Hello and thank you.

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Liz & IttyBit, Dec 29, 2015.

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  1. Liz & IttyBit

    Liz & IttyBit Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2015
    Hello everyone, I'm Liz and my handsome lad is IttyBittyKitty better known as IttyBit. He wandered into our yard just over 9 years ago, completely hairless from the shoulders down, with a severely kinked tail, half starved and nothing but ears, eyes and feet. The hairlessness was due to flea bites, his tail had at one time been broken in 2 places and a vertebrae in his spine had been damaged causing nerve damage in his lower back. He wanted love but was terrified of every little move you made making me believe he had been badly abused.

    On Nov. 30th he was diagnosed with Diabetes. 7 weeks prior to his diagnosis he had received his second depo shot of the year and almost immediately after we noticed him drinking and peeing far more. We are assuming the steroids caused the Diabetes, I don't know if that is a better scenario or not. We started on Vetsulin on Dec 1st, 1 unit 2x a day. His diet was changed immediately, to FF pate, no dry at all, but just recently added Young Again Zero because he was losing weight. We've been home testing and trying to learn everything we can.

    I would like to thank all of you for all the information and encouragement you provide to terrified newbies like myself. Every time I googled a question I'd end up here and find an answer. By reading thru the forums I got the courage to home test and the knowledge to help my sweet boy. I've still got a lot to learn and many questions but I feel less terrified and not alone. I'm going to go to work on his spread sheet next. So again thank you so very much.
     
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  2. Sandi&Maxine&Whispy(GA)

    Sandi&Maxine&Whispy(GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2015
    Welcome, Liz and IttyBit!

    You are way ahead of the curve already, by home testing, diet change and home testing! I am up way past my bedtime but wanted to give a quick hello and just a few comments, although if they don't make sense, then I should have waited until I was better rested :)

    First, I can see your spreadsheet perfectly, so that is good. I did not actually look at the content, just wanted to make sure that you had it set up and shared correctly, and it looks like you do.

    Second, it is not exactly what you asked, but I don't recall having seen discussion about remission rates in diabetes brought on by steroids, versus other factors, but maybe the longer-term members can comment on that. But from personal experience, I can say that our first diabetic cat was definitely triggered by steroids he had been taking for a skin condition. And we were able to get his diabetes under control and in remission in fairly short order.

    And lastly, IttyBit is gorgeous, he's lucky to have you, and you're doing great! Best of luck to you both!

    Best,
    Sandi.
     
  3. Bron and Sheba (GA)

    Bron and Sheba (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2015
    Hi Liz and IttyBit. Welcome to the forum.:)
    You have made a great start by home testing and changing to an appropriate diet.

    Your SS is looking good and it looks like you have mastered getting the BSLs........well done!!
    Are you able to get any tests during the PM cycles? It is always good to get a +2 or a +3 if you can as it will tell you if you are likely to have an active cycle and might need to monitor more closely. Many cats go lower at night.

    Have you decided if you are going to do the 'tight regulation' or the 'start low go slow' method with the insulin?
    Some cats do get diabetes following steroids and you probably have a good chance of him going into remission because of this, if you can get him regulated..

    Ask lots of questions. We are here to help. Have you read the yellow stickies at the top of all the different forums..they are full of useful information.

    Here are two useful links with lots of information
    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...aqs-about-feline-diabetes.14/?order=post_date

    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/where-can-i-find-________.127890/
     
  4. Liz & IttyBit

    Liz & IttyBit Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2015
    Hi Sandi, thank you for taking the time to respond to my intro. I'm reassured to hear that you were able to get your steroid triggered diabetic cat into remission. I hope we are as lucky. I just updated IttyBit's ss, his numbers have me totally confused. I think I've formed a mental block.
     
  5. Merlin

    Merlin Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2014
    Welcome Liz and IttyBit to FDMB! He is so lucky to have found you and he is gorgeous. You have come to the right place for support. There are a lot of caring and experience folks here. You will be given a whole lot of information and at first, it will seem very overwhelming however in a couple of weeks, things will start falling into place.

    Good Reading: This is a must read. It is an excellent 18 page informative document that covers feline health and nutrition. Don't take short cuts and read it all. www.catinfo.org Also read other postings and their spreadsheets. You will learn a lot more from others.

