Honey - Diagnosed Today

Hi All!

Let me just say.... yay I found you! I am not alone in this feeling of freaking out and trying to figure out what I'm going to do or how I'm going to do it. I got the call from the vet today saying that my male cat, Honey (10 yrs), has been diagnosed with diabetes. I was shocked. The Doctor didn't go into specifics. We made an appointment to come in on Sunday so I can learn to give him insulin shots. What.. you want me to stick a needle in him!?! Which I will do of course. Not only was he diagnosed with diabetes but he has a UTI which needs antibiotics. But that's not why i'm here.

Since I first found out this information... I started doing my research. Tonight I will be switching him to low carb wet canned food. Now I have a question... Is it okay for me to switch him to the wet food, go into our appointment on Sunday and say I'd like to wait at least a month before we start doing the insulin shots? To see if the low carb diet has a drastic change?

And did I already say I'm so happy I found you guys? Cause I am. I'm trying to stay not so overwhelmed.

Thank you for any advise you have =)

 

Welcome to you and Honey! Isn't he a handsome lad! It's great that you're getting a head start on switching him to low carb canned food. Is he a good eater/fond of wet food? If so, you should be able to get the switch accomplished in less than a week. You wouldn't have to wait a month to see if the low carb diet has helped. I think a week will be enough for that. The key, though, is to learn how to test his blood glucose at home in order to monitor the effect of the food change. It's also how you'll know an insulin dose is safe to give (not too high) and how low his Blood glucose drops after a dose.

If you post on the main health forum more people will see your message. Ask any/all questions you have there.

 

Thank you so much for your response Kris! I will do exactly that!

 

Hi, just wanted to welcome you a say that when Uncle was diagnosed I was shocked too!
Sounds like you are formulating a good plan. I'm glad Kris answered your question about how long to wait to give insulin after changing to low carb canned food. I'm pretty new to this stuff, so I wasn't sure myself. Good luck with the vet visit!

 

Welcome to you and Honey.

On the switch to low carb, it starts to help blood glucose (BG) levels from the start and, depending on how high in carbs Honey's current food is the change in BG levels within the space of a day can be really dramatic.

Here's a good article about feline diabetes, effect of food change, and importance of testing:

http://catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes

As you'll see from reading the article it is a much trickier undertaking to do the diet change while the kitty's on insulin. With your plan to do the transition before starting insulin treatment it will uncomplicate things a bit.

As as been suggested above, learning to home test now will enable you to get some practice in before starting insulin and also to track the impact of diet change on BG levels. It is also advisable to start monitoring ketones. Here is a helpful forum sticky which covers the importance of ketone testing:

Are you testing your kitty for ketones?


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