Hi Everyone!

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by WickedChiq, Aug 11, 2018.

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  1. WickedChiq

    WickedChiq New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Hi Everyone!

    I’m Tracey - Thank you for the add. I am a member of the Feline Diabetes Facebook group too (so you may have seen me there already) but haven’t had a chance to get on to the forum until now.

    We live in Melbourne, Australia and have a 14yo semi-longhaired kitty, named ‘Ash', who was diagnosed with diabetes a couple of weeks ago. He has being showing symptoms over the last month…with gradual weight loss being the major sign that something was going on, but also refusing his dry food water consumption and lots of peeing, so we got him to the vet when he lost interest in his dry food (which is not like him at all). I thought he may have had failing kidney due to his age, but was rather surprised to find his blood test results all pointed to diabetes.

    Our vet ran bloods and urine tests and Ash's BG level came back at 16 (The vet said it should be 7, but I don't know what unit of measurement this is and forgot to ask the vet). Our vet then added a fructosamine test to confirm the raised BG level was not stress-induced. We had a call from the vets the next day, telling us we needed to get Ash back in ASAP to commence immediate insulin therapy.

    I have a history of animal husbandry from breeding & showing dogs & cats, so giving injections is OK for me to do, but this is our first diabetic kitty, so this has a very quick learning curve for me!

    I have been reading through various pages, posts and information to get up to speed on treatment, what to expect, side effects to watch out for, etc. and I will post more in the health section about our first 10 days of diabetic-kitty life, as I need some more advice.

    A huge thanks for the links and help I’ve had so far. After watching YouTube videos about doing home BG tests, the first day of home BG testing wasn't too bad and now Ash knows he needs his tests and is absolutely brilliant to poke and prod! - This coming from a cat who absolutely hates having his nails cut!

    He purrs the entire time during his BG tests and loves his little heat-sock that I made for his ear. We honestly think he appreciates his extra fuss and his insulin as he automatically goes into ‘loaf-mode’ and waits for his jab when it’s due…..it must be making him feel better too, because roughly two hours later, the old boy starts getting frisky, racing through the house like a goofball and getting into mischief….just like he's a kitten again!

    Thanks for reading and I look forward to chatting soon,
    Tracey.
     
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  2. Arkali

    Arkali Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2018
    Hi, Tracey!
    Glad Ash is doing so well. I don't have much advice--I'm a newbie too :) But the people here are great and super patient. It's funny how patient the cats are. Although I'm grateful that if one of my furbabies got sick, it was Gypsy. I don't know how my other two would do this :p But she's put up with my constant poking, prodding, and fumbling :)
     
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  3. WickedChiq

    WickedChiq New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Hi Arkali! Nice to meet you! - Yes, I'm super-surprised at how good Ash is being, given he kicks up a grumbling fuss over having his nails cut! We have another kitty, 'Boo' (my 8yo Devon Rex neuter) who is an absolute nightmare to do anything grooming or medical with, so things could certainly be worse! I don't think he'd tolerate the BG tests as well as Ash!!! Hahaha!

    Here's a pic of our boys - Boo is the tubby little dorky one, and Ash is the hair-bear! (Excuse the mess in the background...cleaner (aka, me) is on holidays!)
    ashboo.jpg
     
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  4. Esi

    Esi Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2018
    :) aww...

    Welcome Tracey. I'm Ellen and I'm new as well but quickly learning as much as I can. Hemi is my diabetic kitty (profile pic) and I have two others. All boys! One, Garfield, 14yrs, is a long hair fluff ball like your Ash and the other, Jasper, 3yrs, is a loveable little terrorist.

    Nice meeting you and your fur-babies.
     

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  5. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2016
    Welcome
     
  6. Idjit's mom

    Idjit's mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2018
    Welcome to the board, Tracey, Ash and Boo too! I'm so glad you are finding your way around the board and that you are already home testing. That is super news! It would be helpful if you would create a signature so that Ash's info is readily available to members that view your posts. Here's a link on how to do that: Make a Signature
    As soon as you can, also get a spreadsheet started so that you can track the BG (blood glucose) levels when you test and before you shoot. The spreadsheet also tracks the insulin dose and has an area for comments, and another tab for Lab results if needed.
    Here is a link on understanding and setting up the spreadsheet: Spreadsheet
    The spreadsheet is linked to the signature and is a very helpful tool if you need advice about BG readings, testing times, dosing etc.
    We have other members from Australia, and it's always good to meet our neighbors from around the world.
     
  7. Harley Baby & Michele

    Harley Baby & Michele Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2018
    Boo says: "What mess? I don't see no stinkn' mess!"


    [QUOTE
    Here's a pic of our boys - Boo is the tubby little dorky one, and Ash is the hair-bear! (Excuse the mess in the background...cleaner (aka, me) is on holidays!)
    View attachment 38068 [/QUOTE]
     
  8. Lesalana

    Lesalana New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2018
    Gray-C is newly diagnosed and not used to wet food. She doesn't eat near enough. She had to be tube fed for a month as she stopped eating. Tube out and on 2 units of Prozinc 2 times a day. She is playing more and cleaning more and now has a hairball problem. Does anyone know something natural to get rid of the hairballs that won't mess with the diabetes? Thanks in advance. Lesa
     
  9. Julie and Honey

    Julie and Honey Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2018
    Hi there and welcome! Your intro was attached to an old thread started by another member, so it could easily get lost here. Please re-post this message to the main health forum so more people will see it and respond. Also copying a more experienced member as she may want add some more information about the site to better help you.

    @Kris & Teasel
     
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  10. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2016
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