Newly Diagnosed Cat

Hello all. I just found out today, after several vet visits, that one of my cats has diabetes. Of course, at this point, I am SO overwhelmed. Everyone that knows me knows I love my cats and ALL animals. They say you need a college degree to take care of my babies..when I need someone to cat sit. I actually only have one girl that I trust and use. So, I will be referring to this site frequently and will appreciate any words of wisdom and encouragement and we begin this battle.

 

If you haven't already, you should start to home test the blood glucose levels by yourself

Here are links which helps with that
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287


Also, did you get any insulin? What kind of insulin is it? And how many units a day?

And last, what food does the cat eat?

 

Welcome to the group to which you never wanted to belong!

And breathe! This is manageable. It takes some time and patience. It takes learning some new stuff.

And very importantly, it takes being careful - many vets are NOT up to date on diabetes care and will start the insulin level too high. (To be fair, they have to know a lot about several species, so its impossible to be up to date on everything)

If you've been told to start with more than 1 unit twice a day, please hold off until you've had time to read more.

If you aren't on insulin yet, we encourage you to make sure the food given is low carbohydrate and canned, not dry. Dry food is the equivalent of potato chips for a cat and 30-40% of the calories come from carbohydrates. It isn't necessary to buy a prescription diabetic food - many times, the cats don't like them, and there are numerous over the counter brands which are OK to feed. Fancy Feast Classic Pate's are generally within 10% of the calories from carbohydrates and most cats eat them readily.

Two good resources for food information are
Binky's Page
and
Pet Food Nutritional Values Comparison, August 2010.xls

 

Well done on finding this site so quickly you will find it an invaluable resource. I get all my dosing advice here and it certainly is safer than what most vets propose! Having seen what I'm doing (via my spreadsheet) my vet agrees that it is best to leave this to me (read the board).

Once you start home testing - which you should do ASAP you will want to set up a spreadsheet to record your results. This will help people to help you, here is the link to assisst with that:
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50130

In the meantime to start getting your kitty used to the idea of home testing I suggest you start rubbing his/her ears several times a day as often as you think of it. Vyktor didn't like me touching his ears at all to start off with so it helped us for him to get used to that first before I tried to start pricking him.

If you have not started insulin yet and have been feeding dry food it may be best for you to wait on the insulin and change the diet first, you can get a very dramatic drop in numbers from diet change alone and in fact some kitties do not need insulin after the change in diet. If you have started insulin do not change the diet until you are home testing or you may find yourself with a kitty in hypo because of the dramatic decrease in numbers from the diet change, you will probably want to drop the insulin dose before you change the diet too but if this is the case post here for further advice before you do anything.

Welcome aboard!

 

Welcome taterpatch! Sounds like you have the temperament for the job! Looking after a diabetic cat takes some self-educating, some determination, and some patience. Glad you found us! Ask lots of questions and read other people's threads, they're full of information.

 

Welcome!

When the time comes you need a petsitter, here's some wisdom I saw in a post somewhere not too long ago... they suggested asking the techs at your vet's office if they did pet-sitting. Thought that made perfect sense!

Take as much time as you can reading both this board and the specific insulin your vet recommends using - you'll catch on very quickly. The wisdom already shared was likewise shared with me last month, and we did the food change, the practise testing, and discussed w/ the vet the initial quantity for dosing BEFORE the first insulin shot.

Good luck and we hope to see your posts and updates as you come along.

Lu-Ann

 

Welcome and hello!

They've gotten some good links on here already. Another good hint is to print all this out and keep it in a binder for review late at night when you can't sleep. I haven't gotten mine all done- it takes a while.

Good luck! (and breathe-it helps)

 

Welcome, Taterpatch!

Still being relatively new, I understand feeling overwhelmed. When Hershey was diagnosed Nov, 2011, with something I didn't even know existed! I started doing research and stumbled onto this forum - thank God I did! After that, I spent hours (and still spend hours) reading here and other sites, because like you, we want to do the very best we can for our furry friends!

