Urgently Need Help For Diabetes Kitty

[Carrie Barrie]

My dear friend, Scott, has severe cerebral palsy. Confined to wheelchair, and can only use one hand. He types with one finger on a digital board to talk.

He has a cat named Simon who is his whole heart. Months ago, he started losing weight, vomiting, was eventually diagnosed with IBD. Put on Hills zd. Seemed to improve, then suddenly developed severe diabetes! The vet kept Simon for 3 weeks trying oral medication, however, they couldn't get the diabetes under control. Simon has to have insulin injections twice a day.

Scott's care givers are practically useless and do as little as they can get away with, and they won't do the injections, so Simon couldn't stay with Scott. I made him a promise long ago that Simon would always have a home here, if needed. But yesterday, as I was leaving with Simon, Scott just broke down sobbing and it crushed my heart in a million pieces. This man's family has abandoned him, caregivers that don't really care about him, I live 90 minutes away, he has no one in the world, really, and now he lost his best buddy. I made a promise that I would do everything I could to try to stabilize Simon in the hope he can return to Scott.

My research has told me the zd lots of times leads to diabetes because the calorie breakdown is 34% carbs! I am suspecting the IBD was caused by low quality food, and then the diabetes was caused by the zd food. I understand that diabetes needs high protein, moderate fat, low carbs. Someone on here had mentioned the Fancy Feast pate canned food for the IBD.

That is also a highly recommended food for the diabetes. Does anyone have advice on a good quality canned food to try? No way his staff would ever prepare raw food, they hardly clean the litter box, and can't be bothered to water one plant. Thank you for the help. I need to get this kitty back to daddy!

 

[therese]

I have a cat who is currently in remissions from diabetes and he also has IBD. The soft poop led us to give him dry WD science diet and then all that dry food led to diabetes. Fancy Feast, although not a great food, the canned version is good because its very low in carbs. You didn't mention what kind of insulin you were using. My vet had us on Glargine, ( Lantus ) which worked very well but was very expensive. We changed vets and the new vet put us on VETSULIN and that was excellent. We DIDN'T do well on Humulin or Prozinc...they were useless. The good insulin, combined with the canned food, got him back into remission very soon, like in a couple of months. Any canned foods with a low carb, grain free, higher protein will help with diabetes. I like the grain free canned food like Fancy Feast, but the better ones are like Solid Gold Evening Tide canned ( fish combo ). If you go to www.chewy.com they have most canned cat foods and you can print out the ingredients and percentages....their call center during the day has helpful people, too. Another thing that helped me and saved me a lot of money was....I went to Amazon.com and purchased an Alpha Trak 2 Blood Glucose monitoring kit, where you can prick their ear or paw and get a reading on their blood glucose. I kept a chart and used to send it to the doctor once a week. ( it sells for about $50 and there are some very good reviews and instructions on the site, too )

 

[valentine319]

Canned would be best. Avoid too much fish. No grains, chicken/fish or other meals and you want low carb.

There is the freeze dried option if the cost is acceptable. Primal, Stella and chewy's. You could also do a mix of wet and freeze dried. Natures variety Instinct grain free canned is going to be lower carb(only peas ). Instinct grain free canned runs about 95% meat.

 

[LTS3]

I highly recommend that you also post for advice on the FelineDiabetes.com message board The members there are pretty experienced with diabetes and cats who also have other health issues like CRF and IBD.

Fancy Feast Gourmet / Classic pates are fine for diabetes. Here is a list: Wheat gluten free, low carbohydrate Wet Food However, I am not sure if this brand would be suitable for a diabetic cat who also has IBD. You should check with the vet about suitable commercial foods that are good for both diabetes and IBD.

Some cats will always need insulin and diet to keep the diabetes under control. It's not that you are doing anything wrong, it's just the cat's body not producing natural insulin. Do you know how Scott and his caregivers would be able to give insulin after you have gotten the diabetes under control? If the caregivers aren't willing to take care of Simon's long term health needs or even basic needs like clean a litter box, then could you give Simon a home and bring him to visit Scott often or maybe do Skype or some other video talk via computer so the two can "visit"?

 

[Carrie Barrie]

" You didn't mention what kind of insulin you were using. My vet had us on Glargine, ( Lantus ) which worked very well but was very expensive."

He's on Glargine, 2.5 units twice a day. We have a human monitor, the one touch ultra mini. We've taken his sugar twice now, and he's right on the curve that he's supposed to be on. And to be clear, there is NO way his staff would ever give Simon injections, so if we can't get a handle on his conditions, Simon will be living here with me permanently. I would never abandon Simon or Scott. I just hope there is a diet that can work for him. Thank you, I will definitely go to Chewy and peruse those other foods. We ALSO just rescued an abandoned 6-ish week old kitten! And I haven't had cats in 15 years!

