Very worried for my boy

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Diabetic dennis

Member Since 2017
hello, I have stumbled across this site while frantically trying to come to terms with our Dennis being diagnosed with diabetes on Monday, I am totally overwhelmed and feel all I am doing is nodding my head saying yes that's fine and paying vast sums of money to my vet. Dennis started losing a lot of weight and I rather stupidly assumed it was old age he is 18 now, in all other ways he was his normally self just weight loss. Thought its best to get him checked out after having bloods and urine tests the vets diagnosed diabetes ( it has been all the more harder as we have just moved and I had been with past vet for 20 years so I am yet to build a relationship with the new vet ) I am giving insulin am and pm he is on 0.5ml he has also been put on a special diet ( that's really hard as I have 3 other cats and usually food is down all day ) I am now trying to find a blood glucose monitor but the one the vets recommended is sooooo expensive to say I am overwhelmed is a understatement however our Dennis is taking it all in his stride
 
Hi welcome to you and Dennis. We can help you! First, home testing is the best way to keep Dennis safe and know how well the insulin is working. Any human monitor will do. Just be sure the strips are affordable and get one that takes the smallest amount of blood. If you're in the US, the Relion Confirm is a popular choice and is available at Walmart. Next, what food are you feeding Dennis? There's no need for expensive vet formulas, you can feed Dennis and your other cats the same low carb over the counter wet food such as Fancy Feast Classic or Friskies Pate. Not only are these foods cheaper, they are generally lower in carbs than the vet food. Just be sure you are home testing before you make the switch in case the lower carb food makes his blood glucose drop. Feline diabetes is overwhelming at first, but we will be glad to help you learn to deal with this very treatable disease, just ask any questions you have!
 
Welcome Dennis and his Mum!
We all understand the overwhelmed feeling at diagnosis :bighug:. Home testing will help manage the anxiety rather than dosing blindly and keep Dennis safer. As Sharon said, many of us use the ReliOn Confirm / Micro from Walmart because test strips are more affordable ($0.36/strip versus about $1/strip on pet meter like AlphaTrak2). All the protocols written here were with human glucometer numbers. We have many multiple kitty households here and they generally switch everyone's diet.
Setting up your Signature is super helpful when posting and helps those of us with bad memories ;): http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

We use Google Sheets to track our kitties BG numbers, if you need help setting one up just ask: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

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

Feel free to ask any questions on the Main Health Forum. This is a support group for YOU and Dennis :cat:
 
Hey, (((hugs)))!
The hardest part is over. Dennis has diabetes. It's treatable! That's the good news. You found this place with tons of knowledge! You've got a great start!

I'm very new to this too. A week and a half. My kitty is 14 and a member of a multi cat family. You'll find you have a lot in common with these kitty loving members here!
I picked up the Relion meter that was mentioned above because it was cheap and we had just paid out a grand to our vet. That's a lot for us. It's been easy to use and my cat comes running to me if I pick up the kit because she knows she'll get a treat. She's been rather accommodating with my learning curve. Purring right through it. I'm more upset over this than she is... I also checked out Lisa's food list and went with the Friskies Pates for the low carb options. We just picked up a couple cans of the different flavors that were under 5 carbs to see which ones she likes. I'm not switching over my household as some of the others have prescription diet food. They do all love to clean Fabby's bowl after she eats though. However, the rest of my house doesn't free feed. We had to make that switch (to timed feedings) several years ago because of adding in the prescription food. They made that switch easier than I thought they would.

So hang in there. And read around at the helpful links in here. The videos really helped ease my nerves with the home testing, and the spreadsheet they use here is better than any diabetes app I found to keep track of things.

You got this, (and it's still okay to be overwhelmed - I still am, but I now know I got this too!)
Welcome!
 
Diabetic dennis said:
hello, I have stumbled across this site while frantically trying to come to terms with our Dennis being diagnosed with diabetes on Monday, I am totally overwhelmed and feel all I am doing is nodding my head saying yes that's fine and paying vast sums of money to my vet. Dennis started losing a lot of weight and I rather stupidly assumed it was old age he is 18 now, in all other ways he was his normally self just weight loss. Thought its best to get him checked out after having bloods and urine tests the vets diagnosed diabetes ( it has been all the more harder as we have just moved and I had been with past vet for 20 years so I am yet to build a relationship with the new vet ) I am giving insulin am and pm he is on 0.5ml he has also been put on a special diet ( that's really hard as I have 3 other cats and usually food is down all day ) I am now trying to find a blood glucose monitor but the one the vets recommended is sooooo expensive to say I am overwhelmed is a understatement however our Dennis is taking it all in his stride
Click to expand...
how are things today? have you purchased a monitor yet?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top