin went down and down over time until she just required a little bit. She really got better. I think it was about 4 years, and all of a sudden, even though her blood looked better than ever, she got very thin. So, for a while she was really good, then really just declined fast. She was 16+ when I had to have her euthanized. I think the food made the biggest difference in her recovery from the diabetes. She had other unrelated problems but was much more comfortable after the diabetes was resolved.

Do you remember what the food was?  My cat's on a diabetic management diet (Purina Vetinary Diets).

[gourmetless]

Sounds like your boy is in serious discomfort.  A BG monitor to check at home may be for you.  I have been doing my own curves for years.

Floyd has been diabetic for about five years.  She is currently 14, and weighs 11.8 pounds.

We have played with several different insulins over time.  I am starting her on a new insulin, actually.  I am moving from Lantus to Vetsulin (which is wayyyyyyy cheaper).

I did the 'special' food at first, and now feed Fancy Feast two times a day and Iams low-fat free-feed kibble.

There are always litterbox issues with diabetics.  I invest in puppy pads and use wheat and pine natural litters.

Some of your issues may also be general unhappiness about the change in food and routine, rather than medical in nature.  IS he neutered?  Did he previously eat a lot?  My other child (a spayed 16 YO female) acts out with bodily functions when she is miffed about anything, and always has.

Good luck, and chin scratches.

[collegekidsmom]

The food I used that I had good luck with was dry(but better wet) food labelled "DM" in a red and white bag. It might have been Purina but I'm not sure. Just that food and water and nothing else. It was expensive but I found if I bought the biggest bag of dry food it was more manageable. However, the wet is probably better.
Her insulin was humulin I think.  She really did well over time.

[lenniel]

I had a diabetic kitty, Ivan, who lived with diabetes for about 8 years before I had to have him put to sleep.  He was on humulin, and at one point was up to 4 units 2x per day, poor sod.  For years, he was fine, and eventually he just began to break down.  However, I had excellent vets, and with a combination of food and insulin, he maintained very well for a long time. 

It sounds like you are doing everything right, but some of the things I learned was that some insulin just works better for some cats than others, much like people.  Your cat may need to try a different type, or the bottle you have may be, oddly, too old.  I learned that insulin can go stale and lose potency.  The food is key as well, and the trick is to have food that is high in protein, very VERY low in carbs.  The vet food is, of course, great, but you can also get store-bought food that is cheaper and also good.  I used the Friskies senior diet food for Ivan, and when my mother looked after him, she cooked chicken for him.  He loved to eat, so this was a great supplement.  (I'm a vegetarian - he hated tofu)

The peeing is indicative of a kidney problem, though, and your vet ought to check this carefully.  Cats tend to avoid peeing on things unless they are inherently evil or have a kidney problem.  Doing it in front of you is a red flag as well.  Diabetes does affect the kidneys, or he could actually have gone in the opposite direction.  Cats sometimes reverse course - Ivan did once and it was weird. 

There is a great website with pet food values and other diabetes information: Janet and Binky's food charts.  You can get there through here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm

And also through sugarcats.com

Hope things get better!

[gourmetless]

I used humulin as well, until it went off the market.  She was up to 7 units twice a day when it went away, so it really wasn't the best choice for her.  I also tried the pill form of treatment with no effect.  You may have to switch insulins at some point to see what works best for furry friend.

I made a print out of the Janet and Binky's food values page, and went to the pet store and comparison shopped.

Feline diabetes is expensive, but the costs do decrease after you get the patient stabilized and on a maintenance dose.

Of course, when you have to keepo replacing/cleaning furniture, not so value-efficient.

[zarathustra]

Some of your issues may also be general unhappiness about the change in food and routine, rather than medical in nature.  IS he neutered?  Did he previously eat a lot?  My other child (a spayed 16 YO female) acts out with bodily functions when she is miffed about anything, and always has.

Good luck, and chin scratches.

There was no change in his food or insulin recently, but I had shut my bedroom door 2 nights previously and he peed on the dishwasher, with me watching, while begging for food.  So it may have been behavioral, but the pee was suspiciously watery.  I let him in my room last night and he's been OK so far today.  Does the pee stay watery when they go into remission?  I can't remember how kitty went into remission before.

He is neutered, but his former owner said he got to it "late."  Kitty is definitely a pee-er.  He peed on his former owner's stuff when he was, uh, pissy, and he peed when my other cat had cancer. 

The Vetsulin is supposed to "keep" better than the other stuff (humulin, maybe?) so I think the insulin is OK. 

I wish I could use puppy pads, but he pees from a standing position, so I have  sheets draped on the more important pieces of furniture.  Peeing on the dishwasher is actually one of the better places to unload, if you can imagine!

[gourmetless]

Sounds behavioral to me, if he has a history of paying you back with bodily functions.  When I started monitoring the intake of food and changed to a less-tasty option, wee sugarcat got upset, but she is not the sort to strike out.  Just followed me around and whined.

I am on day three of Vetsulin.  I really liked the Lantus, but not the price tag.  This will be much more affordable, if it works.

Head scratches.

[gourmetless]

-bump-

How are the sugar kitties?

Mine is still going through the process of regulation on Vetsulin.  She is now up to 6 units twice a day, and is getting closer to maintenance.  She is driving me crazy with litterbox issues I believe are linked to the out-of-control blood glucose issues, and a possible UTI.

However, we are now getting down to under 300 (rah) and this morning she played with my boot laces.  Her little ears are all bruised from home testing but she seems much more alert recently.

[zarathustra]

My sugar kitty is on 5 units of Vetsulin 2x a day.  I haven't talked with  the vet yet about a home blood sugar testing unit, but I will. 

Due to my recent need to cut back expenses, I've decided not to continue with the super expensive DM food (forget who makes it) and I'm now getting a high-protein, no-by-product, organic cat food at my local Kroger.  So far so good...

[erictho]

Mine has been bumped up to 3 units 2x a day of human insulin, and he eats regular canned food and seems to be doing fine -- still happy, alert, and energetic even if he doesn't want to play the pouncing pouncing game with the Demon Spawn kitten.

[motherbair1]

Hi Yall,
I am still a "Newbie" but I have seen the differance in just changing Tiger's food. I copied "Janet and Binky's" food list and have chosen the lowest carb I can for Tiger. I am using only canned food with carbs below 10 and I have seen a huge improvement in how he feels, acts, pees', across the board. I had always let him graze as well but no more. He gets a can in the morning, one at night, and a small amount of Purina DM(just till we use up the bag) in between. He used to weigh about 23-25 lbs., we were already trying to lose weight for health and age.  He was 11 lbs. when he was diagnosed, I could feel each bone in his back. In the last month he has put on enough weight that his bones don't stick out. He has a vet visit later in the month and we'll know more then.
 I also try to feed him at the same time everyday. We can also tell how he feels by how much the litter box has to be changed and if it clumps. Don't know if anything I said helps but I got all the info from this site and would like to send thanks to everyone on the site that cares about our kitty's.