Newly diagnosed, feeling overwhelmed

[Cherish4]

Hi everyone,
My name's Lauren, I live in the UK, I have 3 beautiful cats and it's my gorgeous black and white boy in my profile pic who's just been diagnosed with diabetes. His name's Little B, he's about 8 years old (we think) and he was a local stray that we officially adopted 2 years ago.

He had a blood test done on Wednesday, which showed high levels of glucose but thankfully no other underlying conditions. He then had a urine test on Saturday which confirmed the diagnosis. The one positive bit of news is that there is currently no sign of any Ketones in his urine. This meant that the vet was happy to start him on diet alone for the first week, then he will be retested and we'll discuss insulin injections. However this vet has now phoned me this afternoon to discuss food options and she made it seem like waiting for a week might not be such a good idea. She just keeps leaving my head spinning. I don't have a lot of confidence in her to be honest, I've felt like from the start she's been very negative. I've done a ton of reading over the last few days and I've found hope in how many people manage diabetic cats and how they can still live good lives and then I talk to her and she's all about how some cats never stabilize, how I have to be prepared to potentially say goodbye, how expensive it's going to be ( I don't have pet insurance unfortunately). It makes me feel miserable again and I end up crying.

Am I crazy for wanting to try and see it the opposite to her? Yes I know it's not going to be easy and yes, I know things can change but from my POV, he doesn't have anything else wrong (other than being slightly overweight and we're working on fixing that) and he doesn't have those ketones, so maybe we've caught it early enough that he could be okay. Is that wrong of me?

Any words of encouragement or advice would be gratefully received as I am struggling on all fronts and I don't know how I'm going to pay for everything (I'm applying to a local charity for help). The vets won't even consider a payment plan.

So: the vet recommended Purina DM pouches or Nature's Menu Country Hunter. I'm favouring NM at the moment, it's a little more expensive but it's more natural and has a 96% meat quantity for most flavours, 10.7% Protein and Carbs are 6% or slightly less. If any UKers know of anything else please let me know.

Also, any thoughts on the decision to wait at least a week for insulin while he gets used to the new food? Do I need a home testing kit? Can I use a human one? Do you have to then convert the readings and does it hurt the cat when you take blood? Will he have to go to the vets continuously or if we get him stabilized, will it just be occasional trips?

Like I said in the thread title, I'm feeling overwhelmed right now. Both my brother and the vet have suggested giving Little B up but that would break my heart. The poor cat has already been abandoned once, I won't abandon him too, just because things are difficult.

(Apologies, I realize this is a very, very long post but I needed somewhere to vent, hope everyone doesn't mind!)

 

[Erin & Scott]

Welcome, and first, take a deep breath - there is cause for optimism!

As far as food options, most folks here feed Fancy Feast classic pates or Friskies pates; here is a chart that we use to find low-carb wet foods:

http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

If you're changing to a low-carb wet food, I don't think there's harm in waiting a week to see how that affects him. So do that first, then run out and get yourself a blood glucose meter; I use the Relion Prime meter, recommended by several people here, because the test strips are the least expensive.

Check out the stickies in this forum, there is lots of great information about just about everything related to feline diabetes and caring for our diabetic kitties.

I am relatively new here, and was seriously overwhelmed when our Benny was diagnosed just about a month ago. He was looking so miserable, he'd lost weight, he had no energy, and was pooping outside the litterbox. We changed up his diet, got started on insulin and testing, and in just a few short weeks he's nearly back to his previous playful self and we've been able to gradually reduce his insulin to his current 0.5 units bid.

Once you get him stabilized, you can take better care of him with home monitoring than with frequent visits to the vet. Blood glucose levels at the vet are often higher just due to the stress of traveling to a strange place.

Remission IS possible - some cats are well-controlled with diet only. This won't mean he's cured, but it's certainly possible that you could achieve remission.

Check out the various forums here, they are a wealth of great information.

Welcome, and good luck!

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

First of all Welcome!!

