Found out today!

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by DustBunnyMomma, Apr 4, 2016.

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  1. DustBunnyMomma

    DustBunnyMomma Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2016
    My name is Christie and I just found out this morning that my 3 year old kitty, Dust Bunny is diabetic.

    I first found her on the side of the road living in an old Pepsi machine. She was very tiny and after about of week of having her I noticed her limping and when I looked closer her front paw was completely twisted around. I took her to the vet and they looked at it and said there wasn't anything they could do about it and since she didn't seem to be in any pain that there was not really a point to. I visited 6 different vets over the course of 3-4 months about her paw and a sensitivity to touch on her hind quarters. All of them refused my request for an x-ray and simply said its just a temperament. I gave up. Living in a small community meant that I had seen every vet in town and even in the next town. When I found Lucky, my now 3 legged cat, she had to have the rest of her leg amputated after about a 6 months and so the long search for a decently priced amputation and decent vet started. Because of that I found a WONDERFUL vet who even let me do payments for the surgery. During the pre surgery appointment she asked about my other pets and I brought up Dust Bunny and everything we had gone through so far and she said she wanted to see her and do some X-rays. She had me bring her the next day and we found out that she has arthritis in her front paw and in her pelvis where it had been broken. Since she actually seemed to care and actually listen to my concerns I decided to not hunt up another vet when Dust Bunny started losing weight and urinating more. I made an appointment and the week before was horrible. Dust Bunny stopped cleaning herself and slept all the time and started peeing outside the litter box. I noticed that her pee didn't smell like cat pee anymore and I was really worried. Today we finally went in for our appointment and they did some blood work and found out about the diabetes. They gave me ProZinc and she gets 2u twice a day. They were also worried that the Keytones may have given her an UTI so they gave us an antibiotic for twice a day as well. We are due back in two weeks for a glucose curve and to check her liver numbers, the vet said they were off for a cat with diabetes. So now I'm here looking for info on where to buy a monitor for both keytones and blood sugar and also for possible cat food solutions. I can't afford the diabetic food they had at the vet for 3 cats and with how my cats eat separating them would be a very drawn out task. My mom mentioned doing like home made cat food, which I'm ok with. I'm still really shaken about all of this. I really look at my cats like they are my other kids.

    Also she is the type of kitty that likes to hide... ALOT. Shes always been like this and I have tried to bring her out of it but she just doesn't like being in the open for a long time. I even had an apartment with no furniture at one point and she opened the kitchen cabinets to hide inside them. Because of this its hard to monitor her. Any suggestions?
     
  2. Larry and Kitties

    Larry and Kitties Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Welcome.
    Here are two meters that measure oth glucose and ketones n the blood. They use different strips for glucose and ketones and the ketone strips are expensive.
    http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/precision-xtra-vs-novamax-plus-ketone-meter-evaluation/15918
    You can also get test strips that you wet with a urine sample to measure ketones. Thow=e are ncluded here with meters that measure etons
    http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_9omp2c0adj_b

    For further question post in the Health forum
    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/
     
  3. scoobydoox

    scoobydoox Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2016
    Hello and welcome to the forum! You came to the right place to find help and cost savings for your diabetic cat. That expensive pet food they try to sell you isn't worth it. Do you have walmart where you are or do you shop online?
    There is a prozinc forum to post your meter readings for that insulin and also stickys in there about that insulin type.
    As long as you have a prescription for the insulin you can order it cheaper here rxcanada4less.com/index.html
    Syringes- http://www.adwdiabetes.com/catalog/pet-needles-syringes_112.htm
    you can email them and ask if your state requires a prescription to order the syringes
    Cat food is a really big answer so i will just start with this http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood
    A lot of us feed fancy feast classics and a couple other of the canned foods.

