Hey-o! Overwhelmed but getting a grasp on it. Long post.

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by heido, May 7, 2018.

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  1. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    Hi! I'm Heidi and I'm still in some kind of shock. I've accepted that my 11 year old Milo is now a diabetic and will need insulin shots twice a day. I'm cool with giving them and I'm more than capable. I'm medically well versed thanks to being my mother's caregiver for many years throughout my life and being chronically ill myself. Milo was diagnosed this past Friday, May 4th, 2018.

    My Care Credit was declined at the office. I had just made a payment the day before. The office said that might have been the problem. I couldn't afford his insulin or syringes. I barely made the office and testing fees. I carried a balance and was lucky to walk out with that. I was crying at the desk. Saturday morning I made a posting about my problems and out of nowhere a few of my longtime friends and a few strangers made some donations to help pay the bill, get the insulin and syringes. I'm extremely grateful to these people. I had also applied for help from a charity for help. I will need that help in the future, I'm sure. I'm on a fixed income and permanently disabled.

    I think my main problem with the giving the shot issue is finding enough loose skin to make the tent. I had two cats go through renal failure and giving them fluids was a breeze. Giving this tiny little shot should be the easiest thing on earth, right?! Ha! He's a big boy, a ragdoll mix. He's got a lot of extra give to his fur but somehow when I go to give the shot it all goes away ... I think that's all in my head. It was there in the doctor's office when I practiced. I'm finding myself going back to the old faithful sweet spot of the shoulders when I'm frustrated.

    The vet that saw Milo wanted him to start on Royal Canin dry food for diabetic cats, Glycobalance. I was told I could buy it online or their office. They gave me a handout that contradicted what they said about dry food by saying that wet food could be given with psyillum mixed in for fiber. I'm waiting for his regular vet to call me today so I can talk about this further. His diet before was Fancy Feast twice a day with Purina One Vitality left out for free feeding. He's mostly into the gooshy foods. I'm *absolutely* fine with keeping him on the wet food! When I read here and other sites that it's better for diabetic cats I was confused and to be honest, happy. I'm all for not changing his diet too much. Plus, there's another cat here, Roofus. Both cats have been on this feeding schedule for their entire life. Taking up the foods and making it a 12 hour enforced feeding was difficult enough this weekend, but I'm sticking to it. It's going to be hard to talk to my vet but I think he might be reasonable.

    Now I need to get something for at home monitoring. I can't afford to go into the vet all the time. I can go maybe once a month.

    This past year has been the hardest one ever. My mother and grandmother died 10 days apart in April 2017. Milo has never been far from my side. He's been my tether to the world at times. When I've felt like giving up I remember that I have Milo and Roofus and I cannot leave them. I've promised them that I would care for them until the day they die. They have been my caretakers.

    Thank you for reading.
     
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  2. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

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    Jul 6, 2017
    Hi and welcome! I am sorry for your loss of your mother and grandmother. That must have been devastating. I am glad your babies kept you going through that, and that people stepped in to help you pay for their care. You will get a lot of support and advice here.
     
  3. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    You read all that! Thanks for that. :) Yes, it has been a profound loss. We were all very close. I spoke with my grams every single day and saw her in person often. I was Mom's caregiver and we lived together. Thankfully I still see my gramps for lunch every week.

    My friends that helped me, all minus one, I've known since ... around the year 2000. We've been through everything together. I left my ex husband when I came to help my mom six and a half years ago and they supported me through that, too. He even gave me some money to help with the bill. Everyone knows how much these cats are to me. If I didn't have these boys with me since the tragedy happened I don't know how I would have gotten by.
     
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  4. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2016
    welcome ! Stick with the fancy feast classic for food. No dry.

    Monitoring at home is cheaper, and less stressful!plus safer because you will know if it's safe to inject and what effect a dose is having.

    Once I started home Monitoring my cat didnt go back to the vet for a year.

    Check the supply closet forum on here to see if anyone is giving away or selling cheap their no longer needed supplies.

