Help! Newly diagnosed 13 year old .

MotherofCats
HI everyone. I've never done one of these before but am desperate for help. My 13 year old boy has been diagnosed in the last week. His glucose was 380 , he's 9 lbs very thin.. the vet has prescribed him insulin which I'm waiting for it to be shipped once the rx is approved, and the hills rx soft food. Here is a big issue.. he's always hungry , I feed him a can of wet food a day , the Dr said I could split one up into thirds and feed 3 times a day. I have 3 male cats Hercules is a bit obsessed and won't finish his own food , because he wants to move on and eat the others food as well. I've tried separating him and he stops eating until I let him out to roam , then he looks for the others bowls. I feel so frustrated, how often should I be feeding him? How much? What should I feed him, the hills soft food the vet sold me? It seems he's really gouging me with costs. Not helping me with my questions. Sorry to ramble.. I'm just at my wits end trying to keep every one happy. Now the other two really want the prescription food too. HELP PLEASE?

 

Hi,

Good to see you here!

Some questions to get started:
Will you be home testing?
What insulin will you be using?

Food: many members here use friskies and fancy feast pates. Dr. Lisa has a list of foods that are lower carb options for diabetic cats.

While unregulated, his body will not use calories efficiently. He needs to eat what he needs to eat. Often that is more food than he ate before being diagnosed. One can doesn't sound like enough.

Brb.

 

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/food-chart-update.176833/

Food chart link

 

Some members feed rx food many do not.

In the grey text under my post, you will see my signature. Once you have a moment. Please set up your signature. It helps those trying to help you have quick access to important information. And it saves you from having to answer the same question over and over Even if you don't have all the info yet, it helps us get to know you and your kitty.

Link to signature info
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

 

Yes I will be home testing I just received my testing kit today. The vet prescribed glardine , 1 unit 2 x per day. I was feeding them friskies tasty treases turkey with cheese before. Can I still feed him that ?

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...m6PPfEUz9YmzMGMxkmcBk6uRR0/edit#gid=113878384

Ok, click the link and go to the sheet. Look for the brand/flavor. You are looking for carb content under 10%

 

Copied from sheet:
FRISKIES
Tasty Treasures w/ Cheese
Turkey & Chicken Dinner with Cheese Pate
35
58
8

8 is the carb number. Under 10 is considered low carb.

Lots of food options on the sheet.

Were you able to get your device to read the sheet?

 

Thank you so much!

 

Snoop through some signatures to check out what we have. Some important items/ type of meter/ insulin/ your time zone ( we are world wide and it helps to know who may be awake when you need help) any other medical info important to your cat.

 

What time zone are you in?

I'm in the Midwest and getting ready for sleep. Long work day then and er vet visit tonight. Extra early morning Monday.

Keep asking questions. Welcome. It's a great place to get information.

 

First, you can take the "prescription" food back and get your money back....there's absolutely nothing "prescription" about it and most of the ingredients are lousy anyway. It has a 100% guarantee on it so you can just say your cat refuses to eat it anymore.

Next, what most of us do is just switch all our cats to the same low carb canned food like Fancy Feast Classics, Friskies pates or 9-Lives ground.....not only is it much better for all your cats, but it completely solves the problem of who's eating who's food!!

 

One can a day probably isn't enough....a diabetic cat can't utilize the nutrition in the food they're eating, so they need more that "normal".

Think of it like this.....Insulin is a "key" and on every cell in the body there's a "lock"....without the correct number of keys, the locks aren't getting open so although the cat is eating lots of food, the glucose that the cells need to live can't get past the door and the cells are starving

Glargine is an excellent insulin (that's the chemical name for Lantus which a lot of us use).....there's more information than you'll be able to remember in the "sticky's" at the top of the Lantus Forum

 

Thank you so much , that is so helpful! He was just diagnosed 4 days ago so I'm still trying to figure this all out. I am so glad I found this forum.

 

Yes I was.

Yes I was, I'm in Texas so it's pretty late here too. Does it make a difference pate or bits?

 

I'm in Texas so it's late here as well. Hope your furry baby is ok.

 

It is good.

