Newly Diagnosed

My 16yo cat was having more urine in his litter box than normal. I took him to the vet where they did bloodwork and a urinalysis on Saturday. The vet also gave me some antibiotics for the urination. On Monday, they called to let me know that the glucose was at 483 on Saturday and that it is probably higher by now. In addition, he tested positive for FIV even though he is an indoor cat. (Thinking maybe one of those times he snuck out years ago.)

I immediately got online, as I found out at work, and started researching everything that I could. I felt nervous and scared thinking of all the expenses associated with this kind of news. I have a 2 yo daughter, a lot of bills, and down to one car between my husband and I. Our paycheck barely makes it to the next paycheck so another expense is the last thing we need...but I don't want to lose my cat. He's been my friend through the end of high school, college, marriage, multiple moves, and a new baby. I can't just give up.

When I spoke with my vet, he made it seem like I had to dump a lot of money or give up (put him to sleep). He sent me to a 24 hr emergency center where they explained that he is not currently in a emergency state and referred me to a different vet that may give me more information and options. I'm still concerned that I can't afford this as I'm already struggling and trying to find the means to pay for all of the consultations that I have had so far.

Even if I can afford this, is he going to be so mad at me for giving him insulin everyday? Is he going to become angry from the pain that he has to deal with. He is 16, but is 2 more years worth the pain that he is going to feel all for my own want of having him around.

I'm confused with all of the emotions flowing, and I'm so scared that my options are going to single down to one since I don't have the money.

 

Hi there, and welcome to you and your kitty.

I'm glad that the ER referred you to a different vet. I fully understand your worries. I'm also very glad you have found FDMB; we'll do all we can to help you both.

First up, your kitty is likely to feel closer to you when you start treating his diabetes. Kitties are smart and he will soon learn that the insulin injections help him to feel better, and the thought of the injections is very much worse than actually giving them. Promise! We can help you with lots of tips.

The basic things you need to get sorted are learning how to monitor your kitty's blood glucose and urine at home, and also where to get insulin at a reasonable price. Home testing blood glucose will give you more reliable information about your kitty's levels and will save you a lot of money on unnecessary vet fees for glucose curves. Please can you let us know which country you're in so that we can give you the best suggestions.


Mogs
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I am in the United States, Southern California. Thank you for the welcoming and reassurance.

 

Your cat certainly won't hate you! Bandit's been diabetic for 7 years now, and he's only needed to be on insulin for about 2 of those years, total. With the right treatment, most newly diagnosed cats end up going into remission. You may find that with diet change and a short course of insulin, he may not even need insulin any more once the UTI clears up.

I was really hurting for money when Bandit was diagnosed back in 2009, but we managed OK! There's some important areas where you can treat the diabetes and save money. The three key things that lead to successful treatment are diet, the right insulin, and dose adjustments via home testing.

1. Diet. You don't need to feed an expensive prescription diet, no matter what the vet tells you. Any low carb, canned food is good to feed, including those at the grocery store. Many people feed their cats Friskies pates, Fancy Feast, or other low carb canned foods. There's a list of canned foods with their protein, fat, and carb levels broken down here: http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf. You just need to pick something under 10% carbs that he'll eat. Dry food is not good for diabetic cats for many reasons, so you'll just need to make sure you stop feeding that. Some cats end up going into remission right away when the dry food is removed, but most need insulin for a little while.

2. Insulin. Lantus and Levemir are the insulins that have the highest remission rates in cats, followed by Prozinc. You'll want to get one of those three. Even though Vetsulin or NPH (Humulin N) are cheaper up front, they end up costing you more in the long run because they are not effective in cats. Lantus is very expensive in the United States. However, you can get a script for the Lantus Solostar Pens from your vet, and order from a Canadian online pharmacy. A 5 pack of pens is $175 after shipping, but it will most likely last you a year or more, so it is more cost effective than the vial (It works out to be about $15 a month for insulin with the pens).

3. Home testing. Not only does home testing save you tons of money because you don't have to pay for vet curves, it's also much better for your cat because stress inflates their blood sugar levels, leading to inaccurate dosing by the vet. You can use any human meter. Many here like to use the Relion meter from Walmart because it works well and the strips in store are inexpensive. I like the Aviva Accucheck--the strips are expensive in the store but I order mine on ebay for way less than the store price. You just want to be able to afford to test several times a day. To give you an idea, a bottle of 50 strips for the Relion is about $9. When Bandit's on insulin, I test about 4 times a day, so I go through a little more than 100 strips a month. That's about what you'll want to budget for (about $20 a month for strips). Lancets are less than $5 for 100, and Syringes are about $15 Walmart.