 

[Carrie Barrie]

"You should check with the vet about suitable commercial foods that are good for both diabetes and IBD."

The vet is the one saying he HAS to stay on the prescription Z/D food (for the IBD), which is causing the diabetes. It's calorie content is 35% carbs, when the cat diabetes recommendation is for food with less than 5% carbs. The vet has given up and determined, after 3 weeks of Z/D food and glucose monitoring, that Simon just has to deal with a diet that causes diabetes.

"Some cats will always need insulin and diet to keep the diabetes under control. It's not that you are doing anything wrong, it's just the cat's body not producing natural insulin. Do you know how Scott and his caregivers would be able to give insulin after you have gotten the diabetes under control?"

No, that's the problem, his care givers would never give Simon shots, that's why he has to come live with me. And of course, Simon will ALWAYS have a home with me. :-) I go up to visit him and help around his apartment about once a month, and will be taking Simon with me from now on for visits too. I just hope that with a better diet, he can come off the insulin eventually. The food he is on is absolutely LOADED with carbs. Thank you!

 

[LTS3]

These may be helpful:

What to feed diabetic with IBD | Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB
IBD and diabetes | Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB
IBD Treatment Options for Diabetic | Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB
foods for diabetic/CRF/IBD kitties | Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB
Newbie here... IBD, steroids, now diabetes. Vet stumped? | Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB

You should post about Simon's particular issues on the FDMB board to get more detailed help and advice. Every cat is different so what works for one cat may not work for another. There has to be a way to balance the IBD and diabetes without causing one to become worse. Lantus is a great insulin to use. There is a specific protocol on how to use Lantus with cats that works really well to get many cats into remission. It's on the FDMB's Lantus board. My diabetic cat never went into remission but he was a lemon

 

[Carrie Barrie]

So much good info here, thank you. I will post to the other board

 

[ginny]

Just wanted to put in my 2 cents worth. I'm a nurse and I do home care. I've had one patient who like your friend, had no family and no way to care for her two dogs, so the nurses did that for her. We walked them and fed them. Surely one of Simon's caregivers would volunteer to do such a thing and maybe even administer the shots. Is it possible that a vet tech could volunteer to come by and give him his shots? I don't know about the legality of such a thing but in this case why not inquire about it? If his caregivers truly don't care for him, I'd say they need to get another job ASAP. They shouldn't be taking care of anyone, let alone someone who is physically disabled and has no family. Is there anyway to fire that agency and get another one? Poor Scott and poor Simon! This is heartbreaking to me.

 

[cat princesses]

Please join the diabetic car support group that was mentioned above, they're the pros. I'm a member there and that group has been an absolute lifesaver!

 

[Carrie Barrie]

Just wanted to put in my 2 cents worth. I'm a nurse and I do home care. I've had one patient who like your friend, had no family and no way to care for her two dogs, so the nurses did that for her. We walked them and fed them. Surely one of Simon's caregivers would volunteer to do such a thing and maybe even administer the shots. Is it possible that a vet tech could volunteer to come by and give him his shots? I don't know about the legality of such a thing but in this case why not inquire about it? If his caregivers truly don't care for him, I'd say they need to get another job ASAP. They shouldn't be taking care of anyone, let alone someone who is physically disabled and has no family. Is there anyway to fire that agency and get another one? Poor Scott and poor Simon! This is heartbreaking to me.

His care givers absolutely refused to give the insulin. That's why I had to take Simon. It was that or Simon would have gone to a shelter. His care givers wouldn't do it, nor would any of his family, which consists of a father, mother, and sister. Good news, I completely cured the IBS and Diabetes with Fancy Feast canned food and cat probiotics. Simon just returned to Scott last week. Of course, now he is struggling to afford the food, but it's a lot less than the prescription food and insulin would have been.

 

[Carrie Barrie]

This is Carrie with an update on Simon. Good news, I completely cured the IBS and Diabetes with Fancy Feast canned food and cat probiotics. Simon just returned to Scott last week. Of course, now he is struggling to afford the food, but it's a lot less than the prescription food and insulin would have been. When I took Simon to the vet for a check before taking him to Simon, the staff treated me at first as if I was a lying know-it-all, and they humored me, but clearly did NOT believe Simon was cured. They did a stick sugar test of his ear, and when that came back at 73, they performed a series of over $400 blood tests. They told me that would tell them what his blood sugar had been over the past several weeks, looking at me with this "we'll catch your lies" type attitude. Needless to say, a couple days later they were blubbering all over themselves to Scott saying, they were baffled because they had tried the Fancy Feast diet for the 3 weeks Simon had been hospitalized and it made him sick. I don't actually believe them. Within just a few days of being here, I had him transitioned onto exclusively Fancy Feast and not one symptom of vomiting, diarrhea, or distress. Anyway, Simon has been back with Scott for over a week now. Thank you for all the wonderful input!