Suggestion, start the transitioning to low carb wet. Do you feed any dry? It's suggested to remove dry from the diet. If you have a kibble addict, Young Again has a carb free line.

 

I ordered some blue wilderness duck recipe grain free because I Google another list of foods to feed them.. the other 2 like their kibble ... but it may be better eliminating it?

 

What matters is carb content.

Once you get your feet wet, you will learn about and how to use lc (low carb), mc (medium carb) and hc (high carb).

I usually use the word pate for most low carb food. If that was a point of confusion, sorry. The master sheet and carb content is what counts. Did you mean the friskies your cat likes and we looked up isn't called pate, yeah, my mistake. If Dr. Lisa lists it as low carb and your cat can/will eat it. Your ok.

 

Possibly. Grain free often gets carbs from other sources such as potatoes, beans, etc.
Some people do feeding separately, transition all cats to wet, go with no carb or lower carb cat food, etc.

Another saying we have ecid. Every cat is different. We can offer suggestions and you figure out what is doable in your home in the life you live.

I do have to head off the boards. Five am will come darn early.

 

Thank you.

Again, welcome!

Ask as many questions as you need. Heading off the boards.

 

It's absolutely better for everyone if you eliminate the kibble completely......Lots of great information on Dr. Lisa's website, Feeding your cat--know the basics of feline nutrition

Grain free does not mean "low carb".....they are just the latest buzz words the pet food industry is using to convince us humans that it's somehow better...it's not

 

I meant to say something earlier but forgot....China's glucose was in the 400's when we started....we're now on our 5th year of treatment since then

Take a look at China's Profile (in my signature) to see how far back they can come in a short time with the help of the great people here, a low carb diet and a good insulin!!

 

Welcome kitty and his Mum! What shall we call you ? Setting up your Signature will at least give us kitty's name if you prefer not to share yours. Apple's bean gave you the Signature instructions above. What meter are you going to use? HERE is the link to setting up a Spreadsheet (SS) so you can track and share your kitty's BG (blood glucose) numbers here like many members do . Do you know what your Lantus starting dose will be? Please don't let the Vet start you on anything higher than 1.0U twice a day. It's safer and more effective to increase by tiny increments of 0.25U but most Vet's like to increase in whole units. Can talk more about this later.

So a couple questions for you and in response to this question, most of the bits foods are in gravy and higher carb. The tasty treasures Turkey with cheese PATE is <10% carbs. It's one of the pate flavours I can get my boy to eat more than others, he likes his chunks and pieces .

 

Best to get rid of all kibble, if that's at all possible in you household. It really isn't good for ANY cat. Mine were kibble junkies, but now they eat nothing but low-carb canned, and they love it. I have four, they all eat the same thing so it doesn't really matter if one cat eats another one's food once in a while. If you are going to switch to an all canned diet, best to do it now, before you start insulin, as kitty's blood glucose may drop appreciably and he may need a smaller dose!

 

You are all so helpful thank you so much. Hercules was prescribed 1 unit glardine 2x daily .. I'm taking your advice and going ahead with the friskies (we already had a case before this) I doubt the vet will take back the hills rx food. I'm having some trouble testing his glucose levels.. I can't seem to get enough of a drop of blood for the monitor to work.. it is mshe for pets, I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. It's the everpet monitor.

 

You are all so helpful thank you so much. Hercules was prescribed 1 unit glardine 2x daily .. I'm taking your advice and going ahead with the friskies (we already had a case before this) I doubt the vet will take back the hills rx food. I'm having some trouble testing his glucose levels.. I can't seem to get enough of a drop of blood for the monitor to work.. it is mshe for pets, I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. It's the everpet monitor.

 

Just clarifying, you do mean Garlgine which is Lantus, correct?
Also, most Vet's will take unopened food back and if not give a refund, they will put a credit on your account. Doesn't hurt to try!

Here are some videos made by 2 members testing their kitty's:
Janet & CC (JanetNJ):


Sieden & Peanut:


Don't be put off by how calm these kitties are, they have been tested for a while

 

The vet has no choice....Hills has a 100% guarantee on their products....it doesn't matter why you return it, they are supposed to give you a full refund (even if it's opened)

 

Thank you so much , again.