newly diagnosed

Hi,
I just learned 3 days ago that my 10 year old tuxedo cat has diabetes. The vet told me over the phone and she told me he has type 1, which I'm confused about since I've read cats can't have type 1. Anyway, my boy weighed 26 pounds about 3 months ago. Now he weighs 14 lbs. He's a "big boned" cat, so now he's underweight. I will be changing his diet from dry food to canned, probably Fancy Feast fish pate. (recommended by vet) I'm very overwhelmed with all of this. I work 2 part time retail jobs just to get by and I'm worried about not only Paws' health, but the cost. I just lost my 20 year old black kitty a couple of months ago and thought maybe Paws was grieving, along with changing his dry food to weight control, for the reason of his weight loss. Nope.
I'm happy to have found this site!

 

Hi Julie and Paws and welcome to FDMB!
I am sorry you recently lost your other kitty.
Yes it is very overwhelming at first, but it does get easier I promise. Ask lots of questions and read all the yellow stickies at the top of the various forums.
That is great you are changing to low carb canned food. Fancy feast is a good choice but I would not feed fish all
the time. Try and feed the other pate varieties as well.
All cats that have been diagnosed with diabetes need insulin so maybe that is where your vet has got confused about what type of diabetes it is.
What Paws needs to improve is a low carb diet, plenty to drink to keep him hydrated, and insulin.
The best thing you can do for him is test his blood sugar levels(BSL). If you do that you will keep him safe and it is the only way you will know if the insulin is doing its job. Having a curve done at the vets every few weeks will not necessarily keep him safe and does not give a true picture of how he is going.
Here is a link to how to test the blood. It can be scary at first but gets easy and kitty won't mind as long as you give him a small low carb treat after every test.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

I don't know what country you live in so can't advise on a glucose meter. If you live in the US I believe Walmart have a Relion meter which is good.

Then if you set up a spreadsheet to record all the BSLs you will be able to see his progress and we will be able to help you with dosing and other advice and support. if you have trouble setting it up, yell and someone will help you. Here is the link
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

We are very glad you have found us and we welcome you to our FD family.
When you have more questions you might like to post on the main forum where there are many more eyes. Everyone is very happy to help and support you
Here is the link
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

 

Welcome. Please know we expect are here for you to help answer any questions and offer moral support.

 

Welcome Julie and Paws. Being 10 yrs old, I doubt it's type 1. However, some cats do have it, usually the much younger ones 1 yr old or less.

Anyway, your in the right place for help.

 

Welcome Julie and Paws. I love Paws' name and what a cute kitty! We all started in the same place, stunned, frightened and looking for information and support. The information and support are here, and you will learn how to care for Paws more quickly than you think. Finding this board and getting correct advice and instruction saved Idjit. You have come to the absolute right place.

 

Welcome! I was in your shoes a week ago when I found out my 6 year old had diabetes. It was frustrating and took a few days to get his insulin and diet food but now that I have everything, giving him his insulin and testing his BG takes less than 5 minutes. The insulin is not as expensive as some make it seem and I was able to get a 6 month supply at Walgreens for $88. I would also check Costco as I've heard they have good prices (unfortunately there isn't one near me). The most expensive part was the vet visits, which were just to get everything settled in the beginning. I wish you the best with Tuxedo and hope you are able to find a routine/plan that works with your schedule!