Just diagnosed today

My name is Kim and my 12 year old cat, Heath, was just diagnosed today. As soon as the vet confirmed what I already expected, I jumped online and found this message board. I look forward to reading others experiences, and hopefully finding comfort in the success stories of others. Right now I am terrified about giving injections, and even more scared that I won't be able to keep my little guy healthy.

 

Hi Kim

Welcome to the forum. I was in your place just a few months ago and felt like it was all too much to take in but trust me it does get easier and the members here will hold your hand and give you as much support as you need along the way.

Can you give us a little bit more info about Heath? Is he on a dry or wet food? Brand? What did the vet advise in relation to treatment? Have you read anything about home testing of blood glucose?

Best wishes

Sarah

 

Hello Kim and supersweet Heath, and welcome to FDMB.

A diagnosis of feline diabetes can come as quite a shock, but everyone here understands how you feel and is here to support you. You will soon feel quite at home here.
The good news is that feline diabetes is a manageable condition and, with good care, a diabetic kitty can live as long and happy a life as a non-diabetic kitty.

I was also terrified of the idea of giving injections at first, but once you've done a few and realise that it doesn't hurt your cat then your confidence will quickly grow.

Sarah has asked you some good questions.
May I also ask what part of the world you are in?

Best wishes,

Eliz

 

Hi Sarah!

Thanks for commenting so quickly. I'm still a bit out of it. I go back in to the vet in a few hours to get his medicine info, and to be shown how to give his injections. We're not sure if he gets to go home today or not. He's very dehydrated, and his blood sugar was 595, so they might keep him overnight.

Heath has been on Science Diet c/d dry food. I have been reading he needs to now be on a low carb/high protein wet food, so that will change today. I will post more about what the vet says when I get home from the appt tonight. I have been reading about home testing. Is it really hard to do?

Thanks,
Kim

 

Thank you so much Eliz! That makes me feel better. Right now we live in Wichita, KS. We move a lot due to my husband's career, but right now he's working in Louisiana, so it's me and the 2 kitties (Maddie is our furry little girl).

 

Hi

Home testing isn't as hard as it seems initially. I found it best to heat the ear first using a rice bag and then prick it as close to the outside edge as I could and gently squeeze/apply pressure on both sides of the prick so the blood forms into a little drop. Get everything ready beside you before you get going and make sure you finish with a low carb treat afterwards. It is a little hit and miss to begin with but you soon master it and it really is the best way to keep your cat safe. Ideally you would test before each insulin shot and at least once more per cycle.

Home testing tips
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

List of low carb treats
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/list-of-low-carb-healthy-treats.9172/

With regards the food switching to a low carb food should really help Heath's numbers. Have you looked at Dr Pierson's chart. You want to switch to a wet food with less than 10% of calories from carbs. Many people use the fancy feast brand but not sure which particular type. The switch can bring down the need for insulin (as can being back home from the vets) and hence another reason to test at home. The advice would be to switch over from one type of food to another at 25% each day.

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Transitioning your cat from dry to wet

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/transitioning-your-cat-from-dry-to-wet-food.956/

Hope that helps

 

Hi Kim, and welcome to you and your kitty. You've found a great place to learn and get help. Diabetes is definitely do-able!

With respect to the testing, in some ways I found that trickier than the injections at first. As Sarah posted above, warming the ear really helps. In the initial stages, it helps to warm the ear slightly longer than you think you might need to. As you keep testing, more capillaries will develop at the test site and it gets quicker and easier to get blood droplets for testing. Applying a thin film of Vaseline on the test area helps the blood to form into a little droplet, and that makes testing easier too.

 

Since he is already getting insulin, focus on home testing before you change any food. Switching to a low carb canned or raw diet may reduce the glucose 100-200 mg/dL and drop the insulin dose as much as 2 units. If you aren't testing, you could miss this and unintentionally send your cat into hypoglycemia, which can be fatal.

 

Welcome Kim to FDMB!

From one Kim to another...

Oh, I agree with BJM, learn how to home test first. It takes about 2 weeks to get the hang of it.

That's how I did it cause Hank wouldn't eat the wet food so I worked on "mastering" home testing first. High numbers kill slowly but low numbers can kill quickly.

Normal numbers on a human meter is 50-120. So if goes under 50, then you start giving kitty gravy high carb wet food, high carb treats, kayro syrup all to raise his blood sugar levels.

There is an article but not sure where it is (maybe someone can send you the link) about what to do for hypo' s.

Hang in there. It does get easier with time.

Kimmie

 

Here's the post on how to treat hypos.