Oreo Has Diabetes

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ginny

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Oreo's home! Bless him, he was hoarse from meowing when they brought him out to me. His numbers continued to be good. The ReliOn tested lower each time, so that's good to know. They gave him a shot of Convenia for the scabs on his back because of course he can't have prednisone. And the vet thinks that one of the new foods may have caused an allergy. He's thinking the salmon. I was thinking the treats. Anyway the he said to stop feeding both those things for at least up to 3 months because proteins can hang around in the system for quite a while. Then reintroduce one at a time to see how he tolerates each one and if there is a bad response.

Oreo actually gained 1 whole pound since April which the vet was half pleased about because at least he isn't burning muscle. He said probably the reason for his hunger is possibly he needs more fiber, which he was getting when he was fed dry food. So he suggested a daily small amount of Purina DM with meals. I'm really not wanting to go that route so I'll have to see how else I can get some fiber into him.
 

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All hail! The conquering hero returns home! It's clear that his ferocious meowing finally made the vet give in and let him go home where he belongs. :lol:

It's great news that you had the ReliOn meter tested so you'll know how to interpret the readings. Now to see if Oreo puts up with the stick, no matter how tiny. :vibes:

I really hope that you can ID the cause of those scabs quickly. It's useful to know that it takes three months for the offending proteins to clear the system. I had no idea it was that long.

It's so hard to know what's right for our kitties. The general rule of thumb I've read is that cats gain weight on dry food but now it seems that canned food with lack of fiber may cause weight gain itself. I'll be interested to hear what you decide on for the fiber.

EDIT To Add: I forgot the best thing of all. Wonderful, wonderful news to hear that Oreo's numbers are good! Happy Dance Time!
 
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ginny

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Yes, Oreo has been giving the clinic "what for" ever since this morning, poor baby. He hasn't uttered a word since he got in. The others have come up to sniff him. Honey sniffed and then looked at him like "oh heck no!" and wanted to smack him but I told her no.

They've all been hounding me for more food. I didn't even consider that maybe they weren't getting enough fiber. I thought fiber was added to wet food. At least now I know!

It looks like I will be getting that AlphaTrak after all. Here's how the numbers for both machines compare:

Time AlphaTrak ReliOn

1015 163 115

1115 135 66

1215 125 83

1415 101 79


It would have made better sense if the numbers went down accordingly, 83 - 79 - 66, instead of the wonky way it did. Conclusion: ReliOn is not all that reliable. Jeepers why didn't I just go with my gut feeling and order the AlphaTrak to start with? Even these diabetes websites insist that the machine makes no difference. Well, this is a pretty big difference. And it's not consistent.

I'm hoping to find better quality food anyway, so I'm going to recheck the list. I know he's done fine with chicken so I don't think it's the chicken, but the salmon is entirely new to their diet, something I never fed them before. Once a long time ago I tried it but they didn't like it.

I've read that some companies add soluble fiber like beet root pulp, but that would add calories, wouldn't it? And then there's psyillium husk powder, that might be my best bet. Have you any experience with it Margd or Ruthm or missmimz? Anyone else?
 
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ruthm

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Whew, I am glad you were able to get the curve done at your vet, sorry to hear about the skin irritations and scabbing, your guy sounds like a real trooper! I had a curve done at my vet's once and found that "vet stress" caused my Tiger's Blood Glucose to be upwards of 100 mg/dl higher :-( So I only had the fructosamine run every 3 months after that. But it does look like Oreo is responding to insulin and that is good!

I am very interested to find out what kind of fiber your vet is recommending for Oreo's hunger? Many of us on the FDMB Forum would give a tiny bit (1/8tsp) of plain unsweetened pumpkin which did not raise blood glucose, but this was an effort to help prevent constipation not to avert hunger? There is a bit of psyllium in the Rad Cat that I feed my kittens who are not diabetic, but it was my understanding it is used as a thickening agent. I also recall that Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet foods changed their formula awhile back, to include pea protein awhile back, which caused my kitten Buster to dislike the flavor of those foods:-(

Thanks for letting us know how you and Oreo are doing, I continue to send positive vibes for you!
 
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ginny

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Thank you! I'm really surprised that stress didn't seem to make any difference in his sugars coming down. I called the vet again this morning about what kind of fiber alternatives there are for my kitties. Oreo's vet is out of town until next Thursday and so the vet there today didn't want to suggest anything. So, I'll have to wait until then. I do have some plain canned pumpkin. I suppose a tiny bit mixed in wouldn't hurt.

It makes me think that something else is going on with his skin because the others do not have any scabs at all. This scabbing happened a number of years ago, only to Oreo, and it was so bad he would over-groom and lick at those places until he bled; but then it all went away after I started feeding grain free food. So I'm not so sure it's the new food or treats. My kitties do not like peas either.
 
