Newly diagnosed 8yo stopping by to say hi

Hi everyone!
Just wanted to stop by and introduce ourselves. I'm Shaun, and my best buddy Freeway was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He's starting his insulin today and my vet referred me to the site. I'm still looking around, there sure is a lot to take in! I hope to find some info here to make Freeway's life a lot easier. Looking forward to speaking to y'all, Shaun & Freeway from Toronto

 

What a beautiful boy! There is lots of great info on the site. Let us know how we can help.

 

Thanks Sue and Oliver,
Any tips on threads to start with? Like how to create a signature and what to add? Any list of commonly used terms, like what's the juice everyone's trying to get off? Should I read all of the FelineDiabetes.com site before diving into the forums?
Thanks,

 

The FAQs will give you lots of information and links.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/health-links-faqs-about-feline-diabetes.14/

Here are the directions for the spreadsheet

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

It'd be good to have your spreadsheet set up and home testing down before going to the Insulin forums. You can also post on Health for questions about testing and food.

 

Welcome Shaun and Freeway to FDMB! Gosh, Freeway is cute. What kind of insulin have you been prescribed? How much did your vet say to dose Freeway? Do you have a meter yet? We have some ways to make it less expensive i.e. food, meter, etc. You have come to the right place for support. There are a lot of caring and experience folks here. You will be given a whole lot of information and at first, it will seem very overwhelming however in a couple of weeks, things will start falling into place. Just holler if you have any questions.

Good Reading: This is a must read. It is an excellent 18 page informative document that covers feline health and nutrition. Don't take short cuts and read it all. www.catinfo.org Also read other postings and their spreadsheets. You will learn a lot more from others.

Home Testing: Here, we all home test. It is mandatory to understand how your kitty is reacting to the insulin and the dose. You will want to test before each shot and some additional test in between the 12 hour cycle. Another reason to home test is to keep your kitty safe. Find a place in your home where you will always perform the test and give lots of hugs before and after testing. There are many videos showing you how to test. Hometesting Links and TipsHere is a picture of where you test on your kitty. http://s106.photobucket.com/user/chupie_2006/media/testingear/sweetspot.jpg.html

Here is another good link on Home Testing:http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-home-test.htm

Meters: There are many meters. There is a pet meter called the Alpha Trak2 and human meters. Some use the pet meter because it is what the vets use so the numbers will match up. The meter and strips are expensive though. Most use human meters that can be purchased at any pharmacy. It typically reads a little lower than the pet meter but we have ways of compensating those lower numbers. Many use Walmart's brand, Relion Micro, Relion Prime or Relion Confirm. The Micro and Confirm only needs a tiny drop of blood but the strips are a little more expensive than the Prime. The Relion Prime meter needs a little more blood than Micro and Confirm. They cost around $15 and the strips are around 35 cents each.

Lancets: These are used to poke the ear to get blood. There are many different sizes (gauges). It is recommended when you are first starting out to use a 26-28 gauge. Also, it would be a good idea to pick up Neosporin WITH pain reliever to apply on the edge of the ears and don't forget to alternate ears.

Spreadsheets: Our spreadsheet instructions are here. If you look at the signatures of the members here, you will see a link to their kitty’s spreadsheets. We keep track of all our tests. This is basically a place to collect data and help you to determine patterns, doses, etc. It also aids those that may be helping you to better understand your kitty.

Food: There are many reasons why we are here but one is due to feeding dry cat food which is high in carbs. You will want to consider changing your food to wet, low carb food. It is recommended to feed food that is under 10% carbs. Here is a list of cat food to choose from food chartyou will note that the food with fish are lower in carbs however it is recommended that you only give fish once a week due to its mercury content. Many use Fancy Feast, 9 Lives, Friskies, etc. This list can also be found in www.catinfo.org If you are already giving insulin and you have not transitioned to wet, low carb cat food, be sure to test while you are transitioning. This is because by changing to low carb food, it could decrease your kitty’s number by 100 points or more. One last thing, many of us add water to the wet food so your kitty is getting plenty of water to flush out the toxins and to keep them hydrated.

