I AM NEW. (a little scared too)

My cat Prince was just diagnosed as being diabetic. He is at the hospital and I pick him up tomorrow. He is getting liquids. I have read a lot and watched UTUBE videos on how to take care of him. I know about monitoring him and injecting insulin now. I think I can do it. I MUST. I love my Prince so much. He came into my 1st grade classroom 17 years ago and wouldn't leave. He found me, I didn't find him. LOL
Anyways, I am scared when I bring him home as to what I will be asked to do by my doctor. I don't want my cat on insulin if he could be treated with diet alone which I don't know. I had my hubby phone my vet for me today. I was at school teaching and couldn't. I told my husband to tell my vet that I read dry food is not good. My vet told my hubby that isn't true. I have had my vet 20 some years but I think he is not UP TO DATE with the latest info. I have made an appointment for sat. with another doctor for a 2nd opinion. I called around (on my own) and was told to take him to a vet that is younger and knows more about the latest treatments for animals. So I hope it will be comforting and of help for me too for the 2nd opinion.
I think that diet could be a factor with my "Prince" since he did have dry and wet food here. He also had dry food available (set out) all the time.
What do you, or anyone suggest, I do. Should I continue on insulin if he is started on it at the vet or wait until Sat. to talk to the other vet? I don't know exactly what my vet will tell me yet either until I pick him up tomorrow.
I have read a lot here and know about watching him for low blood sugar too. I WILL GO and pick up a blood monitor IF MY vet has him on insulin. That I know for sure.
Is is possible to put my cat on a wet food only, like "Wellness core" and not give insulin after I pick him up. Then just monitor his blood until I see the other vet on Saturday? Can I even do that if the vet has started him on insulin which I am not sure he will have done though. Give me suggestions if you have any. I would greatly appreciate it.
"A newbie" looking for help. confused_cat

 

it's really rare for a diabetic cat not to need insulin at least at the beginning, so don't worry if your cat is put on insulin. yes, definitely chuck the dry or hide it somewhere he can't get it so you have it in case of emergency such as if he stops eating and you need him to eat.

i don't think it's a matter of whether a vet is younger or older, but how up on diabetes they are and frankly many are not. so they try to sell prescription canned or dry food that is not necessary. take a look at dr lisa's site: http://catinfo.org to read about feline nutrition, and look on the Health Links forum for a link to diet and nutrition info and look up janet & binky's food charts to find food that's under 10% carbohydrates that you can buy wherever you normally buy pet food.

and if you still have a copy of your local pharmacy's weekly ad, look for a rebate on glucose meters and either get that and a container of test strips or go to walmart and pick up their relion brand meter and strips. it's rated highly and reasonably priced. you'd also need lancets (get 30 gauge) to poke his ear to test, and cotton balls to poke into and add a little pressure on his ear afterward to avoid bruising. you'll also need syringes, of course, to inject insulin with. if you can, get 0.3cc, U100, 5/16", 31 gauge syringes with half-unit markings. those can be used for U100 or U40 insulin. for U40 insulin you just do a little conversion so that each mark on the syringe after the first mark closest to the needle represents 0.2u of insulin. it really helps to use these to make small incremental changes in dose as needed. read the FAQs too, okay? http://www.felinediabetes.com/fdmb-faq.htm

if you're scared to home test and would like help, please respond by letting us know the town or city you live in, and maybe a local member can go to your place to show you how. i did that when i first started and it was a real blessing. don't give your actual address, email address, or phone number, because of internet privacy issues.

the whole notion of diabetes is very scary if you haven't experienced it, but most of us were in your shoes and our cats are thriving years after the diagnosis, so take a deep breath and get ready to help your kitty get down to some nicer blood glucose numbers. you'll find the bond between you and your cat will grow stronger.

is he at the hospital because of ketones or diabetic ketoacidosis? just as a heads up, ask your vet to put him on lantus, levemir, or prozinc, okay? you'll probably get more daily help from the lantus and levemir users here because that board is very busy and has plenty of experienced users. prozinc is a bit newer, but we're still seeing some nice results with that, too.

 

Just to add to what Chris has already told you, when giving insulin you want to start at a low dose such as 0.5 or unit of insulin only. If the vet suggests starting higher - please don't. Its better to use this starting dose and with home glucose testing adjust the insulin accordingly, rather than starting too high.

We also recommend giving insulin twice a day (bid) in 12 hour increments. This is for any of the insulins chris mentioned.

