Newly diagnosed. Diet questions & Others

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Abigail Mutschler

Abigail Mutschler

Member Since 2019
Hi everyone. Ted was just diagnosed today and got his first insulin shot today at the Vet. The vet didn't provide a lot of information just daily dosage. Told me to only give the insulin if he ate previously and kept the food down. And then as I was leaving I was handed a case of Purina DM which was 50 DOLLARS for a case of 24. With the insulin already being expensive, there is no way I can afford the Purina food.

Can I not feed him that and just feed him Fancy Feast Classics like many people say on here or should I feed him that while he is still getting his blood sugar adjusted?

There was no monitoring direction, just bring him back in in a week to get a reading to make sure it's working. They seemed pretty confident that it was as simple as two shots a day after food, but everything I'm reading on here is almost making me more nervous than the Vet. It seems like the vet felt its pretty straightforward to maintain, but on here I'm seeing spreadsheets, and daily monitoring, and I can't tell if my vet is bad, or if this forum is over complicating things.

Any help or advice is welcome.
 
Abigail Mutschler said:
Hi everyone. Ted was just diagnosed today and got his first insulin shot today at the Vet. The vet didn't provide a lot of information just daily dosage. Told me to only give the insulin if he ate previously and kept the food down. And then as I was leaving I was handed a case of Purina DM which was 50 DOLLARS for a case of 24. With the insulin already being expensive, there is no way I can afford the Purina food.

Can I not feed him that and just feed him Fancy Feast Classics like many people say on here or should I feed him that while he is still getting his blood sugar adjusted?

There was no monitoring direction, just bring him back in in a week to get a reading to make sure it's working. They seemed pretty confident that it was as simple as two shots a day after food, but everything I'm reading on here is almost making me more nervous than the Vet. It seems like the vet felt its pretty straightforward to maintain, but on here I'm seeing spreadsheets, and daily monitoring, and I can't tell if my vet is bad, or if this forum is over complicating things.

Any help or advice is welcome.
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another newbie, but I betcha the more experienced on here may say same thing: tell the vet that Ted won't eat the DM, and return it (yeah, darn stuff is like 1.95 a can); you can of course, do what the vet said and feed-and-shoot ... but if you're like me, you want to help your cat return as close to normal as possible, as quickly as possible, and the more data you collect, the more you learn about how your cat's metabolism works

the food chart gives you a ton of information about what food has X amount of carbs, which the catfood cans won't; but I wanted to read the ingredients on the can to help me pinpoint what I wanted Catcat to be eating -- especially since I'm on a typical retired budget (SS and not much more) --

I just started getting more consistent tests with a human glucometer, had a lot of duds to begin with and a lot of yowl and fight from Catcat, whose Siamese heritage sure shows when I try to MAKE him do something, but now I feel considerably more confident about figuring out what's going on

Fancy Feast, the classic pate's are good, so are Wellness (check the chart) and Blue Wilderness (ditto); Friskies pate's number are good but I'm not quite sure about ingredients though quite a few on here have good results with it -- I lucked out that our local Tractor Supply store has Blue Wilderness on sale right now, $1 a can if you buy 10, versus shelf price $1.49

great that Ted will be on Lantus -- you may not have to deal with some of the stuff I do since Catcat is on Vetsulin (financial considerations)

good luck and welcome
 
CandyH said:
another newbie, but I betcha the more experienced on here may say same thing: tell the vet that Ted won't eat the DM, and return it (yeah, darn stuff is like 1.95 a can); you can of course, do what the vet said and feed-and-shoot ... but if you're like me, you want to help your cat return as close to normal as possible, as quickly as possible, and the more data you collect, the more you learn about how your cat's metabolism works

the food chart gives you a ton of information about what food has X amount of carbs, which the catfood cans won't; but I wanted to read the ingredients on the can to help me pinpoint what I wanted Catcat to be eating -- especially since I'm on a typical retired budget (SS and not much more) --

I just started getting more consistent tests with a human glucometer, had a lot of duds to begin with and a lot of yowl and fight from Catcat, whose Siamese heritage sure shows when I try to MAKE him do something, but now I feel considerably more confident about figuring out what's going on

Fancy Feast, the classic pate's are good, so are Wellness (check the chart) and Blue Wilderness (ditto); Friskies pate's number are good but I'm not quite sure about ingredients though quite a few on here have good results with it -- I lucked out that our local Tractor Supply store has Blue Wilderness on sale right now, $1 a can if you buy 10, versus shelf price $1.49

great that Ted will be on Lantus -- you may not have to deal with some of the stuff I do since Catcat is on Vetsulin (financial considerations)

good luck and welcome
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Thank you. And yes he was on a c/d diet previously. I have tried to read the information about switching the lowcarb and adjusting the insulin. But he only had his first shot today. And no the vet didn't cover in home monitoring. Just said to bring him in in a week to see what his levels are at. So reading the food charts, and posts about adjusting insulin literally look like a foreign language to me. He's only getting one unit twice a day so I wouldn't even know how to reduce that. There is no half unit measure. I'm definitely pretty confused, but certainly plan to return the Purina. Thats such an insane price for cat food, if you break it down by day its more expensive than the insulin!
 
