Hamish has Diabetes

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Lindsey, Apr 19, 2015.

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  1. Lindsey

    Lindsey New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2015
    Hello
    After a month of is he or isn't he, my vet phoned yesterday to confirm that one of my babies has diabetes.
    It seems as though a steroid given to him a month ago is the culprit.
    Hamish and his brother are 14 in June, and being an immense animal lover am devastated at the news.
    Needles scare me, and my husband, and not having a lot of spare cash, am worrying at what this will all mean.
    We are meant to be moving soon too - another big stress for the cats!
    As of next Friday when we go back to the vet's for a chat and lesson on administering insulin, I am scared that I won't cope. I have two young children and, life is busy enough!
    Any advice gratefully received.......
    Thanks,
    Lindsey
     
  2. Larry and Kitties

    Larry and Kitties Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Welcome.
    What are you feeding? A low-carb caned is best. Commercial (non prescriptions one are fine). For a list fo such foods see:
    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/
    he best isnulins are the human Lantus and Levemir and pet-only ProZinc and BCP PZI. Your vet can order a free samble of the BCP insulin but it may take a couple of weeks to be delivered.
    http://www.bcpvetpharm.com/pdf/sample.pdf
    The human insulins are not cheap and it is recommended that you get the five pack of 3 ml disposable pens. Although more expensive per ml that the 10 ml vial you can usually use a a 3 ml pen before it goes bad which is not the case for the 10 ml vial.
    Most of use here test our cats blood sugar (BG) before each shot using a human BG meter and record the info in a spreadsheet viewable by other here. Here is how to create the SS.
    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
     
  3. Elizabeth and Bertie

    Elizabeth and Bertie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2010
    Hello Lindsey, and welcome to FDMB :bighug:

    Finding out that our cat is diabetic can come as a great shock. Everyone here understands how that feels. But please be reassured that diabetes is treatable; and with good care (and a little bit of luck) a diabetic cat can live as long and as happily as a non-diabetic cat.

    Some cats will be on insulin for life. Some diabetic cats will go into remission from their diabetes (ie, their diabetes can become controlled by diet alone); and cats with steroid-induced diabetes are more likely to have that happen (although there are no guarantees).

    May I ask, what are you feeding Hamish at the moment?
    And what part of the world are you in?

    Best wishes,

    Eliz
     
  4. BJM

    BJM Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2010
    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. It is possible for your vet to get a free sample of the BCP PZI with this form.
    - 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!)
     
  5. Lindsey

    Lindsey New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2015
    Hi Eliz
    Thanks for you response.
    I am in Brighton in the UK.

    My husband and I are pretty angry about it all, as Hamish only went to the vet's with a simple case of conjunctivitis, and because of the steroid shot, ended up diabetic.
    The vet said that they do feel bad, but in 300 cats given a steroid, 2 or 3 would get steroid induced diabetes.
    We're angry because a neutered male cat, aged over 13 and ginger is a prime candidate for steroid induced diabetes! We should have been advised of the risk.
    If either of them should've got diabetes it should've been Olly as he had severe pancreatitis 2 years back, but never any issues with Hame.
    Hame has a brother, Olly, and they have always been my babies, even when my human babies arrived, so they were spoilt for choice as kittens, as to what they could eat, but due to financial reasons now (children!), they are fussy and have a wide variation of food.
    Gourmet, Sheba, Purina, Encore, fresh Coley.......a mixture! They've have always had as bowl of dried food to graze on too.

    One minute of feel positive about it, and the next I am terrified.

    I am scared of the 'hypos'. I suffer with anxiety myself and not being able to drive, living 15 minutes from vet's........I couldn't stand to watch Hamish fit or get any of the nasty other things.
    We will probably move vet's once he's stable on the insulin - somewhere closer.

    We may be moving shortly too, and that's a whole lot of stress for him.

    Some people are so hard. They say to have him put to sleep!

    Am dreading Friday.

    Lindsey
     
  6. Elizabeth and Bertie

    Elizabeth and Bertie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2010
    Hi Lindsey,

    I'm in Cobham, just over an hour's drive from you. And there are a number of other UK'ers on the forum too.

    I do understand how stressful this must all seem for you right now, but honestly, please be reassured that diabetes is a treatable condition.

    Like you, I had a fear of needles. In fact, that seems to be a very common experience on this forum; but equally common is the fact that people manage to get over their fear...
    Strange as it may sound, I got used to the idea of giving insulin shots by practicing on oranges. I'd draw up water into the syringe and then inject it into the orange. And I did it over and over and over until my hands got used to the idea.
    I did find the first few insulin shots quite difficult, mostly because I was scared of hurting my cat. But I told myself, "My cat needs me to do this for him." And once I'd clocked up a few successful shots (there were a couple of dodgy ones initially) my fear subsided and my confidence grew; and it very soon became part of our normal routine.

    The insulin shot shouldn't hurt the cat. You will just be lifting up some loose skin and depositing the insulin underneath it. (You won't be injecting into muscle.) Many of us give our cats their insulin shots while they're eating their food, and they often don't even notice (unless to think, 'why is that woman standing behind me....???)

    Diabetic cats generally do best on a low carbohydrate wet/canned diet. Removing the dry food from Hamish's diet could reduce his blood glucose levels quite a bit. And since he's not on insulin yet this could be a good time to do that.
    Once a cat is on insulin we recommend that the diet is only switched to lower carb if/when the caregiver has learned to test the cat's blood glucose at home, and can monitor the effect of the diet change (and reduce the insulin dose if necessary).

    Fortunately, 'hometesting' (testing a cat's blood glucose at home) isn't really hard to learn, and, like the insulin shots, it shouldn't hurt the cat at all. It essentially involves pricking the outer edge of the cat's ear to get a tiny blood droplet; transferring that to a test strip in a glucose meter; waiting for the meter to count down and give the result; and rewarding the cat with a cuddle or a treat. (Or, you can crumble a few treats and test the cat's blood glucose while s/he is munching on those). Many cats actually come to enjoy test times because they know they will get a treat! :cat:
    If you would like to learn to hometest we can help you with that.

    Because it seems like Hamish's diabetes was steroid-induced, he may well be one of the lucky ones that goes into remission.

    Incidentally, is Hamish a good traveller? If you think he could manage the journey to the RVC in London then you might consider trying to get him onto the RVC's remission trial. It would mean a few trips to the RVC's remission clinic, but you would be assured of good veterinary care, and would get free insulin and other supplies for a year... The link to the RVC clinic's Facebook page is here:
    https://www.facebook.com/RVC.Diabetic.Remission.Clinic

    Reassuring hugs to you,

    Eliz
     
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