Overwhelmed!

Hello,
First off I want to apologize because I realize some of the questions I am about to ask have already been talked about elsewhere, but I am just looking to get some answers as quick as I can to get my cat on the right track.

Just two days ago, my cat was diagnosed with diabetes. Prior to this I had absolutely no knowledge of diabetes let alone feline diabetes. My cat “Hoyt” is a short hair 3 year old tabby. For the last 3 years I’ve been feeding him Science diet dry food. When he was 2 the vet recommended we put him on Science Diet Lite. He currently weighs 18 pounds and I realize this is my fault for allowing him to eat so much! I’ve done a ton of reading these past two days on the topic and I am looking for some help to get my cat back on the right track. When my wife brought our cat home from the vet two days ago, the vet had prescribed 1 ½ units of vestsulin every 12 hours and hills r/d.
From what I’ve read so far I want to switch him to wet food low carb/no grains. I don’t think this will be a problem because we give him wet food for a treat sometimes and he loves it. I’ve looked at a lot of charts on pet food but I was wondering what currently would be a good choice with a second goal of weight loss and last how much would be an appropriate amount to feed him for two feedings a day.

Also, I understand we should be home testing him with the whole diet change what is a good meter and what is the best way to do it.

Again, I apologize for asking repeated questions, but I am just looking for current up to date answers. Thank you so much for your time and all your help. I live in Grand Forks ND and if anyone would rather help me out over the phone that would be great. Again, thank you !
:YMSIGH:

 

Hi! Welcome to the FDMB!

Glad u found it!

I'm gonna be quick here cuz I gotta head to the store soon, but I will add for you this really good link from Consumer Reports, and they're review of meters.
http://docs.google.com/View?docID=dd5ck ... on=_latest

Second is Dr Lisa's Feline Nutrition link
http://catinfo.org/
she also covers Feline Obesity, please read thru her website, lots of good information!

Others will be along thru out the day to give you more feedback and support. So take a breather, Feline Diabetes is very manageable and and well worth it for our kitties!

 

Yes, you are correct about the diet and about the need for hometesting.

For the meter, any blood glucose meter designed for humans is fine. You don't need one specifically for pets. One for humans will read a little differently, but the protocols recommended here are based on readings obtained with human monitors. In other words, no problem.

I'm sure that specific recommendations for meters will be forthcoming. Basically, most are just fine. The main thing you want to look out for is to get one that requires a pretty small sample of blood (.3uL is the smallest, several meters are .5 or .6uL - for a cat and a newbie owner [new to testing, that is], I personally wouldn't go higher than that).

Your vet put you on Vetsulin? Are you aware that Vetsulin is subject to an FDA warning? http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/new ... 188752.htm I can't find it right now, but I seem to recall that vets are not supposed to start new patients on Vetsulin now but to try other insulins. Maybe you need to call your vet and check.

 

VETSULIN product alert more links

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=311


viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2172&p=19816#p19816

Definitely discuss with your vet.

 

Hi Hoyt's owner!

Don't worry. Unless you know that the specific answer answers your specific question, it is hard to know what your are doing. Ask, we love to help!

there are far better foods for FD then R/D. it uses fiber to try to keep the cat fuller longer - but it does NOT work. Cats are obligate carnivores and need meat! Read up at http://www.catinfo.org and specifically the obesity section. See if you can return the R/D to the vet - tell them he wouldn't eat it.

Ok, so you read up on nutrition When I owned an FD (Em died a few years ago of cancer) I fed Fancy Feast turkey and giblets. The fosters I've taken in eat Special Kitty turkey and giblets.

Absolutely!! diet change alone can make some dramatic changes in need for insulin. Do NOT change the diet until you are comfortable home testing. Em was eating dry food for years and needed 7 units of insulin. When I finally got her on a species appropriate diet, she only needed 1 unit.

As for which meter, that is up to you. My Em did not like to bleed for me so I lost a lot of strips until I bought a freestyle lite meter. My fosters have all used relion meters from WalMart.

There are videos on youtube showing you how to home test, just head over there and type in feline diabetes home testing.

