Introducing Lance (Nebraska)

Hi everyone!

My name is Barb and my 9 and a half year old cat Lance was just diagnosed with diabetes this morning. My vet recommended some low carb foods and told me I could do home testing for his levels and we are starting him on ProZinc insulin in the morning after I get off work. I'm unsure about what type or brand of home testing kits I should get to monitor his level so we can start getting him on his new diet this weekend. We have 2 other cats that are non-diabetic and to keep costs down we are going to go with a dry food that all 3 of them can eat that is low carb and healthy.

Any advice is much appreciated!!

Barb

 

Dry food is not good for a diabetic. Low carb yes, but make it wet food.
See this list of many foods that are low carb - look for kinds below 10%, but get a few cans of higher carb around 15% to be fed if Lance's numbers go too low.
Binky’s Food Lists

Any BG meter that you would get at a pharmacy or Walmart to test your own blood sugar is just fine. Many people get the Relion meter and strips as the strips are inexpensive compared to others. I have a couple OneTouch meters and also an Aviva meter. Also when you are picking up your meter and strips, you should pick up a container of Ketostix to test Lance's urine for ketones.

I can't comment on the type of insulin you will be using or the dosing, but many other here can.

It sounds like you have a pretty good vet because most vets don't think home testing should be done.

Any questions you have, just ask.

Welcome to the site.

 

Hi Barb and Lance,

Welcome!

Wonderful that your vet wants you to hometest. We use human meters - any kind of alright as long as it sips and takes a tiny sample. Many people here like the ReliOn from Walmart because it is cheap and the strips are cheap. We got the PrecisionXtra free, but soon found out the strips were very expensive. We ended up getting them on ebay at half the price of the pharmacy. Here is a video to get you started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8

We like wet lo carb here. Even the dry lo carb foods have more carbs than are ideal. You can feed all your cats wet, lo carb. Here is a website by a vet; she explains why wet lo carb is best for all cats, but especially diabetics and she has great transitioning tips: http://www.catinfo.org

All of us have or had diabetic cats and successfully treated them with insulin, wet lo carb food and hometesting. But it is very scary at first. And there is a lot to learn. Breathe. Ask lots of questions.

 

The vet did recommend wet food being better than dry so we might do a mix to see how one of the cats responds to it. My husband's cat Aara has never liked wet food and so we aren't sure how she'll react to the new diet if we can find lo carb food at the pet stores in town that is moderately inexpensive.

I actually asked my vet if I should do home testing and she seemed surprised that I knew about it but agreed and was very helpful with answering questions. I'm doing pretty good with his diagnosis actually. I'm a nursing assistant getting ready to go back to school for my LPN/RN degree and am looking forward to 'nursing' Lance, so to speak, with his diabetes since it'll give me experience with giving insulin shots and testing him.

Thank you all for the advice so far!

 

I should mention that if my Shadoe eats even just a few pieces of dry food, my civvie eats only dry, Shadoe's BG numbers go through the roof because she is very sensitive to the carbs.
If at all possible, you should try to feed Lance only wet food.

I can't afford any fancy expensive foods, and I feed just friskies or fancy feast, but there are many other brands that are not expensive too.

 

Welcome to FDMB!

I have a civvie cat that isn't fond of wet food either, so I sympathize with you! I do keep dry food out for her, but it is absolutely out of reach of my FD cat (he is not a jumper, so I have it up high). It really is important to eliminate the dry food from your diabetic cat's diet, unless he won't eat anything else. It will give Lance the best shot at remission, if it is possible for him.

We use ProZinc insulin. What dose did the vet say to start with? If you would like more information on ProZinc, come over to the PZI insulin support group. There are people there who have experience with the insulin, and it's a nice place for support while you figure out how the insulin works with your cat.

We use the Relion Confirm meter, the Micro is similar and uses the same test strips. The kit with meter and lancing pen sells for about $15, and the test strips are about $20 for 50 strips. That is a Walmart brand meter, and the strips are only available there, but the meter is accurate and inexpensive to use. The strips are the most expensive recurring cost, so look for a meter that has inexpensive strips.

 

Laurie,

The vet put him on a dosage of 2u 2x a day for now. I would love more information about ProZinc I would research more tonight but I've got to work in about 2 hours and have had only 5 or 6 hours of sleep today b/c Lance stayed at vet's to do the urinalysis.