Definitely change the food to low carb (10 percent or less) wet food. What you will hopefully start to see is with the food change and some insulin assistance Prince will do better and like chris said hopefully will not need insulin for too long.

Do let us knoiw where you are city,state as we may have a local member who could make a house call and help you in person.

 

adding a disclaimer here, tho, that if your cat has DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis), your vet may have him on a higher dose to counter the ketones and keep his blood sugar level down. do not reduce the dose without expert help in that case. we are not vets here (most of us anyway). think of us as peer counselors, tho we have many more years combined experience with feline diabetes than most vet practices by now.

 

Welcome to FDMB. I know that everything seems overwhelming right now, but feline diabetes is very managable. You have already received some great advice and I am glad to see you want to hometest.

If your vet prescribes either Lantus or Levemir, ask for the script for either the pens or cartridges. Initially it is more expensive than a vial, but you get five of them. Both of these insulins have shorter shelf life (1-3 months dependent on the vial) so in a vial you end up wasting a lot by throwing a lot away because it is no longer effective. By using the cartdrige or pen, you should be able to use every drop.

We are here to walk you through this process so don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have.

 

Thanks Chris for the disclaimer - was on the BB and hard to type and see what I'm typing. ;-)

Additionally, depending on your location, you may need a script for syringes too - if you are using lantus or levemir ask for U100 syringes with 1/2 unit markings - this will come in very handy when micro dosing.

You can use these syringes for prozinc, but there is a simple conversion needed in order to give the correct amount of insulin.

But one step at a time.

 

Welcome!
I just wanted to suggest you get a written report on your darling before you leave the vet office; you want to know what the vet found, what tests were done, what meds were given, and what the vet thinks should be his at-home treatment.

Dry food OK for diabetic cats? I don't think so! My Shadoe gets ahold of 3 pieces and her BG goes through the roof! I know from experience that is quite bad for my cats.

I don't know where you are located but in many pharmacies by me, I can get the glucose meters free when I buy a box of the test strips for the meter. Don't worry about the testing; it is sometimes awkward and difficult in the beginning, but that's because it's new to you. My two cats literally sleep through my poking their ears, so it's totally not painful.

The others have already given great info on insulins - Lantus and Levemir are the two I know and like very much - for sure get the syringes with 1/2 unit markings. The cartridges and pens are a better deal, so say no to the vials.

As for being scared ... hey, I did not even know that cats could HAVE diabetes! When my vet told me about Shadoe, I was speechless! I said What? She has what? Are you sure? Is that possible? LOL at me! Anyways, it's a simple process, and the hardest part many people have is overcoming their own fears of it all.

When you bring your gorgeous Prince home, let us know what info and report details the vet gave you and lots of people here will be able to help you and walk you through anything that could possibly happen.

 

It does not seem unreasonable to me to start with canned, low-carb diet before starting insulin. One thing to be aware of, however, is that Wellness Core is higher in fat than most good quality canned foods. I would recommend Wellness Grain free varieties, as they are a little less in fat. The reason I mention the fat is that, although many/most vets will disagree about the fat content affecting pancreatitis, some of us still feel it could be a factor. In a newly diagnosed cat, pancreatitis would be bad because it's tough to deal with on top of dealing with the insulin. So go with something the least disruptive to his current diet. You can look up the current canned food you're feeding on the food charts and if it's less than 10% kcal from carbs, then you might as well stay with that.

Another thing to be aware of if you start insulin, the lower carb food means less sugar load on his system and the dose your vet recommends may be too high. I cannot recommend learning to home test strongly enough. And the insulin dose should not be above 1U, no matter which insulin.

Hope that gives you some base ideas and that you keep us informed about what the second vet says. This message board is on the forefront of feline diabetes knowledge. We're very glad you found us! It will get less scary.

 

Welcome Prince & Prince's Mom,

You are now in the best place you never wanted to be to help you help Prince.

You have already been given a ton of information so I won't add to the overload. It is all very scary and a bit overwhelming for all of us when we first got here. But take it slow it is a marathon not a sprint, and we are here to help.

The biggest and best thing you can do for Prince is learn to home test. It is a little nerve-wracking at first but kitties are smart and if you give them treats when testing so they will be coming to be tested...Ear poke = treats....happy kitty.
It will keep him safer while he is on insulin and give you a deeper sense of peace of mind because you will know within seconds how he is responding to the insulin. Also save you $$$ at the vet's and give you a truer picture of Prince's BG numbers, since all cats are stressed at the vet's and stress raises BG. Some cats will drop as much as 100 at home vs. the vet's. So if the vet is dosing based on the numbers he is seeing then it maybe too high for the kitty at home.

