Hi new to all this

Hi all ,My name is Colleen. My 8 year old Rocky was diagnosed Wednesday. Needless to say I'm very scared with all of this. After researching i found this site. Which gave me a lot of info (thanks so much for that). I was wondering if feline diabetes is similar to human diabetes? Ive had experience with that which might help me. My vet told me not to get a testing kit which i felt was strange. So I ordered the relion confirm as many of you recommended but it won't get here til Thursday is that to long to wing it so to speak? My Rocky is taking 1 unit twice a day of vetsulin he's eating ok not as much as Id like him to. his fructosamine came in at 642 and his sugar level 512. I am so worried I will make some mistake in all this and damage him or something worse. Any advice would very much be appreciated.

 

The fact that you have decided to home test when your vet is telling you not to get a testing kit shows that you are off to a good start. I see that you already have your spreadsheet ready to go as well. You will be fine! We are all overwhelmed in the beginning, but it will get better.

 

Thank you, My Father was a diabetic and the thought of just blindly giving insulin is not something i want to go with but would 5 days be ok or is it pushing it?
My Vet also recommeded free feeding an adult senior food to make sure Rocky can eat and not worry about his levels dropping. I am also unsure of that. I have 7 cats in total I don't need 7 diabetics either. Its very over whelming as I am sure you've all felt.

 

Love how the doctor said not to test and you order meter anyway. Just love it, you will do well here.

If you are already giving insulin, do not change the food until you can start testing.

BTW-welcome to you and Rocky.

 

Colleen, I personally had experience with giving insulin and not testing, vet said just test a couple of times a week, after we had the curve at the vet. She recommended starting the next week, and we actually did wait, stupidly, while giving insulin. I did test, found Idjit heading into hypoglycemia, and it scared me to death. I admit it was just plain dumb on my part, and the people here helped me through the hypo event, thank goodness it wasn't critical. So, you are doing the absolutely right thing, test, test, test. Keep Rocky safe.

 

Hi Colleen,
I saw three vets in 5 days when Nugget was diagnosed- and none of them recommended home testing- one even told me it wasn't necessary! I couldn't imagine giving insulin to a human without checking their blood sugar, so I went ahead and ordered a meter anyway. Home testing was the biggest stress reliever- it took the guesswork out of everything. I am always afraid I will make a mistake and cause more harm than good. We just have to do the best we can and eventually, with experience, it gets easier.

We are having some feeding issues here, so I went to Petco and bought 18 different brands and flavors- figuring one has to catch her appetite. You can also ask for a prescription for diabetic dry food, when we go through "hunger strikes", I free feed the Purina DM dry food- leave it out all day and she usually does eat (albeit VERY slowly). We were at the vet today and he told me if it gets to the point where she isn't eating any of the recommended diabetes foods, to give her whatever it is she will eat and that we will handle blood sugar changes as they come. Good luck!

 

I'm so afraid of that happening so I decided based on your post, I'll open the one I purchased this morning "freestyle" i believe and use it till the relion comes. The strips are much cheaper for the relion. Better safe than sorry. I go from a woman with a plan to a crying baby from one second to another.

 

Thank you for sharing that.. we are having issues with eating as well. This is why he was taking to the dr. He is chewing to the side of his mouth lost some weight and I felt it's a bad tooth. The dr looked in his mouth and said they all look good to him, but I feel like that's part of the reason he isn't eating like himself along with the high bg count. I've made him chicken, tried the baby food with crushed treats that worked.
I'm seriously considering going to another dr for another opinion I will try that hard food you recommend and see how he takes that. I'm so glad I found this site. Going thru the posts has helped greatly.

 

We have all done that to start with.

 

I think home testing saved my Lilly's life. My vet never mentioned it and I blindly followed what he said to do. Then Lilly had a very bad hypo event and came very close to dying. It was a rush to the vet, bang on the door, IV glucose and warming bed emergency. Thats when I found this site and learned so very much. Lilly is now off dry food completely and the amount of insulin I give her has dropped from 7units to 2 to 2.5 units, depending on her levels. Testing tells me when I need to monitor more closely or when I can relax a bit. I can't imagine not testing her now. And I was bringing her into the vet every single day for testing, now I don't have to do that. This site literally saved my Lilly.

 

You won't be crying long. You care a great deal for Rocky, otherwise you wouldn't be here. You are willing to learn to care for him even more effectively. We muddled around but we learned, Idjit got tested, got a better diet and miraculously went into remission. We still spot test and watch him very carefully. We know there is no guarantee that remission will last, or for how long. It's ok to be nervous, but Feline Diabetes is manageable, just like human diabetes. People all over the world, living their lives and cats can too. I am inserting a link to some testing tips, they really helped us when we stopped being ignorant and got busy.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
It takes practice, but you can do this. Find the spot that is comfortable for you and Rocky, always give a treat or reward, successful test or not. Handle his ears so he gets used to the feeling, and don't be dismayed about not getting a lot of blood drops at first. As you keep testing, more capillaries develop and it gets easier. I have great confidence in you.

