Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

Our 12-year-old cat developed diabetes suddenly. He's now
on Glipizide. How critical is the dosage size? This cat's
behavior now is not anywhere near his original kittenish
feistiness.

--
Charles Packer
http://cpacker.org/whatnews
mailboxATcpacker.org

Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

Its very critical that the cat get the correct dosage. Too much or too
little can kill the cat you need to work with your vet on this.

Celeste

"Charles Packer" wrote in message
...
Our 12-year-old cat developed diabetes suddenly. He's now
on Glipizide. How critical is the dosage size? This cat's
behavior now is not anywhere near his original kittenish
feistiness.

--
Charles Packer
http://cpacker.org/whatnews
mailboxATcpacker.org

Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

On Apr 7, 7:35*am, "Spot" wrote:
Its very critical that the cat get the correct dosage. *Too much or too
little can kill the cat you need to work with your vet on this.


What would have happened if that cat hadn't been treated at
all? Except for a lot of drinking water and peeing, his behavior
otherwise was normal. If his condition were fatal, at least
we would have a memory of him as normal up to the end.
But he's my wife's cat, and she decides what gets done.

--
Charles Packer
http://cpacker.org/whatnews
mailboxATcpacker.org

Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

On Apr 8, 6:18*am, Charles Packer wrote:
On Apr 7, 7:35*am, "Spot" wrote:

Its very critical that the cat get the correct dosage. *Too much or too
little can kill the cat you need to work with your vet on this.

What would have happened if that cat hadn't been treated at
all? Except for a lot of drinking water and peeing, his behavior
otherwise was normal. If his condition were fatal, at least
we would have a memory of him as normal up to the end.

This is absolutely not true that you would have a memory of him as
normal up to the end. I have a friend that works for a vet clinic as a
diabetes technincian, and she told me that the use of Glipizide is
"old-school" thinking and rarely works in cats. Diabetics need insulin
or they risk developing fatal ketoacidosis/kidney failure. It is
likely that's where your cat is headed right now, and why he's not
acting right. If this cat doesn't get the right treatment quickly, he
could very well end up dead.

The good news is if the cat is immediately put on a low-carb, canned-
only, grain-free diet (she uses Wellness Beef and Chicken, Turkey, and
Turkey and Salmon for the diabetics she works with), the owners home-
test blood sugar using a glucometer such as the One Touch Ultra and
keep the cat's numbers within the normal range using insulin it is
more likely than not that the cat will go into remission and insulin
will no longer be necessary as long as the cat is NEVER fed dry food
again and is kept on the right diet. Implementing a weight loss
program for obese diabetics is also important, but this is simple to
do considering that a diabetic cat should NOT be free fed and should
eat measured amounts of canned food on a 12 hour schedule.

If you want me to hook your wife up with my friend for a consultation
so she has a better understanding of what's involved email me and I'll
see what I can do. She has so far had a 100% success rate with getting
diabetics off of insulin.

Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

On Apr 8, 12:24*pm, "cindys" wrote:
The good news is if the cat is immediately put on a low-carb, canned-
only, grain-free diet (she uses Wellness Beef and Chicken, Turkey, and
Turkey and Salmon for the diabetics she works with), the owners home-
test blood sugar using a glucometer such as the One Touch Ultra and


He's at least moving toward a low-carb diet by default,
since my wife is trying to find tasty food in which to
dissolve his Glipizide dose. I would question the use
of Glipizide too, on the grounds that, based upon what
I read in Wikipedia, he's been prescribed a human-sized
dose -- 5 mg -- albeit twice a day instead of every
5 hours, the way humans take it. But my wife and I agree that
we don't want to be sticking him with a needle regularly,
for any purpose; she because she'd have to do it -- this
is where I say "It's your cat" -- and I because it seems
ridiculous to torture an animal so it can be your
companion for a little while longer.

--
Charles Packer
http://cpacker.org/whatnews
mailboxATcpacker.org

Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

"Charles Packer" wrote in message
...
On Apr 8, 12:24 pm, "cindys" wrote:
The good news is if the cat is immediately put on a low-carb, canned-
only, grain-free diet (she uses Wellness Beef and Chicken, Turkey, and
Turkey and Salmon for the diabetics she works with), the owners home-
test blood sugar using a glucometer such as the One Touch Ultra and


He's at least moving toward a low-carb diet by default,
since my wife is trying to find tasty food in which to
dissolve his Glipizide dose. I would question the use
of Glipizide too, on the grounds that, based upon what
I read in Wikipedia, he's been prescribed a human-sized
dose -- 5 mg -- albeit twice a day instead of every
5 hours, the way humans take it. But my wife and I agree that
we don't want to be sticking him with a needle regularly,
for any purpose; she because she'd have to do it -- this
is where I say "It's your cat" -- and I because it seems
ridiculous to torture an animal so it can be your
companion for a little while longer.

