Posting introduction for (Rabi51) Linda and Mr. Friday

From Rabi51's profile page:

Good Morning........feeling more than just a bit scared at this point.

I have 4 kitties in all. All of them indoor cats ranging in age from 11 years to 4 years; 3 fremales and 1 male. Their names are Mr. Friday, Marble Lynn, Marly Jo and Mazie Loo. Mr. Friday, 10 years old, is the one diagnosed with diabetes.

I am trying to change all of their lives around now. They have always had dry food out at all times along with the water bowl and now I will have to take the food away after they eat until an evening meal - I am a softie, and they are like my kids....I feel like a big meanie! There is no way for me to feed Mr. Friday one way and still allow the others to be allowed to graze (the only alternitave for that would be to put him in one room and make him stay there 24/7 and I won't do that to him). He is a very gentle and loving cat and deserves to be treated better.

Reading what I have about giving insulin and all the monitoring has me terrified. What if I give him too much insulin? What if he goes into shock and I am not around?

On top of everything, I have decided to come into this new routine slowly...hoping that within a week I can actually start Mr. Friday on his insulin. I need first to get everyone used to the new routine....morning eats, now with dry food mixed with wet food...taking the food away until evening meals and that also involves finding a food that everyone WILL eat. After that has been completed (hopefully successfully) I will then conquer the insulin.

Tenatively, I hope to start with the insulin next Tuesday as I will be away this Saturday and also next Monday and for that first week of his insulin, I don't want to be away from home for more than one hour if I have to be.

I know this is a long intro into my kitties lives but I guess I am doing it because I just feel overwhelmed and actually would like some constructive input into how I propose to start?

Linda
Rabi 51

 

Please welcome Linda and Mr. Friday!
I sent Linda a private message to let her know I started a thread for her here.

Welcome Linda! When I learned Alex had diabetes, I was scared, too. However, as time went on I was thankful she "just" had diabetes because it was treatable! I even had a thing about needles and blood, but was able to overcome the fear knowing that it was up to me to help her out. The very fact that you found us makes me think you'll do just fine.

Many of us have worked things out while having multiple cats in the household. I had a total of 4 cats when Alex was diagnosed. I put them on the same low carb wet food and fed them multiple "mini-meals" a day. Some diabetic cats do just fine with grazing!

There's a ton of information and knowledge found on the board. We'll do our best to help! Others will be along shortly to welcome you and help you with your concerns.

Hope to see you posting often!

 

Hello Jill and Alex.......I was glad to hear that it isn't impossible with 4 kitties. When you say that some kitties do just fine with grazing - isn't that going to wreak havoc with his insulin maintenance then? I was told that when I start to give him insulin it will be with a Lantus 'Solostar" pen and to set it at 1 and give this to him twice a day. I have no idea how many injections this one pen will cover - and wonder how long the pen will last at this dose. I guess I will have to sit down and figure it out yet?

I am home today and watching all of them closely to see just what their eating habits really are. I took away all of the other food that I had fed them most of their lives, the Iams Indoor and the Friskies Tender and Crispy combo which they REALLY like. I am now feeding them the dry Purina Pro Plan DM for the first time this morning and surprisingly I don't seem to have trouble with anyone being too picky. So I guess when I go to the vets on Friday with my other two for their check ups, I will pick up some of this brand's soft food for them to try too.

I ordered an active 1st Bayer Contour NEXT Complete Diabetes Testing Kit today from Amazon Prime and I should have this in a couple of days.
The next question I have is this? Is there pet insurance for such things?

Linda
Rabi 51

 

Welcome to the best place for help and support!

I have three kitties and feed them separately in different rooms at scheduled feeding times - 3 times a day for the non-diabetics and 4 times for Teasel. Teasel and his brother eat the same low carb wet food and his sister is on prescription hypoallergenic food. My vet told me to feed Teasel only twice a day but that doesn't work for him.

I think the cartridge inside the pen holds a total of 300 units of insulin so a total of 2 units a day could give you 150 days of insulin, properly refrigerated.

I don't know whether you can get pet insurance for a diabetic cat. Please post any other questions you have on the main health forum where more people will see them.

 

Welcome!
Looking forward to seeing you on the Main Health forum

 

Sorry, just getting back to the board now. Busy day!

Not necessarily. It depends on whether his blood glucose spikes after eating. Once you start testing him at home you'll find out how carb sensitive he is, but at this point I wouldn't worry about it. Most cats do very well with small meals spread throughout the day.

Most of us don't buy the expensive prescription diabetic foods from the vet. Even the vet who holds the patent on the DM (Elizabeth Hodgkins, DVM) recommends feeding a low carb wet diet to diabetic cats. Dry food isn't good for any cat, whether they have diabetes or not, so if your crew will eat canned food you're one step ahead. You might want to read this: Dry Food - PLEASE consider more than just carbohydrate content.

You can also read more about feeding a species appropriate diet here: Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition. You can find canned commercial pet foods suitable for diabetics here: Dr. Lisa Pierson's Food Charts. The list was just updated! Look for foods that have less than 10% carbs for all your cats.

There's a whole lot of info you may want to read here: Lantus & Levemir - Syringe & Insulin Info: Handling, Drawing, and Fine Doses.

I don't know either, but now that you've introduced yourself and your kitty family, feel free to start a new thread over on Health (The Main Forum). You'll get more eyes on your questions and concerns over there. When you get over there, just click on the light blue box towards the top right of the page that says "Post New Thread" to start a new thread.

There's a steep learning curve, but we're here to help. Before you know it you'll be answering a new member's questions!

See you on the Health Forum!

 

All my cats are insured, and the diabetes is covered, but I am in the UK so it may be different where you are. The one thing they do not cover is pre existing conditions, so if diabetes is already diagnosed, it will not be covered unless you are already insured.

 

I have 7 cats. I give low carb fancy feast classic or Friskies pate and leave out extra to graze on. As long as your diabetic cat doesn't eat for two hours prior to shot time blood testing it's fine to leave wet food out. I also leave out young again zero carb dry food, but that's not available in the UK.