This is the best place you never wanted to be, we can help you and there's HOPE, for what you say your cat is fairly young and otherwise healthy, diabetes can be controlled and diabetic cats can live a normal long happy life.

So: the vet recommended Purina DM pouches or Nature's Menu Country Hunter. I'm favouring NM at the moment, it's a little more expensive but it's more natural and has a 96% meat quantity for most flavours, 10.7% Protein and Carbs are 6% or slightly less. If any UKers know of anything else please let me know.

You will have to change his diet to a diabetic friendly wet food, but it doesn't have to be the expensive prescription food, most people her give Fancy Feast pates, but since I think you are in the UK here's a link to a thread with a lot of useful supplies, including food recommendations

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...other-need-to-know-stuff.137376/#post-2318126

Also, any thoughts on the decision to wait at least a week for insulin while he gets used to the new food?

Yo do not mention what was his blood glucose level when they tested it, so it's hard to say if waiting for a week is ok, but is not a bad idea either since the food change can actually help lower his blood glucose and it can be tricky if you are already giving insulin and you can start practicing testing at home during this week.

Do I need a home testing kit? Can I use a human one? Do you have to then convert the readings and does it hurt the cat when you take blood?

Yes you will need a glucose meter to monitor him but yes it can be a human one ( take a look on the link I gave for suggestions on meters in the UK ), actually most of the people here use human meters because the strips are a lot cheaper (a lot of times the manufacturers even give you the meter almost for free or very cheap when you buy the strips) and the protocols here were written using human meters. I use a human meter, where I live there are no pet meters, and you can do all the tests at home you don't need to go to the vet for blood glucose monitoring

You do not have to make any conversions when using a human meter actually as far as I know there is no way of making conversions between pet and human meters you just take the readings as you get them

As for your question if it hurts is different from one cat to another but you will be testing on his ears which have very few nervous terminals (a bit like ours ) so usually what bothers them more is the handling of the ear not the actual pricking is not like when you do it in you finger

Again welcome and don't worry keep asking as much as you need/want

 

[flyingduster]

Welcome!!

I am one week in to this roller coaster now, and I TOTALLY understand that overwhelming feeling!!! I’m still getting waves of it, but actually even only one week along now I am feeling far more confident in the road ahead. I have been home testing and have even adjusted insulin levels, I’ve switched to friskies pate food too.

It’s emotional and scary and overwhelming. But it does get better and easier to figure out. Keep reading. Keep researching. You’ll get there.

 

[JanetNJ]

everything was covered above so I just wanted to offer my support as well. Cats can live a long healthy life if they are treated. Some folks on here have cats that have had cats who where diagnosed 10+ years ago! (My cat was diagnosed 2.5 years ago). You can do this and we are here to offer help and support.

It does not hurt to take blood for the bg readings at home. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat at home. Once I started testing at home my cat didn't go back to the vet for a year. I just sent a link to my spreadsheet in an email to keep her in the loop.

Its expensive at first because you have to get everything at once... but you won't run out of everything at once.

 

[Cherish4]

Welcome, and first, take a deep breath - there is cause for optimism!

As far as food options, most folks here feed Fancy Feast classic pates or Friskies pates; here is a chart that we use to find low-carb wet foods:

http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

If you're changing to a low-carb wet food, I don't think there's harm in waiting a week to see how that affects him. So do that first, then run out and get yourself a blood glucose meter; I use the Relion Prime meter, recommended by several people here, because the test strips are the least expensive.

Thank you for the welcome and words of encouragement, it is greatly appreciated. I live in the UK so the foods and meter you mention aren't available over here but someone else has pointed me in the direction of the UK list so I will take a look.

I am relatively new here, and was seriously overwhelmed when our Benny was diagnosed just about a month ago. He was looking so miserable, he'd lost weight, he had no energy, and was pooping outside the litterbox. We changed up his diet, got started on insulin and testing, and in just a few short weeks he's nearly back to his previous playful self and we've been able to gradually reduce his insulin to his current 0.5 units bid.

