Newly diagnosed cat... HELP!!!

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Emily & Bear Birse

Emily & Bear Birse

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I am in need of help!!! My cat was just diagnosed with diabetes. He is 4. He is currently on 3U of insulin 2 times a day. I had gotten some prescription food from our vet (dry Hills Protein+Metabolism and wet Hills W/D) to mix together. He has always been on a dry diet. I have researched this a bit and understand that I need to move him to wet and that carbs need to be super low and protein super high. He prefers canned food anyway. My issue is that I have two other cats 3 total, and only one has diabetes. I need to be able to feed them all the same food.... It is too hard to try and desperate them to give him the expensive food... I would like to move everyone over to wet food. And I need something cost savvy. I can afford a little bit more than regular cheap food, but this Purina DM is crazy expensive (that's what my doc wants to put my cat on now). Do you have any tips for what to feed him along with my other cats that will control his diabetes and hopefully get him off insulin??? Thanks so much!!
 
Repeating from the old thread:

A lot of us with multi-cat households and living on a budget feed everyone Friskies pate's, Fancy Feast Classics or 9-Lives pates

They're all low carb foods that are fine for diabetics (and the ingredients are comparable to DM) There's nothing special about "presciption" foods other than the price

One BIG caveat....DM dry is very high carb, so if you switch to a low carb diet, make sure you're testing often at home. Dropping the carbs can reduce the blood glucose 100 points or more

3U is a high dose and when you change to low carb diet, that may be way too high a dose! Most of our cats we start on .5 to 1U twice a day and work up slowly so we don't bypass what could be a "perfect" dose (and it also keeps them safe)
 
Hey there! Well, you did your homework and yes, wet low carb food. I wish I know why these vets push these expensive RX diets that are 1. too expensive and 2. nothing RX about them and 3. way to high in carbs. It would be great if you could get all your kitties on the same food and then you wouldn't have to worry about your sugar cat (the diabetic one ) getting into high carb food. There are a few affordable low carb foods on the market. It is recommended to feed food that is under 10% carbs. Here is a list of cat food to choose from. food chart you will note that the food with fish are lower in carbs however it is recommended that you only give fish once a week due to its mercury content. Many use Fancy Feast CLASSICS, 9 Lives PATE, Friskies, etc. This list can also be found inwww.catinfo.org

About the insulin: what kind did they put your kitty on? 3 units is an awful lot to start off with. Do you know what the Blood Glucose (BG) number was at DX? We recommend 1 unit to start. If you switch your kitty to low carb food, you are going to want to home test because switching to low carb food can actually drop the BG down 100 points and then the dose could be too high. Here, we all home test. It is important to understand how your kitty is reacting to the insulin and the dose. You will want to test before each shot and some additional test in between the 12 hour cycle. Another reason to home test is to keep your kitty safe. Find a place in your home where you will always perform the test and give lots of hugs before and after testing. There are many videos showing you how to test. Here is a picture of where you test on your kitty. http://s106.photobucket.com/user/chupie_2006/media/testingear/sweetspot.jpg.html

Here is another good link on Home Testing:http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-home-test.htm

Meters: There are many meters. There is a pet meter called the Alpha Trak2 and human meters. Some use the pet meter because it is what the vets use so the numbers will match up. The meter and strips are expensive though. Most use human meters that can be purchased at any pharmacy. It typically reads a little lower than the pet meter but we have ways of compensating it. Many use Walmart's brand, Relion Micro or Relion Prime, because it only needs a tiny drop of blood. The Prime testing strips are ½ the price of the Micro.

Lancets: These are used to poke the ear to get blood. There are many different sizes (gauges). It is recommended when you are first starting out to use a 26-28 gauge. Also, it would be a good idea to pick up Neosporin WITH pain reliever to apply on the edge of the ears and don't forget to alternate ears.

This is a lot of information to throw at you but, important stuff. If you have any questions just yell. And Welcome to the forum. This is a great bunch of caring and helpful people.
 
Thanks so much!!!

So Bear used to be a hefty boy, not fat... But big. A big tom cat. He drastically lost weight and I took him to the doc. Test after test later it turned out he was diabetic. I researched his symptoms though and walked in their thinking it was diabetes. We still did all the expensive tests though, because better safe than sorry!!

