Team:RHS-Calgary/Human Practices
<!DOCTYPE html>
Human Practices
overview
Our hope in creating this project is to help cat owners provide the best possible care for their pets. We wish to keep families of pets and owners happy through allowing them to trust that their pet's health issues are not going unnoticed. Keeping this in mind, we talked to owners of cats and they explained how our design could change their lives. Using GlucoLitter, we hope to make a positive impact on the world through the application of synthetic biology.
community interaction
In terms of values, our team has aimed to aid as many families, with cats, as possible. We have done this by getting into contact with many individuals of diverse scopes of expertise throughout our project process, and discussed our ideas with them to gain crucial constructive criticism. We talked to pet owners, veterinarians and even members of our own team that own cats and have struggled with the issue of feline diabetes. All the listed individuals provided us with meaningful feedback from which we were able to improve our project, and any suggestions they passed on were incorporated into all three aspects of our project: HP, Dry Lab and Wet Lab. For example, one of our community members raised a concern that the change of colour produced by our reaction can vary depending on the colour or type of litter it is sprayed on to. From this, we were able to construct a new model that is much more specific to particular compounds, hence further reducing any potential risk factors and one that makes the testing of diabetes in cats easier. We made sure to build our model off of realistic problems that can be solved through the external application of biological compounds to litter samples. At the weekly meetings which our team ensures to hold, the different subsections of our team were able to meet, discuss work and goals, and ask questions that others may not have considered or questions others may have knowledge on. For instance, we spent time in multiple meetings discussing potential health risks and the uncertainty that consumers may have about having a genetically engineered biological compound near their pet. This helped us recreate our model and market it as a kit that can be used independently from the litter box to prevent health risks and keep consumers at ease, without having to worry about their pet being negatively impacted.
Beyond just the project, our team wanted to generally know more about the world and how we could solve problems in society through the use of concepts in biology. A genuine desire and passion to make the world a better place encouraged our team to reach new heights with our project. We were able to foster a collaborative effort alongside the University of Calgary, giving us the ability to receive their feedback and mentorship during our weekly meetings. Such feedback helped us enforce why we were actually doing this project and why our members were taking time to dedicate ourselves to solving feline diabetes. Hearing some of our own team members struggle with the issue through the negative impact it has had on their life provided us with more than enough reason to want to continue to change the testing methods for feline diabetes for the better. The more we understood the reason we chose to do this project, the more and more we were able to notice the struggle behind our target issue and the more we felt we were doing the right thing. At a competition through Mindfuel earlier in 2021, we learned that many individuals, including judges, also struggled with the management of feline diabetes. The fact that the issue is so prevalent and impactful made us push and work even harder in hopes of finding a solution. For us, the project was about changing the world around us to become a better place by solving a simple yet powerful problem. There needs to be a change, and here, with RHS-Calgary, we hope to be the factors that trigger that change.
Take a look at some of our interviews!
It has been crucial for this team to connect with various professionals to receive advice, help, and feedback on our project. We are fortunate enough to be mentees under veterinarians such as Dr. Nicole Howard from the Calgary Humane Society who has over 20 years of valuable experience. She has many cats in her organization and has had experience dealing with diabetic cats. In the interview, Dr. Howard explained that if treatments were too costly, they may have to resort to human euthansia. This inspired us even further to strive to create a product that detects feline diabetes at an early stage without causing harm to the cat. She agrees that current feline diabetes treatment options prove as a challenge for cat owners to treat their pets in the long-term. Dr. Howard heavily supports our project and believes that RHS-Calgary is creating a better litter than the one that already exists, as ours does not alleviate the stress of cats and can still be used as an early detection system. Without all of Dr. Nicole Howard’s mentor support, we would not have been able to get as far as we are now in our project and we greatly appreciate that to have been taught by such an experienced veterinarian. Feline Diabetes is diagnosed by high blood glucose (hyperglycaemia) and a presence of glucose in the urine (glycosuria). Glucose is present in the urine of diabetic cats because when the blood glucose reaches a high enough level, excess glucose is excreted into the urine. However, cats are known to developed stress-based hyperglycaemia, which can also affect glucose concentrations in the urine. If owners could test their cats in a non-stressful environment like their homes, it would help rule out stress as the cause of the hyperglycemia (high blood glucose). A cat’s stress is a huge factor in their owner’s compliance in managing feline diabetes. Cats are often quite stressed going into the clinic for blood glucose curves, and cats diagnosed with diabetes need to undergo these tests (at home) multiple times a day, which means multiple needle pokes throughout the day!
How many cats does your organization have?
We get a lot of cats in our shelter! Last year we had around 2200 cats alone! Currently we have about 165 cats under our care (some of these are in foster).
Are any of your cats diabetic?
No. We occasionally get emergency boarding or pet safekeeping diabetic cats.
If you answered yes to the above question, how are the sick cats being treated?
Most of the diabetic animals we get in require insulin injections.
How much does diabetes treatment cost you per year?
We do not treat them here. However, animals that are diabetic have many costs associated with their disease management- these can include things like insulin, bloodwork (glucose curves or fructosamine testing), special diets etc.