That must have been really scary but I'm glad he's doing better. With Little B, apart from drinking and urinating more, you'd never know there was anything wrong with him as he's his usual self. This is why I can't understand our vets' negativity. If he was sicker I could understand her attitude but for me, I see it as a chance to manage things whilst he's still doing well.

Once you get him stabilized, you can take better care of him with home monitoring than with frequent visits to the vet. Blood glucose levels at the vet are often higher just due to the stress of traveling to a strange place.

This is definitely what I'd prefer to do, both for him but also in terms of finances, it would be better to monitor him at home when the initial stuff is all done. I'm assuming that the vet would tell me when and how often I'd need to test his glucose levels?

 

[Cherish4]

Welcome!!

I am one week in to this roller coaster now, and I TOTALLY understand that overwhelming feeling!!! I’m still getting waves of it, but actually even only one week along now I am feeling far more confident in the road ahead. I have been home testing and have even adjusted insulin levels, I’ve switched to friskies pate food too.

It’s emotional and scary and overwhelming. But it does get better and easier to figure out. Keep reading. Keep researching. You’ll get there.

Thank you so much for your message it means a lot to hear from other people going through the same thing. Was it fairly easy to learn to do home testing and the insulin?

 

[flyingduster]

Thank you so much for your message it means a lot to hear from other people going through the same thing. Was it fairly easy to learn to do home testing and the insulin?

I had no trouble doing it, BUT I have had gestational diabetes so was already very familiar with my meter and such. I also work with animals for a living, so very confident in handling them. So I have had absolutely no troubles at all with testing from the beginning.

 

[Cherish4]

everything was covered above so I just wanted to offer my support as well. Cats can live a long healthy life if they are treated. Some folks on here have cats that have had cats who where diagnosed 10+ years ago! (My cat was diagnosed 2.5 years ago). You can do this and we are here to offer help and support.

Thank you, it is encouraging to read this and after feeling so alone for the last few days, it's wonderful to see how much support is out there from others going through the same thing.

It does not hurt to take blood for the bg readings at home. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat at home. Once I started testing at home my cat didn't go back to the vet for a year. I just sent a link to my spreadsheet in an email to keep her in the loop.

I'm assuming that this was after your cat was initially stabilised by the vet? Also, forgive my ignorance but what is the spreadsheet and how does that work?

Its expensive at first because you have to get everything at once... but you won't run out of everything at once.

I understand that but the problem is that I don't have pet insurance, I also have 2 other cats to look after and I'm on a very low income. The vet has just told me today that the initial task of getting him started on insulin and stabilising him is going to cost around £1000 (about $1,315) and I don't even have a fraction of that. Right now, I have enough money to pay my next lot of bills and get a bit of food and that's it. I am hoping a local charity can help because otherwise I don't know what I'll do. That's actually worrying me more than anything right now.

 

[Cherish4]

First of all Welcome!!

This is the best place you never wanted to be, we can help you and there's HOPE, for what you say your cat is fairly young and otherwise healthy, diabetes can be controlled and diabetic cats can live a normal long happy life.

Thank you for the lovely welcome. HOPE is definitely what I need right now so I am grateful to you all on here.

You will have to change his diet to a diabetic friendly wet food, but it doesn't have to be the expensive prescription food, most people her give Fancy Feast pates, but since I think you are in the UK here's a link to a thread with a lot of useful supplies, including food recommendations

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/uk-information-food-insulin-vit-b12-and-other-need-to-know-stuff.137376/#post-2318126

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...other-need-to-know-stuff.137376/#post-2318126

This is really helpful,thanks for pointing it out to me.

Yo do not mention what was his blood glucose level when they tested it, so it's hard to say if waiting for a week is ok, but is not a bad idea either since the food change can actually help lower his blood glucose and it can be tricky if you are already giving insulin and you can start practicing testing at home during this week.

The vet said his level was 25.9 and it should be 12 or lower. I have no idea what measurement that is in though.