He is on Lantus. The doc started him at 2U for one week and then 1U after that for 7 weeks. I moved him down to the 1U after the first week but I could tell he was going down hill and his sugars were very high. His sugar at diagnosis was 6 something and 1000 in his urine. Soooo high!! Poor baby. So I moved him back to the 2 units myself after 2 days in the 1 unit. I was not testing his blood at home yet, but could tell it wasn't right. I took him back in and they retested him and his blood sugar was 569. This is being on the WD food and 2U for 2 weeks. So she moved him up to 3U. He has been doing that for a week now. I haven't been able to test his sugars during the day, but before his evening dose it's running mid-high 400s. His vet told me to only check once a week, but I don't think that is right. I checked it last night before dinner and it was 449. I want to check it more, but it is horrible. My husband has to pin him down for me to lance him. I have been doing his paw, I can't seem to find his ear vein. I will try his ear vein tonight though, hopefully this won't be as rough and I can tackle it more often.

It's very important to me that we get him under control. I can just tell he is still not right. He isn't putting any weight back on, his bones are still protruding out. And he still sleeps a lot, however his energy is coming back slowly I feel like.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate this forum. I have been going at this blindly the last couple of weeks!

Emily
 
And Bobby and bubba your picture does help! Bear is all black!

I bought the Alpha Track. The lancets that came with that are different though, the needle is already slightly protruding from it. Then when you push the button it just jabs it a little. It's not like the human lancets where the needle is inside and pops out.
 
OK..Lantus is a great insulin, but it sounds like your vet doesn't know how to use it correctly.

It takes 5-7 days when you first start for the "depot" to build. Lantus is a "depot" insulin...in simple terms, that means that you don't see the full effect of a dose until the depot is stable at that dose. When you first start, only a little of each shot starts to work...the rest goes "into the depot" and slowly releases back into the body...but until the depot has a chance to build and stabilize, you won't see how well each dose is working.

Think of it like steering a barge...you can move the steering wheel, but it takes time for the barge to completely move into the new "position"....there are other insulins that are more like steering a speedboat...where as soon as you turn the wheel, the boat turns too

We usually start at .5 to 1 unit and only increase in .25 unit increments so we don't bypass what could be a "perfect" dose. Also, when you only test at the vet, the cat is under stress and that alone can raise the blood glucose up to 200 points. The vet see's those "stressed" numbers, increases the dose and sends you home where the cat relaxes and you can end up with a hypoglycemic crisis on your hands.

It's important to always test before shooting (to make sure they're high enough to give insulin at all) and then get a test somewhere mid-cycle on the AM cycle and at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle. Most cats go lower at night, so it's important to get that "before bed" test to make sure you don't need to set an alarm to get another test in later in the night.

We just want to keep your kitty safe as well as getting the best control possible. Your vet doesn't sound like he understands how to use Lantus best. No matter how good our vets may be, it's impossible for them to stay up to date on the latest treatments for every disease in every animal they see...they'd never have time to see patients!! The people here do nothing but deal with feline diabetes and the diseases that tend to come with it, so have lots of real life experience on what works...and what doesn't
 
We have a spreadsheet program we use here to keep track of our cats blood glucose too....it's a very valuable tool that will help to look for "patterns" in how our sugarcats are doing so we'll all want to see how Bear is doing before giving advice on increasing the dose.

Here are Instructions on getting the spreadsheet....if you have trouble with it, just let us know! It'll also help for you to fill out the signature line (if you look below our comments, you'll see that we all have signatures filled out) Just click on your forum name on the top right and you'll see "Signature"...click there and a new box will pop up

We usually put our name/cats name, age/sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health problems?, general area you live in...and when you have it, the link to the spreadsheet goes there too. That way we don't have to keep asking the same questions over and over again
 
When you have a moment, could you add a few tidbits to your signature? It will help us give you feedback.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. You are limited to 2hard returns, so separate pieces by | or -.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as your name | cat's name | date of Dx (diagnosis) | insulin | meter general location (city and state/province) any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.

Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.
 
Here's something I wrote up for others for testing...maybe it'll help you too!