The initial hurdle for me was dealing with the guilt that I had caused this(dry food), then was the - how in the world am I gonna stick him to test and give a shot?! Initially, my husband did all of the testing (and still does most of the shots) and I would wince each time, so, again - HOW IN THE WORLD??? But, 'ya' do what 'cha gotta do' and now I test...and most of the time even get some blood! ;-)

Within two days of his diagnosis (pre-insulin) we switched to wet food (even though my vet thinks he should be on dry DM and offered to 'transition' him to it - no, thanks). Thanks to this site and the terrific people here, we have also taken a more pro-active role in his care and feel like we don't have to take every word from the vet as the only way to do things and are free to disagree. (But, that's another thread :smile: )

You have already met some of the super people here on the forum, so I won't confuse you by throwing more thoughts your way. I mainly just wanted to say, "WELCOME!"

Libby (and Hershey, too!)

 

Just wanted to say welcome to you both.
This will be the BEST place you will find for support, advice and just paw hugs!
My Sugar Bean is in remission by the help of this site. She has not been back to the vet since that first week curve because if this site. We changed her foods, micro dosed with insulin and home tested... because of this site.
Wishing you well with Taterpatch!

 

Thanks to everyone who responded. I am so touched that so many of you did. We do not home test. The vet rechecked her blood sugar today and I have to take her back the Wednesday after that. He knows I am struggling with the shot and I can't even watch when they take her blood. I asked about home testing and he told me today that since I am struggling with the blood draws in his office, he didn't think I would be able to do the draw (which he may be right) I am afraid of hurting her. We increased her Humulin?? insulin to 4 units once a day. He still insists on the dry cat food which I leave out for her all the time. I am now feeding her Fancy Feast Classic and yes, I have been guilty of mixing a little of my other babies' cat food's gravy with it (I PROMISE..NO MORE). I feel like, at times, that I am not getting the insulin into her but when I feel the injection site, it doesn't seem to be wet and she is acting better. I am still struggling with the injections and though I know I shouldn't, am giving them to her in the scruff of her neck. My other cats eat Friskies can food and have their own dry food left out for them as well, which is also Friskies. They are very, very spoiled. My friends all say you have to have a college degree to take care of my cats when I have to go out of town. I actually have one girl that I use and trust. If she isn't available, I don't go. I paid over $90 for insulin, syringes, and a bio-hazard container. I spent $17 on dry food at the vets office and also $1.40 for one can of food. I questioned him again today about the Humulin and he still insists it will be okay. I asked about Prozinc and PZI and he said there were more expensive than they Humulin. Due to finances, I will have to finish the Humulin before switching..if I need to switch. He also told me today to reuse the syringes!! I just can't bring myself to do that. Does anyone else? Sorry this is so "all over the place" but I am still confused and overwhelmed in Ohio. :?

 

You will have to take little steps as you can. Now you have the injection down, start working up to the testing. It is not a blood draw. It's a tiny poke on their ear that gives the same size drop a human diabetic gets on their finger. No only will it be more accurate than numbers from the vet (stress raises bg levels, most cats are stressed at the vet), it will be much less expensive. We have free testing kits available on the top of this page. While waiting for it to arrive, practice messing with and heating her ear and giving treats.

What larger city is your home near? Maybe we have a member nearby who can come show you how easy it is.

The scruff of the neck is fine for giving the shot.

After you get the testing down, we'll help with getting rid of all the dry. For now, with that large amount of insulin, the dry food is probably keeping her blood glucose levels up enough to be safe.

 

Alrighty, first thing... shame on a vet who says to RE-USE SYRINGES ..... never re-use because they are SINGLE USE syringes and the tip will have had the coating off from the first use and the second use will hurt.

For that food from the vet, TAKE IT BACK. Tell the vet your cat refuses to eat it at all now. The vet should give you a refund. Feed the fancy feast and Friskies WET pate flavors only, no gravies.