Yes you will need a glucose meter to monitor him but yes it can be a human one ( take a look on the link I gave for suggestions on meters in the UK ), actually most of the people here use human meters because the strips are a lot cheaper (a lot of times the manufacturers even give you the meter almost for free or very cheap when you buy the strips) and the protocols here were written using human meters. I use a human meter, where I live there are no pet meters, and you can do all the tests at home you don't need to go to the vet for blood glucose monitoring

You do not have to make any conversions when using a human meter actually as far as I know there is no way of making conversions between pet and human meters you just take the readings as you get them

As for your question if it hurts is different from one cat to another but you will be testing on his ears which have very few nervous terminals (a bit like ours ) so usually what bothers them more is the handling of the ear not the actual pricking is not like when you do it in you finger.

Thanks for this, I'll start looking meters straight away. Is it a good idea for me to also be able to monitor his urine as well?

 

[JanetNJ]

Thank you, it is encouraging to read this and after feeling so alone for the last few days, it's wonderful to see how much support is out there from others going through the same thing.



I'm assuming that this was after your cat was initially stabilised by the vet? Also, forgive my ignorance but what is the spreadsheet and how does that work?



I understand that but the problem is that I don't have pet insurance, I also have 2 other cats to look after and I'm on a very low income. The vet has just told me today that the initial task of getting him started on insulin and stabilising him is going to cost around £1000 (about $1,315) and I don't even have a fraction of that. Right now, I have enough money to pay my next lot of bills and get a bit of food and that's it. I am hoping a local charity can help because otherwise I don't know what I'll do. That's actually worrying me more than anything right now.

I started testing when my cats numbers were still very unregulated. The vet wanted me to raise from 2 units to 3... And that made me very nervous so I decided to follow the advise if the fine folks here and test. I started testing about 5 weeks after her initial diagnosis. Once I started I wished I had started testing right away. The spreadsheet is what we use to track our readings. At the bottom of my post on the signature you can see a link that says CC'S spreadsheet. It's done in Google Sheets so it's updated for everyone to see in real time. You will see most of us have this in our signature. We have a template when you are ready to start your own.

You need a different vet. All you need is the insulin, syringes, and a meter. There's no ketones, so no reason for the cat to stay at the vet. Sounds like this vet doesn't have much experience with diabetes.

 

[majandra]

This is definitely what I'd prefer to do, both for him but also in terms of finances, it would be better to monitor him at home when the initial stuff is all done. I'm assuming that the vet would tell me when and how often I'd need to test his glucose levels?

Definitely pick up urine sticks - ketostix or ketodiastix to watch for ketones.

I would recommend getting the human meter ASAP, and start testing now, so that you are armed with data when you see your vet next week. Also, you will be more comfortable with testing when it is crucial (don't give insulin without testing first). You want a minimum 4 tests a day- before each shot, and somewhere in between each shot, usually mid day and before bed.
For cost savings- the more you do at home, the more you save. Your costs now should be your upcoming vet appointment which should only be to discuss insulin (bring your spreadsheet/test results), get a prescription, learn how to give shots, signs of hypoglycemia, etc, then the cost of your insulin, test kit, syringes. You don't need more bloodwork done.

Some vets, when they see that the pet owners are proactive and knowledgeable, will be quite supportive of how you would like to do things. Not every one is- but you may luck out. Vets tend to err on the side of caution, because there are people who would much rather bring their cat in for weekly full day curves, random glucose testing, regular fructosamine tests and blood panels. The vet needs to know your cat is safe, and making sure they know you will be testing at home and watching for hypoglycemia, they will be more comfortable.

 

[flyingduster]

We live on a very low income too. The quotes the vets gave us were unaffordable really but we decided to try anyway. And now I’ve learned more I’ve learned it is a whoooooole lot cheaper than the vet quoted. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still costing stuff and these startup costs are hard to source, but it’s not the high figures we expected.