Abigail Mutschler said:
Thank you. And yes he was on a c/d diet previously. I have tried to read the information about switching the lowcarb and adjusting the insulin. But he only had his first shot today. And no the vet didn't cover in home monitoring. Just said to bring him in in a week to see what his levels are at. So reading the food charts, and posts about adjusting insulin literally look like a foreign language to me. He's only getting one unit twice a day so I wouldn't even know how to reduce that. There is no half unit measure. I'm definitely pretty confused, but certainly plan to return the Purina. Thats such an insane price for cat food, if you break it down by day its more expensive than the insulin!
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most vets aren't particularly enthusiastic about home testing, some are adamantly opposed, but members here KNOW a whole lot more about dealing with FD, and the success rate here is way higher than most vets experience

I too returned to the vet, week after diagnosis, to find that the initial dose was too high (I had already switched diet from 100% dry to 100% low carb wet, before I was directed to this message board), and I opted for her to do the curve since I was getting zilch when trying to test; her curve showed us both that dose needed to be lowered, and while she doesn't know that much about FD, she's willing to listen and learn

don't try to change the dosage yet, not without consulting with the vet, just read here and be aware of what hypoglycemia is and what can happen, what you can do about it if you recognize the signs, talk to your vet, you're both in a transition period when things can change rapidly, yes it's a steep learning curve, yes it's a new foreign language, there are a bunch of us here doing the very same thing .. :bighug:
 
Abby, it may appear to you that we are making this more complicated than it needs to be. We are not trying to complicate this at all...quite the opposite. Having the vet monitor Ted's BG has a couple of issues attached to it. The first is that it will be a lot more expensive to have the vet monitor than it will be for you to do it yourself. They will charge you every time you take Ted in for a checkup and for the testing itself. The second and most important issue is that our kitties are notorious for having elevated BG at the vet's office. Unless you have the mellowest cat on the planet, just getting most of them into a carrier can be torture for both cat and their human and BG is elevated before you ever get out the door.

Those vet elevated BG tests can and often do, result in the vet prescribing more insulin than is needed. That is not only counter productive but can also be dangerous. Vets often don't promote home testing because they think it will overwhelm the owner and they think they need to take the lead treating your cat. But you will be the one on duty with Ted every day even when the vet is on their day off so taking more control of the situation is not only going to save your pocket book but also give you peace of mind that Ted is safe.

If you change Ted's diet, it's important to be testing to make sure the dose of insulin is not too high. Diet change alone can make a significant difference in BG levels. I don't the know the carb % for the c/d diet off hand but I'm fairly sure it's higher than 10 percent. If you start changing Ted's diet, do so slowly to prevent any tummy upset and keep an eye on his behaviour for any signs his BG is low.

Where are you located? We have food lists for various parts of the world to provide you with some good options for Ted.

Home testing is easy, gives you the comfort of knowing what is going on with Ted day to day. It takes a few moments to do and kitty doesn't feel much of anything other than you fussing with his ears. We can help you learn to test if you choose to do so. The decision is of course yours and we are here for you no matter what you decide.
 
Abigail Mutschler said:
Thank you. And yes he was on a c/d diet previously. I have tried to read the information about switching the lowcarb and adjusting the insulin. But he only had his first shot today. And no the vet didn't cover in home monitoring. Just said to bring him in in a week to see what his levels are at. So reading the food charts, and posts about adjusting insulin literally look like a foreign language to me. He's only getting one unit twice a day so I wouldn't even know how to reduce that. There is no half unit measure. I'm definitely pretty confused, but certainly plan to return the Purina. Thats such an insane price for cat food, if you break it down by day its more expensive than the insulin!
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My vet is very supportive of home blood testing. She’s been calling every week to check on us. Maybe you can find a vet that’s supportive if yours isn’t. I would also add that many cats go off the insulin for periods of time if you’re consistent and your cat is relatively healthy. I want to add that you should give shots in different places each time and not in the scruff. It can be poorly absorbed there.

I reward the cat with treats and brushing before and after every poke! Good luck
 
When your cats started going on insulin/diet change was there a pretty immediate response? He seems a lot better. Gained back some weight, peeing less, eating well. In only 2 days. The only thing I noticed is instead of being lethargic all the time he has bursts of energy and then the next minute he's conked out. His energy seems to come in waves and then go pretty quickly after. Is that pretty normal when starting insulin?
 
Abigail Mutschler said:
When your cats started going on insulin/diet change was there a pretty immediate response? He seems a lot better. Gained back some weight, peeing less, eating well. In only 2 days. The only thing I noticed is instead of being lethargic all the time he has bursts of energy and then the next minute he's conked out. His energy seems to come in waves and then go pretty quickly after. Is that pretty normal when starting insulin?
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take a look at Catcat's spreadsheet -- yes, immediate response to diet change and insulin, since I started both at the same time, too many zilches when I was learning to test, but you can see the pattern developing now

lethargy diminished right away, pretty much gone now, he cycles between alert activity, leaps up staircase 2 steps at a time, and naps (pretty much standard cat behavior), stopped peeing inappropriately at once, definitely gained back weight, no longer a "starving child" silhouette,
 
Do any of you experience neuropathy? He has been doing fine until today he can walk but after a few feet he lays down to his side. We got a glucose reading and he was 320 which means he's not hypoglycemic. But when I asked the vet about him not really walking she didn't have much to add just that they didn't want to add any medications to the mix until his BG was more regulated. I saw a bunch of posts about Zobaline and I ordered some but it won't arrive until next week and I'm so desperate to help him. It looks so sad to watch him lay around all the time. Any advice would be helpful thank you
 
I can't imagine zobaline complicating anything, as it's water soluble so any excess would just get peed out. So I'd go ahead and give it when it arrives. M'row took a week or two before he got his energy all back, BTW. He'd lost 1/4 of his normal body weight by then, and being an untreated diabetic is also an insult to the body and takes a while to get over.
 
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