Newly diagnosed and need help

Hi, my boy, Gizmo, was just diagnosed. He's 17 and used to be very obese. One of the reasons we took him into the vet is he suddenly rapidly lost weight. Now I can feel every bone in his body and he weighs next to nothing. We bought the expensive dry prescription cat food and then found your site (I wish I had found it earlier! ) We are trying to switch him to fancy feast classic wet food, but he keeps throwing it up. I'm concerned that he's not getting enough to survive, but don't want to put him back on the dry food because he is experiencing very bad neuropathy on his hind end. Please help!!

 

Welcome to FDMB.

I have a Gizmo (non-diabetic), as well!! What was Gizmo eating previously? Some cats who were on a dry food diet need to be transitioned to canned food. This is a link to a website authored by a vet on feline nutrition. I'm also linking the section of the website on transitioning cats to a canned food diet.

Have you started Gizmo on insulin? If so, which insulin? It's also important that Gizmo be eating reliably if you are giving your kitty shots. Food helps to prevent blood glucose numbers from dropping too low.

Did your vet mention anything about home testing? We are huge advocates of you're testing your cat's blood glucose (BG) so you know if it's safe to give an injection as well as have a good idea regarding how low a dose is taking Gizmo's BG level.

 

That's so cool that you have a Gizmo too! Unfortunately, since he's so old, my hubby had told me no for doing insulin. We have a son who is a childhood cancer survivor and we're trying to pay all of his medical bills. We can't afford the insulin costs. We're trying to help him by changing his diet. He was on a dry food only diet with wet food as a treat on the weekends. Thanks for the links, sounds like I need to transition him slowly.

 

I'm tagging someone who is involved with Diabetic Cats In Need (DCIN). They may be able to help. you with costs for managing Gizmo's diabetes.

@Chris & China (GA)