 

Ok, so today I gave Lance his first dose of insulin and I did go buy a BG tester, I got the Relion ultima. I've only seen my medication aides at work testing blood sugar on humans but I watched the video with Mark and Buddy and I think the first time I'll be a bit scared since I know the lancet hurts a little from previous experience with lancets so I don't know if I'll use the lancet pen that came with my monitor. I'll have to try with and without and see which works better since every cat will be different. I'm very proud of Lance, I told him it was time for his shot and he sat down in front of me and purred while I gave it so I think he knows that it's helping him.


For those who have other cats that are non-diabetic, do you find that they get jealous of the attention you give to the diabetic one?

 

Don't be worried about the lancet hurting the kitty's ear. They have very little feeling in the place you will be poking. What bothers them more is the fact you are restraining them in order to get the test. After you get it all figured out, you'll be able to do it in just a few seconds.

 

My experience with non-diabetic cats is that there isn't a problem with jealousy. When I get out the test supplies, the one who gets tested jumps onto the counter and gets ready for some lovin' and the non-diabetic lies down on the floor nearby to watch. Usually I give a treat after the test, and the non-diabetic also gets a treat.

I do make a conscious effort to give the non-diabetic some extra lovin', too. That can't hurt. Occasionally I also test the non-diabetic, so he won't feel left out (really, the test seems to be virtually painless, and what the cats notice most is the extra petting and the treat).

I just got a new kitten and haven't tried testing her yet. It would be like testing a piece of popcorn in the process of being popped! And she is acting just fine (and is not quite 6 months old), so no need to test. But eventually she'll be included in the routine also.

 

My alpha cat (non-diabetic) was nosy and interested in the testing process -- so I tested him -- after that, he didn't bother getting in my way anymore.

I converted all my cats to low carb canned food -- since they were dry food addicts, I took it slow (giving plenty of canned food to my diabetic Norton though)

First we changed from Science Diet Indoor to Blue Wilderness (18% carbs)

Then we changed from Blue Wilderness to EVO dry (8% carbs)

Then we went all canned with EVO dry for snacks/treats.

I let this process drag out over several months, though Norton always got as much canned food as he wanted (and he did like it a lot).

 

Hi Barb, that is the same dose we were started on, but the typical starting dose is 1u BID. Was his BG very high? Tinkles' BG was 600.

The sooner you can start testing, the better. If you are more comfortable, you can use the lancet freehand to poke his ear. Just remember to poke at a 45 degree angle instead of straight on. We use the pen, and Tinkles reacts to the noise it makes, not the poke itself. Just remember to give him a treat, and he'll be asking to be tested before you know it! It isn't that bad, and it will become just part of the routine before you know it, really! If you have trouble, post a new thread about testing problems and someone will help you.

Don't be afraid to ask for help or info, there's a steep learning curve in the beginning, but you'll be like a pro in no time! We've all been where you are, and others have helped us, so we're happy to pay it forward and help the next person coming down the road!

My non-diabetic cats don't seem to mind the extra attention Tinkles gets. On the other hand, Tinkles now comes over and seems to want to be part of the asthmatic cat's inhaler treatments....weird! He really does seem to understand that more "treatments" of any sort make him feel better, so maybe that's why he's interested in the inhaler? ;-)

 

Thank you everyone so much for advice and help! :smile:

Laurie, his glucose test at the vet was 516.

Lance is definitely more social tonight than this morning though he didn't like the needle poke so much probably b/c my husband was helping tonight since he's got to give the shot tomorrow night (I have a 12 hour shift tomorrow) and I'm going to test his BG in the morning before his shot to see how one day of insulin has helped.

 

Barb, that's a pretty high BG #, but it might be elevated by stress also. You may find that Lance's #s at home are lower. It's good that he acting a bit better!

You may not see any effect from the insulin when you test in the morning, for a couple of reasons. First, the insulin has probably "worn off", and second, it takes time for the cat to adjust to the insulin. You might not see the #s budge for a few days or longer. Tinkles didn't get any response for a week. Lance may respond differently and you may see results sooner, I just wanted to let you know that so you won't be concerned if there isn't an immediate response.

Here's the link to the PZI ISG viewforum.php?f=24 You can read more about ProZinc there when you have a chance, and post any questions you might have.

When you start getting some tests done, you might want to start a new thread with that info so we can see how you're doing. Another thing that will be super helpful for you, and people trying to help you, is getting a spreadsheet set up to track your BG#s. I'll post a link with instructions for you. I know you are working a long day tomorrow and it doesn't have to be done immediately, but you will love it when you get it set up! It makes it very easy to see how the insulin is working. Most people put a link to their SS in their signature, you can click on the links to see what they look like and what info you might want to include on yours. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207