It can be really helpful to establish a routine with testing. Pick one spot that you want your "testing spot" to be (I like the kitchen counter because it's got good light and it's at a good height....it also already blocked 2 escape routes due to the wall and the backsplash) It can be anywhere though...a rug on the floor, a table, a particular spot on the couch...wherever is good for you. Take him there as many times a day as you can and just give his ears a quick rub and then he gets a yummy (low carb) treat. Most cats aren't objecting so much with the poking..it's the fooling with their ears they don't like, but once they're desensitized to it and learn to associate a certain place with the treats, they usually start to come when they're called! Or even when they hear us opening the test kit!

You also have to remember...you're not poking him to hurt him...you're testing him to keep him safe and understand what's going on inside his body. There's just nothing better than truly understanding what's going on inside your kitty's body and with this disease, the more knowledge you have, the more power you have against it. The edges of the ears have very few pain receptors, so it really doesn't hurt them. Also, if you're nervous and tense, it's going to make your kitty nervous and tense too. As silly as it might seem, try singing! It forces you to use a different part of your brain!

It's also important to make sure his ear is warm. A small sock filled with a little rice and microwaved or a small pill bottle filled with warm water (check temp against your wrist like you would a baby bottle) works well

Finding the right "treat" will be a great help too! Freeze dried chicken, bonito flakes, little pieces of baked chicken...whatever low carb treat you can find that he really enjoys will help him to associate the testing with the treat! China's Achilles heel was baked chicken, so I'd bake a piece, chop it into bite sized pieces, put some in the refrigerator and freeze the rest to use as needed. It didn't take long for her to come any time I picked up the meter!
 
I can't thank all of you enough for all of your help already! I tested Bear last night before bed (tried the ear again.. and BAM. It worked. I thought I had to be able to see and feel the vein in order to get blood from it, and I was worried I wouldn't be successful there because I can't see or feel it in his ear.
His BS last night was 354 at bedtime (a few hours after his Lantus dose of 3U). This morning before breakfast and before Lantus it was 434. I am going to check it again around lunch. I was hesitant to move away from the 3U yet because his numbers were still so high.
I also fed only canned food this morning... to all 3 cats. One bowl per kitty of Fancy Feast Classics. They gobbled it all up! How much do ya'll feed yours? The box says 1 can per 3.5lbs. If each cat was 12 pounds that would be 3.5 cans/day/cat... thats 11.5 cans/day total. That CANNOT be right!!!! Talk about expensive!
I also got the spreadshseet that you sent the link to. I am going to try and work on it some today and see if I can get the hang of it. I have no idea what I am looking at, so I am going to play around a bit. What is AMPS and PMPS? I am trying to see where to put my numbers.

Thanks again everyone!

Emily and Bear
 
Hi Emily! I wanted to pop in with another food suggestion. You could try a premium food like Wellness pates (Turkey or Chicken flavors are both low carb)--if your cats like it you can get it in the large, 12 oz cans, and it would work out to be almost the same price as Fancy Feast, and it has better quality ingredients. And you wouldn't have to deal with all the little cans. An average sized cat would get about 1 5.5 oz can a day, or about 5-6 oz a day if you use the big cans.

But, Fancy Feast is also fine to feed if it works for you! The feeding recommendations on the can are always more than you need to feed. When Bandit ate Fancy Feast a while back, he would get 2 cans a day (1/2 can 4x a day). He's about 12 lbs. It depends on the cats' ideal weight and level of activity, but usually 2 cans a day for a 12 lb cat is about right. If it's not enough and he loses more weight than he should, you can feed more, or if it's too much and he gains more weight than he should, you can feed less.
 
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Congratulations and welcome to the Vampire Club!!!

AMPS is the AM Pre-shot...the test you should always do before giving insulin in the morning---PMPS is the PM Pre-Shot

There are two cycles each day...the AM and PM cycle and they should be as close to 12 hours apart as possible.

