Just diagnosed

We took our 12 year old kitty Sam to the vet today. I am feel very overwhelmed by the news were given of diabetes. Any advise or tips to make my kitty's life less traumatic then visiting the vet all the time. We purchased our first bottle of insulin today and was told not to change his food until our next appointment in 2 weeks. What foods are recommended once we do change his diet? It's sure been an emotional day at our home. I am feeling guilty that the financial part of his treatment is a concern for me. Have others felt the same way?

 

Welcome to FDMB.
Feeling stressed and concerned is perfectly normal for those of us who believe our cats our part of our family. How could you not be concerned when a family member is ill?

Would you care to tell us what insulin, what dose, and what food you are giving? We have some suggestions to help reduce costs, such as home testing to help keep your cat safe and using low carb over the counter food instead of pricey prescription food which is no better.

 

He was prescribed Lantus U-100 and he's to be given 1 unit twice daily. We currently feed his Iams Senior. He's defiantly family and so loved. I feel like his been put through a torture chamber today.. Thank you.

 

There's certainly an adjustment process. The need to be more rigid for the schedule so you can shoot every 12 hours is just part of it.

One thing we strongly encourage is home blood glucose testing for safety and dose monitoring. Its just a little prick of the ear or paw pad to get a droplet to test; more of an annoyance than anything. You can use an inexpensive human glucometer, such as the WalMart ReliOn Confirm, matching test strips, and alternate site testing lancets to get the blood droplet. A dab of Neosporin ointment with pain relief before the prick helps reduce the annoyance, plus helps the blood bead up for the test.
For safety, we suggest you not give insulin unless he's over 200 mg/dL on a human glucometer. And, at the nadir, the lowest glucose post shot, you want him to remain above 50 mg/dL on a human glucometer.
The dose your vet started with is reasonable.

Another thing we suggest is urine ketone monitoring. Ketones form as a by-product of fat breakdown for energy, often when there isn't enough insulin, the cat isn't eating much, and infection may be present. Too many ketones may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially fatal, expensive to treat, complication of diabetes. By testing the urine with KetoDiaStix or KetoStix (or generic), you'll be alerted to these if they show up and can get to the vet before there are more than trace levels. If you ask at your local pharmacy, they may have a version of these. Cost is pretty reasonable.

And speaking of cost - Lantus, kept refrigerated on a stationary shelf, may last up to 6 months before losing effectiveness. If you got the vial, it has 10 mL with 100 units per mL, or 1,000 units of insulin. At 2 units a day, for 180 days, you'll have plenty for the next 6 months.

 

Welcome extra sweet Sam and Sam's family! Yep, they're all our family so we understand exactly how you're feeling. We all arrived here feeling about the same way.

Thanks for telling us about Sam. We have a wonderful 'Main Health' forum where you can ask questions as you run across them! There's also lots of information in the 'Sticky's' to help you begin to make sense of all of this.

We look forward to your posting there so we can help you get your feet solidly on the ground.

HUGS!

 

Hi Sam and Sam's caregiver! Welcome to the FDMB. Like many new members, you gave us your kitties name but forgot to introduce yourself. Would you please tell us your first name? Then after you have introduced yourself, would you please post over in the Feline Health (the main forum) so we can help you out more with suggestions.

My first suggestions is deep breathing exercises. Deep breath in, hold, release, deep breath in, hold, release,................ Great for helping with the stress of dealing with this new and scary diagnosis. Diabetic cats can live long and healthy lives. We've all been there. We'll help you through this.

Hope to see you over on the Feline Health forum soon. There are more people that keep an eye out on that forum to help new people like yourself and answer questions.

 

Thank you. It's so nice to know I have somewhere to go when I have questions Or just need support for all my concerns.

 

What is your first name?

 

Torrie

 

Hi Torrie! Thanks for the intro.

If you add some information to your profile, it will help us to help you better. Member BJM has this great description of some of the information that would be helpful to us to see.

Would you consider doing this for us?

 

I understand that Sam needs to finish his breakfast and 30 mins later get his shot. However he hasn't been finishing his food. Do we put what's left away or wait until he's done? He's used to having food all day so I am thinking that's why he's not emptying his bowl..

 

I leave the food out to be grazed on at every feeding. Some diabetics do better with grazing, or several mini-meals, to match the incoming insulin better. If he prefers to graze, just pick up the food around +10, so the pre-shot isn't strongly food-influenced.

 

Hi Torrie, welcome to FDMB

Is there a particular reason why Sam needs to wait 30 mins after food to get his shot (sorry if I've missed something!)
It's generally OK to give the shot as long as it is clear that the cat is eating and has some food on board for when the insulin kicks in. (That's why we feed and then give the shot)
Many of us here let our cats graze/free-feed. (Though as BJ says above, it's a good idea not the let cat eat in the two hours prior to getting a shot. That's so that pre-shot blood tests are not influenced by food.)

Eliz

 

10 minutes before his shot take his food away?

 

Our vet told us when Sam finishes eating to give him his shot about 30 mins after and to not feed again until 12 hours later and do the same for his pm shot. Also I need his shots to be on a specific schedule so he never miss one and today was his first am shot at 8:30. Can we do his pm shot at 7:00 so that can be the sent time 7am and 7 pm or is that dangerous since it won't be 12 hrs between?

 

Hi Torrie,

Most of us here test our cat's blood glucose at home (way easier than it sounds!) And the two main tests that we do in a day are those immediately prior to giving the insulin shots.
It's best, prior to giving insulin, to get a test result that isn't influenced by food. (Food can cause the blood glucose to spike upwards, so that would skew the all important pre-shot test result.)

So, for those who are hometesting (testing blood glucose at home) the sequence is usually:
1. Test cat's blood glucose.
2. Feed cat. (This is to just ensure that the cat has food on board prior to being given insulin).
3. Give shot.

If you don't plan to hometest, or you are not hometesting yet, then it isn't so important to remove the food for a couple of hours before insulin. The only reason to remove the food is so that the pre-shot test result isn't skewed by food.
If you're not testing then it only matters that the cat has some food on board prior to being given insulin.

Is your cat one of those who is prone to puking after eating? If so, that could be a valid reason for waiting a while between feeding and giving the shot. You'd want to be sure that he was going to keep his food down before giving insulin.

Eliz

 

Hi Torrie! Hope that Sam is eating better for you today.

Would you please add the insulin you are using (Lantus) to your signature? That way, it's in easy view and we don't have to go searching through your post to find that info.

Thanks.

Hope to see you posting over on Feline Health (The Main Forum) It's where we answer members questions after they have given us an introduction to their cat.