Newbie

Hi everyone!

Im very new, but Ill start with a little intro,

My name is Neil and my furry little friend is called PussPuss (a.k.a. Boojah!)
We are from Sydney Australia.
Puss is 12 years old and he has F.I.V.(diagnosed last year) and Feline Diabetes (diagnosed a fortnight ago).
He also had an antibiotic injection last week, that was for his skin which was itchy with some rash.
He's a half indoor/outdoor cat , sleeps inside at night....well...and most of the day too.

Ive started giving 'PussPuss' his daily needles starting from last week, the dosage is 2u twice a day, and Ive also
changed his diet to more raw chicken and dry food like the 'Hills prescription diet'. He seems to be improving
but sometimes I just cant tell, like overeating and drinking.

Sometimes he eats 4 to 5 times a day and sometimes
only twice, its strange, anyhow he doesnt seem depressed, sleeps alot but is usually awake after midnight.
Ive noticed he Isnt drinking and urinating excessively but can still have a huge apetite.

Anyhow this is a great website, Ive probably learnt more from here than I have from my vet, I didnt know
you could do blood/glucose tests at home, Its costing me a packet for the weekly vet tests that i have to do for the 1st 4 weeks,
but its all worth it I guess...

 

Hi Neil, welcome to the forum! This is a good place, my vet recommended it yesterday. I already found the site on my own just by doing some initial research. My cat Sox (almost 13) is also newly diagnosed with feline diabetes and we're just starting with Lantus 2units every 12h's. We also feed Hills as well as Royal Canine Renal diet, Sox kidney value has been elevated for some time. I feel your pain on the cost of the blood tests, the supplies and the food, but it's worth it..we'd do that in a heart beat for a human companion as well. I've heard of the blood testing kit for home use on here and also had one shown to me by our vet today. She said initial cost is $200, comes with lancets, strips and the little blood meter. I'm debating of getting one for Sox to be able to check his blood myself. This may help you monitor your kitties glucose at home and also give kitty less anxiety by avoiding a trip to the vets office. People here seem very helpful so ask lots of questions, you'll get quick responses.
Gabi & Sox

 

Hi Neil,
Welcome to the site.
Others will have alot to say and ask, so I just want to touch on a few that I think are most important.

Please begin to home test. Your kitty is no less important than a human diabetic, and humans test themselves at least 5 or 6 times a day, and ALWAYS before giving themselves a shot of insulin. There is no reason for you to waste your money on taking your kitty to the vet for curves. Many cats are stressed at the vet and their numbers are raised because of it. What good is that? If you test you kitty at home, he's alot more comfortable and not stressed at all. Also, testing before each shot is important so that you do not give insulin if the BG is too low!
Plenty of info available including pictures on testing; it's easy and painless; my cats sleep through testing.
Since you are not testing, here are some links to info you should read:
List of Hypo symptoms
How to treat HYPOS – They can kill! Print this out!

No dry food if at all possible as it causes higher BG numbers. I don't know what foods are available to you locally but we have a list that shows the carb content of many kinds. It's best to stick to below 10% carbs. Raw is awesome; one of mine just loves raw chicken chunks. I am sure there are others on this site who can suggest some good low carb wet foods in your area.
Here's a list of foods, but not sure what is on the list that is available to you.
Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition

Kitties will eat when they feel the need to eat. If their numbers are low, they will search out foods.

 

Thanks for the warm welcomes
Yes I plan on getting a home test kit asap, it seems essential.

Wow I just read that feeding your cat dry foods that have grains,vegetables,soy etc is bad,
that makes sense as cats are carnivores. What I dont get is my vet recommending the hills dry food
stuff that contains all those ingredients! PussPuss is having some diareah so thats why my vet told me about the
hills prescription diet stuff... Im throwing the bag in the bin.

My vet also recommended bland food like rice and chicken...rice!!?? for a diabetic cat!? :?
Im no professional but I can even work that out.

I think I'll stick to the raw meat and water, this makes perfect sense.

 

Hi Neil,

Welcome! It sounds like you are busy reading and learning - this is a great site for that! You are right about the dry food - no cat voluntary grazes in a wheat field, they like meat! This is a website written by a vet that has great info on diet - particularly raw. You do need to add the right supplements to the raw to make it a rounded diet: http://www.catinfo.org One of the reasons vets still recommend dry food is that they take classes and get info from the pet food companies, instead of researching on their own. It is encouraging that more and more research and articles by vets are suggesting a wet, lo carb diet is best for any cat, but particularly diabetics.

Also here is the video for hometesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8 and a good site with beginning hometesting info: http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/harry/bgtest.htm

Keep reading and asking questions. We want to help.