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Editors’ note: This case study is controlled and monitored under
careful veterinarian supervision. Although the subject is responding to treatment
by diet and insulin and shows considerable improvement in condition and general
health; there is no claim being made that this diet can cure diabetes. Each individual’s
progress should be monitored by a qualified veterinarian and any changes in diet
should be brought to your veterinarian’s attention.
Contents of Norman's Case Study:
- Norman: Intro
- Home Testing
Procedures
- Norman’s
Letter From The Vet
- Norman’s
blood work history (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
- Norman’s
Glucose (Daily Test Values)
Supporting Member
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This
is a must read for all care givers with feline diabetic patients (type 1) and (type
2).
Doc. Elizabeth Hodgkins D.V.M., JD can be reached at
All About Cats Health Center, Yorba Linda, California 92887. Doc. Hodgkins
is also a well known breeder and owner of Sunstone
Ocicats, ph. 1-714-692-8228.
“It is not all surprising that we now find many of our feline patients, fat, sluggish
and eventually diabetic. For all of our good intentions in bringing the cat into
our homes as a pampered pet, we have done the species a tremendous disservice in
providing its members a diet far more appropriate for a cow in a feedlot than an
obligatory carnivore”… Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins D.V.M., J.D.
Doc. Hodgkins advocates the use of PZI insulin in securing proper
management roles with feline diabetes and relegates the use of a humulin, which
is normally used in most vet clinics for feline diabetes management, as a subordinate.
A raw food, high protein diet is a must with this kind of treatment, as
in all diabetic felines. Carbohydrate diets are self-defeating in attempting to
aid the feline diabetic. Doc. Hodgkins worked with Purina company in the development
of the Purina D.M. product for feline diabetes. Please contact this gracious lady
or her associates for further information or read more about her protocol for treating feline diabetes.
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Intro: “Norman,”
is a sweet 15 year old cat with diabetes; who endured a homeless, two year stint
on his own with Mother Nature. Mr. and Mrs. Rupp of Elma, New York, opened up their
doors, with the encouragement from their young daughter and gave him a home. One
day, “Norman” started to show signs of dehydration, unquenchable thirst and hunger
as with all the other classical signs of feline diabetes. Dr. Melissa Mroziak D.V.M.
at West Seneca Animal Hospital in Elma, New York, was the vet who made the initial diagnosis. “Norman”
was her first feline diabetic patient (Nov. 2003). For a more professional in depth
site on diabetes please refer to:
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Norman was placed
on a conventional, special kibble diet (Purina D.M.) for diabetics and prescribed
subcutaneous fluids to rehydrate him back to some acceptable standard of health
(min. 150ml / 2x / day until hydrated). For the last two years, Norman has been maintained
on a regimen of Humulin insulin (two shots containing three units of insulin per
day) and has recently been weaned off of a high carbohydrate diet onto a high protein,
vegetable free, grain fr
“Because improper diet is the cause of type II diabetes mellitus in the cat, diet
must be the foundation of the management of this disease. Although the veterinary
profession has been conditioned to believe that high fiber dry diets are capable
of assisting in the management of feline diabetes, the reality is that the disease
has historically been extremely difficult to deal with BECAUSE of this mistaken
belief. The practice of using dry form, high fiber diets for our diabetic patients
is utterly in error”…
“Therefore, to manage type II diabetes, the patient Must be provided a diet that
is high in protein, moderate to high in fat and ultra low in carbohydrate, especially
carbogydrate from extruded cereals and those with high glycemic indices like corn”…
Dr.Elizabeth Hodgkins D.V.M., J.D.
ee, fruit free, vitamin enriched, raw chicken diet. The initial transition in his diet began
with a 50/50 mixture of raw diet and veterinarian prescribed kibble food. Before
his diagnosis, kibble (Purina D.M.) was his sole source of nutrition. Due to being
diabetic, Norman’s water consumption was enormous.
His coat was extremely dull and his
skin was flaky and brittle to the touch. His weight was about 17 pounds in Sept
2005. All these are characteristic of high carbohydrate diet consumption. Norman’s
blood work was last conducted during March 2006. He has been on raw food since
Dec 2005. Norman receives two six ounce portion controlled feedings per day. His
insulin dosage (pre-protein diet) was 3 units twice daily. In Dec. 2005, his dosage
was
dropped from three units per injection to a lower (2 units of insulin / per injection
/ twice daily). Norman’s coat and skin conditions started clearing up and a luster
was beginning to appear in his coat. He’s also managed to trim a couple of pounds
off his weight. Although, retired from “mousing” and “chipmunking” tours of duty,
he still has a “cattitude” and lounging is his favorite pastime. Norman, is be
featured in this section so you can monitor his experience on this diet.
Please refer to Cat Hospital of Austin
for further interpretative assistance of the following blood work.
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Update 12/2005: After a couple
of close calls with elevated sugar levels during the month of December 2005, it
became apparent that Norman blood sugar levels were becoming highly eratic and needed
to be home monitored. Please refer to
Punkin's BG Test Video & Sample
Log for a more elaborate discussion and short film of how this procedure
is performed.
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“Protamine zinc insulin (PZI) is, by far, the most effective insulin available for
the diabetic cat today…far superior to that from NPH or Humulin insulins”… Dr. Elizabeth
Hodgkins D.V.M., J.D.
The reason for home monitoring for
advanced diabetics is it allows you to adjust daily insulin injections to monitor
daily sugar levels for your cat. For a cat with mild diabetes it might be safe to
live within the veterinarians parameters for various injection schedules, but the
financial costs can add up to a considerable amount for you to go back and forth
from your vet’s office every couple of weeks. Needless to say, the stress factor
on your cat is considerably lowered when you home monitor. Stress can further raise
glucose levels in your cat, so if there is a way to make your cat’s life a little
less stressful, by avoiding frequent vet trips, why not? For those of you nurturing
an advanced diabetic, like Norman, home monitoring becomes a challenge. Home monitoring
consists of purchasing a standard glucometer and test strips that any pharmacy can
provide. Consult with your pharmacist on how the machine works with the test strips.
The model that we use for Norman is an Accu-check system with corresponding “Soft-curve”
test strips and seems to be the easiest to use.
Now, the next trick is to get a blood sample without winding
up in the emergency room with people snickering behind a curtain listening to your
attempts trying to explain to the nurse why a ferocious mountain lion attacked you.
That’s a whole different matter. Normally, your vet obtains a blood sample by inserting
a hypodermic needle into one of its front forearms and withdraws blood in that fashion.
Home monitoring is a different story and takes a little getting used to, but once
you get it down, it’s a piece of cake. Just think of all the money it’s saving you.
It actually gives you the feeling of having some control over your cat’s health,
and after some time has passed, you and your cat just get a little more chummier,
hopefully…
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