Hypo Kit: Always good to be prepared for possible hypo events which means that your cat has reached dangerously low numbers. It can be fatal, hence, the importance of home testing and collecting data in a spreadsheet. In each of the Insulin Forums are stickie’s labeled Hypo Links. Here is one: How to Handle a Hypo. Please print and post on your refrigerator so everyone in your household is aware of hypo symptoms. You will want to create your hypo kit that would include and not limited to; extra testing strips, honey/karo/maple syrup, high carb food, medium carb food, vet information, etc.

Ketones: Diabetic cats are susceptible to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). It is best to buy testing strips that will measure (if any) ketones in the urine. One brand is Ketostix which can be found at Walmart or any pharmacy. You will want to test periodically unless you continue to get high numbers, then it is suggested to test more frequently. Ketostix typically costs around $10.

Treats: It is always nice to have treats available for your kitty especially when testing or when they decide not to eat. I like using Pure Bites. I have found it at Petsmart and other pet stores. It is freeze dried and the only ingredient is the meat i.e. chicken, duck, etc. If your cat likes it, then I would go to the dog section where it is cheaper than the cat package. It is bigger chunks but no problem in breaking it up. Another option is to use Bonita Flakes. There is a link here somewhere that has a list of low carb treats but I don't have it right now.

Injections: Most folks here use one of these main insulins; Lantus, Levemir and Prozinc. Two hours prior to your insulin shot, you will not want your kitty to eat. Then you will test and then feed. It is best for your kitty to eat a little before your shoot. I shoot while he is eating. The reason why you do not want your kitty to eat two hours prior to your test is because food elevates BG numbers. So you do not want to dose based on a food influenced number. Here is a link on how to give injections.http://www.felinediabetes.com/injections.htm

Note: Please check your insulins as there are some (the harsher ones like Humulin, Novolin, Vetsulin, etc.) that would be best to allow some time i.e. 20 minutes, after your kitty has eaten before you shoot.

If you have any questions, please be sure to post in the Health Forum.

 

Hi Shaun and welcome from a fellow Canuck.

Just a possible resource for you for food - is Freeway eating canned food? - I have done a lot of research into low carb foods available in Canada - you typically want to stay under 10% calories from carbs. I have discovered that many of the varieties made in Canada differ from the US (Walmart Special Kitty is a good example - it's low carb in the US but not here in Canada due to a different manufacturer). You can't go wrong with the Fancy Feast pates (chicken, turkey and giblets and chicken liver - just make sure they are the pates and don't say "gravy" anywhere in the title) but the small servings are very expensive.

I've found a more budget-friendly alternative, PC Extra Meaty varieties available at Loblaws, No Frills and Valu-Marts. They are very nicely priced. You can see review the foods at a spreadsheet I created here (based on data from the manufacturer) - I find the chicken variety in the 156g can to be the best for my Genghis (I actually think the turkey in the medium and large cans is too high carb which is why I have highlighted it in orange on the sheet) - feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

You have come to a great place. I began this journey in June this year and with a lot of help from the folks here I am just starting a trial with no more insulin to see if my girl is in remission!!

Can I ask what insulin they started Freeway on? OMG he is so cute - what a perfect black chin he has - I've never seen such symmetry!

Best of luck - and welcome again.

 

Shaun, it's nice if your signature could contain Freeway's age, date of Dx, what you are feeding, what insulin you are using, and what type of monitor you have or will get. Location can help - most folks here are from the US, which doesn't usually make any difference, just sometimes the resources can be country-specific.

Once you have gone over the links Sue has provided and digested the info Cindi has provided, you may want to consider what approach you will take to managing Freeway's diabetes - that will be somewhat dependent on what insulin you are using.

Just from my experience, it's important to know if you have made any significant diet changes for Freeway. I changed Genghis over from an all dry diet to a low carb wet diet and the result on her blood sugar was dramatic! We don't recommend starting insulin if you are making a drastic change -- the two combined can lead to dangerously low blood sugar. Just my two cents.