You always test before shooting. Generally we test/feed/shoot, all within about 5-10 minutes. Test to make sure they're high enough for insulin, Feed to make sure they're eating fairly "normally" and Shoot (usually while their head's in the food bowl...lol)

The + cells are for the number of hours since the shot...so +3 is 3 hours after, +6 is 6 hours after, etc...all the way to +11 and then you start a new cycle

Other than the Pre-shot tests, you want to try to get at least 1 mid-cycle test (somewhere around +5 to +7) on the AM cycle and at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle. Most cats go lower at night, so it's important to get that "before bed" test so you know if you should plan on setting your alarm clock to wake you later on

Another option on feeding is Friskies pate's...they come in the big 13oz cans for about $1 and are also low carb
 
Thanks Julia. I will look into that!

I was also wondering if you guys had tips on the best places to buy all this food in bulk? With 3 kitties on canned food I am going to need to buy a lot of it!
Also, I can't feed 4x a day. I can only feed 2 or 3 times a day. I am not home enough to do that. the 3rd time (lunch would really only be if my mom were to be here to help). At breakfast this morning, each cat ate a WHOLE small can of FF.
 
Thanks Chris and China! I am excited to be here :-)

Thanks so much for the tips on the sheet. After I wrote that in my reply I realized what it all was. Is it odd that his sugars are so high even being given 3U? I just cant believe his levels haven't decreased much with the high amount of insulin, but I guess it also has a lot to do with the food. I am interested to see his level around noon today since he had only canned food today.
 
I've found buying on Amazon is the cheapest for bulk, but...beware that you may have some bad cans that show up now and then because they get damaged in shipping. I actually am no longer going to buy Wellness Core online because I just received a second case were I had to throw out half the cans because they were spoiled. My Weruva always shows up fine, so I'll probably keep ordering that one on Amazon, but I'm going to switch and buy the Wellness at my local pet food store for a while.

I'm not sure if others have had more luck with other online companies like petfooddirect, so that could be an option, too.

If you're buying in person, here's a food locator for Wellness: http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/store-locator.aspx

I've found that the independently owned tractor and pet/feed supply stores usually have way better prices over the chains like Petco or Petsmart. Most of those types of stores will also give you a discount if you buy a case at a time.
 
Emily & Bear Birse said:
Thanks so much!!!

So Bear used to be a hefty boy, not fat... But big. A big tom cat. He drastically lost weight and I took him to the doc. Test after test later it turned out he was diabetic. I researched his symptoms though and walked in their thinking it was diabetes. We still did all the expensive tests though, because better safe than sorry!!

He is on Lantus. The doc started him at 2U for one week and then 1U after that for 7 weeks. I moved him down to the 1U after the first week but I could tell he was going down hill and his sugars were very high. His sugar at diagnosis was 6 something and 1000 in his urine. Soooo high!! Poor baby. So I moved him back to the 2 units myself after 2 days in the 1 unit. I was not testing his blood at home yet, but could tell it wasn't right. I took him back in and they retested him and his blood sugar was 569. This is being on the WD food and 2U for 2 weeks. So she moved him up to 3U. He has been doing that for a week now. I haven't been able to test his sugars during the day, but before his evening dose it's running mid-high 400s. His vet told me to only check once a week, but I don't think that is right. I checked it last night before dinner and it was 449. I want to check it more, but it is horrible. My husband has to pin him down for me to lance him. I have been doing his paw, I can't seem to find his ear vein. I will try his ear vein tonight though, hopefully this won't be as rough and I can tackle it more often.

It's very important to me that we get him under control. I can just tell he is still not right. He isn't putting any weight back on, his bones are still protruding out. And he still sleeps a lot, however his energy is coming back slowly I feel like.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate this forum. I have been going at this blindly the last couple of weeks!

Emily
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I'm right there with you Emily, I'll bring my Max home from the vet this afternoon and hope he does good, they have been giving him Vetsulin. I did get a home monitor from Walmart, my max did fine with me pricking his ear, I would get him in my lap and give him a massage and get him relaxed and sleepy, then start rubbing his ears (gets the blood circulating) if his ear is cold it's hard for it to bleed, and it doesn't take much blood at all
 
PAMELA ALLEN said:
I'm right there with you Emily, I'll bring my Max home from the vet this afternoon and hope he does good, they have been giving him Vetsulin. I did get a home monitor from Walmart, my max did fine with me pricking his ear, I would get him in my lap and give him a massage and get him relaxed and sleepy, then start rubbing his ears (gets the blood circulating) if his ear is cold it's hard for it to bleed, and it doesn't take much blood at all
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My Max is a big cat too, he is long! He has lost weight too! I'm nervous about getting him home and doing the shots myself
 