Humulin is a poor insulin and there are others that are much better, like Lantus and Levemir. They cost more but they work, so do you want to use an insulin that is cheaper but not working, or an insulin that costs a bit more but may get your cat off insulin? Your choice.
here's some info on the insulin you are using.
Humulin Primer Info

For testing, it does not hurt your cat. My cats pretty much sleep through the pokes on the ear tip.
Pick up a meter at the pharmiacy, like a Relion meter, test strips and some lancets. Testing your cat before giving a shot may save your cat's life.

Now the dose you are giving, 4units and only once a day? Next shot, make it 1unit and shoot twice a day.
There are a couple things wrong with that dosing.
Cats have faster metabolisms and need shots twice a day, and that's with longer lasting insulins like Lantus and Levemir, but with humulin N, that shot is not even lasting 12hours. Finally, the dose of 4units is very high, so your cat is on one scary roller coaster.
Her BG is high and you shoot 4units, and she must feel like she is falling off a cliff as her BG will come down low and then she will bounce up high again...... not good at all!

I would suggest you get a meter like Relion, start home testing as most people around here can help you get started, and for the shots, you MUST shoot twice a day, so pick a time that's good for you, like 8am and 8pm.
Change the dose to maybe 1unit each shot, but see if you can get the meter and post here so you can get some help right away.

NEVER re-use syringes. Old syringes re-used will hurt way more than a quick poke on the tip of your cat's ear.
keep in mind that human diabetics test themselves several times a day and they are not suffering about those pokes. Your cat will be fine, and we can help you to be fine as well.

Feed all of your cats fancy Feast or Friskies type pate foods with NO gravies as they are high carb.
Here are a couple food links... check binky's list for some foods that are 10% carbs or less, and return the vet food for a refund. The dry foods and gravy foods are like feeding your kids McDonalds happy meals 3 times a day.... kids like it but it's horrible nutrition.

Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition

 

Hi and welcome!
Here are a couple of ideas, not sure if anyone has already mentioned them.

You can get all the home testing supplies you need to start for just the cost of shipping.
just click on the "home testing kits" link at the top of every page. There is also a great organization called Diabetic Cats In Need that may be able to help with the cost of insulin. Check out the supply closet forum too. Many people have posted that they have syringes, test strips, even insulin, that they no longer need.
Gayle mentioned lantus and levemir, which are good insulins. She didn't mention the two you did, PZI and Prozinc, which are also great choices! My cat, Bob was on PZI for 10 weeks before he went into remission. All four are far better choices than the humulin your vet prescribed.
Carl

 

My cat was on a Humulin N variant and he is in remission now but it was because I changed him to all wet food, 6 feeds a day, and you wouldnt want to make that change until you are home testing as Akbah's insulin needs dropped through the floor straight away. I needed to do a looot of testing in that first week. Carl helped me.

Akbah was on two shots a day, started at 3U (which was too high) and I reduced it from there. I agree that one huge shot of Humulin N would be pretty rough going for your cat. I agree a twice daily routine sounds better. HEre is an information sheet about Humulin.
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=303
Note point 10, about duration for Humulin.

Home testing can be confronting but that is the only way you can work out how your cat is reacting to insulin throughout the day, and help your cat get back into some steady BL levels. Its really really really worth doing.

I wasn't happy with Humulin for Akbah, but instead of changing insulin, I home tested and was lucky enough that akbah could get off the juice with diet alone.

 

It can be pretty stressful at first, so the attached is for you!


Once you get the relaxation breathing working well, you can add in mentally practicing the steps you need to take for giving insulin and for testing, to help you feel more confident and comfortable with them. You can do this!

Until you are testing his blood glucose, DO NOT CHANGE THE FOOD

Do split the dose with half in the morning and half 12 hours later. This will make it more comfortable for your kitty (less of a roller coaster) and manage the glucose better.

Also, you're only 2 hours or so away from me, so if you want, I could drive down some weekend to help you learn.

 

I thought I was going to throw up the first time I tested Vyktor, it is quite a normal reaction but within a week we were pros Test yourself first then you will see that it doesn't hurt and your finger tip is much more sensitive than your cats ear.