Try getting an actual breakdown of the costs from your vet, because a lot of it will probably be easily avoidable or able to be reduced or cheaper options available!

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

I started testing at least tried (took me a few times and a lot of nerves to actually do it successfully ) after his first initial shoot that actually almost got him hypoglicemic, since Babu turned out to need just a very small amount of insulin (smaller than normal) and he was far from stable.

Since Little B has no other issues I would say the initial stuff at the vet is for you to learn how to shoot the insulin and how to test at home, this last one may even be easier to learn from videos like the one Janet has on her signature specially if your vet doesn't have much experience on home testing and for him to give you the prescription for insulin and syringes ( this is if you need one in the UK to buy them) all of which I think could be done in one regular consult, I don't think Little B has to actually stay at the vets for that as a matter of fact diabetes is best monitored at home because the stress that a visit to the vet causes cats usually makes their blood glucose levels go higher than it really is so it hard to know what's really happening.

With Babu I really never took him to the vet for anything related to his diabetes, for that I just updated the vet on the test results I got at home until he got on remission the the vet asked me to take him for some blood work to confirm it ( I think he couldn't believe it)

Testing for ketones on his urine is a good thing to do because if ketones develop ( and some diabetic cats do develop them) then you do need a vet's intervention and is better to catch them when it's starting, but for that as they mentioned you can buy also human test dipsticks and also test him at home

 

[Cherish4]

We live on a very low income too. The quotes the vets gave us were unaffordable really but we decided to try anyway. And now I’ve learned more I’ve learned it is a whoooooole lot cheaper than the vet quoted. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still costing stuff and these startup costs are hard to source, but it’s not the high figures we expected.

Try getting an actual breakdown of the costs from your vet, because a lot of it will probably be easily avoidable or able to be reduced or cheaper options available!

That is reassuring to know that it's probably not going to cost as much as I've been quoted. It means that the local charity I've asked for help might be more able to assist. As for the vet, I will indeed ask for a cost breakdown but to be honest I'm considering asking to see one of the other vets at the practice, as I'm really not happy with her.

 

[Cherish4]

Since Little B has no other issues I would say the initial stuff at the vet is for you to learn how to shoot the insulin and how to test at home, this last one may even be easier to learn from videos like the one Janet has on her signature specially if your vet doesn't have much experience on home testing and for him to give you the prescription for insulin and syringes ( this is if you need one in the UK to buy them) all of which I think could be done in one regular consult, I don't think Little B has to actually stay at the vets for that as a matter of fact diabetes is best monitored at home because the stress that a visit to the vet causes cats usually makes their blood glucose levels go higher than it really is so it hard to know what's really happening.

A lot of people that I've spoken to have said the same thing, that as long as I can manage to monitor at home and I'm told what to do with the insulin, then there's no need for all the extra cost.

You do need a prescription for insulin in the UK yes. I may look elsewhere for it but if I do, I may not get the financial help I'm hoping for from the local charity that I've applied to. I think they'll only be able to provide financial assistance if the insulin is from the vets itself.

Testing for ketones on his urine is a good thing to do because if ketones develop ( and some diabetic cats do develop them) then you do need a vet's intervention and is better to catch them when it's starting, but for that as they mentioned you can buy also human test dipsticks and also test him at home

Would I need to do this every day or just so many times a week?

 

[Cherish4]

You want a minimum 4 tests a day- before each shot, and somewhere in between each shot, usually mid day and before bed.

That's good to know, thank you but what about during this first week, when he isn't on insulin? Should it still be 4 times a day? How long after finishing his food should I test?

For cost savings- the more you do at home, the more you save. Your costs now should be your upcoming vet appointment which should only be to discuss insulin (bring your spreadsheet/test results), get a prescription, learn how to give shots, signs of hypoglycemia, etc, then the cost of your insulin, test kit, syringes. You don't need more bloodwork done.

