Cat diabetes and a puppy’s cleft palate
Dear Dr. Forsythe: I recently started classes at the JC and so now I have a schedule that is very fast paced. One change that has happened is I used to give my cat his insulin at 9 a.m. every day (and 9 at night too). Now that I am in school, I depart for school by 7 a.m. and sometimes I have rehearsals at night and can’t be home to give “Mason” his nighttime injection until very late. This has been going on now for about two weeks and Mason is acting different. He is drinking more and using the litter box nonstop. He acts like he did before I took him to the vet last year and found out he has sugar diabetes. Do you think I made a bad mistake by changing his routine? He has missed a few injections and gets them early in the morning now and then either early in the afternoon when I come home for a time, or he gets the second one very late. I feel so bad thinking about how he is not doing well. I’m not sure if he is really sick or going through an adjustment period with all the changes. Sign me, Sugar Mom
Dear Sugar Mom: What you have described sounds like Mason has gone from being a “controlled” diabetic to an “uncontrolled” diabetic. It is really important that cats with diabetes have a consistent schedule and receive the proper amount of insulin on a very precise schedule. It is very possible that when you started school and changed the times you gave Mason his insulin this started a cascade of events that has thrown his blood sugar levels out of control. It is really important to give insulin at the exact time it is due and make sure the cat is eating some food close to the same time. If you suddenly give the insulin a few hours earlier or later and fail to insure that your cat ate food at the same time, it is very easy to throw a well controlled diabetic into a medical “state of chaos.”
Diabetes is a challenging disease even if you are able to adhere to strict dosing and feeding schedules. Diabetic cats are prone to infections (especially in the bladder) as well as a condition known as ketoacidosis – this happens when the poorly controlled diabetics body begins using fat for energy.
When a client’s schedule changes and they need to change the times they give insulin, I suggest they move the time of the injections forward or back by no more than 30 minutes for a week. Once the cat has adjusted to the 30 minute change, adjust the time an additional 30 minutes until you reach a new dosing time that fits with your schedule. It is important if your pet is supposed to receive insulin twice daily, you make sure the injections are 12 hours apart. If you become sporadic in dosing or see your cat reverting back to his old clinical signs, I think it is extremely important you get him in for an exam, blood glucose check – and some new instructions from your veterinarian. Diabetes is a potentially fatal disease in dogs and cats, and sticking to a regular and regimented schedule is crucial to attempt to give the pet a good long-term prognosis. You can be sure that if you don’t take the condition seriously and devote yourself to your pet, things can spiral downward quickly. Please get Mason to the vet quickly and have him checked, confirm his insulin and dietary needs with your doctor, and keep in mind that this is a disease you can’t be lax about. Good luck!! – Dr. F
Dear Dr. Forsythe: I was just notified by a breeder in Texas that our little pug puppy was born with a cleft palate. In fact, our little girl, who we named “Priscillia” only lived for a few minutes after she was born. My husband and I were looking forward to her arrival. We arranged to get her before she was born, knowing that there would probably only be a small number of puppies, and we wanted a female. My question is, what do you think caused this birth defect in her? Could the breeder have caused this by feeding something she shouldn’t have? Can this be prevented in the future? We were very unhappy with this news, and also surprised, but I wanted to check with you on your thoughts about such a strange problem. – Cindy, Travis AFB
Dear Cindy: First let me say how sorry I am about the loss of little Priscilla. I’m sure she was a precious little baby and I know the anticipation followed by the loss is very difficult. Cleft palate is a congenital birth defect that is somewhat frequent in brachycephalic (flat-faced breed) puppies. Little is known about any ‘cause and effect’ that could lead to this problem so it is unlikely that your breeder fed something or gave something that caused it. It is considered an abnormality that arises in certain lines of dogs from time to time. (And is fairly common in Bulldogs and Pugs). When puppies are delivered by C-section veterinarians routinely check the newborn for an opening in the roof of the mouth and it is disheartening when we find this defect because the outcome is usually very poor. The deformity prevents a little puppy from being able to suckle on her mother’s teat or a baby bottle with suction – the milk simply runs out of the nose while a puppy attempts to drink. Because it is a serious problem with a bad prognosis, most puppies born this way are euthanized immediately.
Breeders who experience cleft palates should eliminate both the dam and the sire from their breeding program as a way to curtail this heart-wrenching genetic defect. I hope that your breeder in Texas will be responsible and not repeat the same breeding again after what happened. If this is not the case, I would suggest you find another breeder closer by and get a puppy from them. And remember, there are several wonderful Pug’s available at Pug Rescue who need a loving home as well. I hope this information helps and you have a new bundle of love in your home very soon. – Dr. F
