Newly Diagnosed and Overwhelemed

Hi! My Frost has just been diagnosed with diabetes - literally about 30 minutes ago. Taking him back in a 7pm tonight to get all the info from the vet.

Took him in yesterday because he stopped using the litter box when he peed. He was still getting there to poop, but I had to take up the carpet and padding on my hallway and probably need to get the sub-floor replaced.

Anyhoo, like I said just found out and a little overwhelmed by it all. Luckily I have some cans and pouches of
Wellness grain-free wet food in my cabinets, so I can hopefully get through the weekend.

Now to read all the articles on this site and research glucose monitors, and other such stuff.

 

Hi and welcome Dorothy and Frost. You are still processing the diagnosis, and probably still wondering where that rock went that hit you in the head, right? It's ok, we all started right here, at the beginning.

You don't have to read all the information here right away, there is a great deal here and you are feeling overwhelmed enough for the moment.

So let's just begin with the 3 basic components of effective diabetic treatment: proper diet, insulin therapy and testing the blood sugar. www.catinfo.org is a wonderful resource about feline nutrition. Dr. Pierson also complied a food chart and she recommends " start with protein minimum of 40, fat maximum of 50, carb max of 10, and for cats with kidney issues....phos less than 300."

It would be helpful to know if your cat regularly has dry food in the diet, I see you have Wellness grain free cans and pouches. We have access to a food chart that provides carb information, but I'm not sure which Wellness variety this is, as there are 5 in the chart. https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Many of us use the Walmart ReliOn Prime meter and strips, because of cost factors. It's something to begin with in any case.
Here is a link to hometesting tips: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Going forward, please post further questions, issues or concerns on the Main Health forum HERE so that more members can see and respond. This Intro forum is only the welcome mat and we want to help reduce that feeling of being overwhelmed and provide whatever information you are looking for.

 

We were diagnosed on 6 June and it was overwhelming. The best thing I did was find this website. Just know you are not alone and the folks here will help you beyond belief. Take it one shot/blood test at a time. The biggest impact on our Pinot’s blood glucose was getting him off hard food and totally on lower carb soft food. Thoughts and prayers are with you and Frost as you begin this journey. It can be tough but our cats are family and worth the effort.

 

Hey @Dorothy D ! Sorry to hear about Frost's diagnosis, like you, we were all so overwhelmed with the diagnosis. But this website and this community is an amazing resource and I'm happy that you found it and can be a part of it! I don't know what kind of food your cat was on before diagnosis, (mine was strictly dry food) and so if you cat was mostly on dry food as well I think it might be important to mention to be cautious about any diet changes until you get started on home testing and feeling comfortable with it.

I had my cat on dry cat food (low carb and then prescription) for almost 2 months before I found this website and realized I needed to begin home testing and switch to a strictly wet food diet. However, only after I had my meter and felt comfortable home testing did I switch to the wet food, and its a good thing I waited because my cat's (Kyo) blood sugar levels took a nose dive after the diet switch. Every cat is different, and yours may not react the same. This was just my experience when I first started to figure this all out. Hope we all hear from you and Frost soon!

 

@Harukyo Just to note, you can switch food before starting insulin, if you’re not ready yet to start testing. It’s the combination of new to insulin and making a major reduction in carbohydrates from food that would make both changes at once most risky for hypoglycemia. For some cats, a food change alone is all that is needed, but I think that is much more often the case when it is caught very early, and as you know, every cat is different.
/
Edited to add: all that being said, I don’t want to give the impression to anyone new that home-testing is not important. It really saves money and gives you the best info about what is happening with your cat! It can also prevent emergencies. But if you can only start with one thing, maybe diet is the thing to start with. It just depends on your individual situation.

 

@Dorothy D , you and Frost are in the best place you can be right now. It is definitely overwhelming at first. I think it kind of took months for me to wrap my head around fully, but once I really started learning, and made sure I was doing the testing, feeding right, and using a good insulin, things turned around SO much that my cat is almost like new. Please know that there is wonderful knowledge and support here, and that there is hope. I look forward to getting to know you and Frost more on your journey!

 

Exactly! Thanks for the clarification @AliceMeowliss&Cassandra ! Couldn't have said it better!

 

Hi and welcome. Switching to the low carb canned food is good start. Has the vet prescribed any insulin yet? The longer acting insulins, Lantus, Levemir, ProZinc and BCP PZI work best for cats. But with any insulin you want to start with a low dose, 1/2 to 1 unit, twice a day. The diet change can significantly lower glucose levels. That is also why we recommend home testing.

Post any questions you have in the Health forum. That one is checked often by our members.

 

Welcome.... Just know you aren't alone, diabetes is very treatable, and Frost will be ok. It is not a death sentence.

I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home as well as a link to the food chart.

For cleanup of the hall.... You need a good pet cleaner. My favorite is called Anti Icky Poo Unscented from Amazon. I get a gallon and just refill. Another good one is called Angry Orange concentrate also on amazon.since this is a big mess you may want to go with the unscented one and pour a lot directly on the spot. The orange one in that quantity will smell like an oj factory. Lol

 

@JanetNJ , I just realized that food chart link in your signature was how I first came across the list when I was new and still sort of half lurking and learning. Thank you. It made a huge difference for me in the beginnings of my FD education and I found it just that much more easily because of you.

