HELP

I AM NEW TO THE FORUM, I need advice, guidance, assistance from those of you who have had diabetic cats. My boy Chance who is 6 was newly diagnosed but the vets don’t seem to know how to get it under control. I was told by many people to switch him to wet food only and I bought a bunch of fancy feast classic pate wet food for him. I also bought the Home testing kit to get his levels but I am not getting enough blood when I try to do it. Any advice on that would be great. Also I don’t know how to adjust his insulin if the wet food brings his levels down, he currently gets 3 units twice daily. But he has been on wet food and the dry prescription diabetic food. Any help I would be so great full, I have been going back and forth on whether to give him up to someone who would know what they are doing and be able to afford it because not getting his levels under control leaves him peeing all over my house and on me in my bed.

 

Don't give up, please. When you see what's involved you may regret it. In the next 48 hours you'll get a lot of help from a lot of smart people. We thought our lives would be turned upside down by a diabetic cat. Now we're on our second. I know that when a cat pees on everything you could just strangle the little buggar but he's just trying to tell you something. Can you take a deep breath and stick with us for awhile? We have ALL gone through the same thing, all 16,000 of us.

 

Yes, no need to give up, you’ve come to the right place for help! You’re on the right track with the food change and the home testing, but until you get the testing down, keep feeding some dry, that will keep him safe. What meter do you have? To get blood, you must warm the ear. Many use a sock with rice in it warmed in the microwave. Make sure it’s warm, but not too hot. Also a lower gauge lancet can help, try size 25-28. Also has he been checked for a UTI? Uncontrolled diabetes can cause the peeing, but so can a UTI. Let us know what insulin he’s on and if there are any other health concerns.

 

Go into the "Suggestions, Tech Support & Testing Area" for a lot of info. You can also go into the forum for the insulin you use and read the user guides. We use some acronyms and abbreviations here. If anything is unfamiliar just ask.

 

Good advice from above. Don't give up. This is a great forum. Those first few weeks are scary and frustrating. Leo is 2.5 years diabetic now. After awhile, it just becomes part of the daily routine...really it is that easy.

Think of it this way. You are keeping your kitteh alive with the health care you provide.

Advice: Read up on the help topics here. Post some questions after you get going.

 

Hi!
We understand how u must be feeling cos we all have been there before. But hey you have found the right place for your boy. Don't give up. You can help your boy definitely!
A few things u need to do. U need to set up your signature so everyone knows your cat's background, insulin used, dosage and food. It's all there under introduction to FMDB. U also need to set up your boy's spreadsheet and keep track of his daily numbers.
Do you think you can find and set this up? Someone will definitely help you if you have difficulty.

 

If your mental health suffers so will the cat. None of us enjoys that smell and I know it's not easy. A UTI/urinary tract infection is making our cat Marco miserable so he leaves a little squirt right in front of us. What he's trying to say is "Hey look, I really don't want to do this but I can't talk so this is how I let you know I'm feeling miserable". There are great cleaning products for cat pee and if you have to do a huge wash sneak into the local laundromat.

 

Please do not give up. Your story is so similar to mine 3 1/2 yrs. ago, when I found this forum and so many helpful people to get me through it. Elvis was 13 when I started to notice very lethargic and sickly changes. When I took him to the vet on March 10, 2014, his glucose #s were very high so the vet insisted I put him on insulin, 3 units twice/day of ProZinc. At the time, Elvis had been eating Hill's Prescription C/D for about 10 years, prescribed because of a UTI when he was much younger. That's all he ever ate because a vet at that time said he should stay on it forever just to be sure the UTI doesn't recur. What did I know, so that's all I fed him.

The next two weeks were a nightmare and I thought I was almost going to lose Elvis. His lethargy was at its worst and he wasn't eating or drinking. The vet insisted that I bring him in every week for a spot check and take his blood...the costs were running up so I asked if I could do my own spot checking at home. He talked me out of it.

I noticed that Elvis' demeanor always seemed better though just before his next shot was due, and worse after and up to 6 hrs. after the shot. Something just wasn't making sense and Elvis was not improving. When the vet suggested upping his dose to 4 units b.i.d., I started to get suspicious and that's when I did a lot of on line research and found this forum. Through the help of the fine people on this forum, I learned a LOT. First about high-carb foods and their contribution to feline diabetes, which Hill's is most certainly....the C/D Elvis was on had 38% carbs!!! So I questioned the vet about this and he suggested to change to the Hill's W/D....hello.....well that one has 37% carbs!!! I also started to feel that Elvis might be over-medicated so I talked to the vet about this and he said to go back to the 3 units b.i.d., then I insisted that I do my own blood glucose testing at home and monitor him my way. He finally agreed, so I purchased my glucometer and watched a lot of YouTube videos to learn how to take Elvis' BGs and that really helped. [I find that massaging the ear and putting a warm compress behind it before you prick, is helpful to getting the blood to flow. If you haven't already....I recommend watching some YT videos....here's a good one:

Turns out this decision was the right and best one for Elvis, and me. His #s dropped from serious 600+ range at the vet, to 190 (on a human meter) at home. Also read on line that cats, like humans, can suffer from white-coat syndrome and that that fear alone could severely effect his #s. Well Elvis has NEVER been easy to take to the vet....have to line his carrying case with pp-pads because as soon as he gets in it, he urinates and poops all over. He's petrified of just going out the door let alone to the vet. This was all telling me something....the fear, the high carb foods, his advancing age, etc.

