Fat Boy Slim!

[Ali and Fatty]

Hi All
I'm a vet nurse in the UK and one of my 3 cats was diagnosed at the beginning of June.
Fatty has always been a lazy boy and fed on a mixture of wet and dry food. He weighed 7kg when he had a dental last August but dropped a significant amount of weight over the last few months.
I thought it might be because he stayed mostly in the house over winter and then started going outside a lot more once the weather was nice but I got him to wee on a dipstick and he had ++++ glucose so took him to work for bloods.
I started him on ProZinc on 6th June at 1.2 units twice daily, we did a BGC yesterday and the lowest number was 17mmol/l and highest 24.5 so we've gone up to 2 units twice daily.
I dowloaded the UK food list and am trying to get him onto wet food but he turns his nose up at most things the second time I offer it! He used to eat James Wellbeloved Fish & Rice or Turkey and Rice light but I've managed to get him over to Applaws 80% chicken and Bozita 80% chicken - I know these are dry and aren't ideal but I assume they're better than what he was on?
Prior to diagnosis he had Felix Good as it Looks pouches - these are on the food list with less than 10% carbs but the note mentions 'various sugars' so I've stopped feeding that.
He is just being so resistant to the really good food on the list!
I've ordered a huge variety of different ones to try next week so hopefully there'll be something that he likes as much as the Felix!!!
I gave in last night and this morning and mixed a little Felix in with his 'good food' and he tucked in much better so maybe I need to just let him have a little of what he likes?

I'm not overly confident with ear pricks yet, he put up a lot of resistance yesterday at work, but I have my own glucometer and will work on it - I've been a vet nurse for 23 years but trying to do stuff with my own cats at home is so much harder!!!
Anyway, that's me and my Fat Chap - I shall be reading the forum while he lounges about on his chair or on the doorstep in the sun!
Ali

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Welcome!

 

[Idjit's mom]

Hello Ali and Fatty. I think he's adorable. You have created your signature, that is very helpful. Please add what kind of meter you are using to home test, and what kind of food Fatty gets. There is lots of pertinent info on FD here and a tremendous resource in caring, knowledgeable members. It's better to post questions and/or concerns in the Main Forum, or if it's specifically regarding the insulin, in the Prozinc forum. We all support your efforts and want to help.

 

[Ali and Fatty]

Thank you for the welcomes!
He is such a lovely boy and very forgiving of me unsuccessfully stabbing his ear multiple times yesterday! I watched lots of videos when I got home and will persevere - I bought a G Pet glucometer made by Woodley - it is a pet one (has a setting for cats) and came highly recommended by my boss over the Alphatrak - not least because it's a fraction of the price!
We are still experimenting with food - I'm working hard on increasing wet food and reducing dry, I was reading a thread today that mentioned Thrive as being one of the lowest carb dry diets so have ordered through Amazon prime to be here tomorrow. I've also ordered some Fortiflora as I saw that recommended by someone to make wet food more appealing.
He is a very friendly cat and likes to visit my next door neighbour when we're at work so I've given them a supply of food and treats for him - they were feeding him Dreamies!
We'll get the hang of the home BG testing - he's a superstar for his injections when they're followed by treats - I've even taught my squeamish other half how to give him his insulin, he's such a good boy (the cat and my other half lol)
I took this photo of him at work with me yesterday- I left him out of a kennel as he was the only cat in but he insisted on making himself comfortable behind the cat ward door rather than on his bed!

 

[Diana&Tom]

Hi Ali, welcome to the board, looks like you are already well up to speed with most things so I will just say keep up the good work and come back here and ask any questions that come up as you go along. There are a few of us in the UK and can help with specific info about supplies etc if you need it but you're probably in the perfect place to have that side sussed already ( although I would say that buying strips etc online may be cheaper than you'd get them at your work - just a guess but unless you get a really good discount such things are rather pricey from a vet!)

Anyway, good luck and let us know how you get on.

Diana (in Surrey)

 

[Ali and Fatty]

Hi Diana I'm in Northampton.
It's a very steep learning curve for me but I love to learn and it'll make me a better nurse!
My bosses are lovely and I get everything at cost price but our wholesaler price is usually still much higher than online prices! My ProZinc and 120 syringes cost just under £90 so it will be interesting to see what others are paying.
I'm actually a locum nurse but I've been at the same practice for 2 years - I'm sure at some point they won't need me anymore so definitely need a plan b for supplies.

Ali

 

[Idjit's mom]

Good morning Ali. I hope all is well with you and Fatty. I also wanted to tell you about creating a spreadsheet to record Fatty's BG levels as you go forward with testing. It's a valuable tool for you to be able to see how insulin is affecting his BG. If you have trouble setting it up we have some terrific people here who can help.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

When you get it set up it's part of your signature and other members can see it and make recommendations if you ever need help. Also, just add the brand of the meter you use and info on the food Fatty gets to your signature. Have a great day!

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

I bought a G Pet glucometer made by Woodley - it is a pet one (has a setting for cats) and came highly recommended by my boss over the Alphatrak - not least because it's a fraction of the price!

Hi Ali,
Can I ask where you're getting your test strips from. The ones I've found online in the UK seem to be twice the price of the Alphatrak strips. Maybe you've found a cheaper source?

Elix

 

[Ali and Fatty]

Hi Ali,
Can I ask where you're getting your test strips from. The ones I've found online in the UK seem to be twice the price of the Alphatrak strips. Maybe you've found a cheaper source?

Elix

Hi Elizabeth
I ordered mine through work direct from Woodley - my boss priced them up at £25 but this was cost price.
Ali

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

my boss priced them up at £25 but this was cost price.

Ali, was that £25 for 25 test strips?
.

 

[Ali and Fatty]

Ali, was that £25 for 25 test strips?
.

Just had to check. Yes, one pot of 25 strips.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Just had to check. Yes, one pot of 25 strips.

Ah, that's very similar to the price of Alphatrak strips in some stores. Although a vial of 50 AT strips can currently bought for around £42.50 from Animed Direct.

If you can continue to get your strips from your boss at cost then the running cost of testing looks to be same as the (higher priced) AT strips, although you'll have saved on the meter itself, I think?
.