--
Charles Packer
http://cpacker.org/whatnews
mailboxATcpacker.org

Lantus would be a much better choice, and this would not necessarily prolong
your cat's life for only "a little while longer." It also is not torture.
People who deal with diabetic cats have had a very high response rate --
nearly 100% -- if they adopt cat food without grains (cats do not need
carbs), monitor blood glucose regularly, and administer insulin precisely as
needed. This is likely to be temporary if you and your wife will stick to
the routine because cats often go into remission in a very short period of
time.

To answer your specific question: Dosage is *critical.* You need to check
blood glucose levels at home (very easy to do) and not merely "guess" at the
correct dose.

Please read Rene's message carefully. It is excellent advice.

MaryL

Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

"Charles Packer" wrote in message
news:190ebe08-982a-4911-8ced-
He's at least moving toward a low-carb diet by default,
since my wife is trying to find tasty food in which to
dissolve his Glipizide dose. I would question the use
of Glipizide too, on the grounds that, based upon what
I read in Wikipedia, he's been prescribed a human-sized
dose -- 5 mg -- albeit twice a day instead of every
5 hours, the way humans take it. But my wife and I agree that
we don't want to be sticking him with a needle regularly,
for any purpose; she because she'd have to do it -- this
is where I say "It's your cat" -- and I because it seems
ridiculous to torture an animal so it can be your
..companion for a little while longer.

Charles,

I've treated many diabetic cats- at least a few dozen over the years- and I
can say, based on actual experience, Glipizide does not work, over the long
run, in the vast majority of diabetic cats. The failure rate in cats is
~75-80%. The most serious- and potentially life-threatening side effect of
Glipizide in cats is loss of appetite and nausea. Loss of appetite in a
diabetic cat that's receiving Glipizide can result in *profound*
hypoglycemia. The higher the dose the greater the chance- and severity of
adverse effects. The dose your cat has been prescribed is *twice* the
normal initial dose. I strongly suggest you seek a second opinion from a vet
who is current in treating diabetic cats.

Btw, how was your cat diagnosed with diabetes? IOW, what prompted the visit
to the vet or was diabetes an incidental finding during a routine exam?
Also, do you remember what your cat's blood glucose levels were and if
glucose was found in his urine? This is *very* important. If your cat's BG
was high and glucose wasn't found in the urine, he may not even be diabetic.
Does your cat get very stressed out from trips to the vet? I need more
information to go on before I can make any suggestions.

As far a "torturing" your cat, here's a short video of testing a cat's
blood:

http://maxshouse.com/bgtest%5B1%5D.mpg

Giving insulin injections is even easier on them.

You and your wife might want to join the Yahoo Feline Diabetes group.


http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Felinediabetes/

Get back to me with the BG numbers.

Best of luck,

Phil

Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

On Apr 9, 11:57*pm, "cindys" wrote:
It's not torturing the animal. The insulin needle is teeny and the
injection
is right under the skin. It takes a second to inject the insulin. The cat

You're right; I should have used "annoy." At any rate, I'll report
all these followups to my wife. She might be responsive to the
idea of going to another vet, since the one she has been using
stood her up yesterday -- left on some emergency without calling
her to cancel her appointment.

--
Charles Packer
http://cpacker.org/whatnews
mailboxATcpacker.org

Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

If your wife is hesitant to check blood glucoses at home, the vet tech will
do it. But if she is willing to check at home, see if you can find a free
glucometer. Normally, they cost in the neighborhood of $100,

Nowaways, meters can be gotten for a song. Do a search on eBay for
OneTouch Ultra Mini (this is the meter my friend recommends to her
clients). You can get them for about $10 (including shipping), and
they even come in colors. Also, you can get test strips for about half
price on eBay. Just watch the expiration dates of the strips and make
sure the sellers have good feedback.

Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
 

On Apr 10, 2:40*am, "Phil P." wrote:

I've treated many diabetic cats- at least a few dozen over the years- and I
can say, based on actual experience, Glipizide does not work, over the long
run, in the vast majority of diabetic cats. The failure rate in cats is
~75-80%. *The most serious- and potentially life-threatening side effect of
Glipizide in cats is loss of appetite and nausea. Loss of appetite in a
diabetic cat that's receiving Glipizide can result in *profound*
hypoglycemia. *The higher the dose the greater the chance- and severity of
adverse effects. *The dose your cat has been prescribed is *twice* the
normal initial dose. I strongly suggest you seek a second opinion from a vet
who is current in treating diabetic cats.



My wife read all the postings in this thread and then
spoke to an acquaintance who's a vet tech. Pretty
much confirmed what was recommended here. The PetSmart
vet she was going to had been leading her astray.
So she'll take the cat to a vet who will endorse the
insulin + no-carb diet, probably. Life will become more
complicated, not to mention more constrained for our
dear companion animal. Sigh...on the other hand, if we'd
all grown up on farms, we'd have a different perspective --
more balanced, perhaps -- on the relative value of
human and animal lives...

--
Charles Packer
http://cpacker.org/whatnews
mailboxATcpacker.org