As has been said very few newly dxed FD kitties can not have some insulin at first, but start low and go slow. I got lucky my boy is looking like he just might be diet controlled so it can happen but he needed insulin for a few days as well.

Also while Prince is still vacationing at the vet's now is a good time to print out the signs of Hypo and how to deal with it, and to get your hypo kit together. Because should the worst happen and you have a hypo you will know how to handle it and you don't want to have to run around looking for what you need. I have a small box in the cupboard that contains Karo syrup, small baggy of dry food, and a couple of cans of High Carb gravy foods. I also have the Hypo info printed out and taped to my frig, just encase I'm not home and hubby needs to step in and help.

Your are going to have a ton of questions so just keep posting and we will keep answering. Remember the only stupid question is the one that goes unasked.

Mel

 

As you can see, there are different ways you can approach this...first is just a diet change, second is diet and insulin. While diet change MAY be sufficient, for most cats, diet and insulin is needed, at least at first, to give the body the best chance to recover. And even if you go with a dry food that is really low in carbohydrates, most people find even CORE to raise blood glucose levels, so I would not recommend it without insulin.

Do not be scared of insulin, just respectful. It is something your cat's body needs, and as we have learned here, treating feline diabetes is actually much easier to do than some of the other feline ailments.

We can help you, so get command of yourself, be ready to read and learn and to stand up for your cat. You can do it!

Jen

 

Welcome aboard. Let me say, this group is so darn helpful and no one will yell.

Be sure to get the complete analysis of any tests your cat received. I wish I had - all I was told was that he was diabetic, but I never knew just what his figures were or how bad he was. After a curve, I STILL didn't know - I was simply told to up his insulin. It was home testing tehat alerted me to the fact that he'd entered the honeymoon stage - at the moment, he's off the insulin.

I used the makeup sponge to 'set' the ear - worked like a charm. I did the burrito thing too with a towel - which became unnecessary. When he realized that grooming and then treats would be sandwiched around the ear test, he didn't mind.

I gave the insulin when he was eating. He never noticed a thing. I tented on the left side for the 8 am shot, right side for the 8 pm shot.

HTH

 

Welcome to our FDMB family... Sounds like you're almost as scared as I was.... Here's how I felt. Others have given great advise.... I'll just post my poem..

Finding FDMB
© 2004 By Carol Notermann

Alone I heard the words I’d feared, alone and terrified.
Did no one know or understand, I cursed the tears I cried.
I’ll beat this thing, I’ll prove them wrong for he is my best friend
There has to be some help somewhere, this cannot be the end.

The vet had been so cavalier, explaining choices to be made.
I’d heard his words, but in my brain, too few of them had stayed.
I ran to my computer, typed in the word I’d heard
As I hit “search” I trembled, for I hated that darn word.

The list popped up, and there I saw, that I was not alone.
I clicked on one, and read the text, but those words too had flown.
Then next I clicked, a message board, with others just like me.
I typed the words, “I’m just so scared, I’m crying and can’t see.”

Within a minute, maybe two, I was welcomed with a (hug).
They said to simply take a breath, my heart, it felt a tug.
For here were others just like me, they seemed to understand.
No one said to PTS, they said they’d lend a hand.

Thus guided by the “experts” that had no vet degree
I learned about this thing I feared, they took each step with me.
They told me of the blood tests, how to poke his little ears.
I learned of its importance, to shoot and have no fears.

I learned to simply trust my “gut”, and that I knew my cat.
I learned to treat a “hypo”, my testing spotted that.
I’ve cried tears of joy with others, and also tears of pain.
We are a world-wide family, we cheer each others gain.

And now, just four months later, my guy is lying at my feet,
Our lives are back to “normal”, and the path was not too steep.
For with the help of all my friends here on FDMB
I know that I am not alone, and that’s enough for me

 

Welcome! You came to the right place for advice and support. These people are great! You are in good hands here and handsome Prince sounds like he is, too. We have all been scared and sometimes overwhelmed by the diabetes and other problems they can develop (mine went out and got into a fight so, now I shoot him, irrigate his wound, shove liquid antibiotics down his throat, and will have to start testing him again!). You will be okay. Take a deep breath, listen to your vet, read and ask questions. Most of all - you have a lot of caring people to talk to any time of day. Best wishes.