    As for meters- the relion prime is the 9.00 cheapest one and the next one up is 14.95 i think. not sure if the cheaper one does ketones i
    The links for the meter and supplies
    meter- http://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Prime-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System-Blue/20752266
    strips-http://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Prime-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-50ct/20752265
    lancets-http://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Ultra-Thin-Lancets-200-count/43184842
    lancet device-http://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Lancing-Device/34129433
    ketones-http://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Ketone-Test-Strips-50-count/33574014

    coupons
    fancy feast- http://www.couponsherpa.com/grocery-coupons/manufacturer/fancy-feast/
    Sheba perfect portions- http://www.sheba.com/Home

    As for your kitty hiding i will get back to you on that one.
     
  4. DustBunnyMomma

    DustBunnyMomma Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2016
    Thank you so much! I did read in the ProZinc forum and it said normal recommendation is .5u to start... My vet started her on 2u but i did just check her since we are coming up to the 6 hr mark and she is fine. Still a little frightened from being at the vet (she hates going).

    We do have walmart here sooo i will go get one tonight when my boyfriend gets home. As of right now im just afraid of leaving her alone for the hour it would take me to get there and get the stuff.
     
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  5. scoobydoox

    scoobydoox Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2016

    Explains it better than I can.
     
  6. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2014
    Welcome to you both.

    I'm glad that Dust Bunny found such a warm and caring person to be her momma. :)

    Ask him to pick up some urine test strips for testing ketones. I believe that Walmart do ketone test strips in their Relion range for diabetics. For information, there are blood ketone meters available but the blood ketone test strips they use are quite pricey (but they are great for critical care). Also have a look at the following forum sticky ...

    Hypo Toolkit

    ... and see if there's anything there that he could pick up when he's there (e.g karo/honey; a few packs of high carb/gravy-based food for hypo kit).

    Here's another useful document (read and print out - it will help you to feel more prepared and confident about what to do should an emergency ever arise):

    How to Treat Hypos

    Forewarned is forearmed! (But hopefully it's knowledge you'll never have the need to use.) :)



    Mogs
    .
     
  7. DustBunnyMomma

    DustBunnyMomma Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2016
    We always have honey here since i drink it in my tea so thats nothing to really change. Ty for the links. I have for the most part been perusing the site all day. I have a list of what I need to send to my moms and print and even got an old accordian folder to put everything in. Its going to be my Dust Bunny folder. I was planning on asking the vet for copies of all tests and work done as well in case of a switch up or anything. I think my nerves about the diabetes have calmed a great deal since joining. Now if only i could get answers about her liver. I am planning on getting some fancy feast or 9-lives this evening as well... i think as long as i use coupons and shop at sams i can feed all 3 with wet and cut out the dry food completely. Eventually when we move from our current place (hopefully a house and not another duplex) then i can use a grinder and not worry about being loud.
     
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  8. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2014
    This is a very good idea.

    I'm glad you're feeling a bit calmer now. :bighug:


    Mogs
    .
     
  9. Ferndoc

    Ferndoc Member

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2015
    Also a good food that is a bit cheaper than fancy feast is PetSmart's Grreat Choice Pates. They are $.45 for a 6 ounce can regular price and it seems like 1x a month petsmart sends out a Buy $30, get $10 off instant coupon or something to the like.
     
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  10. scoobydoox

    scoobydoox Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2016
    Where do you get the coupon? I never get any from petsmart.
     
  11. Ferndoc

    Ferndoc Member

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2015
    I'm signed up with their key fob thing and they send the coupon to my e-mail.
     
  12. scoobydoox

    scoobydoox Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2016
    I have that to but i never get any coupons i can use from them. They never send me coupons for the things I buy there
     
  13. Ferndoc

    Ferndoc Member

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2015
    Most of theirs ads don't work fo me but I got the spend $30 get $10 off in mid January and toward the end of March. I had never gotten them before that I noted.
     
  14. DustBunnyMomma

    DustBunnyMomma Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2016
    our petsmart here is super tiny. they hardly have anything
     
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