I took him off the Hill's and started him on some low carb canned foods suggested by lovely members of this forum. At first it was tough getting him to eat soft foods after the hard for so long, but I persisted in finding the right ones and doing whatever I could to them to get him to eat...that's when I learned he was a pate kind of guy. Loves to lick juices and of the other kinds, he would just lick dry and all the food would still be in his dish. Trial and error, and samples of low carb foods, some even sent to me by members, like EVO dried, which was a good find too.

Elvis' BGs started to plummet and I asked the vet if I could try and start weening him off the insulin...he gave me a formula....(again, on the human meter)

>300, give regular 3-unit dose
>250, reduce dose
<200, no dose

After about a month of this, Elvis was starting to respond better with the lesser doses and some of the low carb canned foods, although that was still something he was reluctant to eat. That's when I finally learned about Young Again Pet Foods. For me and Elvis, a God-send! Elvis' BGs were starting to stay consistently below the "no dose" level the vet suggested, so with his approval, I stopped the shots and only gave him one low dose, 1.5 units, if I saw an increase above the 200. I started him on Young Again Zero Carb on April 17, 2014....Elvis' last insulin shot was April 20 and his #s have never gone above 100 since; in fact, the range is between 50-80, and has been for the last 3 1/2 years.

Now I realize I may be a very unique story, and lucky one too, but I know that if you love your kitty, and know him well---his quirks, routines, etc.--- and you persevere and don't just take one vet's opinion be as gospel, maybe things aren't as bad as they seem. I would try diet changes....you mentioned your kitty has been on a prescription diet....maybe the carbs are high and that's contributing to higher #s. Try Young Again....it runs about $50.00/8 lb. bag, BUT it lasts, for me anyway, at least 3 months. Cats usually eat about 3 tablespoons a day of it because it's high in protein.

I hope this helps. So many people on this forum helped me get to where I am now with Elvis, and I am grateful and hope that maybe some of the suggestions I've given you here will save another kitty from unnecessary over-treatment or being given away. Now it may turn out your kitty may still need insulin, but maybe lower doses. Still, it's not difficult to give them the shot on your own and you can have a perfectly normal kitty in spite of it.

Good luck.

 

No two cats are ever the same. No matter what a vet says there is no formula your cat can be plugged into and that's why this place is a gold mine of knowledge.

 

Welcome to the forum you've arrived at the best place you never wanted to be.

Don't give up diabetes can be managed and there are a lot of very experienced people here that can help you

Regarding the peeing has he been tested for an urinary track infection? Or checked if he has stones or crystals? Any of these can cause his problem

if something is bothering him when he pees he will keep searching for a place where peeing is not painful

What prescription food are you feeding? Most prescription dry foods are very high in carbs and do not help

 

I couldn't agree more...I think I would have lost Elvis 3+ years ago if I just went along with what the vet said and didn't trust what I knew about my cat, sought other opinions and did research that led me here.

But I learned a valuable lessen 14 years ago with my own health... wasn't feeling well, went from doctor to doctor who tried to tell me it was menopause and hormonal... finally a doctor heard my pleas, ordered a cardiac catheterization and 3 days later I underwent a triple bypass!

So you have to stay diligent with your own health and your loved ones-- human and furry.

 

Hah! It took eight neurologist to figure out I wasn't making up a story. Finally a woman, just like my vet and family doctor, actually listened to what I said and figured it out in 5 minutes. Never say the pain is 10/10, they "know" it can't be that bad. Trigeminal Neuralgia! Plug that into YouTube. Arrogant doctors. Oh, I can also recommend an emergency cat clinic that your cat will never leave. "Hey, you're not writing down what I'm telling you". End of rant.

 

You may have trouble getting a sample of your lancet is too thin. Get a box of 26 or 28 gauge lancets. The ones that come with human test kits are 31 which is too thin. Sometimes at first you need to poke 2-3 times in the SAME spot to get a drop. This will get better in 1-2 weeks as the ears grow new capillaries. Also be sure to warm the ear with a rice sock or by rubbing the ear.

I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC.

 

In the meantime maybe add an extra box or some puppy pads where she's been going.

 

Here's a video I made, IDK if it'll help.

Keep at it. It takes time. The first few months are very hard, but you'll get it.

 

Hello he is on prozinc insulin and the meter I bought was reli-on. He has been checked for a UTI and does not seem to have one.

 

Thank you all, the information you all give is really helpful, I am just very overwhelmed right now.

 

We have all been there. I cried many tears that first week, and again the first week I started testing. I agree it's overwhelming. It will soon be routine for both of you.

 

it's very overwhelming at first, but you've come to the right place. The level of knowledge, experience and compassion here is beyond belief. Glucose testing gets easier as you and your cat get used to it. I have no new advice on this except to agree with the advice you've received. Warm the ear and you might need to prick more than once in the same spot to get a droplet in the beginning. And a cotton ball or two behind the ear and fold the ear back over it really helped, keep things steady and in place. And give your kitty lots of extra cuddles during test time and they come to accept it and some even look forward to the cuddles or treats at test time. Keep posting and asking questions. Hang in there, you'll get it

 

Every single one of us know exactly what you’re feeling right now. Please feel free to come here and ask any questions you have, or even just to talk. I promise it does get easier.