Have to agree with everyone else once a day dosing, especially with humulin is just ridiculous. I don't know what your vet is thinking :?: :?: :?: Show your vet some of the info you have been provided with, maybe they are prepared to learn and this will help any future kitties that vet treats for diabetes. If the vet is not open to learning and getting up to date with diabetes treatments then, for the safety of your kitty, I would be changing vets.

That bit about not changing the diet until home testing is vital otherwise you could end up with a hypo (if you haven't done so already print the sticky about hypos and stick it on your fridge so you are prepared just in case). Also the bit about changing the diet of your other cats is very sound advice, you want your kitties to have the best health possible and you certainly don't want more diabetics on your hands. Also you will probably have trouble with your diabetic getting into your civvies food.

 

Hello to all of my kitty cat friends. I live close to Athens, OH; Parkersburg, WV; and a few hours from Columbus, OH. Thanks to BJM for offering to come and help me with Callie. I may very well take you up on that offer. I have read all of your posts. I do see a difference in Callie from the time we give her shot until the next shot. I do believe she is on a roller coaster ride and I HATE IT!! I went to the store today and bought all Fancy Feast Classic Wet Food. From this point on, all the cats will eat the same food. As far as the dry goes, I really don't think my vet will take it back since I have opened it. My other babies have been eating it and think I will let them finish it up. I have never used a syringe more than once. No matter what he said, I would not do it. Yes, I would rather use insulin that will help her, no matter the cost. I have not worked since December 15th, however, due to shoulder surgery and things are a bit tight. I will check out the sites/areas that you suggested for supplies and such. I am going to change her injections to twice a day and will start that tomorrow (when I go back to work it will be tough to do but will work it out) I am going to try taking the dry away from her as well and maybe feed her more can food, small portions, thoughout the day. I go back to the vet next Wednesday. Does everyone think that she will be okay if I change what I mentioned above until then? If her results aren't better, I am not going back and will rely on each of you to get us thru this, if you all are willing. :RAHCAT

 

All your plans sound good. But we really discourage you from changing the food until you are testing and reduce the dose. Wet low carb can make a huge difference in lowering the bg levels, and then you run the risk of too much insulin and a hypo.

How about taking BJ up on her offer, learn to test and then change the food and lower the dose?

 

I agree with Sue, if you are going to change the diet to all canned FF classics, then you should learn to test right away. If that isn't possible, then I would advise that you reduce the shots immediately to 1 unit (or less), per shot, and schedule the shots 12 hours apart. And you have to make sure that Callie eats well before you give her the Humulin. That insulin works very quickly and drops the numbers significantly, so she needs a full tummy at shot time. She can also eat at other times during the day, but she has to eat before her shots.

Carl

 

When you change the food, you will want to be able to test her every couple of hours to work out what her low was and when it happened. Then you can test around that expected low time for the next little while, that way you will know how the food might have changed her insulin needs. For my cat, changing him to wet food literally changed his insulin needs within 24 hours, and I started having to lower his doses. So I agree with the others, home testing then change food starting on a day when you can be home all day, like a saturday. If you get two days off on a weekend, saturday will be better than sunday because it will give you two days to respond to changes. My cat, when I changed his food, I had to deal with very low numbers (in the hypo range) for about four days as I gradually lowered his insulin. Thats why I suggest a saturday rather than leaving it till a sunday. Your cat might not be affected much by a food change but for my boy, that's what made all the difference. When I put him on 6 feeds a day, that's when he regulated.

I made all those changes while my vet was on holidays, I had no choice but to do something because my cat was in trouble with too much insulin. I couldn't wait for him to get back, that would have been ten days. Have a look at Akbah's spreadsheet, you will see the low numbers between 19th and 22nd January. The vet was due back on the 31st. The advice I got here worked for me. Home testing saved me a loooot of money too. I'd gotten used to shelling out $300-$400 a pop for Akbah at the vet by that stage and as a student, that was bad news.

 

Hi there, put in a google search "how to home test a cat's blood sugar" or ANY variation of and 3 youtube videos come up. This is how I learned to home test. Now, the cats in these videos are apparently pros! My Junior was not so much at first. After about 6 pokes, he got the groove of it.

