Diagnosed today

My cute little Khachatruian was diagnosed today. He is very sweet most of the time; but gets easily agitated and so, I hope I am going to be able to give him his shots.
Any suggestions if you have a feisty one, please advise.
Thanks!

 

Hi Phillip and Khachatruian and welcome!

He's a beauty - he really is...what lovely markings he's got with those white patches!

A lot of cats don't even feel the insulin needles - they're very small and designed to make it easy and painless to give the shot. I know a number of people give the shot while their cat is busy eating - that way they're likely not to even notice it. Or, what I found worked well with my Rosa (who can also be feisty when the mood takes her) was to give the shot without making any sort of deal out of it at all - I'd just go to wherever she was lying down at the time and give the shot while petting her. It did mean I had to go and find her rather than having her come to me, but she rarely even noticed I'd done anything...and the times she did, it didn't seem to bother her at all.

Can I ask what insulin you've been prescribed and at what dose? And also if your vet has mentioned home testing of BG levels to you?

 

Welcome to FDMB, the best place you never wanted to be.

There are 4 things you'll need to manage your kitty's diabetes:
- You - without your commitment, the following won't work
- Low carb over the counter canned or raw diet, such as Friskies pates. See Cat Info for more info,
- A long-lasting insulin such as ProZinc, Lantus, BCP PZI, or Levemir
- And home blood glucose monitoring with an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart Relion Confirm or Target Up and Up (the pet ones will break your budget!)

 

That makes sense - better for your vet to look at all the results and make recommendations based on that even if it means waiting another day or so to find out what you need to do next.

Once you have your insulin set up and are ready to start with home-testing, there is a lot more information we can give you here. Of course some of it is insulin-specific so rather than overload you with a ton of information now, let's wait and see what insulin you'll be using and then we can give you just the information you'll need. It sounds as though you'll already be one step ahead of a lot of us here as you already know how to test yourself.

 

Thanks a lot for the information. I will just use one of my old meters for him. I am telling everyone he just had to take after me. I sure wouldn't wish diabetes on anyone; but, have managed mine for years sucessfully, so I am sure we will be fine. Thanks again.

 

Hi there Philip and Khachatruian. My own sugar kitty, Tiggy, is a bit of a tazmanian devil.. He can be fine one minute, then can get easily agitated the next. His bro, Boo is opposite.. He's completely relaxed all the time...and they are from the same litter. Go figure.

Tiggy's a bit of a chatterbox as well and makes sure to let me know if he wants something or if he's upset. At first, he was not just not very happy about having his blood glucose testing done.. He was very wiggly too. But once he realized he would get a low-carb treat afterwards (for his testing and injections).. He caught on very quickly. Kind of like the "Pavlov's dog" experiment. The beep of the glucose meter signals to him that it is "Time for a treat".. He knows that word!! "Treat"!!

Here's hoping your sugar kitty catches on quickly! Welcome aboard!

 

HA! That is Khach completely!! He is my little sweet guy one minute and then decides that enough and now I will be little hurricane. I am hoping he will adjust quickly, so we can get him better soon. Thanks for your reply. It really helps to hear the positive stories.

 

Goof doesn't like to have anything done to him, but he loves a good belly rub, odd for a male cat, I know. But then, Goof is kind of and odd cat. . He's adjusted very well to testing and the shots, doesn't fight any of it anymore. Good luck and welcome to the FDMB!

 

When I first joined here a few weeks ago now, I was totally terrified as I also have a kitty who can turn from Jekyl to Hyde in 5 seconds and I can lose a finger or require stitches.
I didn't know how I was going to do this. And, to boot, I was totally overwhelmed, trying to learn so much information all at the same time. I have been a total basket case over it and am still learning as I go along.

Through the good and generous and helpful people here, I have felt supported, helped and cared about. Their help has been invaluable and while I am no veteran to this, I am getting better at it. Most of all, I am re-learning how to simply breathe again.

You're in excellent hands here and there are a lot of very loving and kind people to guide you though this with us all who are still learning as we go along.

In my case (to answer your question), I have learned that "treats" go a long way...as does some help *if* you can get it. Hubby and I both have to work together to get the job done...especially testing but, the shots are nearly hands-off at times now. She's getting used to the "routine" better...still not perfect yet and depends on her mood but, she's doing better with it all. In other words...there is hope.

As already mentioned, the shots don't really hurt. Seriously. They don't. I know because I stuck myself several times (NOT injecting anything) to feel what Morrigan might be feeling. Even KNOWING I was doing it to myself, I barely felt it. Add a bit of a distraction (like food/a treat/head rub) and you've got virtually NO feeling to it for them. Really.

I'd suggest putting kitty on top of a table or higher surface where you can work more easily and see better versus working with kitty while hunched over on the ground. That's rough to do when you've got a rambunctious kitty to begin with.
I just read someone else say that they wrap kitty in a blanket, put them into a box on their laps. That may work as well. For me, it's putting a blanket on the table where there's good light and control (I stand behind her). I put a few treats down (preparing everything first so that it's quickly done) and while she's chowing down on something, I shoot. I think most of us have a plan like that. It works. Even catnip if that's your cat's favourite thing works...just get the shot done before kitty becomes nutty!

You'll get used it and so will kitty. Like I was so graciously told when I came in, totally panic stricken (still am a nutcase to some extent )...just BREATHE! Practise makes perfect and you'll find a way.

Keep reading, asking questions, talking and you're going to find friends here who care.

 

I do thank you again so much. Khach has been okay so far with the shots. The one this evening he was just not in the mood for, so I let him have some time and then he was okay. As with all things, it has to be on HIS time. He goes back on Friday to see if I have to up the dosage. Based on his thrist and box, I am sure I will. I was just so shocked at the cost of the insulin. His vial was over $300. Is that typical? He is at 1.5 units twice a day now and the vet says he may have to go to 4.
Thanks again. I truly appreciate it.

 

BJM has mentioned in several posts a place where you get the insulin much cheaper, I think it's called Marks Marine?

 

I believe a lot of out of Canada residents, order from Canada where it is cheaper. I paid about $180.00 Cdn for 5 pens....apparently, more economical than the vials as you end up throwing away some. But, at the rate that you *may* need to go...you might find the vial cheaper.

I think some of the out of Canada members will chime in here.

 

Mark's Marine

 

THANKS!