New to this journey

Hello! My name is Kara and my cat is Pumpkin. We just received the news today but have to wait a few days to see the vet. Pumpkin is 13 years old. I am slightly overwhelmed with all of this at the moment and extremely worried about cost. He is my childhood pet but I am low income and am afraid I cannot afford this. If you have advice for me please let me know!

 

Hi Kara and Pumpkin, my what a cute kitteh! Welcome Kara, and know that you are going to find the information and support you need to help Pumpkin live with Feline Diabetes and allow you to take very good care of him. It is not necessary to spend a fortune on supplies for Pumpkin. I sure wish I had known about this board and the information here, before we spent more than we needed to upon diagnosis. How was Pumpkin diagnosed? You said you received the news today but have to wait a few days to see the vet, why is that?
I would suggest that you do some reading here and get familiar with what the "sugar dance" is. Take a look at the information here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/health-links-faqs-about-feline-diabetes.14/
Go through the Index, really good information. There is also very good information on the Home Page, if you haven't read that yet.
You can post questions in the Health (Main Forum), more eyes to see and respond. You will get lots of suggestions to save some money on insulin, syringes, food, testing supplies etc. Don't be afraid to ask, and take advantage of the experience that other members have accumulated.
Main Forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

 

Welcome Kara. Pumpkin is absolutely adorable!

I would suggest you set up your profile asap so readers know a bit of Pumpkins story.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

 

For cost savings try the Walmart brand: Relion. You can buy a testing meter, and test strips. It is a "human meter" but much less expensive than the Alpha Trac pet meter. Many people on the board use human meters, myself included.

It is very important to check your cats blood glucose at home if he is on insulin. Low blood sugar can be deadly if not caught in time. And, IMHO, if your Vet tells you not to home test......ignore him!!

You will also want to read up on appropriate foods for diabetic kitties.

Dr. Pierson - new Food Chart

 

Welcome! It is overwhelming in the beginning, but it will get better. If you are not already feeding him high-protein, low-carb wet food, getting changed over to that would be a good first step. There are people here who feed Fancy Feast or even Friskies pates which are not super expensive. There is a link in my signature to a cat food database that can help you find appropriate foods. The doctor who created it suggests, "start with protein minimum of 40, fat maximum of 50, carb max of 10, and for cats with kidney issues....phos less than 300." Switching to low-carb food can sometimes lower glucose levels a lot, so if you can do it for a few days before starting insulin, it's great. Just make sure the glucose levels are checked before starting any insulin. Post any questions you have on the main health forum. You will get a lot of support and advice here.

 

Thank you everyone. Pumpkin had gone in Monday for a sliver in his paw. We found out he was losing weight and decided to do blood tests. (He has always been a heavy boy clocking in at 17 lbs and never been able to lose weight.) I can’t go back into the vet until next week because she is so booked up. As soon as I have my doses I’ll be able to update our profile. He has always hated wet food so this will absolutely be a challenge!

 

It was a challenge for a lot of us! Catinfo.org has tips on transitioning a 'kibble addict' to wet food.

 

Welcome to the club Pumpkin and Kara! I'm a noob too and still overwhelmed. But I'm learning a lot on the forum about affordable ways to manage Coco's care.

 

Kara, something I want to mention, when we got the diagnosis at the vet, we "received" a box of 100 insulin syringes, with only one unit markings for use with Lantus insulin. And we' were charged $30.00 for same. It's best to get syringes with half unit marks, and they are half the price at Walmart. Don't fill the Rx for a vial of insulin either, if it's Lantus. There are more cost effective ways to get Lantus. I don't know about the other insulins, but other members do.

Dont buy the "prescription" expensive food at the vet. It's NOT prescription, low carb, or good for your cat. It does make money for the vet's office.

There are different insulins, and some require different kinds of syringes. Perhaps call vet's office and find out what kind of insulin is usually prescribed, learn about it, and scope out supplies costs.Ask questions in the Main Forum.

 

Welcome Kara and Pumpkin! Costs are an issue for me as well. Bama is currently on Novolin N which I get from Walmart for around $25. Lasts several months. My vet originally gave me a prescription for both the Novolin N and the syringes but the good people at Walmart told me since they are for my cat and not covered by insurance, I can just ask for them at the pharmacy counter. No prescription needed.

 

FYI: Whether a prescription is needed for syringes or not is state-specific.

 

Love the photo @Sandi & Whisper

 

When I saw the avatar of @Rardito 's cat Mitsy with her little hoodie on last night, it reminded me of this photo. This hoodie was a fund raiser for http://susiesseniordogs.com/ that I bought for my Mom's chihuahua, but I couldn't help but try it on Whispy. Even though Susie's promotes adoption for senior dogs, following them is what opened my heart and mind to consider adopting a senior (Whispy was supposedly 10-14, diabetic, and had been at a rescue for 3 years). And since we had a diabetic cat previously, that was a given.

Thanks!

 

How cute!

 

Hi Kara, haven't heard from you again and I was wondering how the vet visit went for Pumpkin. Let us know how we can help.