This is very helpful thank you and this is definitely what I'll discuss with the vet when we are next there. I've been told by a friend today that I need to stand up to them, that they don't always know best and that I need to be polite but firm on what it is that I want to do. At the end of the day, of course I want Little B to be getting the right treatment but I don't want it to cost a fortune if it's not necessary.

 

[Cherish4]

At the bottom of my post on the signature you can see a link that says CC'S spreadsheet. It's done in Google Sheets so it's updated for everyone to see in real time. You will see most of us have this in our signature. We have a template when you are ready to start your own.

I'm going to be honest here, I took a look at your spreadsheet and it felt like I was looking at a foreign language. I couldn't make head nor tails of it so that doesn't bode well does it?

You need a different vet. All you need is the insulin, syringes, and a meter. There's no ketones, so no reason for the cat to stay at the vet. Sounds like this vet doesn't have much experience with diabetes.

I've been told this by 2 other people today, one of whom said I ought to go up there and give them a piece of my mind. I think I might try asking if I can see the head vet instead as I've always liked her. I've also made a list of what you've all told me on here and I'm going to make it clear (politely but firmly) that this is what I need, this is what I need to know and that from then on, I will do the monitoring and looking after myself and will only bring him up if I'm worried about anything.

 

[JanetNJ]

I'm going to be honest here, I took a look at your spreadsheet and it felt like I was looking at a foreign language. I couldn't make head nor tails of it so that doesn't bode well does it?



I've been told this by 2 other people today, one of whom said I ought to go up there and give them a piece of my mind. I think I might try asking if I can see the head vet instead as I've always liked her. I've also made a list of what you've all told me on here and I'm going to make it clear (politely but firmly) that this is what I need, this is what I need to know and that from then on, I will do the monitoring and looking after myself and will only bring him up if I'm worried about anything.

It does look wacky. Not as tricky as it looks.

Amps is am (morning) preshot test. The +1, +2, ect is how many hours since the shot. It's set up that way because ww are all in different time zones. Pmps is the pm (evening) preshot number.


Here's more info. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/suggestions-tech-support-testing-area.6/

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Would I need to do this every day or just so many times a week?

Ideally once a day at least while he's not getting any insulin later on if you can't do it every day I would do it every other day till his blood glucose numbers are down

I'm going to be honest here, I took a look at your spreadsheet and it felt like I was looking at a foreign language. I couldn't make head nor tails of it so that doesn't bode well does it?

It does take a bit of effort at first to understand it but later on you will see is pretty easy to use and even easier to look at it and know what's going on with your cat, you just have to type the test result you got in the cell according to how many hours ago since you gave insulin you tested +1, +2 and the cell will automatically turn some color , there's one color for every range of blood glucose levels that way if you see a lot of pinks or reds you know is high or if you see a lot of greens and blues you know he's doing just fine

I'm not familiar of the UK regulations but I've heard that some people here get a prescription from the vet for the insulin and supplies and then buy it somewhere else that is cheaper than the vet, just a thought maybe worth asking in an specific thread for this kind of suggestions from people in UK

 

[Cherish4]

It does look wacky. Not as tricky as it looks.

Amps is am (morning) preshot test. The +1, +2, ect is how many hours since the shot. It's set up that way because ww are all in different time zones. Pmps is the pm (evening) preshot number.


Here's more info. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/suggestions-tech-support-testing-area.6/

Thanks for the link. I'm assuming that it's best to wait until we start insulin to start filling it in or can I put in his pre insulin readings from over the next week? (am planning on testing him at least 3 times a day so that I can be armed with readings when I go back to the vets. That's as long as I can get the hang of it of course, he doesn't like to be picked up or held and he's not a lap cat either. He flattens his ears down whenever I get near them so it's going to be tricky).

 

[Cherish4]

Ideally once a day at least while he's not getting any insulin later on if you can't do it every day I would do it every other day till his blood glucose numbers are down.

Okay thanks. I'm having to order some ketone sticks as my local pharmacy doesn't have any. Any tips on getting a urine sample? I can't get hold of any non absorbent litter at the moment and I know that ordinary litter contaminates the reading so how best to collect some every day?

