? Newly diagnosed - new to the forum

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Erin720

Erin720

Member Since 2017
Hi, my name is Erin and my cat Boogie was just diagnosed with Diabetes last week, male, 10 years old. The new vet left this diagnosis and that he needs insulin on my voicemail! It was upsetting. I called her back and she backtracked and wants to see if we can regulate him without insulin first, which I am good with. Anyway, his glucose came back at 380 then I took him back 5 days later and it was lowered to 330 (switched his food to wet the day after the 380 results). I am trying to figure out what the best food is for him. The vet recommended Hill's m/d wet food, but I've been doing some research and it seems like under 10% carbs is best for diabetic cats (Hill's is 14%). I suspected the vet was getting kickbacks for prescribing the Hills, and another user confirmed. Looking for a cheaper, lower carb and possibly higher protein option. Anyway, just wanted to say hi and see what other owners are feeding their pets.
 
Hi Erin, welcome. You might want to change your GA to a question mark. GA is in honor of those that have gone on to the rainbow bridge.(Guardian Angel)
 
Most here use Fancy feast pate variety and Friskies. Both are cheaper and are highly recommended as they are easy on the pocket book. Just no gravy. This is a link to Dr. Lisa nutrition. Talks about many and does comparisons for carb, calroies and fat and protein. http://catinfo.org/
 
I am new so can't give you dosing advise but will try to answer any question I can or point you in the direction of the answers. Might want to read the "stickies" at the top of the Lantus board. Lantus is a long acting depot insulin. Those stickies are full of info you can arm yourself with. I agree with the Hills crap. NO WAY. :)
 
Thanks Phoebes! I saw that chart, which is why I was confused why the vet wanted me to use Hill's so much since their carb levels are overall high. When I told her about the research I'd done with the cat food chart, she responded, "Well, you can't trust everything you read on the internet." (insert eye roll)
 
Erin720 said:
Thanks Phoebes! I saw that chart, which is why I was confused why the vet wanted me to use Hill's so much since their carb levels are overall high. When I told her about the research I'd done with the cat food chart, she responded, "Well, you can't trust everything you read on the internet." (insert eye roll)
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LOL...so we trust the vet that's training came from the food company's and that prescription diet is actually a trademark - even if they do test it - there is no formal approval organization to back up their claims? o_O
 
Some vets get it, my vet said don't buy the prescription look up Dr. Lisas food chart and advise getting ff. I am guessing she doesn't tell her partners. Lol
 
Welcome Erin and Boogie! :bighug:
Definitely do not need the expensive prescription foods, Vet's do get kickbacks for pushing those foods. It also seems to be what most of them are taught in Vet School :rolleyes:. As Phoebes said most feed Fancy Feast pates and Friskies pate (non-Indoor formula), add 1-2T of warm water to meals for added hydration. Lantus is a very good insulin and there's a huge community here to help you with dosing. We are very data driven so we use Spreadsheets (you only need a google account ;)) and if you need help setting it up, just ask! http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Setting up some signature information will help before you head over to the Main Health forum:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

And I like to give this to new members: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

Ask any questions, this is a support group for Boogie and YOU :cat:
 
Thank you Yong! Vet wanted to try diet change first since he was on dry food prior to the diagnosis. So I bought a couple cans of Hills M/D but also some Friskies while I do my research. I just can't see paying 4x as much for the Hill's when the carbs are so high. I'm not doing insulin yet, but I will keep all of this info in case he does need insulin. Thanks again!
 
You'll fit right in :bighug:
If there is a food you find not listed in the chart, I think there's still more information coming, I have a carb calculator in my Signature based on Dr. Lisa Pierson's formula for guaranteed analysis information. There are also Apps for smartphones, so I've heard :smuggrin:
 
It's good to switch to the lower carb food (not perscription), but with levels in the 300's your cat is going to need insulin support. Don't worry it's not as scary as you'd think, and after that first week or two it will all be routine. We are here to help.
 
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Erin720 said:
Thank you @JanetNJ The thought of insulin is very scary.
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It's really not a big deal.... You can do this. Heres a video I made showing how easy it is to test the glucose levels at home which we all highly recommend to keep the cat safe and to know if the dose is right.
 
Thank you @JanetNJ! Is the pet meter more accurate? It seems like a lot of people on here have the human one so just wondering which one I should get.
 
Erin720 said:
Thank you @JanetNJ! Is the pet meter more accurate? It seems like a lot of people on here have the human one so just wondering which one I should get.
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The pet meter is more accurate and is the same type your vet will most likely use. However a human meter will still be able to tell you if your cat is high or low.
The down side is the test strips are very costly At just under a dollar each. Amazon has them for $45 for 50. I was easily spending $150/month on test strips. I was OK with that though because I figured that's about how much I was saving in vet bills by not doing curves there.
If that's too much for your budget get a Relion micro or confirm from Walmart. The strips are something like $35/100 of them.
 
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