Just starting treatment

[Frank's Mom]

Wow...these boards are filled with info...trying to not be overwhelmed, but educated and a good advocate for kitty's care. Right now my big question is how important is the 12 hours between shots? We're on 1U 2x per day, and I've got to figure out my schedule for this and if it's at all flexible. Next step is getting an in home monitor and whatever I need to go with that, getting kitty back off this "prescription" food that I bought yesterday when I felt overwhelmed, and regulating things better than what I'm currently set up for. Might as well start things the right way, right??

 

[Djamila]

Welcome! It sounds like you're already making a great start! I think most of us got sucked into the "prescription" food at the beginning of the journey. I think the 12 hours is pretty important, although you can flex by as much as an hour on occasion. I have the regular schedule set up to be consistent, but fudge once in awhile when life intervenes. You can't fudge too far though since insulin is a hormone, so it behaves differently than regular medications.

You're right about there being a ton of information here. Please feel free to ask as many questions and as often as you need. This forum is on the small side, but you don't usually have to wait too long for someone to come along.

 

[Rachel]

Hi! Welcome to our little board! We're a small, but friendly forum. If you ever have an emergency situation, we suggest posting both here and on Health so you can have eyes on it right away.

The 12 hours between shot is fairly important...ProZinc is nice that it can be flexed some as Djamila mentioned.

The in home monitor you can get at any drug store. Some people use a pet monitor but it's fine to use a human BG monitor too. A lot of people use the Relion from WalMart as the strips are pretty cheap. When you get the monitor you want to buy some strips (you'll use a lot!), and some lancets (we suggest getting 28 or 26 gauge...they're listed as for alternate testing sites..they're bigger making it easier to get blood at first).

Until you get that, I'd like to suggest beginning to desensitize your kitty. If you can pick a spot where you will always do tests (I used a spot on the floor by the fridge, others use a counter, or wherever is best) and bring him there several times a day and rub his ears...then give a treat! He'll start to associate those and when the pricks start, he'll be more likely to tolerate it well.

Your starting dose is great!

As for food, you can pick any food that's wet low carb...check the main health forum and at the top there is a post from Dr. Lisa with her food list. BUT PLEASE WAIT to change food until you are home testing! The food change can drop them over 100 points...so it's imperative to home test so you can be sure it doesn't drop him too low.

I don't want to overwhelm you with too much info. When you have time, read our protocol and beginner's guide! And ask ALL the questions you have...we want to be sure you have the info you need!!!

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

The amount of information is indeed overwhelming, Frank's Mom . Rachel must have been finishing her post before I did mine! lol. Most of us that use the ReliOn from WalMart choose the Confirm or Micro because they use a smaller blood sample. We don't want to overwhelm you more but one tip for when you start home testing, firmly press the "poke spot" between your fingers for a few seconds. It helps lessen "bruising" and tiny bumps from appearing. One other thing for your initial shopping list, Neosporin / Polysporin / Triple Antibiotic ointment (Just pick 1). I put a thin layer on Maury's ears every other day usually. Helps them heal faster and the blood droplet form an actual drop.

Definitely ask any question! The only stupid one is the one not asked

When you can, it is helpful to put some info in your Signature (light grey font below our posts).

 

[Frank's Mom]

Ok...this board and my cell don't get along. Lol. Frank was on friskies pate for wet and purine one for dry. I'm thinking this prescription food is going to cause his sugar to go back up, even with the insulin. So this weekend will be monitor, strip, and lancet buying. Once I get those, is there a place I can easily find for how to get him off this food and back onto one I'm happier with?

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Actually, a lot of people feed Friskies pate. I think most of them are considered low carb options . The Purina dry is definitely more of a high carb food, as most dry foods are. I used to feed Maury the Purina Indoor Cat chow (Around 40% carb ) so since I bought the Purina DM (Around 18% carb) at the Vet on diagnosis day, I did transition him on to that. The prescription foods are still too high in carbs but compared to the Indoor Cat chow, it was much lower. Which food did you want to get Frank off of? Most people highly recommend a wet food only diet, but that does not work for all kitties. There are a couple dry food options that are OK for sugar kitties.

 

[Frank's Mom]

Actually, a lot of people feed Friskies pate. I think most of them are considered low carb options . The Purina dry is definitely more of a high carb food, as most dry foods are. I used to feed Maury the Purina Indoor Cat chow (Around 40% carb ) so since I bought the Purina DM (Around 18% carb) at the Vet on diagnosis day, I did transition him on to that. The prescription foods are still too high in carbs but compared to the Indoor Cat chow, it was much lower. Which food did you want to get Frank off of? Most people highly recommend a wet food only diet, but that does not work for all kitties. There are a couple dry food options that are OK for sugar kitties.

I'm not thrilled with the fillers in the royal canon glocu-whatever it is. I'd like a higher quality food for dry food that I can leave out during the day while feeding canned in the morning and night (and at lunch when I'm at home on the weekends). But how can I tell what the carbs are in a dry food?

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

Actually, a lot of people feed Friskies pate. I think most of them are considered low carb options

Please note:
The Friskies Indoor Cat pate with the green lid is not low carb even though it is a pate. I use this one as a high HC food when needed.

 

[Frank's Mom]

Please note:
The Friskies Indoor Cat pate with the green lid is not low carb even though it is a pate. I use this one as a high HC food when needed.

I had bought a case of the seafood flavored variety pack in Feb, after checking the water content vs protein, etc, so it sounds like we're good to go with that. The vet sent me home with 3 tiny cans of royal canin to try to see if he likes it, which he does...but he likes everything, so.... Anyhow, he goes back for blood sugar tests on Thursday. I still need to get my own monitor to start checking at home daily, but I think I'm going to stick to Friskies for canned with the option of leaving some dry food out, until I can figure out the best way to transition to an all wet food diet.

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

Starting home testing as soon as you can would be great! You can make sure that the glucose numbers are safe to give the shot and track how well your kitty responds to the insulin and the dose. Since glucose levels can fluctuate on a daily basis, even in non-diabetic kitties doing regular home testing will give a much better idea of how well he is responding. Also many kitties will tend to have higher readings at the vet because of stress...very similar to people who have "white coat syndrome" which gives higher blood pressure readings when they are at their doctors than when they are at home. Home testing is definitely one of the more important things to add to your treatment plan...and you will save your kitty stress from vet visits and save yourself money too

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

I'm not thrilled with the fillers in the royal canon glocu-whatever it is. I'd like a higher quality food for dry food that I can leave out during the day while feeding canned in the morning and night (and at lunch when I'm at home on the weekends). But how can I tell what the carbs are in a dry food?

I made the choice for Young Again Zero formula for dry instead of the DM (listed as 18%). You can e-mail them for a free sample. You can only purchase it online. Maury is almost fully on it and I do not see it effecting his BG as much as the DM. Even at YA's highest carb count I have seen 5%, which is still much better than the prescription food. The other two I have seen mentioned on the forum are Evo Kitten (I think they say it's in a purple bag) and Wysong Epigen 90, the 90 is important because the regular Epigen is higher carbs.

Ah yes for Friskies, stay away from the Green cans / Indoor formula, they are higher carb foods. If you happened to already have some, put them in a hypo kit