And that's it. That's all the necessary things for treatment. Any vet that tells you that your cat needs to be hospitalized or have office curves done is not correct. If your cat does go into remission, all you'll need to keep up with will be the food, and the occasional test strip (I test Bandit once a week or so off insulin).

As for pain--the syringes we use for Lantus/Levemir are really, really tiny. I always give Bandit shots while he's eating and he doesn't even notice him. He fought me with the testing at first, but once I took control and stopped being nervous (and gave him diabetic safe treats after each test), he came around and now he runs to me and starts purring when he hears the meter beep on!

This is doable. It seems scary at first. I was working two jobs and going to grad school when Bandit was diagnosed and thought it was the end of the world. If only i knew how easy it would actually be, I would have been far less stressed out those first few months!

 

We all know here how overwhelming and scary things are when the diagnosis drops in our laps. I'm glad you feel a little bit better for having posted here.

First up is home testing. Most people here use human meters (with a cat-specific human meter glucose range) to monitor their cats' blood glucose levels. Relion Micro and Relion Confirm meters are available from Walmart and have reasonably priced test strips. (Vet meter strips are very pricey.) Walmart also do the Relion Prime which has cheaper strips but they need a larger blood sample.

You'll also need to test your kitty's urine regularly for ketones and you need to do this straight away. Again, you can get ketone test strips at Walmart (or Ketostix from anywhere that sells supplies for diabetics). If your kitty shows more than trace ketones you need to get to a vet. (NB - if his appetite is off as well as showing trace ketones then that's a reason to get to the vets, too. Not saying this to alarm you, it's just important to keep tabs on ketones to avoid a kitty developing the diabetic complication of DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis - sometimes overlooked in the early days when the focus naturally slants towards insulin injections and related stuff. I'm a great believer in prevention being better than cure! )

Vets may offer you prescription foods but again these are unnecessary. Most members here feed low carb, wet food like Fancy Feast Classic patés. If your kitty is on dry food at the moment please post for advice before changing his food to low carb, especially if he is on insulin as the food change can really lower blood glucose numbers so you need to be testing (so you'll know when his dose needs reducing). We have a list of low carb foods that are good choices for diabetic kitties. Here's a shortcut food list to get you started.

As your kitty is newly diagnosed if you can get him on a good, long-acting insulin like Lantus, Levemir or Prozinc and the right food there is the possibility that your kitty could go into diabetic remission, in which case as long as he continues to eat a low carb food he may be able to stay at healthy blood glucose levels without needing insulin every day. Lantus is very expensive in the States but you can get it for much, much less from Canadian pharmacies (we can tell you where to order). Also, sometimes people offer reasonably priced insulin and other supplies in the FDMB Supply Closet.

It is so hard when our little ones are ill and finances are tight. There is a group that may be able to help you with treatment costs for your little one; Diabetic Cats in Need (DCIN). Here is a link to DCIN on Facebook. I suggest you get in touch with them first to see if they can help you with cost of insulin, etc.

There is a learning curve at first, but please ask us about anything you need to know or aren't sure about. We'll do all we can to help.


Mogs
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Hello and welcome, your cat will not hate you. It might take a little bit to adjust but he will. It becomes a bonding time for you. Smokey was diagnosed when he was 14. He will be 18 in April. He sits by his testing area (he knows he gets a treat), sometimes he comes and let's me know he needs to be tested. I give his insulin while he is eating. He doesn't even notice it. You will establish a routine and your kitty will love you for making him feel better.

 

Lovely avatar pic of your furbaby! What's his name? Is it MonkeyCat?

 

Welcome. My cat was dx 1/16 and the vet had me buy the VT from them. I had no idea the strips were so expensive and with learning how to test, I went through 50 very fast. I am disabled and on a small fixed income and I care for 14 cats. Money is a HUGE issue. I ordered the Relion Prime and Micro from WalMart. I started using the Prime today and after a few tries got the hang of it. It has great wicking action even though it needs slightly more blood. I feel I can stay with it and be able to afford the Prime strips (50 for $9). I am keeping the Micro for back up. The strips I got for it have a 1/2017 expiration so I'm covered if the Prime goes wonky.
I also want to mention that I got the Relion ultra thin lancets (30 gauge) and I have a very hard time getting blood with them. OK, can't get the blood I need at all and had to use something larger.