It does take a bit of effort at first to understand it but later on you will see is pretty easy to use and even easier to look at it and know what's going on with your cat, you just have to type the test result you got in the cell according to how many hours ago since you gave insulin you tested +1, +2 and the cell will automatically turn some color , there's one color for every range of blood glucose levels that way if you see a lot of pinks or reds you know is high or if you see a lot of greens and blues you know he's doing just fine

Thanks, this sounds reassuring and it's nice to know what the colours mean.

I'm not familiar of the UK regulations but I've heard that some people here get a prescription from the vet for the insulin and supplies and then buy it somewhere else that is cheaper than the vet, just a thought maybe worth asking in an specific thread for this kind of suggestions from people in UK

Yes, I've seen this and I've already started doing some research on other sites. The only reason that I might have to go with the vet to begin with is that I may not get any financial assistance with the cost if I go elsewhere.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Thanks for the link. I'm assuming that it's best to wait until we start insulin to start filling it in or can I put in his pre insulin readings from over the next week? (am planning on testing him at least 3 times a day so that I can be armed with readings when I go back to the vets. That's as long as I can get the hang of it of course, he doesn't like to be picked up or held and he's not a lap cat either. He flattens his ears down whenever I get near them so it's going to be tricky)

Maybe and since you are not shooting insulin yet start grabbing him and rubbing his ears without pricking and giving him a treat after (treat is important after all you are trying to bribe him so that he cooperates) for a few times so that he gets used to his ears being handled (usually this is what botters them the most) and later start pricking

It also helps to establish a testing area where you both are confortable and that is always the same so that he knows that when you are there is for testing and he knows what to expect

Thanks for the link. I'm assuming that it's best to wait until we start insulin to start filling it in or can I put in his pre insulin readings from over the next week? (am planning on testing him at least 3 times a day so that I can be armed with readings when I go back to the vets.

I would start filling it from the very begining, maybe put a note that you are not giving insulin yet as a comment, I think showing the spreadsheet to your vet will probably show him you are really on top of things, already monitoring him and serious about his treatment so no need for extra time at the vet to or extra consultations

 

[Becki and sox]

Hi @Cherish4 another Uk'er here.

Food wise my vet advised the Purina foods aswell but for us they were to expensive.
We now feed butcher's classic can pick it up from most supermarket or pets at home, it's low in carbs and doesn't have any sugars or vegetable proteins added.
Sox seems to be doing pretty well on it.

Meter wise we use a freestyle lite meter. Can pick strips up relatively cheap on eBay.
When on insulin I tested 4 times a day.
Currently in remmision and test 2 times a day so 1 pack of strips lasts around a month.

I had my first initial prozinc insulin from the vets but they can issue prescriptions and you can the purchase the insulin online which is cheaper and again with the needles there are several sites online where you can purchase these from.

It can all seem a little over whelming at the begining. But with the help off here it does become a little easier

 

[Cherish4]

Hi @Cherish4 another Uk'er here.

Food wise my vet advised the Purina foods aswell but for us they were to expensive.
We now feed butcher's classic can pick it up from most supermarket or pets at home, it's low in carbs and doesn't have any sugars or vegetable proteins added.
Sox seems to be doing pretty well on it.

I'll make a note of that food thanks. At the moment I'm trying him on Nature's Menu Country Hunter and he's enjoying it so far.

Meter wise we use a freestyle lite meter. Can pick strips up relatively cheap on eBay.
When on insulin I tested 4 times a day.
Currently in remmision and test 2 times a day so 1 pack of strips lasts around a month.

I'm still having trouble deciding on what meter to get. Amazon is unfortunately out of stock of the one you mentioned. Being on a low income means that I need to get the most economical one but the all come with 10 strips or less and I'm assuming you only use them once so it's how I'm going to afford extra straight away.

