New Member, scared and overwhelmed

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busylilnurse

busylilnurse

Member Since 2020
My baby, Bandit, just over a year old. Adopted from the Humane Society last November and he was timid and skinny and scared. It took months but hes now a big, brave boy who comes to us for love and is the SWEETEST cat I've ever had in my life. Not a mean bone in his body and when you pick him up his bones just disappear and hes this loveable fluffball with the loudest motor ever. So one of his pupils just overnight dilated and stayed that way. We took him to the vet the next morning, and he was given Neo Poly Dex eye drops 4x a day. By day 2 the pupil had returned to normal but we finished the drops. His followup one week later was lots of blood work, all was negative except his Glucose was 244. Their lab normal range was (70-175). Then the Fructosamine test was Friday and the ressults should be back tomorrow.

Hes a big boy, 12 pounds, always hungry (ravenous) and I do have to clean alot more urine out of the litterbox than I used to. I'm preparing myself mentally that he's diabetic. I love him to pieces and I'm into this for like 600 dollars at the vet already. I was reading as much as I could to educate myself on diabetes in cats and I have some specific questions from those who have lived with this.

1. Cost wise a human glucose meter and strips are so much cheaper. I saw there is a conversion chart. Do you find that its accurate for insulin dosing?

2. Not sure how muy vet will feel about a human glucose meter, have you ever had isssues with vets being less than accepting of blood sugars you report using a human meter?

3.I always fed canned Friskies Pate mixed with a blue buffalot grain free dry feed. I have stopped the dry feed on the vets recommendation and its just the canned now. Any opinions on the Friskies Pate?

4. If I have to test his blood sugars at home, will I lose all the trust it took so long to build up? He was timid, never been held, a little stray separated from his momma when the humane society picked him up. He was there a month and no one adopted him. I chose him because he was laid back and as soon as i touched him (even tho he was nervous) his little motor started. I dont want to lose all that trust, hes now my sewing buddy and hangs out in my sewing room when I go in there, he sleeps in my bedroom, allows himself to be picked up and just purrs so loud when you do. Hes a changed cat. I dont want to lose that. I'm a nurse, I can test him no problem thats not the issue, im worried about how he will react?

Okay thats all my overloaded brain can think of right now. I've owned cats over the years and they pass of old age-I take good care of my babies. But this will be new for me and I want to do right by him.
Thank you for reading!
 
Welcome to Bandit and you!! :bighug::bighug::bighug:

first of all, good for you for adopting!!! bandit sounds like a sweetheart and diabetes is a perfectly manageable disease. Cats live long healthy lives with it. First I’ll say that 244 is not super high especially at the vet with all the stress, so I suspect his numbers at home will be lower now that you removed the dry food. I assume you have not started insulin yet right? The best options are gentle long lasting insulins like Lantus and prozync so I’d ask your vet for one of them. Some vets will suggest Vetsulin, also called caninsulin because it was made for canines, and I’d encourage you to push back on that and not go with it. It’s a much harsher short lasting insulin and most cats don’t do well on it because it doesn’t cover 24 hours. Start with a low 1 units and make sure you give the insulin every 12 hours. Same dose both times. Insulin needs consistency.

1. human meters are perfectly fine. Most vets can read those numbers, no need to do any conversion at all. I use Walmart’s ReliOn Prime which has the most affordable test strips, that’s what gets expensive because you go through them fast, at about $17 for 100. The meter is $9.99 and the lancets are 100 for about $2. It’s very reliable and rated one of the most accurate every year.
2. I’ve had issues with vets on a lot of things diabetes related so it’s hard to tell. I’m going to be honest I’m on my 4th vet now and I trust her but I know enough about feline diabetes, thanks to this forum, that I don’t discuss Minnie’s diabetes treatment with her anymore. My advice is don’t be intimidated by your vet. They don’t have all the answers and you have to advocate for your cat. It’s your cat and you’re the one paying the vet bills. Listen to them but disagree when you have to. Blindly listening to vets cost me months of Minnie being unregulated :(
3. I believe friskies is a good option as it’s less than 10% carbs. You want food that is less than 10% in carbs. Check out this food chart that lists pretty much all of them. The carb content is never listed on the cans. You have to search for it on their websites or call the manufacturer.
4. There are lots of tips for making testing easier. The main one being always give a treat immediately after, whether or not it was a successful or failed attempt. You want to build positive association. I like to sing a lullaby to calm both of us and at this point Minnie is so used to it when she hears it, she gets in test position and patiently waits. You may want to start getting him used to you handling his ears. I’d start massaging them a few times a day now. Also, start with a large gauge lancet so it’s easier to get enough blood like a 26 or 28. To me, warming up the ear with a sock filled with rice is key. Nuke it for about 20-30 seconds and press it gently against the ear. Maybe start doing that now too to get him used to it. Here’s where to aim for:
94505E5E-EEA8-40C3-AE97-03DF511D8F93.jpeg


you will not lose his trust. Cats know when we’re tying to help them. Use lots of encouraging words and give him lots of love and cuddles after testing too!

Ask as many questions as you need, we’re here to help!!
 