Julia & Bandit said:
I've found buying on Amazon is the cheapest for bulk, but...beware that you may have some bad cans that show up now and then because they get damaged in shipping. I actually am no longer going to buy Wellness Core online because I just received a second case were I had to throw out half the cans because they were spoiled. My Weruva always shows up fine, so I'll probably keep ordering that one on Amazon, but I'm going to switch and buy the Wellness at my local pet food store for a while.

I'm not sure if others have had more luck with other online companies like petfooddirect, so that could be an option, too.

If you're buying in person, here's a food locator for Wellness: http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/store-locator.aspx

I've found that the independently owned tractor and pet/feed supply stores usually have way better prices over the chains like Petco or Petsmart. Most of those types of stores will also give you a discount if you buy a case at a time.
Click to expand...


Thanks so much!!! I have a Tractor Supply Co right down the street from my house, and we have a feed store not too far either. I will check those places. Is this the Wellness Pate you were speaking about? It doesn't say "pate" on it, so I just wanted to make sure... I am VERY new at this whole canned food thing. I have had cats my whole life (30 years) but have always fed them dry food.

I was going to check on Amazon too. If someone does have luck with pet food websites, I would be interested to see.

I think I may just go out today with my little kiddo and tackle several places and compare prices. Definitely a new way of life for us... we have always just bought the 9 lives Urinary health and thats it, poured it into a self feeder and bam.... cats are fed for 2 days. Bear getting diabetes was probably the best thing that has happened to us (sad to say). I never realized cat food was such a "thing" before now. I feel horrible about feeding dry food to my wee ones over the years. You would think that common sense would have kicked in before now though, cats are predators, they want meat. Not kibble!
 
PAMELA ALLEN said:
I'm right there with you Emily, I'll bring my Max home from the vet this afternoon and hope he does good, they have been giving him Vetsulin. I did get a home monitor from Walmart, my max did fine with me pricking his ear, I would get him in my lap and give him a massage and get him relaxed and sleepy, then start rubbing his ears (gets the blood circulating) if his ear is cold it's hard for it to bleed, and it doesn't take much blood at all
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Awww... I will be thinking about you and Max, Pamela! I hope that all goes well today at the vet. I have never head of Vetsulin. The shots weren't a big deal for us... it was the blood testing. If you can test the blood you can give a shot, no problem!
 
Emily & Bear Birse said:
Thanks so much!!! I have a Tractor Supply Co right down the street from my house, and we have a feed store not too far either. I will check those places. Is this the Wellness Pate you were speaking about? It doesn't say "pate" on it, so I just wanted to make sure... I am VERY new at this whole canned food thing. I have had cats my whole life (30 years) but have always fed them dry food.

I was going to check on Amazon too. If someone does have luck with pet food websites, I would be interested to see.

I think I may just go out today with my little kiddo and tackle several places and compare prices. Definitely a new way of life for us... we have always just bought the 9 lives Urinary health and thats it, poured it into a self feeder and bam.... cats are fed for 2 days. Bear getting diabetes was probably the best thing that has happened to us (sad to say). I never realized cat food was such a "thing" before now. I feel horrible about feeding dry food to my wee ones over the years. You would think that common sense would have kicked in before now though, cats are predators, they want meat. Not kibble!
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I forgot to post the link to the Wellness I was asking about in the previous post...

http://www.petsmart.com/cat/canned-..._id=36-25941&_t=pfm=category&pfmvalue=faceted
 
One more thing... My local Feed and Tack store says that they have cat food brands "such as... Precise,Victor, River Run, Loyall and Sport Mix." Has anyone heard of these before?
 
Emily & Bear Birse said:
Thanks so much!!! I have a Tractor Supply Co right down the street from my house, and we have a feed store not too far either. I will check those places. Is this the Wellness Pate you were speaking about? It doesn't say "pate" on it, so I just wanted to make sure... I am VERY new at this whole canned food thing. I have had cats my whole life (30 years) but have always fed them dry food.

