I'm a new diabetic fur baby

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Deb Zen and Muffin

Member Since 2021
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    I'm a new diabetic fur baby
    1. ​
      Deb Zen
      I'm a new diabetic fur baby and I have many concerns. My work schedule varies plus I have 3 other fur babies. How and what is the best way to determine what is best for all. I live in a small camper so I can't separate them and I'm by myself. Please please help me.
      ​
    2. ​
      AmandaL&Belles
      Hi Deb,

      I would recommend making a thread on the forum. I am fairly new at this myself, we’ve been diagnosed since may 28. What type of insulin are you giving? I can direct you to which forum you should post on
      ​

    3. ​
      Deb Zen
      I find out Wednesday afternoon the insulin type.
      ​
    4. ​
      AmandaL&Belles
      Deb Zen said: ↑
      I find out Wednesday afternoon the insulin type.​
      Go to the “forum” tab, and go to the feline health/ welcome forum and repost what you sent me. I would love to help but am not experienced enough to give info that is entirely accurate
      ​

    5. ​
      AmandaL&Belles
      New​
      I posted for you!!! Hopefully someone responds soon! Deep breath
      ​

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  1. Deb Zen
    I'm a new diabetic fur baby and I have many concerns. My work schedule varies plus I have 3 other fur babies. How and what is the best way to determine what is best for all. I live in a small camper so I can't separate them and I'm by myself. Please please help me.

    Deb Zen, 31 minutes agoReport
    Reply


  2. AmandaL&Belles
    Hi Deb,

    I would recommend making a thread on the forum. I am fairly new at this myself, we’ve been diagnosed since may 28. What type of insulin are you giving? I can direct you to which forum you should post on

    Belle's Spreadsheet
    AmandaL&Belles, 21 minutes agoReport
    Reply


  3. Deb Zen
    I find out Wednesday afternoon the insulin type.

    Deb Zen, 17 minutes agoReport
    Reply


  4. AmandaL&Belles
    ↑
    I find out Wednesday afternoon the insulin type.
    Go to the “forum” tab, and go to the feline health/ welcome forum and repost what you sent me. I would love to help but am not experienced enough to give info that is entirely accurate

    Belle's Spreadsheet
    AmandaL&Belles, 9 minutes agoReport
    Reply


  5. AmandaL&Belles
    New
    I posted for you!!! Hopefully someone responds soon! Deep breath

    Belle's Spreadsheet
    AmandaL&Belles, 2 minutes agoReport
    Reply
 
Hello @Deb Zen and Muffin !

Welcome to FDMB. Can you please give us more details of your diabetic kitty?

  • Date of Diagnosis
  • Name / Age / Gender of your cat
  • What his/her sugar levels were like at the time of diagnosis?
  • What is his/her current diet?
  • Were there ketones at diagnosis?
  • Any other health issues?
  • Which country are you in?
  • I see the insulin hasn't been decided as yet?
 
Welcome. Please tell us more about Muffin. How old is she? Any other medical issues? What is her current food? Are you feeding wet, dry, or both? Since you have not started insulin yet don’t get Vetsulin. It works for dogs but not most cats. I don’t want you to waste time or money. Either lantus or balsagar or prozinc would be a fine choice. It’s best to switch all your cats to a low carb diet before even starting insulin unless she has ketones or was dka when diagnosed. Less insulin will be needed and some cats go into remission in a relatively short time on a low carb diet. You don’t need to buy special food from your vet. You will need a glucose meter to test at home. Don’t get a pet one. Human meters are fine and if in the US Walmart makes an inexpensive Relion one.
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Hello @Deb Zen and Muffin !

Welcome to FDMB. Can you please give us more details of your diabetic kitty?

  • Date of Diagnosis
  • Name / Age / Gender of your cat
  • What his/her sugar levels were like at the time of diagnosis?
  • What is his/her current diet?
  • Were there ketones at diagnosis?
  • Any other health issues?
  • Which country are you in?
  • I see the insulin hasn't been decided as yet?
Click to expand...
We were told last Monday. I told him in because he was losing alot of weight. Muffin is a 9 years old fixed male with no teeth. Right now I changed there food to blue buffalo was giving them frisky wet and indoor purina. Muffin is was allergic to his teeth so had them pulled. Everything thing else the vet wouldn't tell me. She said I'll explain everything when you decide if you're going to give him the injection or put him down. So I admit I'm nervous and really don't want to put him down. I work rotating shifts I'm by myself with no help. I live in a 5th wheel trailer with 3other cats besides muffin.. I live in Greeley Colorado
 
Why would any vet say to put a cat down just for being diabetic without trying to at the very least get it under control? You have every right to a copy of all tests run. You paid for them. Cats can often go into remission unlike most humans and dogs. When that happens they are still diabetic but diet controlled instead of insulin controlled. I understand the financial constraints and there are resources. DCIN MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU. @Chris & China (GA) might be able to help.
 
Hi and welcome to FDMB. I can't believe that your vet suggested euthanizing a cat because it is diabetic. With the proper treatment a diabetic cat can live many years after diagnosis.

Since you have more than one cat, the best thing to do is to try to get them all of the same low carb, high protein diet. Are you feeding canned or dry. Almost all dry foods are high in carbs and you want to remove that from all of their diets as soon as you are able to. We know some cats are dry food addicts, so it may take some effort to convert them over to canned, but it can be done. The benefits are 1) Muffin can't cheat by eating someone else's food and 2) it reduces the risk of any of the other cats from developing feline diabetes. Generally pate flavors are much lower in carbs than anything with gravy such as bits, shred and pieces. Here is a link to the food charts we recommend. https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/links-to-food-charts.174182/ You want to look for foods with less than 10% carbs.

If Muffin is not on insulin yet, we recommend asking your vet for Lantus, Levemir or ProZinc. The first two are human insulins you can get from a pharmacy. ProZinc is a pet insulin and you can get it through your vet or a pet pharmacy such as Chewy. If your vet prescribes Lantus or Levemir, ask for the prescription for the pens instead of vials. You will use the pen as a small vial. The advantage is because it is a smaller container, you will be able to use almost every drop of insulin before it becomes ineffective. With a vial, you end up throwing a lot of insulin away because it stops working and therefore, throw away a lot of money too. One package of pens, depending on your dose, will provide enough insulin for 9 months or more. We can also help you keep the costs down. If your vet decides on Lantus, you can also use Semglee or Basaglar, but you may need the vet to prescribe "insulin glargine". The FDA has recently announced that pharmacies can give Semglee as a "generic" for Lantus. This is great since it is about 1/3 of the price of Lantus. Another option many of our members use is ordering their insulin from Marks Pharmacy in Canada. Their price including shipping is far less than the prices in the US. I know they carry Lantus, Basaglar and Levemir.

Home testing is another important method for caring for Muffin. This means testing his glucose before every shot. You do this to make sure it is safe to give the dose. Also by doing your own testing you will know how well the dose is working to control his glucose levels. You can use either a human glucose meter or a "pet" specific meter. Most members use the human meter since it is less expensive to use. The strips for the pet meter are expensive. Don't worry, we can help you learn how to test. Also, don't be surprised if your vet tries to discourage home testing. Unfortunately, we often hear that. However, you don't need your vet's permission to test and you are the one who is responsible for Muffin's care. Look at it this way, if Muffin was your child, would you give insulin without knowing it was safe for him?

There is a lot of information on this site that can help you. I know everything is overwhelming right now, but we can help you through it. Please ask any questions you may have. You have a lot of experience members on this board and we are here to help you.
 
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