Newly Diagnosed :-( 

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Roxy, Mar 22, 2017.

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  1. Roxy

    Roxy New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2017
    Good Day Feline Lovers,

    I shall start off by saying hello from Newfoundland, Canada. My 11 year old male cat has been recently diagnosed with diabetes. His name is Sammie. Needless to say I was heartbroken as I so felt for the little guy. It took the wind out of my sails as I just finished up treatment for Breast Cancer myself and now my fur baby is sick. He was such a comfort to me thru my journey and for for that I am truly grateful. Its my turn now to take care of him. :)

    Now that I have gathered my thoughts I am able to reach out to the more experienced Moms and Dads, I would like to pick your brains for some information. Currently he is receiving 1.5 units two times a day. I have since moved him off dry food and started feeding him pro plan veterinary diet DM wet food which he is eating but boy it is ever expensive. I decided to go with this food until he was able to be stabilized. Being new to all of this are there any brands that you would recommend to buy at your local pet store or Walmart for diabetic cats that would be equal to the veterinary diet DM? I thought I read somewhere that I need to make sure that the food is high protein and a low carb diet and that Fancy Feast is a pretty good brand.

    Yesterday Sammie was supposed to get his first glucose curve completed but he was so stressed out at the vet that they decided not to follow thru as the test results would not be accurate due to his stress levels. They asked if they thought I could complete the testing at home. I live alone and I do not think he would stay still long enough for me to obtain the blood test from his ear. I would welcome any suggestions, information and advice anyone may have for me at this point in time. I know I have so much to learn.
     
  2. Yong & Maury GA

    Yong & Maury GA Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2017
    Welcome Roxy and Sammie!
    Hoping you make a wonderful recover for yourself! And now we will help you with Sammie :bighug:. Most feed Fancy Feast pate and Friskies pate, here is a food chart we use to (usually) look for 8% or less carb foods:
    http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

    It's not unusual for a glucose curve to be inaccurate because our babies can be stressed at the Vet. If your Vet is open to you doing the curve at home, you are still starting out better than some of us. Home testing is one of the best tools to help manage your kitty's diabetes. Some of us are also single parents so we can relate and help you out. Post any more questions on the Main Health Forum to get more eyes :).

    Also, a little bit of info in your Signature helps with a quick glance for those of us with bad memories: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/
     
  3. Roxy

    Roxy New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2017
    Yong,
    Thank you so much for your quick response and the good well wishes. I will definitely look at the food chart you sent to me. I greatly appreciate that information. I hope your Maury is doing well and I too have hope that I can get Sammie back on track with his health. :)
     
  4. Yong & Maury GA

    Yong & Maury GA Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2017
    You are very welcome :). The Lantus group is very big on the forum, so you have lots of experienced members over there!
     
  5. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2016
    Welcome from a fellow Canadian in Ontario to a fellow Canadian from The Rock! :) There's a ton of help and support available here. My guy gets a mix of wet Pro Plan DM and Friskies or Fancy Feast pates to vary the flavour. Many here feed those grocery store brands. There are some Presidents Choice low carb wet foods too.

    I live alone too and testing is definitely a think you can train Roxy to accept. We have a lot of tips and tricks to help. You need to buy freeze dried meat treats to use as rewards. I use Orijen brand treats and there's another brand called Pure Bites some people use.

    Now move on over to the main health forum for general questions and the Lantus forum for insulin-specific advice.
     
  6. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2016
    If your cat is stormy for the ear test you can do the Patrick of the ear (on the sweet spot) then flick the drop of blood onto your fingernail and test the drop from there.
     

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  7. Roxy

    Roxy New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2017
    Thank you everyone for the advice and information. So glad there is a support group to obtain such information from.
     
    Yong & Maury GA and JanetNJ like this.
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