    Or

    Go to Walmart and get
    1. Relion micro or confirm meter ($18)
    2.box of 100 extra test strips ($35)
    3. Box of 100 26 to 28 gauge lancets ($3)
    4. Cotton cosmetic rounds
    5. Neosporin ointment with pain relief

    I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.
     
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  5. Sandi&Maxine&Whispy(GA)

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

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2015
    Hello Heidi, Roofus and extra-sweet Milo!

    Assuming you really are in the U.S., I have an extra unused meter starter kit that I can send to you. It is the generic Arkray-branded version of #1 from the list that @JanetNJ provided. I believe it has the meter, 10 test strips, and some lancets (although the lancets are really too small for you to use but I can throw in some 26-28 gage lancets from my stash, and a handful of cotton rounds). Don't worry, you absolutely can still buy the strips at Walmart for it -- Walmart gets both the strips and the meter from Arkray and slaps their own "ReliOn" name on it. Even when you buy the strips at Walmart, even though the outside box says ReliOn, I think each strip still says Arkray on it.

    If you are interested in this, I could get it to the Post Office later today if you give me your mailing address. For privacy reasons, don't post it here in this thread. Click on my name, or the picture of my handsome orange devil named Whispy, and you'll see "Start a conversation". That will come directly to me as a private message. I am in NC and I think you are in IN so it really shouldn't take long to get to you.

    Bless you for taking such good care of everyone around you!

    Best,
    Sandi.
     
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  6. Veronica & Babu-chiri

    Veronica & Babu-chiri Well-Known Member

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    Aug 5, 2016
    Welcome!

    Keep giving him and Rufus the Fancy Feast (as long as it's the classic you'll be ok ) so don't stress about changing them food also, you don't need to give them food only every 12 hours (that's old school) , you can split their rations during the day, make sure he has some with his shoot (after you tested ) and the rest during the day is actually better this way
     
  7. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    Holy moley!! Y'all are friendly and helpful. I'm blown away by the kindness and support right off the bat! I have updates! Also, I suffer from using too many exclamation points. Sorry. I'm excited about my conversation with the vet I chose for the boys (not the one that diagnosed Milo).

    I called and spoke with our preferred vet about the wet food diet. I told him about the AAHA recommendations after checking out a link on a signature I saw here. He *agreed* with me that wet food is best for diabetic cats!! I was immediately happier and felt like someone was on my side. He also agreed with doing home testing! He didn't want to put Milo through vet stress and get a wrong glucose reading not to mention stress my bank account. This vet is well liked in my area for a reason. I feel so much better about everything. I did schedule a follow up blood test for next Monday just to start all this off well. The doctor did say that a lot of cats go into remission and he wouldn't be surprised if Milo did as well. I caught this early. I'm not getting my hopes up but Milo has already stopped drinking so much water and eating like he's starving.

    Thank you all for replying and offering your help. I have questions before I take you up on the meters. I thought that cats couldn't be measured with a human meter/vice versa. I'm okay with being mistaken here. Is there a math conversion? Do I have to take a reading before every single shot? I'm telling you, these shots are ... Milo is not the calm chill cat that he was in the vet's office. He's fine until I put the needle in and then he squeeks and my blood pressure ... Ugh. I know I'm doing it subcut and not hitting anything but he's acting like I'm killing him and he feels everything. I know I'm getting loose skin and making the tent properly. It's because he's my sweet boy and he can affect my emotions. Poor kitty. He didn't ask for this.

    I'm really happy to not switch food. Roo is a sweet lovey cat and loves the wet food as much as Milo. They both grazed the dry kibble here and there before this all happened so that's not a huge loss. The big change in the feedings here is going from once a day half a can of fancy feast to twice a day. Lucky boys.

    Thank you all again. I'm grateful for the welcome and after I hear about the meters I'll gladly pay for shipping!
     