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ginny

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I noticed that their pro/prebiotic, Gentle Digest, has rice flour listed as the first ingredient! So I stopped giving it several days after they went on all canned/no dry. He was still on ProZinc at the time.

I wonder if stopping that had something to do with the scabs coming back. Since the capsules are small, I started putting it in their food again. Maybe it made no difference to his skin but it does help digestion.

As the vet said, it'll take 8 to 12 weeks for the offending protein (if that the cause) to totally leave his system. So far I've noticed no difference.

Been searching for some kind of natural preventative. Anyone have any experience with colloidal silver? I've heard of it but don't know if he needs it. Whatever I give will ask the vet first. He's willing to consider all that I've asked about so far. But imo he relies on drugs too much.
 
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ginny

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Never mind about the colloidal silver. I recall now that my one of my sibs, who is cuckoo for cocoa puffs, is the one who used to talk about it all the time. So that right there tells me it's probably good for nothing. Maybe it does have some use, but I'm not even going to ask the vet about it.
 

margd

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Just thinking of "our" boy and sending him vibes that the itching clears up soon. :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:

Give him kisses from me!
 
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ginny

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I sure will thanks!
 
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ginny

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So I just got a call from the vet tech relaying a message to me, that the vet said he doesn't think adding fiber to his diet will help him. Ok, so why did he say he probably needed more fiber to help fill him up, then? I will have to wait until I hear directly from him. He's been gone for a whole week and trying to catch up. He will call me on Monday or Tuesday to let me know what he found out from the specialist (at the conference he went to) about Oreo's case.
 

margd

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That sounds like your vet either forgot what he told you last week (not good) or he's changed this thinking after talking to the specialist. Why is it that weekends always seem to arrive when we're most eager to contact the vet? :dunno:
 
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ginny

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That sounds like your vet either forgot what he told you last week (not good) or he's changed this thinking after talking to the specialist. Why is it that weekends always seem to arrive when we're most eager to contact the vet? :dunno:

Because it wouldn't be inconvenient otherwise, lol. That's my theory.

I'm thinking the vet's message got mistranslated by the tech I spoke to. But will see when I speak to him. I think he's right about the fiber. I didn't try the pumpkin btw. It was way out of date so will have to get more the next time I'm at the store. How much per can.....1/8 teaspoon?
 

margd

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I think the usual dose recommended for pumpkin is 1/3 tablespoon, three times a day for a total of 1 tablespoon per cat. Here's an oldish thread that discusses it: Canned pumpkin :catrub:
 
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ginny

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I think the usual dose recommended for pumpkin is 1/3 tablespoon, three times a day for a total of 1 tablespoon per cat. Here's an oldish thread that discusses it: Canned pumpkin :catrub:

Thank you!
 

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how is the little guy doing ? have you considered a commercial raw food diet? most are very low in carbs.
 
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ginny

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After I tried making it myself, which was a disaster, I bought Stella and Chewy's Duck and put out a teeny bit to try. They didn't like it. That was before Oreo's diagnosis. I don't want to keep them on just Fancy Feast low carb because I don't think it's very good quality what with all the additives, so I may try a different protein of the Stella and Chewy's brand. Raw commercial food is not easy to find in my city.
 

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Geez, time really does fly. I can't believe it's been 5 days since I last checked in on Oreo. How is he doing? Have you noticed any difference in his skin problems? :catrub:
 
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ginny

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His skin problems are about the same as before, at least no worse, possibly calming down some. He still has those scabs, some have fallen off and healed up. I'm desperately hoping it was the salmon because all I have to do is not give it to him, and I haven't. I wonder if it is somehow connected to his nervousness. Or maybe he's picking up on my anxiety.

Years ago when he had them, he got two shots of Pred and it took care of all the scabs for about a month each, but then came right back. It was way worse then, he would lick and lick until he bled.

And when I decided to take them off grain because I was hoping there was a grain connection with Nat's seizures, I noticed that his scabs healed up. I wasn't even expecting that, but they went away on their own. That was about 2012 or 2013. It had been quite a while maybe 6 months or longer after his last Pred shot when I switched to no grain. So isn't it reasonable to think that grain had something to do with it?

Now I'm not sure that's the whole reason, but maybe a good part of it.

I spoke to his vet on Tuesday afternoon. He had gone to a conference where he spoke to a vet who specializes in endocrinology (I never knew there was such a thing) who said it's possible that Oreo might be reacting to the Lantus but not likely. Well that's clear as mud, isn't it? This vet doesn't think that's the case but still wants me to keep him informed, which of course I plan to do.

And I asked about the pumpkin and even the psyllium husk powder. He said yes to both in very small amounts.
 

margd

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How is Oreo these days? It sounded like his skin problem might be getting better? :crossfingers: Hopefully, by now you'll be able to see a difference. Also, how is he coping with his insulin shots? Hoping to hear good news. 69-1.gif
 
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