Elysia - Dignosed last month

Hello everyone,
My name is Tahnee from Australia and my 12 year old Elysia was diagnosed last month.

I noticed her losing weight late last year but didn't think much of it, as she was a big girl (6.5kgs), I would weigh her 2 or 3 times a month and noticed she was losing quite steadily and also the increased drinking and urination. She got down to 4.5kgs and it was then that I took her to the vet (I wish I took her earlier, I will never forgive myself) and had blood tests done. Her glucose level was a massive 31 (558) and the vet advised us that if we weren't treating her she should be put to sleep within a few days as she was in an extremely bad way. So naturally I cried the entire time we were at the vet.

Nothing else was bad on her bloods, no cancer or any other nasties so we made the descision to treat her, DH is a type 1 diabetic too, so we had alot of the gear aready at home (meters ect).

I'm gradually getting my head around it all and getting so so much better at taking her blood levels, she's been such a trooper with all this. She's always been a dry biscuit feind, so weaning her gradually off those has been a bit tough, I also have two other non diabetic cats who are both 5 years old and also bicsuit feinds.

The vet was desperately trying to push me onto the Hills M/D range, but I simply cannot afford it and there are cheaper options out there so I'm feeding all three cats Wellness Core grain free Turkey dry food, gradually weaning down on these.
There isn't really much variety of low carb food here in Australia, but I've found a store that sells Wellness grain free, Cats in the Kitchen (my girls LOVE these tins) and Best Feline Friends wet food.

Elysia was first put on 2 units of Lantus for a week until she could have a curve done at the vet, then she was put on 3 units for 2 weeks. Since doing my own curve and testing at home, I've reduced her dose back to 2 units, which is working well at the moment I think. Still alot of reading and researching to do!

I'd do absolutely anything for my girl so I don't care that I'm up at 5:30am everyday to feed and look after her, I also work full time but DH is home during the day.

I've put all of my handwritten information into the spreadsheet which I think is absolutely brilliant!

Thankyou for all the information on this site, it has been so incredibly helpful!


Elysia + Tahns

 

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 in the US, and Bozita in Europe (ZooPlus is one online vendor). See Cat Info for more info. Also do a search in the upper right corner of this page for Australia and food - we've had a few posts on it in the last year.
- A long-lasting insulin such as ProZinc, Lantus, BCP PZI, or Levemir
- And home blood glucose monitoring with an inexpensive human glucometer (the pet ones will break your budget!)

 

Hi there
We all understand what you're going through. I'm certainly no expert like the others, but thought I'd throw my experiences into the mix.
I was a mess when my Tiggy was initially diagnosed. My vets also initially recommended doing blood glucose testing in the vets office and to feed him an expensive low-carb prescription canned food (Purina DM). But, I was able to find this great site and took matters into my own hands by utilizing the great advice, suggestions and information from the experts here.

I also got a human blood glucose meter (Relion Comfort) and started testing him at home. Initially he was a little wiggly, but as soon as he realized he would get a low-carb "treat" afterwards, he sits very patiently and let's me poke his ear.
I also found changing his diet was a big help as well. I feed Tigz Tiki Cat (0 carbs) and Weruva (Cats in the kitchen) (the 2-5 carb ones). If he gets finicky, I feed him Friskies pate classics or Gerber baby food meat (approx 2 carbs). But find
what works best for your sugar cat, as well as what's available where you live. The cat food list from BJM is a great help!
Everyone is here for you! We've all gone through what you're going through and know how you feel.
Best Wishes!
Welcome aboard

 

Welcome
Looking at your spreadsheet, even two units may be too high. Can't really tell since this morning you dis not get or record a BG prior to the shot.

 

I tried desperately to get a pre needle reading but she was so wriggly

 

That can happen. Take a look at my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some other assessments which may help you monitor her.