It is a LOT to digest but, trust me, it falls into place pretty quickly.

 

Hello and welcome. You are going to find a lot of info here. Your baby is adorable.

 

Wow,
Thanks to everyone. I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend! To answer the couple questions: Freeway was started on 2 units of Lantus every 12 hours. I was told it was a pretty low dose. We also weren't told to start monitoring of any kind yet . We're to go back to the vet in 3-4 weeks to check his blood again I assume. The vet did mention me doing a 'curve' at home at some point. Are you all basically doing a curve everyday with this monitoring? Isn't the earprick painful for them?

So we started the insulin injections tonight, and the only other thing we've done since his Dx 2 weeks ago is cut back on his treats and cat milk. Actually, what I'm most worried about is changing his diet. He eats the Fancy Feast Pate now, so that's not the problem. And he also doesn't seem to hate the Purina DM we got from the vet. But he loves his grocery store dry food and treats and he can beg for food quite effectively. But it sounnds like that will have to change.

Thanks again to everyone for the great info or for saying hi.
Shaun and Freeway

 

Nice work on the signature, Shaun - thanks for the update.

I do not do dosing advice and hopefully someone more experienced will come along but 2 units Lantus seems like a pretty large dose to me. I had previously had my cat on another insulin for about 8 weeks before switching - her BG was 26 at diagnosis and was still climbing into the 20's on Caninsulin (another type) but it was recommended to me by very experienced people here to start at .5 units. You can click on Genghis SS below to have a look - switch over to the World sheet tab if you want Canadian readings - with her diet in place and testing minimum twice a day she never went above that and today is off insulin.

The ear prick does not hurt - cats don't have a lot of nerve endings in their ears. I think I stabbed and injured myself more than her! I find it helped me to test her while she was eating (or with treats - there are lots of great posts in Health and Introduction section on how to get started).

My dad is a physician and 20+ year Type II diabetic and he wouldn't dream of shooting insulin without taking his blood sugar first. It is your first line of defense in keeping your cat safe. The minimum would be testing before every shot, keeping as close to 12 hours apart as possible. Lantus is dosed on the lowest it takes your cat, with only some consideration given to pre-shot numbers. This is to keep Freeway the safest possible.

The spreadsheet looks crazy when you first look at it but it begins to make more sense as you do it. With Lantus, test, feed and shoot within about 15-20 minutes. The AMPS is "morning pre-shot" value. The next column is the dose value, then each block is +1 +2 +3 etc. hours after the shot.

Here we suggest that if you have no previous BG (Blood Glucose) data, you start at .5 u and do not shoot at all if your cat's reading is below 200 (11.3 in our type of reading). Some cats can have a dramatic response to insulin.

Have you read about what to look for in a hypoglycaemic event? If Freeway's BG falls below 2.8, that's a cautionary number and you can intervene well before it becomes serious and you spend $$$$ at the vet treating it.

Sorry, I'm throwing a lot at you. Hope it helps!

 

Hi Shaun

Yes 2u twice a day is a large starting does with Lantus, as it is a depot insulin so each shot builds on the one previous to make a "spare tank" under the skin. I have personally had 5 diabetic cats of my own 4 of which I adopted as diabetics. I always start mine at either .5 or 1u twice a day or BID and slowly work up from there based on the readings I get from testing at home. I will check back later when I have a little more time to post...getting ready to go meet a transport that is bringing #6 adopted diabetic boy and bringing him home shortly. I'm sure some of the others will be by shortly to fill in some of the gaps.

Mel and The Fur Gang

 

Good luck on your new kitty coming home.

 

Welcome to FDMB from another Canuck. I'm in Toronto too. We have a great group of folks here willing to help in any way we can as you've already seen. So glad your vet suggested this site to you as it is a powerhouse of info and support from people who have years of experience dealing with sugar cats. Ask any and all questions because we've all been through those early days and understand how overwhelming this can be at the beginning. No worries though....you and Freeway will soon get comfortable with your new routine!