Hi all! This is Diggy!

Hi everyone. I found out that Diggy has diabetes about two months ago now. I've been managing it pretty well I think, and have switched to wet food, I've been giving insulin every 12 hours, etc, etc, I'm sure you're all familiar with everything! He's still refusing to use the litter box about 50% of the time, and yesterday I just got his fructosamine levels checked. This morning, after cleaning up after him and checking my bank balance, I was feeling very disheartened and overwhelmed. I started to do some research online and I'm so glad that I found this website and this community! There are so many resources that I now have access to, and I don't feel so alone anymore. Thank you in advance for all the help!

Here are some pics of the goofball

 

Welcome.
What was the fructosamine result?
Good insulins are the human Lantus and Levemir and the pet insulins ProZinc and BCP PZI. For those two human insulin it is best to get the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens via a 10 ml vial. Although per ml the vial is less expensive most cats will not use up a 10 ml vial before the insulin goes bad/becomes ineffective. The human insulin N/NPH is sometimes prescribed but only lasts 8-10 hours. Same for the pet insulin Vetsulin/Caninisulin.
Most of us here test our cat's blood glucose at home using a human meter. We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
What are you feeding? A low-carb canned is best. No reason for a prescription food. Here is a list of commercial low-carb canned

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/

Here is a link to home testing blood sugarhttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

 

Hi Juliet, welcome to you and Diggy! What a handsome fellow he is! Sorry about the litterbox issues. Come over to the health forum and ask about that and any other questions you have. There are many people here with tons of advice to help you help Diggy.

 

I have Diggy on 2 units of Novolin right now, but I spoke to the vet today and the fructosamine was still high (she didn't give me a specific number though) so she wants to try upping it to 3 units. I haven't tried out home testing yet, but I do plan on picking up a kit this weekend. Thanks for all the resources; I'll definitely give that spreadsheet a try.

Diggy has had issues with crystals and blockages in his urinary tract in the past and has been diagnosed with FLUTD, and with the addition of diabetes the vet made a few calls and came to the conclusion that Hills M/D would be the best fit for both diseases. I would love to be able to get nonprescription food for him, but I'm just not sure if I could find something that fits his needs. I'll have to poke around the health board for that.

 

Maybe due some reading over at Cat Info. Dr Pierson discusses both feline nutrition, plus lower urinary tract disease.

 

Hi Juliet and Diggy, and welcome!