 

Glad I could help.

 

I always thought Orange scent/oils were bad for a cat?? I wound up pulling up the carpet and padding in that area of the hallway because it was BAD! I'm probably going to have to get a carpenter out here it take out and replace the floor boards because he peed so much it's in the wood I have fans directed down to try and dry them out and now Frost has taken to peeing on the carpet in the basement and not just in one spot I have 3 litter boxes around my tiny house and he still won't use them for peeing. I just don't know what to do and I can't replace anything till he stops peeing all over the carpets. I'm thankful that he's been sticking to the hallway and the basement and NOT in the bedrooms! But still, come the last week of August school still be back in session and I'll be back to work ful-time and won't be able to clean up as quickly. I'm really, really hoping this will stop happening before then

 

Yes, vet has Frost on Lantus - 1 unit 2x a day. I have switched him to wet food and thankfully he LOVES wet food. Been testing at home with ReliOn Premier Compact tester and toys with the idea of getting the AlphaTrak so I can be on the same page as the vet, but their strips are so expensive and I'm on a school teacher's budget (and single so only my income). We went to the vet yesterday and there about 130 point difference between the my meter and the Alphatrak they used in the office. So now I'm really confused by all the numbers and what I should do.

 

If you're concerned about the orange then consider the other one.

Mister Max Anti Icky Poo Unscented Gallon & Quart https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WVUMNZM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_DclgDbF9887HQ

 

Hi Dorothy, and a belated welcome to you and Frost!

With regards to Frost's numbers, it would be very helpful if you could set up the spreadsheet that we all use...There are easy-to- follow instructions (I managed)! And if you have any issues, just call out and someone can give a hand. The Spreadsheet (SS) is really an invaluable tool for keeping track of the insulin dosage and how our cat is responding, and we use it to help with dosing adjustments. Here's the link to set it up, and here's the link to using it! Once that's set up, we can better see any trends and patterns, and help you understand the numbers.

About the peeing...Has your vet run a urinalysis to see if Frost may have a urinary tract infection? While some cats do start peeing outside the litter box when they have diabetes, it is really important (especially with male cats, as they can block) to ensure that there's not something else going on. An untreated infection can also lead to an increase in BG numbers, and diabetics tend to be prone to UTIs. Also, even if a UTI was not diagnosed, sometimes it takes more than one urinalysis to diagnose it Sometimes a course of antibiotics is all it takes!

With love, Nikki

 

@Dorothy D I was so glad to see your response because I was wondering how Frost was doing.
You have provided some information like what kind of insulin and that you are testing Frost's BG at home, which is fantastic!
It would be very helpful if you would create a signature so that Frost's pertinent information will be displayed every time you post, then members won't have to ask you for the same info (and you to respond) repeatedly.

Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

Another thing that will help us help you since you are BG testing at home is to set up a spreadsheet like the one we use here. You will see how the trends and patterns emerge, and members can review his/her progress before offering suggestions or advice:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

There may be differences between BG values taken with a human meter and a pet meter, but the important thing is recording testing data in the spreadsheet so that you can see how the insulin is affecting Frost in each 12 hour cycle. Pet meters are a relatively new innovation, and our protocols here on FDMB were written based on human meters. Many of us use the human meters because of affordability, and with regular testing (before every shot and during the cycle) you are going to see how the insulin works. Getting Frost regulated hopefully will help with the urination problem, if this is not an actual undetected UTI. Any infection in the body is going to raise BG.

You can read about how Lantus works and the protocols used here in the Lantus Insulin Support Group HERE. Hopefully we can help you get Frost into better numbers, not peeing outside the box and feeling much better before you to back to school.

In any case, we do need to move the questions, concerns and issues out of this Introduction forum and into forums where more members are going to read them and start helping out. Main Health forum for diet, the peeing problems, and Lantus forum.

 

Thank you for the links!! I had been given a spreadsheet by a friend and found another online, but they both seemed to be set up for the Alphatrak monitor. And when I was at the vet yesterday and saw such a difference in numbers I didn't know what to do! So THANK YOU!!

Frost was initially brought to the vet for the peeing issue and she took a syringe full of urine and blood to ran a bunch of tests. Results were NO to any UTI or anything of that sort, just the diabetes being discovered.

 

You are very welcome

I'm just concerned where you say Frost is beginning to urinate in different spots around the house...It may very well be the diabetes, but I worry about a possible undetected UTI. An option would be to treat with antibiotics without a diagnosis of infection, if you and your vet were willing...Not ideal or always/often recommended, but sometimes it's difficult to diagnose a UTI in a diabetic, and it would take one possibility off the board. Also, if it *is* an infection, getting it cleared would help his numbers. Just my opinion, and perhaps something to discuss with your vet.

Our SS was designed by and for FDMB, and is automatically color coded for numbers which helps see patterns and trends; I don't know where I'd be without it!

With love, nikki

 

I agree with this. I had an infection once that kept not showing up on tests that was very persistent. Was relieved to finally find it and be able to treat it fully! I don’t love the overprescribing of ABs, but sometimes it’s just better to do it just in case or as an additional method of ruling out another possible causative factor. Especially when you have an animal (human or not) with additional health factors to consider.