I had my first initial prozinc insulin from the vets but they can issue prescriptions and you can the purchase the insulin online which is cheaper and again with the needles there are several sites online where you can purchase these from.

It can all seem a little over whelming at the begining. But with the help off here it does become a little easier

I'm starting to look into this already, I figured the more information I have before I go back to the vets, the better. Thanks for the words of encouragement though, it means a lot at the moment.

 

[Cherish4]

start grabbing him and rubbing his ears without pricking and giving him a treat after (treat is important after all you are trying to bribe him so that he cooperates) for a few times so that he gets used to his ears being handled (usually this is what bothers them the most) and later start pricking

It also helps to establish a testing area where you both are confortable and that is always the same so that he knows that when you are there is for testing and he knows what to expect

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a go.

I would start filling it from the very begining, maybe put a note that you are not giving insulin yet as a comment, I think showing the spreadsheet to your vet will probably show him you are really on top of things, already monitoring him and serious about his treatment so no need for extra time at the vet to or extra consultations

Okay, well once I start testing I'll do this over the next week and hopefully that will be enough to convince them.

I have just realised that I'll face a couple of tricky days regarding testing and insulin when he does start on it. I'm only working part time at the moment but I am out early Monday mornings until the evening and out all morning every Tuesday until lunchtime. Don't know what this would mean for his schedule.

 

[Gracie85]

You need a new vet. One who had enough experience getting diabetic cats under control to know that it IS very possible and it IS a reasonable expectation until proven otherwise for this particular cat. A vet who doesn't think you can deal with a diabetic cat is less likely to be able to treat it properly. And if you can test at home, you'll need much less expensive vet testing of your cat, but if your vet doesn't believe owners can do this reliably, then they won't accept your results and yes, you will spend so much money at that vet.
Forget using any special diet Purina foods. They don't put good stuff in them, they use cheap inappropriate proteins, and the carb levels in most of the dry foods should be criminal! Our male cat developed urinary problems one time, and the vet had us put him on Purina UR, which has an insanely high carb content (little did we know at the time). Few years later, we now have a diabetic cat, can't help but wonder if it was that Purina food that did it. We switched to Fancy Feast Classics pate, and we are lucky that, for now at least, that is managing him just fine.

Call around and find a new vet, one who is both confident and hopeful about treating a diabetic cat, and who doesn't see it as a bank-breaker because they know that you, the owner, can learn to test and manage things and it doesn't mean hundreds of trips to the vet.

 

[Cherish4]

You need a new vet. One who had enough experience getting diabetic cats under control to know that it IS very possible and it IS a reasonable expectation until proven otherwise for this particular cat. A vet who doesn't think you can deal with a diabetic cat is less likely to be able to treat it properly. And if you can test at home, you'll need much less expensive vet testing of your cat, but if your vet doesn't believe owners can do this reliably, then they won't accept your results and yes, you will spend so much money at that vet.

Quite a few people have said similar things to me this week. I don't know what her experience is with diabetic cats but I know that my experience with her hasn't been a good one.

Forget using any special diet Purina foods. They don't put good stuff in them, they use cheap inappropriate proteins, and the carb levels in most of the dry foods should be criminal! Our male cat developed urinary problems one time, and the vet had us put him on Purina UR, which has an insanely high carb content (little did we know at the time). Few years later, we now have a diabetic cat, can't help but wonder if it was that Purina food that did it. We switched to Fancy Feast Classics pate, and we are lucky that, for now at least, that is managing him just fine.

I've decided to go with Nature's Menu Country Hunter in the end and he's really enjoying it so far. I've also cut out dry food, per the advice on here.

Call around and find a new vet, one who is both confident and hopeful about treating a diabetic cat, and who doesn't see it as a bank-breaker because they know that you, the owner, can learn to test and manage things and it doesn't mean hundreds of trips to the vet.

There are three vets at the practice so do you think it'd be worth asking to see one of the others or just go elsewhere altogether? I am planning on starting home testing this week before he's due back so that I can be armed with proof I can do it myself.