I have the relion micro from walmart. It was under $30.00 for the meter, testing strips, lancets and guaze pads to get started. Ask your vet if any techs there pet sit. I'm fortunate that there are a few at mine. Nobody who works at my clinic ever took a blood sample from the ear, I showed my tech sitter how and she thought it was amazing!

Junior was diagnosed a little over a month ago, it took me 2 weeks to come to terms with putting him on insulin. I changed his diet and practiced testing first. He is on PZI. It's very frustrating to wait for his groove to kick in. Patience is something im learning quickly!

Everyone here is amazing and you're gonna be a.o.k!!!!!

 

You are very welcome.

As the others have mentioned you do need to be very careful stopping dry food when on insulin because the BG levels can drop dramatically so the same insulin dose could cause kitty to hypo. Please get onto the home testing ASAP as shooting blind is dangerous 2U is more than we usually like to start on here too. Most Lantus cats start on 1U or less twice a day. I don't mean to scare you but honestly, knowing what I now know, I would be terrified to shoot 2U without knowing what the BG level was before I shot.

Have you prepared your hypo kit just in case now that you are giving insulin?

The meal part is easy for me because Vyktor is free fed. He is an only cat and does not have any weight issues or over eat so I can just leave food in his bowl. Many people use timed feeders or leave frozen food out for kitty to eat when it defrosts. Given that you have 5 kitties (your place must be so much fun ) I’m not sure how that would work for you.

Is it possible to separate Callie from the rest of the kitties while you’re at work? It is particularly important that she have access to food during the day if you’re not able to get home to test. Usually when a cat’s BG gets low they will go and eat and thereby ward off a possible hypo.

If none of your cats over eat and you do start feeding them all the same wet food you end up giving to Callie (which is highly recommended as it would be better for their health too) then perhaps you can go with the free feed, timer and/or frozen foods options.

When you start testing you are most welcome to post a daily thread with Callie’s numbers in one of the Lantus forums (tight regulation or relaxed depending on which protocol you want to follow) and of course you are welcome to post there with any questions that you have about Lantus at anytime. These forums are where you will find the most experienced Lantus users. By posting daily the people there will get to know you and Callie and be able to give you the best advice tailored specifically to you both.

Let us know if there’s anything else we can help you with or any other questions that you have and here is a link to the information about handling and storing Lantus. It is important to follow the instructions so that you get the most out of each vial/pen of Lantus without it losing potency and there's even a video about how to prepare your dose properly.
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=151

 

As it turns out, I have diabetic supplies I can give you - Lantus, U-100 syringes, a glucometer, and test strips.

 

Hello to all. I have not had the opportunity to get on here since I have gone back to work and I have a very ill grandmother, who will be 97 this month. Still not testing Callie myself yet. Did take her off all dry food and last vet visit revealed blood sugar level at 517. Still high but at least it is registering on the machine now. Still giving 3 units in the a.m. and 2 units in the p.m. Did break down today and buy her some BLUE no grain, low carb dry. She is waking us up at all hours wanting to eat cat(2)_steam!! Acting so much better and like her old self again. She got really good at playing the "keep the dry food away from Callie" game that it was just ridiculous. I was still giving the other cats their brand of dry. Everyone will be started on the Blue food tomorrow. I am leaving a can of Fancy Feast classic out for her to eat on during the day while I am at work. She seems to like that. So, thanks to all for the words of wisdom and encouragement. Callie and I are still so very grateful and will keep in touch with our progress. cat_pet_icon

 

Hi Kay,
It's great to hear you and Callie are doing well. Keep at the food change because she will be healthier with all the dry gone, and so will your others! And let her eat a bit more because until she is regulated, her appetite will be more increased.

I hope you can get started on the home testing because Callie's numbers are much too high and they have to be brought down. You are aiming to get her numbers under around 250.

Are you still using the Humulin insulin? I know you want to use up that insulin, but you don't want to wait till you are out of insulin to get a better insulin. Talk to your vet now about getting the rx for Lantus or Levemir now, and then you can get it when you can afford it and be ready to switch.
If the numbers do not come down much after the food change, I hope you can switch insulins as soon as possible.

