Diagnosed Today

Hello!

My cat baby has today been diagnosed with diabetes and will begin on his insulin path starting today as well. I am new to this experience and to this site in general, so I hope to connect with a lot of people on here, sharing experiences and support. I feel confident that someday my cat will remission, but in the meantime any amount of verbal support is more than grateful and appreciated. I want to hear any stories from anyone right now about their "sugar kitty" and how they are doing so far.

 

Welcome.
Good insulins are the human Lantus and Levemir and the pet insulins ProZinc and BCP PZI. For those two human insulin it is best to get the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens via a 10 ml vial. Although per ml the vial is less expensive most cats will not use up a 10 ml vial before the insulin goes bad/becomes ineffective. The human insulin N/NPH is sometimes prescribed but only lasts 8-10 hours. Same for the pet insulin Vetsulin/Caninisulin.
Most of us here test our cat's blood glucose at home using a human meter. We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
What are you feeding? A low-carb canned is best. No reason for a prescription food. Here is a list of commercial low-carb canned

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/
Here is a link to home testing blood sugar
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

 

Welcome to FDMB, the best place you never wanted to be. This is a great community with an astounding amount of knowledge about feline diabetes and most things cat. And if all you need is a "sounding board", we provide that too.

All of us have been where you are now....probably feeling overwhelmed and maybe even a little scared. It gets much easier once you learn the steps to the "sugar dance" and while Kitty may not always follow the "rules", we can help you figure kitty out. While there is no guarantee of remission for any of us, you are in the right place to get the knowledge and support that might make that goal achievable. There have been a remarkable number of cats go into remission with the help of this community and there are also cats here who have been diabetic for years and are happy, healthy and enjoying a great quality of life.

I have a rather rare cat who has an additional condition which made her require much larger than usual doses of insulin making her diabetes a little more challenging than the norm. With the help of the folks here, I've managed to reduce her insulin needs by more than 50% and I never could have done this on my own or even with the support of my vet because she has never treated a cat with this condition. This forum in my view is the pre-eminent source of knowledge and support for sugar kitty parents.

I'm sure you have many questions and we've got the answers, so come join us over on the Health board HERE and ask away. The only silly questions here are the ones that don't get asked!

 

The board says "No replies" yet. How have you both been doing since Oct. 6? We're now on our second diabetic cat, Noah. His brother Nigel was also diabetic and passed a little over a year ago, along with his best friend Hannah, our Border Collie. A cat and a dog sharing a wicker basket was quite a site.