Newly diagnosed

So my kitty, Shenandoah, was just diagnosed with diabetes last night at the vet's. They did sell me some prescription food, and being so overwhelmed I just took it (Royal Canin). But now I think I'll talk to them about Fancy Feast Classics, which seems to be commonly recommended here. Maybe she will take to it better, she has never liked diet changes in the past.

This afternoon I go back to the vet's office to learn how to give the insulin.

She didn't eat anything last night, and so far isn't eating this morning. She was eating well prior to yesterday's visit, so I don't think it's health. Probably a combination of stress from yesterday's visit and the smell of the new food. She's also used to grazing, not staying on a set schedule. I tried mixing in a few pieces of her old hard food (Purina One) just to get her to eat something this morning, and she took about 2 bites and was done. So we'll see how all this ends up working out.

She also has a UTI right now, so we have some antibiotics to clear that up. But it's also supposed to be taken with food, and she won't eat. So have to talk to the vet about that this afternoon.

I've started slowly wading through this site, but right now I just feel so overwhelmed. There's too much to know, and my brain can't process it all.

 

Hi, welcome to you and Shenandoah(pretty name!). It is overwhelming at first, but I promise it does get better! Many vets aren't on board with over the counter foods hope yours is, but most of us feed it anyway and just tell our vets that our cats won't eat the prescription stuff-most of the time that's not even a lie! It's important that you learn to home test Shenandoah since you are switching her to a low carb food and clearing up an infection. With those two changes, it's very possible that her glucose levels could drop significantly and you would be giving her too much insulin resulting in a hypo event. Please take a deep breath, and relax. Diabetes is scary, but it's doable! Please ask all the questions you can think of, around here there is never a stupid question!

 

Thanks Sharon. I guess somehow we will get through this.
The good news is that her bloodwork showed no other problems. Everything else is functioning normally. At 17, I am glad she is as healthy as she is.

 

17 is great! Glad the bloodwork is all good too. You will get through this! Keep reading and asking questions and it will start to sink in. Let us know how your vet appointment goes.

 

Hey there and Welcome! To the best place you never wanted to be. Sharon gave you some good advice about learning to home test especially since you are going to change her diet to low carb Fancy Feast ( Take the RX food back and ask for a refund and say that she won't eat it) It is important that you do get her to eat especially since she will be taking insulin soon. Do you know what kind they are putting her on? Hopefully it is either ProZinc, Lantus, or Levemir. Once you know, post and we can guide you to the proper forum that will be able to help you dose.

So about Home Testing:
Here, we all home test. It is very important to understand how your kitty is reacting to the insulin and the dose. You will want to test before each shot and some additional test in between the 12 hour cycle. Another reason to home test is to keep your kitty safe. Find a place in your home where you will always perform the test and give lots of hugs before and after testing. There are many videos showing you how to test. Here is a picture of where you test on your kitty. http://s106.photobucket.com/user/chupie_2006/media/testingear/sweetspot.jpg.html

Here is another good link on Home Testing:http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-home-test.htm

You can get kitty ready for the testing by picking a spot in your house where you will do the testing and pet and talk to him and then rub his ears a little bit. Then give him a low carb treat and let him go. He will associate the treat with the spot an the ear handling and then when you start testing hopefully he will be more comfortable. A lot of us for a "poke treat" use freeze dried chicken pieces (Stella and Chewy or Pure Bites) or Bonita flakes both of which are all protein treats. You can get the Pure Bites at Pet Smart.

There are many meters. There is a pet meter called the Alpha Trak2 and human meters. Some use the pet meter because it is what the vets use so the numbers will match up. The meter and strips are expensive though. Most use human meters that can be purchased at any pharmacy. It typically reads a little lower than the pet meter but we have ways of compensating it. Many use Walmart's brand, Relion Micro or Relion Prime, because it only needs a tiny drop of blood. The Prime testing strips are ½ the price of the Micro.

Lancets: These are used to poke the ear to get blood. There are many different sizes (gauges). It is recommended when you are first starting out to use a 26-28 gauge. Also, it would be a good idea to pick up Neosporin WITH pain reliever to apply on the edge of the ears and don't forget to alternate ears.

I know that it is so overwhelming in the beginning but, it does get easier. Please ask any questions that you have, as that is how we all learned.

 

Hi all,
Thank you for the warm welcomes. The vet appt this afternoon went fine. I asked her a million questions, and we used saline to do a practice injection.
Fortunately our vet is all good with us trying Fancy Feast Classic, and offered to buy back whatever Shenandoah doesn't eat of the prescription food. She even offered a list of acceptable off the shelf foods - but it was a list off this site so I told her I already had it marked
She will be taking Lantus, starting at 1 unit twice/day. I've done a brief glance at that forum but will definitely be spending more time there.

I do plan to home test, but honestly feel so overwhelmed and emotional right now I'm not sure I can put all the pieces together yet. She is going to get a curve test in 2 weeks, and our vet offered to teach me how it's done at that time, and was very encouraging about doing it at home.
I'm really glad that our vet is so supportive.

 

Great news! Good insulin and sounds like you have a good vet to work with. Keep us posted.

 

Check my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some additional assessments you may find helpful in evaluating your cat. While you work on home blood testing, monitor urine ketones and glucose, water drunk, hunger, and urination volume. Hunger, urine output, and water drunk will all improve is glucose control improves.

 

Hi and welcome! I am a new member as well. It can be overwhelming, but there is a tremendous amount of helpful information here. The things that helped me were - #1 Get kitty eating some sort of pate wet food. (You're headed in the right direction there!) #2 Test glucose levels at home to gain a comfort level and a sense of control in the situation. #3 use the spreadsheet to document.

Everyone here has been tremendously helpful and are dedicated to helping others. I can't believe there are so many kind souls on this board who are here to help!!!