Newly diagnosed, looking for equipment suggestions

hi there, fluffy has been diagnosed yesterday.
I am still waiting for the vet to get the special ordered insulin ( I wasn’t told what insulin she will be in) and set up a day to teach me all I need to do with her, how to test, etc.
I have been reading lost of posts in here and in the cat site so I feel much less anxious.
She is currently eating fancy feast pate and a tiny amount of instinct ultimate protein dry food (17 carbs) about a spoon of it at night, which is left out while I sleep, so if she is hungry she can eat something if she or other kitty has gone through the wet I left.
She is 10 years old, a Linz point Siamese and overweight, she is 12.2 pounds and the vet would like her to be at 10, so I’m also monitoring her weight.
I have another 11 year old cat that is healthy but I will be transitioning to the same food. And I have a kitten that is being fed in a high place, separate room, so my fat diabetic kitty can’t get to it, but is the healthy 11 year old cat wants to much on the kitten food then he can.

Questions:
First, I wanted some suggestions or re assurance on my feeding plan.
Second, how much should a 12 pound diabetic kitty eat in total calories to safely drop to 10 pounds?
What equipment do you recommend that will make the process easy for me and her, and be somewhat budget friendly.? What monitor, strips, lancing device, etc.
She is a very stressed kitty that has to wear a calming collar and is on feliway diffuser. Sometimes she gets some hemp oils for pets to get her to relax, is hemp ok while diabetic?

Thank youuu

 

Hi Athena, glad to see your post here on this forum.
Regarding your feeding plan, the Fancy Feast classics and Friskies pates are a good choice for Fluffy and the other kitty. Dry food is not recommended because of the high carbohydrate content that raises blood sugar. There is a sticky right at the top of this forum that goes into more detail about dry food, and if you visit www.catinfo.org you can learn more about what a feline diet should be. You can freeze canned food in an ice tray, and leave out portions for night time snacking, or use a timed feeder.
There are several varieties of timed feeders, and some are more expensive than others.
Home testing: many of us use a human glucometer because of availability and strip costs. My vet recommended a pet meter which I ordered from Amazon, but it was expensive and 50 strips are about $50 and that was not affordable for me. Plus, I had to order online and wait for arrival, which caused me some concern about running out of strips. You can get a Prime at Walmart for less than $10, 100 strips for less than $20 and they are readily available. There are other very good brands and perhaps other members will make recommendations. Lancets (get 26 or 28 gauge to begin with) are very inexpensive, a box of 100 was a couple of dollars. It's a personal choice to use a lancet device or not, I found that I did not like it and just free hand with the lancet. It's whatever works for you. You will need something to back the ear when you "poke" and use it to press the site to prevent bruising. I use a cotton ball, others use a cosmetic pad or folded tissue. It also can be useful to use a light smear of petroleum jelly on the ear before the poke so that the blood beads up better. I also use Equate (Walmart brand) or Neosporin pain relieving ointment (not cream) over the poke site when finished. FAQs forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/health-links-faqs-about-feline-diabetes.14/
Home testing links and tips: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
A low carb treat for Fluffy possibly before the test, and always after, whether it's a successful test or not, is a great conditioning tool. It lets the cat associate something great with testing. Don't forget to treat yourself too! Choose your testing station where you are both comfortable and have good lighting. Take or entice Fluffy there, treat, rub her ears and treat, as often as you can manage so she gets used to the process. Some members' cats come running when they hear the strip bottle rattling.
Pure Bits freeze dried chicken is a big hit here, and I also use boiled or baked chicken pieces as a regular treat or snack. I just cook up a couple of breasts, cool, slice and freeze in portions, then thaw a package at a time.
Regarding the weight issue, I believe that I was told to provide 20 calories per pound of kitty. Idjit was about 17 pounds at the time so I made sure he got about 350 calories a day. I used the food chart to determine how many calories per can, marked the cans with carb and calorie amounts so I always knew what he was getting on a daily basis. FOOD CHART
However, until Fluffy's BG is regulated, she's bound to be extra hungry because her body just may not be able to use the food she eats properly. The ravenous appetite is one of the symptoms of diabetes, so she can't help it. That will wane as the insulin kicks in and she feels better, so in my opinion, let her eat and deal with weight loss when she's more balanced. One thing at a time, and with this diagnosis you are dealing with the prospect of diet change, insulin therapy and home testing. Quite enough for right now.

 

Welcome. I use an Alphatrak. To make it less expensive I use freestyle insulinx strips with it. I am glad to hear you are planning on testing at home. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

 

First of all Welcome!!

You are off to a very good start.

I use a human meter and I think is just ok, and is one that I can find the strips in a lot of different pharmacies specially one that is about 5 minutes from my home and is open 24 hours just in case, I can't recommend an specific brand since I'm not in the US, start testing and be patient it can be complicated the first times but with a little bit of practice it gets better

Regarding the food and with two not so young cats try and keep it simple, a low carb, high protein WET food will benefit all even the kitten so try and switch everyone to it on the long run is the best kind of food for all cats, the wet food will last for a few hours on a plate specially if is in a time feeder, it keeps it from getting dry or if you add a bit of water (also good specially for the old ones) to it an freeze it in small portions (ice cube tray for example)

 

Thank you sooo much , this is def great info .
She has been on fancy feast for two days and I’ve noticed her today moving more and eve. Playing! Which she normally doesn’t. I know it could be me just “seeing things” but I’ve searched and couldn’t find any info as to what are the signs that a diabetic cat is feeling better.

 

I think each cat is different but is more like they start acting themselves again, usually a bit more active and peeing less and with a bit less hunger (within reason)

 

I always feel such a great pity when animals struggle from pain. My cat used to. We knew that it is the end but wanted it to live without pain, so we've been recommended to give it some hemp oil to relax. Of course, it should be special hemp for animals. We bought it from here: https://cbd.market/cbd-for-pets. Good sellers, good quality, the hemp really worked. I hope your fluffy will be fine, dear!

 

I got a Relion Prime glucometer (for humans). Inexpensive; it reads the same as the vet's so I am thinking it's adequately accurate. I see that I can also get test strips inexpensively for it on ebay; sellers note the expiry date on the strips, so this seems like a worthwhile option. After a month of frequent use, the original battery is losing some charge but still working fine; I'm glad I bought it batteries and now have these on hand. They're a lot cheaper if bought in packets of two than one at a time.