It is very overwhelming in the beginning, but the learning curve is very short. you'll be old hat at this in no time!

Connie

 

Hi and welcome to FDMB :mrgreen:

As Roni has stated the makers of Vetsulin are urging vets to transition kitties to alternative insulin.
I cannot recommend Lantus or Levemir enough. Both have shown to have excellent chances of remission (diet controlled) in cats (84% and 82% respectively)if used within 6 months of diagnosis.
It does sound quite possible Hoyt Diabetes could be related to his weight and carbs.

I would be reluctant to support you giving Hoyt 1 1/5 units of insulin as a starting dose, especially if your not hometesting.

Did the vet give you any blood glucose numbers? and does Hoyt get stressed at the vets? (Stress can raise bg's significantly)

If you can get a meter quick smart that would be great.

Vetsulin is best used with food, rather than just 2 meals a day.
I know Hoyt may be overweight but as is explained on Dr Liasa's site weight loss needs to be done carefully too.
Added to this Hoyt is probablyu constantly hungry? This is because his body can not process the food properly and therefore he is literally starving (not to mention the pitiful cries that usually go with this :sad: )

In the vetsulin ISG (Insulin support group) Kimmee has given a really good example of a feeding/insulin schedule for vetsulin using kitties:
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=302

I would also urge you to pop to your local pharmacy and get ketodiastix. These test the urine for keytones(in the main a sign of a lack of insulin) and so until a kitty is regulated should be monitored for.There may well be a glucose box on the strip too, that gives you a guide as to how much glucose he's excreting (your eventual aim will be neautral)

Keep asking questions, there isn't one that is stupid.

 

Quick note here:

Just switching to all canned food diet will help with weight loss. Canned food is
more filling than dry, since it has water in it.

BUT...heed the advice above and do not switch until you have a good handle on
BG testing.

An abrupt switch to all canned food can lower the BG considerably, and you need to
know what the insulin is doing....reducing the dose will almost certainly be in order.

On the other hand, you could switch to canned food now, but TEST BEFORE EVERY SHOT,
to know if it is safe to give insulin.

Most of us here recommend you do not give insulin at all, if the BG is 200 or below.

 

Hi Hoyt's Dad (and Mom),

I understand about wanting to know NOW. This can be an overwhelming site on top of an overwhelming diagnosis. My first response on hearing Max had diabetes was to break into tears and ask the vet how long he had to live. I found out diabetes is not a death sentence, and once you get the hang of it, a pretty manageable condition.

About the food--absolutely right, low carb wet food. My current diabetic eats exclusively from the Fancy Feast gourmet line. He gets all but the seafood flavors. Oops, Fancy Feast is changing their labeling (knew that) and are renaming the gourmet line as the classic line (didn't know that). Here's the foods that are in that group. You can get much better low carb wet foods--foods made by IAMs and Wellness, for instance. I just can't get my diabetic to eat them with the same gusto as he eats the FF. It's also reasonably priced.

Actually, many cats lose weight on an all wet food diet. Think about it--if you were eating equal calories of donuts vs. lean chicken, which one would put less fat on you? When figuring what amount is the right amount, first you have to keep in mind that an unregulated diabetic is starving and not well processing the food going through. I always advise against withholding food from an unregulated diabetic that is screaming for it. But, in general, this post by Karen and Binky, one of our nutrition specialists, explains how many calories cats should get. So go by calories--which are in Janet and Binky's food charts (look at the links under "diet-related documents")--not just the size of the can.

The Vetsulin seriously scares me. There is currently a class action suit being organized for people whose animals were harmed by the inconsistent formulation. Take a look at the Insulin Support Groups for Levemir, Lantus, and PZI. They have stickies that explain the action of the insulins, to help you make an informed decision about what Hoyt might do well on. The Pets with Diabetes wiki also has good write-ups on the various insulin types. This page of the wiki has a "table of contents" for the insulins discussed; scroll down some to see it.

Location isn't important to helping on the phone. You can go to our members list, which I have sorted on the locations field, and browse for someone near you. You also can help the "knowing where people are" cause by putting your location into your profile.

Best of luck and hugs to Hoyt.