Be sure you are testing urine for ketones every day with the KETOSTIX and post if you get even a trace on the test strip.

 

Hi! We are new

Our 'big fuzz" Elie was diagnosed Diabetic on Monday this week which was a pretty big stress for us initially. He was very lethargic, depressed and not interested in food at all a week ago. Our vet held off on starting insulin treatments until today so we could get some vitamins and nutrition in him as well as some antibiotics for a possible inner ear infection (he was circling, which could also have been a stroke or other neuro effects I am told). He is a 6 year old Maine Coon, so he's a very big boy (about 20 lbs) I'll have to get a picture on here soon.

So this morning we had a meeting with our vet and then headed over to london drugs to get the "stuff". We got syringes, insulin, monitor, lancets...all the goodies. We went back to the vet for his first treatment. I was pretty skeptical at first on how Elie was going to react to pricking his earlobe, but surprisingly he didn't feel a thing. I am so grateful that our vet also has a cat with Diabetes so she was super knowledgable on EVERYTHING! Because he's naturally BIG, we are doing 2 units, 2 times a day...of...Lantus. Since he got his first shot just before noon today, we just did one. Supposed to do 2 tomorrow...

Question...does it take a few days for his sugars to come down quite a bit? His blood glucose came down a bit throughout the day today, but still above 12.
Another Question...Elie (and our other fuzzy buddies Cosmo and Marlin) typically eat small meals more often. We've tried a number of times to reduce the meals to one in the morning and one at night, but they refused lol. The vet said to feed him a big meal in the am, followed by insulin and then again in the night. I feel like we are going to hear a lot of Meowing and whining tonight lol.

I'm really glad this forum exists, I feel like I read some very valuable things today!

Elie's Mom

 

Welcome!

You will get more responses if you start a fresh post in the main forum. Just highlight and copy your text from here, go to the main FDMB forum (link at top) and on the left, you will see a New Topic button just above the listed posts. Click, and paste your copied text in the body.

Yes, it can take some time to get the glucose under control.

And yes, feeding small meals frequently or allowing grazing works just fine for many cats, so long as it is low carb canned food (and not the prescription cr*p that many cats dislike!).

 

Hello Taterpatch & Callie,
just finished reading your post about your baby! I sure bet taking up that dry food and changing the other is going to make a big big difference. I know my Bean girl is soo carb sensitive. Once I took up all the high carb food (dry) and she was eating from Binky's list, her numbers dropped 100 or so!!! Can you believe that? I know everyone was telling me that this could happen, but I just had a hard time believing that... But, they were right and I was gently encouraged by the folks here to home test. It took a bit to get a successful test, but I did (after trying about 6 times).

This is my story on the home testing experience: Bean had been given 1.25 units of insulin. When our first test was a success, was 2 hours after the shot. She was only 27~ nailbite_smile
Because of the folks here, we had a very long long night of increasing that number, testing, feeding ~ etc., but Bean made it through the night and is still here with me today. I thank God everyday that I listened and did home test. I just know that she would have hypoed and that would have ended her life.

Now the end of my story: Bean is in remission. This I believe is due to this form! I did listen; did the suggestions from here and she has not had a shot since May! Almost 1 yr!!!!
She still eats low carb foods and treats and gets tested about every other month....probably should test more tho. Last week, her bg was 47....she usually runs that way.

Good luck with your baby Callie~this
Keep us posted

 

Hello all. I haven't had the opportunity to get on here much but I had received a notification e-mail from the board from someone who lives near my area (Parkersburg, WV..I believe) that was asking for help. I can't find that post. Knowing that "overwhelmed" and so worried feeling way to well, I wanted to respond and offer some reassurance to this person. Thought I am still a newbie, I just wanted to offer some words of encouragement. And, as I still have not started testing Callie, I thought maybe we could learn together since we live so close to each other. It would be nice having a "diabetic cat owner" to lean on at times. So, if anyone sees that post or e-mail or the person who sent it sees this post, please try and contact me again.

Thanks dancing_cat dancing_cat