How frequently should a pet cat visit the vet?
This varies a bit- generally a young healthy animal should see a vet annually, however older animals or animals being managed for chronic diseases may need to see the vet more frequently.
Do any of your cats have any other behavioural or physical illnesses?
We have criteria for adoption. Certain diseases that can be easily managed (for example hypothyroidism) are able to be adopted. Other diseases that require more intensive management or poor prognoses may not be adoptable.
If treatment becomes too costly, what options does your organization consider?
We may consider different rescue transfers, we may have donations set aside for intensive cases (such as orthopedic surgeries) and we occasionally have to consider humane euthanasia as an option.
How many cats are adopted from your organization per year?
Last year we adopted out about 1800 cats!
Of the adopted cats, how many of them have an illness?
We do not adopt out sick animals! We treat and send home with appropriate medication if required.
What are your experiences with feline diabetes in your career?
Because we do not adopt out diabetic cats, I do not have a lot of experience with diabetes management. However I have attended some continuing education courses on it!
How would you improve testing for feline diabetes?
Diabetes is diagnosed by high blood glucose and glucose in the urine (glucosuria). When the blood glucose reaches a high enough level, it spills into the urine and we see cats pee out glucose. However stressed cats can also have high blood glucose and can even pass glucose in the urine. If owners could test them in a non-stressful environment like their homes, it would help rule out stress as the cause of the hyperglycemia (high blood glucose). Cat stress is a huge factor in owners compliance for managing diabetes. Cats are often quite stressed going into the clinic for blood glucose curves (multiple needle pokes throughout the day!).
What do you recommend your clients do when their cat has feline diabetes?
They need to be prepared for the finances involved in managing this disease. They need to be comfortable with needles and injecting their cats with insulin. They also need to be aware of the signs of hypoglycemia (if too much insulin is given, the cat can get dangerously low levels of glucose in the blood!).
How long have you been in the field of veterinary medicine/work?
I graduated in 2001! So almost 20 years.
Are you a pet owner yourself? If so, what pets do you own?
I have a dog, a cat and 3 birds!
What is your opinion on current feline diabetes treatment options?
It can be very challenging for owners to treat their cats long term.
What is your opinion on us creating an early detection system through the use of cat litter to identify elevated glucose levels in cat urine?
I do believe there used to be a litter that did just that? It would alleviate the stress factor for testing for diabetes. It could be used as an early detection system, however it would not dictate treatment for owners- ie. They would still require a visit to the veterinarian for management/treatment options.
What is one thing you wish cat owners knew about feline diabetes?
Keep their cats lean! Obese cats are higher risk for this disease.
How do you believe our project idea will improve feline diabetes diagnosis and treatment?
Take away the stress!
Do you know of anyone else in the field who would also be able to contribute to our project development?
Might be good to touch base with a community veterinarian (who sees feline diabetes and treats it?). Also could consider reaching out to Idexx (veterinary lab).
Ms. Emily Chorwood provided numbers that were essential to our project, particularly about urine glucose concentrations.
From our interview with Emily Chorwood:
When blood glucose exceeds 10 mmol/L it is excreted in the urine. Anything above this amount is concerning. Normal blood glucose ranges between 3.3-8.3 mmol/L depending on the source you use. For the ranking system her clinic uses the information below:
+/- : 2.8 mmol/L (trace amounts, not always concerning)
1+ : 5.5 mmol/L
2+ : 14 mmol/L
3+ : 28 mmol/L
4+ : >55 mmol/L
How do you diagnose and test for feline diabetes, and other conditions that include glycosuria as a symptom in your clinic?
Blood and urine combined - you need high blood and high glucose for full diagnosis
fructosamine test - takes out the problem of stress
How easy for you is it to diagnose feline diabetes?
Generally easy, most noticeable symptoms are increased urination and thirst as well as a history of weight loss
How prevalent of an issue is stress when it comes to testing cats for diabetes? Are there other more pressing issues with this regard?
Every cat is stressed, but not every cat has elevated glucose
Other issues: inaccurate, lower glucose than actual
What would you consider to be concerning levels of glucose in feline urine?
Is there a range of glucose concentrations that veterinarians use to determine how severe a cat's diabetes may be?
Just looking if it is present on a scale of 1-4+. In most cases at the time of diagnosis most cats are already at a 4+
Do you feel as if the issue we are trying to solve has already been addressed, and could you possibly elaborate on how it has been addressed, if you believe it has?
Historically, there was a glucose testing product involving confetti which caused a color change in the paper itself(Litter without baking soda), check the confetti to find the color change (for cats already diagnosed). There seems to be resistance to a product like that, the color change was pretty reliable.
Useful contacts:
Dr. Chantall McMillan
Pet food companies - vet diets for these conditions
Blood glucose monitors - alphatrak - veterinary use - abbott prozinc/boehringer ingelheim vetmedica inc
Testing for freestyle libre interstitial glucose monitor - missing in the field of veterinary science
Misleading info and false infor - cat false "dangerously low" glucose