New to this forum, me and Diana says hi!

Hi all! What a lovely forum with such great resources!
I found this place as I was looking for assistance on switching to wet food.

Diana is a 12 years old Norwegian Forestcat, she's been a diagnosed diabetic for ~2 years. She's on Lantus.

I have however been in a custody battle over her with my ex whom I left 1,5 years ago until 2 weeks ago when I finally managed to get her. It is just amazing to have her home with me again! <3

However, during the time she was living with him, her diabetes was very poorly managed, her living conditions terrible (dirty place, herself dirty as she stopped being able to wash properly, bad cat litter she refused to use which resulted in her going on the floor which no one cleaned up properly etc) and she gained over 2 kilos during this time so she's now 9 kilos heavy. Which has resulted in her having hip and back problems from her weight. Anyhow, she was on dry food (which is what caused the diabetes) as she had kidney problems and it was what the vet at the time recommended, and she would throw up anything but dry food back then.

So now once she has settled in our home, we've been to the vet for a full checkup (her blood values where all normal apart form one slightly elevated liver value - much to the vets surprise which wasn't common for a cat so overweight) we're switching to wet food. I finally found a kind she likes (the little pieces with sauce from Whiskas) and she doesn't throw up - so we're working on that switch right now. However, I won't go in dept about that here =)

Either way, I'm so happy to have found this place!

 

Hello Maria, and Diana. Welcome!

Maria, it sounds like you (and Diana) have been through a pretty tough time. (Sending huge (((hugs))) to you from the UK, )

This is a great forum (though maybe I'm a tad biased ). The folks here are knowledgeable and also wonderfully supportive.

Just a note of caution: Switching from high carb food to lower carb food can sometimes reduce the blood glucose significantly. So, a dose of insulin that may have been OK on a higher carb diet may be too much on a lower carb diet, and the insulin dose may need to be lowered accordingly in order to prevent hypoglycemia.
Are you testing Diana's blood glucose at home? And if not, are you willing to learn how to do that? It really isn't that hard to learn, and we can help you if you are willing to give that a try.

Welcoming hugs to you,

Eliz

 

Aww, thank you *hugs back*
It's been a very difficult time for us, but luckily we're fighters =)

Yes we're home testing and I've significantly lowered her insulin since we started the switch, a few times her values have been so low I've not been able to give any at all. So that feels hopeful!

Thanks for the warm welcome <3

 

Hi Maria,

Welcome to you and Diana. I'm really sorry to hear about the rough time you've both had. I'm very glad Diana's back with you now and getting the proper love and care she needs.

It's great that Diana's responding so well to the food change - and that you've been home testing to keep her safe and well during the transition. You've found a great place to learn more about feline diabetes and how to help Diana feel much, much better. She really is a beautiful girl.




Mogs
.

 

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

Thank you both scoobydoox and Mogs for the welcome!
This really is an amazing place with such resources and knowledge! I'm reading and reading and learning so much!

Aww, thank you Mogs, she's the most beautiful girl in the world to me <3