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  8. Veronica & Babu-chiri

    Veronica & Babu-chiri Well-Known Member

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    Aug 5, 2016
    You can use either one both are ok, most of us use human meters since the strips which is the really expensive part and you will be using a lot of them are way cheaper in the human meters or in my case just because there are no pet meters where I live.

    Readings will be a little bit different between the two and there's no actual way of comparing them, the protocols you will see here were written for human meters but if you prefer a pet/cat meter there are people here that can help you with the numbers and all

    He will get used to the testing, the important thing at the beginning is that he gets used to you handling his ears ( I think the handling bothers them more than the actual pricking) and that you always give him a reward after the test ( even if you can't get it done successfully)

    And for the shooting think that probably when he plays with Roo, Roo probably hits him even harder with his very sharp paws the insulin needle is so thin that most of the cats don't even bother ( not all but most) sometimes is the pinching to form the tent they don't like you just have to try to be gentle but they like to be pampered so give him a lot of screeches and hugs after, you are probably more nervous than he is and he can feel it and probably abuses that, he's just being a cat;)
     
  9. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    Oh hey, I'm okay with a human meter. I don't need to be all fancy and get a cat one. I have a friend who has several meters and is wanting to help me out. Now I need the lancets and strips to start out.

    I am more nervous than him. It's the anticipation on my part. Thank you for the reassurance. :) I needed that.
     
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  10. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    Hi everyone! I have an update of sorts. I couldn't make it to the follow up blood testing at the vet's office. I just don't have the money for that right now. It will have to wait until June. I have a friend who is sending me an extra testing meter and strips so I can do at home testing. I've read some tips and tricks to do that here on the forums and I feel a bit more prepared. Thanks for posting all that info!

    Giving Milo the shots is getting easier with each one. I also give him a little bit of the broken treats that accumulate at the bottom of the treat jar when it's time to poke him as a bribe. The shots are given after he devours his gooshy food and some of his brother's serving as well -- half a can of fancy feast each. Six in the morning comes too early. His thirst and urination changed immediately once we started insulin but after a week he increased a little. Two weeks later it's tapering off again. He has a slight limp with his right front leg sometimes. BUT ... he frequently brings me his yarn ball to play with. He has taken over the second bedroom and sleeps there after eating. His habits have changed some. This concerns me a little.

    I have a friend who used to be a vet tech - almost was registered. She tells me I can get insulin from Walmart for him. I checked with the Walmart pharmacy and they have lots of kitties with accounts there. I have a phone call into the vet to ask him about this. If this is a viable option then ... whew. That's a lot of $$$ saved for me. The vet is $104 and Walmart is $28.

    Things are normalizing finally. I'm not as much of a watchdog but I'm watching him closely. Thank you all for being so kind and taking the time to help me.
     
  11. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

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    Jun 8, 2016
    he's only getting 1 can of ff a day? That sounds like far too little. The rule of thumb is 20 calories per pound. So a 10 lb cat should be getting at least 200 calories to maintain weight which is about 2-2.5 cans.
     
  12. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    Oh no! I'm suddenly a horrible cat mom! he's 19 lbs. I'm suddenly a very poor cat mom. /guilt trip. Thank you for this. I'll start feeding him more immediately.
     
  13. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

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    Jun 8, 2016
    My Zimmy was 17lbs. He ate about 4 cans a day. He wasn't diabetic. Sometimes diabetic cats need a little extra until they are regulated.

    Is your cat overweight at 19, or is that about right for his size?
     
  14. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    Milo is right about perfect. He had lost 3 pounds at the appt where he was diagnosed. While I was concerned, it wasn't that bad for him to lose it. He was borderline chubby and has been all of his life. He has always had the potential to be a chubby cat. He's a large stature/breed, very tall and muscular. I believe he's a mix of a ragdoll and something else. He fits most of the markers for a ragdoll and the vet agrees. I know his entire history. His mother was a big cat.

    His brother Roo is 9-10lbs. Not diabetic. He doesn't eat a lot. It's going to be hard to get him to switch to this all wet diet. I guess that will even out eventually.

