New member - and confused about how to start here most likely due to my state of being overwhelmed!

Hello! My cat Simon was recently diagnosed with diabetes and also has CKD. He seems to be declining rapidly so I am anxious to see what I could be doing to help him.

 

Hi and Welcome.

Have you and Simon started with insulin yet?

If so, what insulin are you using and what is the dosage you give?


When was Simon diagnosed?


How about his food? Is he eating dry food or wet food, or both, and which kind of food is he eating?


Have you gotten instructions how to home test his blood glucose level with a home glucose meter?


We start with those questions.


Try relax and breath. I've been there all new and confused. And overwhelmed.

 

Thank you for your response! Simon was officially diagnosed a few days ago, but in looking back at when the symptoms started we suspect he's had diabetes for a couple of months. He is on Vetsulin, 2 units every 12 hours. We are doing testing here at home and his BG has been very high since being discharged from the hospital. (It did bounce around quite a bit while he was there as well). His most recent reading was 395 and that was down from an earlier reading today of 595. For the past four years all he has eaten is wet food - mostly home cooked (supplemented with Alnutrin) as well as some Fancy Feast but classics only. This diet change came about with his sister having IBD but we needed to feed them the same thing and it turned out to be a good change for both. I am shocked that he is the one that developed diabetes, as Carly has been on steroids ever since her IBD diagnosis. Simon also is Stage 2 kidney disease and I am reading a lot of conflicting information on what he should be eating for THAT. However, I understand that getting the diabetes somewhat under control is most important but it seems like he is rapidly declining. I am quite concerned and wish I knew what to concentrate on first.

 

Welcome. There are a number of people here who have balanced feline diabetes and CKD. It can be done.
Like CKD, feline diabetes is a steep learning curve. We can help you with that. You will be a pro in no time.
This is the Welcome Forum. Come over and post in the Feline Health Forum where more eyes will see your concerns.