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Hello Bandit's mama! Welcome to FDMB. :)

Neo Poly Dex is a steriod, so if it is diabetes it could be steroid-induced. Hopefully so, with him being so young!

244 isn't very high for a vet office visit. If I remember right, stress from a vet visit can up BG by 200 points. Normal BG for cats is about 80-120 I think on a pet meter. We mainly use human meters, where the normal range is 50-120.

busylilnurse said:
1. Cost wise a human glucose meter and strips are so much cheaper. I saw there is a conversion chart. Do you find that its accurate for insulin dosing?
Click to expand...
Human meters have been used on cats long before pet meters were a thing, they are a fairly new invention. There's no conversion; pet meters do run a bit higher than human meters but again, between 50-120 on a human meter is considered normal. Pet meters are just an expensive way to keep your vet happy.

busylilnurse said:
2. Not sure how muy vet will feel about a human glucose meter, have you ever had isssues with vets being less than accepting of blood sugars you report using a human meter?
Click to expand...
Yes, many vets get huffy about it because they're not used to it. See above. Some people keep pet meters for their vets when they do curve data to keep them happy. Maybe I'm sneaky but I probably wouldn't mention that the meter is for humans to avoid the potential drama. ;)

busylilnurse said:
3.I always fed canned Friskies Pate mixed with a blue buffalot grain free dry feed. I have stopped the dry feed on the vets recommendation and its just the canned now. Any opinions on the Friskies Pate?
Click to expand...
Friskie Pate is excellent, keep the dry away (permanently, dry food can knock a pre-diabetic cat into needing insulin). Most of us feed Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies Pate so you're doing great already!

busylilnurse said:
4. If I have to test his blood sugars at home, will I lose all the trust it took so long to build up?
Click to expand...
The opposite actually - many cats and caregivers end up bonding over "testing time". My girl and I grew very close. Note, some cats are just little boogers who hate every second of it, but it's less common. Go ahead and start playing with his ears and giving treats - treats are your way to his heart! Here is a link to home-testing - in fact I recommend you go out and purchase a meter (if you're in the US, ReliOn Prime at Walmart is the popular choice) and go ahead and start checking him. A fructosamine is good for diagnosing diabetes, but meters are real-time.

Do keep us updated on Bandit's fructosamine! Sounds like you caught it very very early.
 
Welcome your vet might push you to by the Pet Meter the Alpha Trak 2 pet meter
That's around 52.00 dollars and the strips are about 54.00 or more depending on where you order them from and that's only for 50 strips

I used to use it but the strips became to expensive for me, In the beginning you will go through a lot oof strips
I switched to the Relion Prime from Walmart. At least you can run there and get them.
I wish I would have went with that right off the bat.
Most of us test free hand with the lancets, I think it's much easier
Pick up some cotton rounds to put behind his ear o you don't prick your finder don't worry if you might go through his ear, no biggie
Press lightly on his ear to stop the bleeding for about 10 seconds or so .

Best of luck
 
As for treats I see some members buy these and they will buy the same one for dogs they are exactly the same just bigger, so break them up, you will get more for your money, check it out on the Chewy site
PureBites Chicken Breast Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Treats
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
As for treats I see some members buy these and they will buy the same one for dogs they are exactly the same just bigger, so break them up, you will get more for your money, check it out on the Chewy site
PureBites Chicken Breast Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Treats
Click to expand...
Those are great. I also feed VitalEssentials freeze dried minnows and Purebites Shrimp, one 1 calorie!
 
Thank you SO much for all the information!!! You answered questions I didnt realize I had for example about the treats. I kept thinking how do I figure out if the treats are healthy?,! It really is not easy finding carb counts on canned food you are so right!!

Well his fructosmine was 235. So apparently midrange. I got the impression from the vet tech that if he loses 10% of his body weight we probably wont have to worry about higher blood sugars. Not sure I'm completely buying that.
Since getting rid of the dry food hes lost half a pound in just 2 weeks. He weighed 11.62 before I stopped the dry food on my own after reading this forum. He will get weighed again friday at vets on the same scale when they recheck his eyes. Hopefully tear production will be better this time and pressure will be back down.

So I think hes comparable to someone who is a so called pre diabetic....if he loses weight he MAY not need insulin. But I think he must have a genetic predisposition to diabetes ( just my theory). So I feel like I should
1. Always feed canned only
2. Get a relion.meter and check occasional blood sugars at home for baseline ( with a treat reward!)
3.stay on a schedule of meals at specific times
4. Encourage more exercise with toys and his cat brother
5. Track his weight so I know if we have hit the 10% weight loss goal

What does everyone think of this plan? The vet tech basically said his bs was normal just lose the 10%. I feel like I need to be proactive. Thoughts?
Thank you again!!!
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
235 Fructosamine? Are you sure? Because that's the level of a non-diabetic cat! (the fructosamine test doesn't use the same scale as our blood glucose meters)
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That would make sense to me! She said he was 244 at the vet office, sounds about right for a stressful visit.

I suspect the drops may or may not have had anything to do with it, but doesn't sound like Bandit is going to be doing the sugar dance anytime soon! Hoorah!
Absolutely be proactive - no dry, avoid steroids when POSSIBLE.
 
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