    Home Testing: Here, we all home test. It is mandatory to understand how your kitty is reacting to the insulin and the dose. You will want to test before each shot and some additional test in between the 12 hour cycle. Another reason to home test is to keep your kitty safe. Find a place in your home where you will always perform the test and give lots of hugs before and after testing. There are many videos showing you how to test. Hometesting Links and TipsHere is a picture of where you test on your kitty. http://s106.photobucket.com/user/chupie_2006/media/testingear/sweetspot.jpg.html

    Here is another good link on Home Testing:http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-home-test.htm

    Meters: There are many meters. There is a pet meter called the Alpha Trak2 and human meters. Some use the pet meter because it is what the vets use so the numbers will match up. The meter and strips are expensive though. Most use human meters that can be purchased at any pharmacy. It typically reads a little lower than the pet meter but we have ways of compensating those lower numbers. Many use Walmart's brand, Relion Micro, Relion Prime or Relion Confirm. The Micro and Confirm only needs a tiny drop of blood but the strips are a little more expensive than the Prime. The Relion Prime meter needs a little more blood than Micro and Confirm. They cost around $15 and the strips are around 35 cents each.

    Lancets: These are used to poke the ear to get blood. There are many different sizes (gauges). It is recommended when you are first starting out to use a 26-28 gauge. Also, it would be a good idea to pick up Neosporin WITH pain reliever to apply on the edge of the ears and don't forget to alternate ears.

    Spreadsheets: Our spreadsheet instructions are here. If you look at the signatures of the members here, you will see a link to their kitty’s spreadsheets. We keep track of all our tests. This is basically a place to collect data and help you to determine patterns, doses, etc. It also aids those that may be helping you to better understand your kitty.

    Food: There are many reasons why we are here but one is due to feeding dry cat food which is high in carbs. You will want to consider changing your food to wet, low carb food. It is recommended to feed food that is under 10% carbs. Here is a list of cat food to choose from food chartyou will note that the food with fish are lower in carbs however it is recommended that you only give fish once a week due to its mercury content. Many use Fancy Feast, 9 Lives, Friskies, etc. This list can also be found in www.catinfo.org If you are already giving insulin and you have not transitioned to wet, low carb cat food, be sure to test while you are transitioning. This is because by changing to low carb food, it could decrease your kitty’s number by 100 points or more. One last thing, many of us add water to the wet food so your kitty is getting plenty of water to flush out the toxins and to keep them hydrated.

    Hypo Kit: Always good to be prepared for possible hypo events which means that your cat has reached dangerously low numbers. It can be fatal, hence, the importance of home testing and collecting data in a spreadsheet. In each of the Insulin Forums are stickie’s labeled Hypo Links. Here is one: How to Handle a Hypo. Please print and post on your refrigerator so everyone in your household is aware of hypo symptoms. You will want to create your hypo kit that would include and not limited to; extra testing strips, honey/karo/maple syrup, high carb food, medium carb food, vet information, etc.

    Ketones: Diabetic cats are susceptible to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). It is best to buy testing strips that will measure (if any) ketones in the urine. One brand is Ketostix which can be found at Walmart or any pharmacy. You will want to test periodically unless you continue to get high numbers, then it is suggested to test more frequently. Ketostix typically costs around $10.

    Treats: It is always nice to have treats available for your kitty especially when testing or when they decide not to eat. I like using Pure Bites. I have found it at Petsmart and other pet stores. It is freeze dried and the only ingredient is the meat i.e. chicken, duck, etc. If your cat likes it, then I would go to the dog section where it is cheaper than the cat package. It is bigger chunks but no problem in breaking it up. Another option is to use Bonita Flakes. There is a link here somewhere that has a list of low carb treats but I don't have it right now.

    Injections: Most folks here use one of these main insulins; Lantus, Levemir and Prozinc. Two hours prior to your insulin shot, you will not want your kitty to eat. Then you will test and then feed. It is best for your kitty to eat a little before your shoot. I shoot while he is eating. The reason why you do not want your kitty to eat two hours prior to your test is because food elevates BG numbers. So you do not want to dose based on a food influenced number. Here is a link on how to give injections.http://www.felinediabetes.com/injections.htm

    Note: Please check your insulins as there are some (the harsher ones like Humulin, Novolin, Vetsulin, etc.) that would be best to allow some time i.e. 20 minutes, after your kitty has eaten before you shoot.

    If you have any questions, please be sure to post here again.
     
  6. Liz & IttyBit

    Liz & IttyBit Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2015
    Hi Bron, thank you for the encouragement, I need it as I'm very confused at this point. We're working on getting some PM numbers. This mornings numbers startled me and I can't imagine what he got down to at his lowest so we will be up to test tonight. We are giving the start low and go slow a try. We started 1 u 2x a day on the Vetsulin and upped to 2, Vet wanted to start at 2 but I was too worried about hypo, since I was making diet changes at the same time. Once we switch to prozinc we will start low as well.
     
  7. Liz & IttyBit

    Liz & IttyBit Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2015
    Hi Cindi, thank you for all the info, this site and the people on here are a God send to newbies like myself.
     
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