Hello!

My cat was just diagnosed today. Hoping to get some feedback, knowledge and support.

 

Hello and welcome to the best place you never wanted to be. What is your kitties name? What were the symptoms leading to diabetes?

We believe in three main things to help diabetic cat. First is a low carb wet or raw food diet, check out www.catinfo.org for some background. The second is a good long lasting insulin. Lantus, Levemir or PZI/Prozinc are the best options. And third, testing blood sugars at home to keep kitty safe.

 

Hello Abbie (and Abbie's sugarcat), and welcome to FDMB.

A diagnosis of feline diabetes can come as quite a shock at first. We've all been there, and we understand how you feel. But it does soon get easier.
Diabetes is very treatable, and, with good care (and a little good luck), a diabetic cat can live as long and as happily as a non-diabetic cat. (My cat has been diabetic for just over 8 years now.)
This is a very friendly forum and you can certainly find a lot of support and advice here.

Ask any questions you want to over on the main health forum here:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

You may also be interested to have a read through the FDMB FAQ's here:
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/faq.html#general
The document was last updated in 2009 though, and so some of it is out of date.

Welcome aboard,

Eliz

 

Hi Abbie

welcome to the forum. I was in your position less than six months ago and remember all too well how I felt when my cat remi got his diagnosis. The support here is fantastic and you the knowledge second to none.

 

Hi Abbie and welcome! My kitty was diagnosed on March 13 and I found this site shortly thereafter. It is a godsend, I have learned so much and received excellent advice and feedback from all the knowledgeable members here. From being scared and worried to feeling confident that kitty diabetes can be managed -- such a relief.

 

Thanks, everyone. Smokey is currently working on switching food over to Hills MD- not sure if anyone is familiar with it. The vet did give me two options for insulin, and I chose the Lantus in hopes that we caught it early enough and he could go into remission. I am very nervous about doing the home testing- I will have to youtube some videos, but I go for my consult with the vet on Wednesday for them to show me how to give the shots and test at home. I noticed increase in urination and water consumption after I was sick and put a bowl of water near the vent to put moisture in the air. This was about 2 weeks ago.

 

Oh, yes, we've all heard of MD food ... and generally feed an over the counter, low carbohydrate, canned or raw food that is just fine for many diabetics. I feed all my cats Friskies pates, except Mixed Grill which is a bit higher in carbohydrate.
Pop over to Cat Info for information on why.

 

Hi, my cat was diagnosed only 3 weeks ago, I know how you are feeling, I started home testing my cat Molly 2 days ago and I am really pleased I did as she had been under the vet and going once a week to the vet for a glucose test, they increased her insulin to 3ml twice a day, but yesterday she had really low glucose levels as she was on to much insulin, so we ended up at the emergency vet at 1oclock in the morning, but she is ok today and her insulin has been dropped to 1ml twice a day and I am doing my best to monitor her levels, it is all a bit overwhelming at times, but I cannot recommend enough home testing!!! along with help and advice from your vet. I have changed her diet to a higher protein/ les carbohydrates food which she loves, but she wants feeding to much and I am having to just ignore her which is tough. Stay strong, you will have your good and bad days and sites like this although I am new to this site definitely help

 

Hi there! My Tiggy was dx on 4/14/15, so I know what you're going through. Everyone here is great and soooo helpful. I also thought I wouldn't be able to do the home BG testing, but I got a Relion Confirm meter from Walmart, which was recommended by a number of folks here. (Inexpensive and easy to use). I also give my kitty his fav low/carb treats after his BG testing and insulin injections. He learned quite quickly where to sit for his BG testing and injections (his special wicker stool). In fact, he's sitting here right now.. Waiting patiently for a "treat". He doesn't even hardly wiggle anymore when I do these. Lol
Welcome aboard!

 

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
- 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!)

 

Welcome! We are two weeks past Domino's diagnosis. This place is amazing

 

Hi there, My diabetic cat doesn't like the Hills MD food but my other cat does and i give her this not for every meal as i have read that a cats diet should not just be liver which is the only flavour my vet does, your may be different? but if not you could do you own research into diet, i changed my cat to Pro Plan Junior, or natures menu as these are both low carb/higher protein and wet food. When i do give my cat the MD i mix it with a bit of warm water and it softens it and brings out the flavour more and she will eat it then. Hope this helps Lorraine