I was going to check on Amazon too. If someone does have luck with pet food websites, I would be interested to see.

I think I may just go out today with my little kiddo and tackle several places and compare prices. Definitely a new way of life for us... we have always just bought the 9 lives Urinary health and thats it, poured it into a self feeder and bam.... cats are fed for 2 days. Bear getting diabetes was probably the best thing that has happened to us (sad to say). I never realized cat food was such a "thing" before now. I feel horrible about feeding dry food to my wee ones over the years. You would think that common sense would have kicked in before now though, cats are predators, they want meat. Not kibble!
Click to expand...

Yup, the pates! The one you linked is the "complete" chicken. The green can is the turkey. The "complete" and the "Core" lines are good to feed and are all pate style. I would avoid the "selects" and the cubed, minced, or sliced flavors because they're higher in carbs. EVO is another good premium brand that has low carb pates that come in larger cans, if you're trying some new things out. I would definitely start with a few smaller cans first, though, and make sure your cats like the foods before you buy in bulk. :)

There is a list of cat foods with the nutrition information listed here: http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

You can pick any food out that is less than 10% carbs that fits in your budget! There's a lot of options.

And I totally was in your position about 7 or 8 years ago. I also had fed my cats dry food their whole lives until Bandit got very, very sick on the dry Hills weight loss food that his vet prescribed (at age 6), and my other cat was diagnosed with kidney disease soon after (at age 12), and then came Bandit's diabetes a few months later. Switching to canned is the best thing you can do for the health of all your kitties, so you're certainly on the right track!
 
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When Mally was first diagnosed with diabetes and I switched to a vet who was on board with giving her insulin, he wanted to start her off at a high dose too. I came here to the forum for advice on dosage rather than going with the vet's recommendation. The advice I got here was spot on and I did share her new dosage info and numbers with the vet so he knew that he had started her off too high. He was a great vet and he wasn't offended that I changed her dosage. He was actually impressed with the information I was able to give him about Mally's numbers and asked about this forum. The people here on the forum deal with diabetic cats every day and I trust their advice explicitly. When Mally was getting ready to go off the juice, she was getting only a drop of insulin at a time and the members here helped me measure the correct amount in the syringe. Mally is now 19 1/2 years old and has been in remission for almost 6 years. I couldn't have done it without the help of the experienced members on this forum.

Good luck with Bear! You're in good hands here. :)
 
Emily & Bear Birse said:
One more thing... My local Feed and Tack store says that they have cat food brands "such as... Precise,Victor, River Run, Loyall and Sport Mix." Has anyone heard of these before?
Click to expand...

I've seen them before. I don't think any of those are low carb..River Run and Loyall are only dry foods, I think. Victor and Precise use rice as a filler, so you want to avoid those.

Anything with Rice, Wheat, Corn or Soy in the ingredients is probably not good to feed a diabetic cat (Some Friskies flavors are an exception--they contain rice but not enough to raise BG) . Foods that have potato or tapioca starch high up in the ingredient list should be avoided unless you have the nutritional breakdown and know for sure that they're low in carbs, because some of those foods are ok and some aren't. If you see a food that is just meat (like most pates) and there's no rice, wheat, corn, soy, or starches in the ingredients, most likely it's an ok food to feed.
 
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Hi Emily;

Sorry to hear that Bear has been diagnosed with diabetes.
You are not alone. It is estimated that there are about 2 million cats with diabetes in the US.
And, there is help out there; diabetes is both treatable and manageable.
Your vet's advise and proper food are vital.
We are not doctors and we do not offer medical or non-medical advise, but we have helped hundreds of pet parents with in-home monitoring of BG and Ketones by testing feline urine.

“I have to tell you that your system has made a huge difference in the care of our cat. She was diagnosed .. as diabetic... The ability to measure her ketones and urine glucose has helped diagnose any problems or changes needed before it turns into an emergency, which has saved us lots of money and heartaches, in addition to our cat's life. Our whole family thanks you”Anne R, Fort Collins CO

My patented Smart Cat Box (cat litter box) is an in-home urine collection system (UCS) used to collect and test feline urine using urine strips; less stress on the cat, less stress on the pet parent & less stress on the Vet. Hundreds of Smart Cat Box UCS have been recommended by Vets, for their clients with diabetic cats, as the easy, natural way to collect urine for urinalysis at home.