    Should I be feeding them at 6 hour intervals then? Is this where the testing comes into play and math with the insulin? I was doing really great with the insulin twice a day after the feedings. Math? Not my strong suit.

    Milo is doing better with eating more food. I suppose I was starving them. Nope. Not going on that guilt trip. He's just getting more moisture now and more nutrients. Maybe his body is working better now.
     
  15. Veronica & Babu-chiri

    Veronica & Babu-chiri Well-Known Member

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    Aug 5, 2016
    It's ok to feed the at 6 hour intervals or more as long as you don't give him any food 2 hours before his shoot, that is so that when you test before the shoot the result won't be food influenced ( food tends to raise blood glucose levels a little ) and you are sure the number you get is safe for him to get a shoot.

    He will be a little bit more hungry than usual untill his numbers start to go down so yes give him a little extra and yes his body is going to work better with the wet food his kidneys are already thanking you and his diabetes will be easier to control
     
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  16. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    Thank you. I'm learning more and more with each reply here. I thought I had to give the shot after he ate like a human does. /facepalm. It's a wonder he's still alive. I'm not a bad cat mom. I'm merely learning how to do this and I'm overwhelmed. Time to set alarms on my phone for every little thing. This is a lot to remember and I have a really poor memory -- not by my choice.
     
  17. Veronica & Babu-chiri

    Veronica & Babu-chiri Well-Known Member

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    Aug 5, 2016
    You are a very good cat mom, the fact that you are here learning about all of this (it's a lot and not necessarily easy ) is proof of that, and welcome to the phone alarm/calendar club no way anyone can keep track of everything, I too have to schedule a ton of things on my phone starting with my deadline to go back home to get back on time (big city and the worst of traffic ) time for the test, shoot meds, etc.
     
  18. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    I need some advice. The last time Milo ate was about 12 hours ago. His last dose was about 13 hours ago. I just tried to feed him about an hour ago and he was kind of interested but ultimately didn't eat. I need to know if I should give him his insulin. But let me backtrack here.

    Last night he didn't want to be with me. Not a big deal until he went to go hide. I realized he hadn't used the litter box for any reason in some time. This is abnormal. He didn't come when called for our bedtime ritual of treats. Highly unusual. I took the treats to him. He was not interested at all. Even worse. He didn't want me to bother him and moved spots. I brought water to him and he was interested but didn't drink. I decided to leave him alone and tried to sleep. That brings us to this morning. I don't have an at home tester yet. I'm still waiting for the one my friend said she would send me. I trust she's sending it.

    I thought maybe he's just constipated. I did check the litter box before the morning feeding and yes, finally, he went. This is proof that I need to add a supplement. But do I give him his morning dose of insulin? Ugh. I know I should test but I can't. If I call the vet they're going to tell me to bring him in but I honestly don't have any money in my account and I'm on empty.
     
  19. heido

    heido New Member

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    May 5, 2018
    Oh! I forgot to add. On Tuesday I received a donation of a half bottle of ProVinc and a few syringes from my vet's office. The only other diabetic cat in the practice had passed on. The owner decided that instead of throwing away the insulin to give it to me. How incredibly generous. I'm so grateful. But I'm wondering if giving him the insulin from that vial might have had something to do with him not feeling well now? It's a different batch.
     
  20. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2016
    The ProZinc is probably fine if it was handled and stored properly. Different insulins have different actions and it's important that you learn as much as you can about the one you'll be using. Here's a link to some information about ProZinc:
    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...prozinc-pzi-insulin-for-diabetic-cats.164995/

    I recommend that you post on the main health forum from now on. This is the welcome forum and isn't really meant for giving extensive advice. :) You can also get specific advice on using ProZinc on the ProZinc forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/

    If you can get to Walmart their ReliOn house brand of monitors is popular here and not expensive. Get one that needs only a tiny blood drop to give a result. Getting over that testing hurdle is really important.

    Re insulin: I might have missed it but what insulin are you giving your kitty now and in what dose?
     
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