 

I forgot about how hard it was to test at first- no capillaries! It gets easier the more you do it. Definitely have LOTS OF TREATS! Nugget and I have it down to a routine- I sit in the exact same spot to test her, I shake the treats, she sits in my lap, I test, I give a treat. When my boyfriend tries to test her... doesn't go down so well, but that's because he doesn't do it often enough! Treats treats treats... my best friends!!

 

Boy the treats worked his Bg was 299 got it 1st try. I'm elated. He ate a tiny bit not his usual appetite. I'll wait 20 minutes and give him his insulin. Maybe I'll check it again an hr or 2 after to make sure I'm going to bed without that worry. Thank you all so much for your kindness and advice.

 

A quick test before bed will help YOU sleep- sounds like your fur boy will sleep regardless- if it gives you peace of mind you will be a better caregiver and a much happier human

 

Hi! I’m also new ( 2 weeks in) . It’s true that everyone on this board has felt EXACTLY like you ( myself included) . It’s a horrible , helpless feeling. I still have very high anxiety about a hypoglycemia episode happening. And I also worried about my other healthy cat having diabetes or acquiring it. The vet said that is highly unlikely. I still cry. I still feel guilty and unsure. It’s an enormous adjustment but YOU CAN DO THIS!! Reach out when you need any advice and there’s always somebody that will reach right back to you. The support from this site is amazing. ❤️ Also, I use the AlphaTrek for testing and found that NOT using the pen thingy that came with it to use with the lancets helped. She did not like the clicking noise, so I use it free hand. Same with the monitor that makes a beeping noise when the BG number registers. She hated that, so I set it on mute. Big help. I’m glad you went and ahead and tested him. Good for you! And him!

 

Forget all dry food if you can. It's terribly hard on our kitties kidneys....and the Prescription "diabetic" foods are NOT good for diabetics! The dry are very high in carbs and if you look at the ingredients, they're really lousy.

Your best bet is to stick with low carb canned foods....Less than 10% carbs.

Here's a Food Chart with lots of different brands/types of foods...just stick to foods under 10% carbs (just like humans are told to reduce carbs, it's the same for our sugarcats)

The "prescription" food industry is a scam....there's nothing in "prescription" foods that require any type of special prescription and the ingredients are awful. A lot of them contain an ingredient the pet food industry laughingly called "powdered cellulose"....that's a fancy word for sawdust!

Lots of great information on Feline Nutrition at "Feeding your cat...know the basics of feline nutrition" website

If you MUST feed a dry food, there are only 2 that are low carb....Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein (available at Chewy.com or from their website) and Young Again Zero (only available from their website)

 

Colleen, another KUDOS FOR TESTING, look at my Princesses chart, they say on a Human Meter (I use Relion Confirm as well) that under 200 not to give her a shot, well you can see just in my first couple of weeks here how often that applied.....

I am finding what I choose for her to eat makes a HUGE difference, Many here suggest Fancy Feast "Classics" or Friskies "Pate" and I think I see a huge difference even between these two, as much as my budget is straining with these new expenses, I think it is best that maybe I feed her (3) times a day Fancy Feast vs. (1) Frisikies Pate in AM and (1) Fancy Feast in the PM - I AM STILL RESEARCHING AND NOTING CHANGES on my chart.

Prince use to get Purina One dry unlimited all day (only eating a couple of cups a week) and a can of Friskies at Night (but many were heavy gravy and not the better Pate as much)

The shot seem easy for me, she hardly flinches, but her Glucose testing she has caught onto and hates (even with fresh turkey chunks for a bribing treat), I read not to do the glucose where your cat and you like to hang, but at a different location, so I choose the love seat in my LR, but as soon as she sees me turn up the light, get turkey out of refrigerator, and grab my glasses to see, she knows whats coming. I tried using a heated sock with rice, rubbing her ear, to get the blood to flow, I use to think I needed to hit the vein but was then told NO, to poke between the vein and the edge of her ear, sometimes I have trouble getting blood, sometimes my meter errors out and I need new test strip, etc, this has been the toughest part and I am still leaning after 3 weeks, but I am ALWAYS HAPPY I DO IT because I have had quite a few low scores and DO NOT GIVE HER SHOT times. My latest method is to get it all ready, grab her, pop the strip the rest of the way in confirming its going to work and as quickly as possible prick her ear and get a reading.

Ask questions, I must have asked 20 of them my first week here and everyone was so helpful - this is a GREAT PLACE for your and Rocky to get help.

 

I can't add any advice being only 6 weeks post-diagnosis here, but welcome! It's easy tosee already that you are a great kitty mom and will get the hang of everything very quickly.