New and nervous

Hi everyone, my name is Michael and my little buddy is Zorro. I just learned that Zorro is diabetic 2 days ago. I only noticed this past weekend that his behavior had changed. Took him to the vet (Gentle Care Animal Hopsital in Fort Lauderdale, FL) and at the time his Blood sugar was at 350. He was kept overnight for rehydration and treatment. I brought him home last night. My vet said whenever in doubt, don't inject. Zorro is at the moment prescribed 2 unit of Lantus twice a day. M vet said I didn't need a test kit right away, just treatment wit a follow up in 5 days. He said if Zorro didn't eat last night, to forgo the shot until this morning. Zorro barely ate a thing last night so I didn't inject. I did this morning but was only able to get him to eat about a tird of a can of tuna and then it was only by hand. Came home from work and he does sem better. Problem is, he still hasn't eaten. I was able to get hime to eat a little tuna by hand but no dry food. He also had a 5-6 pieces of Whiskas Temptions treats but that's it. I am concerned about his lack of appetite and am afraid to give him a shot without enough food in his belly. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi this is a great place and the best way to get help is too Use your subject line put in Help ,Advice or dose and you will get more help ok Sending Prayers and Angels to help with your Zorro Good luck Kath

 

It is really important that you home test right now. Those actions could be because the blood sugar is too low or it could be because the numbers are sky high. The only way we can accurately tell without adding vet stress to the numbers is through home testing. There are many human meters out there that are widely used here on this board. One Touch Ultra, Accucheck, Relion.....

The other issue here is the not eating. This can result in a serious situation in and of itself. Cats are odd creatures. The less they eat, the less they want to eat. So the only real way right now to stimulate his appetite is by getting food in him, either by syringe feeding wet food, or trying a different kind of food. Some people have good luck with baby food. Get something that is only a protein and does not include onions or garlic because those ingredients can be toxic to cats at certain levels.

 

My cat would not eat when first diagnosed either. I would take a small piece of food and rub it into her mouth. It is messy and a bunch won't make it in. But, some will and that is what is important. Cats heal themselves through food. It sounds like dehydration is an issue as well, as it was for my kitty. I had a cool kitchen gadget to squirt water at my cats mouth with she liked drinking that way. You can try making a "slurry" with some of his food and some water. The high blood sugar might fight away the desire to eat, but the dehydration will get them to "drink" the slurry and get some food in.

It can be tough at this early stage to get them to want to change to a new food, but a low carb food can be very helpful. And dry food, even the expensive and "low carb" stuff, can be high in carbs. But less carbs coming in means their blood sugar can drop fast. That is where home testing is so so so so very helpful. And once you get the hang of it, it is easy to do. Within a couple weeks you will be an old hat a giving injections and taking blood levels.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, we are all here to help each other.

 

Please update and you find the right help here ...Prayers and Angels coming your way Kath

 

michael the only bad advise your vet gave you was that it was not important to test right away. actually it is vitally important. the only way you know how your cat is reacting to the insulin is to test and sometimes a dose could prove to be way to high and you would need to reduce it to avoid hypoglycemia (potentially very dangerous)
if you want to pic up your own equipment it's pretty easy, let me know. there are video's here that will show you exactly how it's done. i will try to link it up for you. if you need any help with anything i talked about just let me know. we are here to help.