long list of questions

[catz359]

HI, sorry for the long list. I have been giving insulin for one week now and have a few questions...

-DO you use the syringe more than once (can it becleaned and reused)
- What if you go out and cant get home intime for a dose
- does grain fed food mean no carbohydrates
- cat food chart is confusing. I brought it to petstore and no values seems to atch what is on can. How do you read itécompare it
- What wet food is really best ( I have proplan which was sugg by vet but found merricks at petstore yesterday.

My aim is stop have him off of insulin (though vet seems sure this wont happen) I just thinnk it is a vicious circle of always going back to vet. DOnt get me wrong I love my pets and pay huge amounts of $$ when needed for them BUT if I can reduce costs that is alaways helpful.

 

[Voula]

HI, sorry for the long list. I have been giving insulin for one week now and have a few questions...

-DO you use the syringe more than once (can it becleaned and reused)
- What if you go out and cant get home intime for a dose
- does grain fed food mean no carbohydrates
- cat food chart is confusing. I brought it to petstore and no values seems to atch what is on can. How do you read itécompare it
- What wet food is really best ( I have proplan which was sugg by vet but found merricks at petstore yesterday.

My aim is stop have him off of insulin (though vet seems sure this wont happen) I just thinnk it is a vicious circle of always going back to vet. DOnt get me wrong I love my pets and pay huge amounts of $$ when needed for them BUT if I can reduce costs that is alaways helpful.

Hi. It is not recommended to use a syringe more than once because of risk of infection and because the needle can cause pain with a second injection. Do you mean grain free food? If so, grain free food is not always low carb but it could be. It depends if other sources of carbohydrates like potatoes for example are used, in which case it would not be low carb. I don't know about the cat food chart as we don't have all the foods here in Australia that you have. Others may know what wet foods are best according to where in the world you are. A very good way to save money is to test your cat's glucose levels at home with a glucometer rather than going to the vet for blood tests.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

You can't compare labels with the food chart. The vet who put together the food chart had to do all the math to get "as fed" values. I would definitely go with her info: www.catinfo.org. The same website explains that yes, wet low carb is best and makes a difference.

Lots of people here feed Fancy Feast classics and Friskies pates.

 

[pevsfreedom]

First off realize that you shouldn't buy anything from the vet's office before price-shopping, and maybe asking the vet if they'll match, otherwise buy everything online. I buy stuff from ADW diabetes and Amazon and eBay. I get 1000 syringes for $110 shipped. I buy insulin from Vet Rx Direct. Basically you can save a ton of $ buying online, and feline diabetes doesn't have to be expensive if you put some time in and research the best buys online.

1) Look up some pictures of syringes that have been used more then once. They are NASTY. Don't re-use them.
2) I use this spreadsheet to find food for our cat. http://www.catinfo.org/docs/SortableCatFoodChartCatinfo.org2-22-13.htm. Basically you want something with as low as carbs as possible. Costco sells Friskies Pate which is $25 for 48 cans which is decent stuff for a great price. If you can put more $ into food (lower carbs) the better. Getting your cat on a wet food low carb diet is the first step and easiest I think.

Some easy to find brands are the Friskies Pate like I mentioned from Costco or Amazon.com, Purina Fancy Feast classics from same places, and Authority Pate from Petsmart is pretty good. These are all pretty decent 4-9% carb range for a decent price.

3) The thing that will save you the most and be the best idea for treating your cat is to look into home testing. This involves pricking your cat's ear to get a drop of blood, and using a human glucometer to measure it, 3-4 times a day basically. I only had trouble the first 2-3 days doing it, now my cat 'enjoys' it because she gets a slice of turkey afterwards!

But seriously, you can get insulin, syringes, lancets, test strips, glucometers, food, everything, online, for much, much cheaper then at the vet/store, and the only thing that's prescription usually is the insulin, which your vet can just sign off on thru fax if you order online.

 

[Brashworks]

Hi, just a few things to add to answer your questions:

If you are in Canada (and from your other posts I believe you are) the Lantus can be purchased over the counter and the pharmacy with no prescription. I was speaking with another member who says the pharmacist at Walmart will sell Lantus pens in a smaller package so you don't have to spend so much at once. PM me and I can put the two of you together for more info.

I am feeding Genghis Fancy Feast - there are three varieties that are low carb - the classic Chicken Feast in the pink can, Tender Liver and Chicken in the gold/yellow can, and Turkey & Giblets in the olive coloured can. Walmart and Petsmart have a sale on right now for 60 cents a can.

Lantus insulin is something called a depot insulin, meaning it creates a store of insulin for use - it's important to have the shots 12 hours apart (and don't rub at the injection site, either - I understand it can break up the fragile depot). I am not using Lantus with Genghis so can't make any recommendations on what to do if you miss an injection -- I would go over to the Lantus section of the site to ask what to do if you can't give the injection on time - it's an important question.

I saw another post you had about getting your fellow's numbers down to 10. While that is ideal, a number up to even 16 isn't horrible if his lowest point is around 5 - 10. Be patient - if that is a recent photo, then he could certainly lose some weight - if you do this gradually with a low-carb food, his numbers may well improve over the next few weeks and months.

You asked another question in another thread about a glucose curve - basically what happens is

1. Cat eats
2. This causes blood sugar to rise
3. Insulin is released (either by pancreas or by injection) which causes blood sugar to fall
4. Blood sugar will gradually begin to rise again, especially if the cat eats again

If you plotted this on a graph over a 12 hour period, it would look like this (these are US readings, but it would be identical in the scale you use.)

The numbers you had were more "flat". Don't despair - he hasn't been on insulin very long. Give it some time to do its job, along with the diet change. If you possibly can, get his readings at +6 from time of injection because you don't want him to fall too low. My own cat has had readings of 3.8 without being hypoglycaemic - I actually took one of my other cat's readings today and HE was 3.8 as well and just fine, but every cat is different and your meter might be different than mine. Look at the threads under hypoglycaemia and know what the symptoms are.

Hope that helps!

 

[jane and stewey]

#1 Reusing syringes is not recommended. #2 I feed my cat only wet food. I use Friskies and Fancy Feast...pates only. Sheba made my cats' sugar soar. #3 You need to set a schedule for feedings and insulin delivery and stick to it; otherwise, you will not see a stable sugar for long. Good luck from jane and stewey