Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Toulouse & O’Malley

    Toulouse & O’Malley New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2018
    Hello, I’m new, to this community and to feline diabetes. I recently (1/24/18) adopted two 14 year old brother cats from my local shelter, Toulouse (grey tabby) and O’Malley (brown tabby). They had a senior blood panel (IDEXX) and urinalysis done the day that I adopted them. O’Malley’s results were thankfully pretty normal. Toulouse’s showed his glucose at 211. He was also pretty normal though, other than that. A week after I adopted them I took them in to see my own vet and we went ahead and redid Toulouse’s blood work (Antech). This time his glucose was up to 258. This was on 1/30/18. My vet had me start feeding Purina DM canned and dry (mostly canned though). On 2/5/18 I took him in for a curve, as recommended by my vet, after which she had me start him on 1 unit of ProZinc twice per day. She didn’t think it was necessary to start home testing yet. She wanted to do another curve after two weeks at this dose (which was done on 2/19/18) after which she had me increase his dose to 2 units per day. She still didn’t think home testing was necessary yet. She wants to see him back now in three weeks (3/12/18) for a fructosomine test.

    A week or so ago I found this place here, and have been trying to read and absorb as much information as fast as I can. I do like my vet, but I can see how her instructions don’t really line up with what’s recommended on here. I am weaning them off of the dry DM (I have both boys eating the same thing, for convenience, since my vet said the DM would be fine for O’Malley to have as well). And once the canned DM that I have left is gone, I’m planning to switch to other brands that I see recommended on here. I also bought a ReliOn Confirm meter and supplies, and just officially started home testing tonight. (The reading was surprising to me, and I think I’ll start a post asking for opinions over on the regular health board). I will work on getting a spreadsheet going. I use my iPhone for almost all of my personal internet usage, so I think I’ll need to download an app to make it work? I’ll get it figured out soon.

    Toulouse was very thin when I brought him home. His diabetes had been undiagnosed at the shelter (bloodwork was done the day that I adopted him, I was notified of results when they got them the next day). He was very scared at the shelter, and he has some bad teeth too (not well enough for a dental right now though). I think due to stress, and possibly pain, he wasn’t eating very much during his time there. His appetite has been great ever since I brought him home though, and he’s gained about a pound already!

    Thank you for this wonderful (albeit slightly overwhelming) place, and thank you for reading all of that!
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Sharon14

    Sharon14 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2015
    Welcome! Thank you for adopting 2 older kitties, they are adorable! I’m glad you found us and I’m glad you’ve started home testing. As you wean them off the dry, and onto a lower carb wet, Toulouse may need less insulin so testing is the the best, and really only way to keep him safe. His initial vet numbers aren’t too bad. It’s possible that with the food change and the needed dental that he can go into remission- fingers and paws crossed!
     
    Toulouse & O’Malley likes this.
  3. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2016
    Oh my, what a pair of sweeties! :bighug:
     
    Toulouse & O’Malley likes this.
  4. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
  5. Reg

    Reg New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2018
    Welcome - your boys are beautiful! I'm relatively new to the whole feline diabetic world as well, and can tell you that the people on this site are some of the most well informed and caring individuals ever!
    I, too, was given the dry & canned Purina DM from my vet. Leo was on 2 units of Vetsulin twice a day, then 3 units, back to 2 - it was driving me crazy! I finally found the syringes with the 1/2 markers and have settled on 2.5 units twice a day and he eats Fancy Feast Classics. Last vet visit his BG was 177, which was a little higher than I liked but the vet said was good. Venturing into home testing this weekend. If not for all the wonderful advice on this forum, I'd still be struggling!
     
  6. Toulouse & O’Malley

    Toulouse & O’Malley New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2018
    Thank you! They are sweet boys, and though this diabetes stuff has me a bit stressed out, I don’t regret it; I’m very happy to have them! I’m also very grateful to have found this community, and I’m already seeing / thinking that his insulin dose is too high. I dropped him this morning to 1u (vet wanted him on 2), after skipping last night’s dose completely, and his BG has still been really low all day.
     
  7. Toulouse & O’Malley

    Toulouse & O’Malley New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2018
    Thank you!
     
  8. Toulouse & O’Malley

    Toulouse & O’Malley New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2018
    Thank you! Your Leo looks very adorable! Everyone here does seem so very nice!
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page