 

Try larger lancets. I had trouble getting blood from Dottie, too, until I switched to a 26 gauge. You can't always get the 26 but most drugstores or big box stores will carry or order the size 28 for you. Once your kitty develops new capillaries from the larger lancets, you can switch to the small ones.

Use an ear sock to warm up MonkeyCat's ear before you test. Hint: test the heated ear sock on YOUR ear before you put it to his. Their ears are so delicate..our hands and forearms just aren't as sensitive.

 

His name is actually Monkey.

 

You guys are so inspiring and awesome. Thanks for all the information. I definitely feel less scared after reading all of the information. He had an ultrasound yesterday and found out that he did have a kidney infection, but the antibiotics are helping with that. I start the insulin today, but he did not need to be hospitalized. The vet I am now going to is actually talking a lot with me and is going to help me through doing the glucose curve myself.

 

I'm delighted to hear that you've found a supportive vet! But I'm even happier to hear that you're not feeling as scared now.

Be sure to give a shout out for help with the home testing (or anything else) if you need it. There are members here from around the world so there will usually be someone here to help if you need any hints or tips. It can be a little tricky at first to get a blood sample, but things like warming the ear for a good while before doing the poke helps a lot. When new capillaries develop in the test zones then it gets easier and easier.

Between the antibiotics for the kidney infection and the insulin treatment hopefully Monkey will feel much better very soon. Which insulin is Monkey being treated with?


Mogs
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The vet prescribed Vetsulin. Of course, I can't find it at any other local pharmacy for cheaper prices, and I left my 1st vial in my purse last night until this morning. Ugh!
I'm assuming it probably isn't a good idea to use it now especially for the first 2 wks.

 

I just answered on your post in health, but the insulin should be fine. Everyone has left out insulin at one time or another. It doesn't change the concentration, though it may affect the shelf-life very slightly. Don't worry!

 

I just went on the Vetsulin website as well that says it is okay to leave it out in room temperature. I feel better now. No need to get another $65 vial to replace the one I just got. Phew! Thank you for the response.

 

Saoirse's first insulin was Caninsulin which is the UK brand name used for Vetsulin. I left Saoirse's vial out overnight once (not in a hot place) and I rang the vet to ask if it would be alright. He said it would be OK and it was fine.

Tip: when you're storing the Vetsulin, keep it in the body of the fridge, not the door. I find it helpful to put Saoirse's insulin vial into a small plastic tub with some cotton wool padding around it. It keeps the vial upright and it's less likely to be knocked in the fridge.

Here's a forum sticky with an introduction to Vetsulin. While there is a Vetsulin support group board, it doesn't get many posts, so if you need any help, the best place to post is on Feline Health.


Mogs

 

Here are some links to help you learn about home testing: The first one has a very useful diagram of the testing 'sweet spot' on a kitty's ear where it can be easier to get a blood sample. The second link has some how-to videos.

Testing and injecting tips

Home testing links and tips
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Important Safety Information:

How to Treat Hypos (print out a copy of this and keep it somewhere easy to find in a hurry)

Hypo Tool Box

I assume that you have some honey or karo at home. Again, it's a good idea to keep some where you can grab it in a hurry (but you'll hopefully never need to! )


Mogs
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They did tell me to grab karo, which I thought I had but turned out I didnt, but I didn't hear about honey. I have honey. Honey will work too?

 

Certainly will. The hypo toolbox has a list of common sugary foodstuffs that you can use in an emergency.

 

Hi to monkey's mom.

 

My cat mew pur was diagnosed last week wed. It is scarey but it already getting easier. Mew feels so much better already- is playing, eager to eat and seeks my attention freq. he had lost a lot of weight and was not interested in anything. The shots and sugar tests do not hurt him and he comes when I call him for his tests. I am diabetic myself and rarely have any pain with testing and shots. The needles are very thin and there are not many nerves where we test. so therefore know that you are not hurting him. I just got the relion mico and is easier to use as needs just a very small drop of blood. I hope you and monkey feel better soon. And glad to hear you found a good vet. Their knowledge and emotional support is so important.

 

Thank you all so much! I'm giving my first in about an hour. I can say, from this thread, I feel more confident.

 

I'm so pleased to hear this news.


Mogs
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I'm very glad to hear you're feeling a bit better.


Mogs
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Atta Girl! Remember that your cat won't hate you, no matter what. Need any more hugs? There! Share one with your kitty when you're done, too.

 

He seems to be very tired tonight which could be from the stress of all the vet visits the past two days. How long until I see him get some more energy?