There is a growing trend among cat parents with well cats. Many are becoming 'pro-active' with their pet's health by testing blood, glucose & protein at home with General Wellness Home Test kits.

Please call me at 541-563-4443 (pacific) if you need more information about home testing.
Or, visit our website; www.smartcatbox.com We feel your pain. We are here to help.

Sara Maguire & Victoria
 
A lot of people buy their food at Chewy.com too

They carry pretty much everything and you can have stuff auto-shipped on a schedule you like
 
Emily & Bear Birse said:
Thanks Julia. I will look into that!

I was also wondering if you guys had tips on the best places to buy all this food in bulk? With 3 kitties on canned food I am going to need to buy a lot of it!
Also, I can't feed 4x a day. I can only feed 2 or 3 times a day. I am not home enough to do that. the 3rd time (lunch would really only be if my mom were to be here to help). At breakfast this morning, each cat ate a WHOLE small can of FF.
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Chewy.com is a great place to buy food at really good prices. An order of $49 or more is shipped free. You might also try Friskies turkey and giblets, a case of 13oz cans is about $11. MUCH more affordable.
 
Mogmom and Goofus said:
Chewy.com is a great place to buy food at really good prices. An order of $49 or more is shipped free. You might also try Friskies turkey and giblets, a case of 13oz cans is about $11. MUCH more affordable.
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Thanks!!! I will check that out. I just got 32 cans at Walmart of Friskie's Pate for $14 to start with... I am going to do more research when I get more time :-)
 
So I guess it is because Bear's body hasn't gotten used to the low carb diet yet... (because he has only been kibble free today), but his levels are still really high. I figured they would have dropped more.

This morning before breakfast it was 434- I gave him 3U of Lantus... lunch time check was 304 and no insulin was given... and dinner check was 554 and 3U of Lantus was given. I will check him again before bed, but I just thought that I would see more of a change in his numbers being on the high dose of insulin and low carb. I guess it will take a few days for his body to get used to the low carb? I also guess all my cats are over eaters because I have only given them a small can at breakfast and a small can at dinner and around lunch time they were all looking for food.

Thoughts??
 
In addition to the high carb food "cleansing", it also takes some time for the body to "learn" what to do with the new insulin. This whole thing is a marathon, but it really does get easier as time goes by. You'll gain more confidence everday and everyone here is ready and willing to help. Hopefully you're vet is well educated in current ideas of dealing with and treating feline diabetes.
 
Hi all... I am still working with Bear on his levels. Today marks Day 5 on wet food only. His Blood Glucose is all over the board. Can someone take a look at his spreadsheet and tell me what you think? There were a few missed checks, unfortunately we cant be home all the time to do his checks... :-(

Thanks so much!

Emily
 
What time do you shoot? Do you work outside the home...What time do you have to leave and when do you get home? (just asking because we have lots of people that work full time jobs and we might be able to figure something out that would help on the testing)

Are you going to be home for the holiday and can get some more tests in? I don't see anything that screams he's getting too much, but without a few more tests, it's possible

Also, I'd like to invite you over to the Lantus & Levemir forum!! Everybody there uses either Lantus or Levemir so you'll get the most experienced eyes watching out for you and Bear!

Each day we start a new post (we call them condo's) with the date, cat's name and AMPS number in the subject line....as the day goes on and you get other tests in, you go back and "edit" the subject line to add them

Example...this is China's subject line today: 11/24 China AMPS 98,+2 90,+5 76,+8 121,+10 112,PMPS 125

In the body of the post, first put the link to your prior post in (so it's easy for people to quickly go back and see how you've been doing).

Then you give the WCR (Whole Cat Report)...how Bear is feeling...how he's eating...are the 5 "P's" in place? (purring, playing, preening, peeing and pooping) as well as any questions or concerns you may have. This is how we really learn about each other's cats...as well as a lot of stuff about our crazy lives in general!

If you go to the forum, you'll see lots of examples on how we all do our daily condo's...and if you can't do it daily, that's OK too!
 
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