We all started out terrified. Lots of stress, lots of tears, lots of frustration at first. You will learn, and you will become confident. You will have the support of this forum and guidance from experienced members like Chris. It sounds like you have a great cat sitter, you can learn together. I gave Fritz his first insulin shot on August 4. Ten days later, I no longer get anxious, shaky or panicked when it's time to prick his ear and get a blood drop for the meter. Ten days, and actually this calmness came on day 8. The insulin shots are super easy to give, they don’t even feel them. You will work out a rhythm with your little Scout and your cat sitter. Just let Chris and other experts guide you. I know you’d rather be anywhere but here, but you will find lots of support and comfort here as well. I’m so glad you found us just hours after his diagnosis. You can do this and you and Scout will be fine.
Where do I begin to say thank you. It’s two in the morning I have a 330 wake up I’ve been up all night. I meeting the Vet on Sunday. I have the most amazing vet that’s going to teach me how to do the shots and come in on her day off. I will know more when I meet with her Sunday. I do know they want me to buy the food that’s in their office. This is extremely expensive and I’m really on a fixed income. The food they want me to buy is $40 a bag. The wet food is $1.83 a can. What alternatives can I do that is cheaper but it’s still effective for my baby. I love this guy so much I will do whatever I can to make this work, but I’m hoping there is a cheaper alternative. Right now the wet food he has been using since I’ve had him has been Friskies pate. His dry food has been iambs. Which I’m sure is full of carbs. He absolutely loves his Friskies extra gravy pate. He’s also a cat tree lover. Am I still able to give him cat treats if so which ones are the best. I’m so not good with needles, but the love I have for this cat is going to overcome that. I’m also concerned about every 12 hours. With my flying schedule the 12 hours is going to sometimes fluctuate especially with my sitter. She is also really expensive, but I truly believe with your help and hers I can do this. I will post again about what injection they’re having me give him. I thought she said it started with an L, however so much information was being thrown at me my brain was a little twisted. His other bloodwork came back perfect, he just has diabetes.No way am I putting him down or giving him away because of some thing like this. I’m single and live alone. Scout has been my best friend for 12 years. He’s always there for me. When I’m sick he never leaves my side. I’m in tears just writing this. The most challenging part is going to be the money. I’m hoping some of you have some great advice other than the food they want me to purchase at their office.
Welcome, if it's Lantus it's very expensive in the US ,most of us order from Canada, but now you can purchase Semglee at a pharmacy
It is Lanus. My vet is going to give him his first dose tomorrow and show me how to do it. I’m extremely nervous about it and also about the 12 hour. With my schedule it might be a bit off. Is that going to be ok?
I know with Lantus you can shoot 30 minutes late once per day
Maybe you can see if one of the vet techs can help you out and is less expensive
@Chris & China (GA)
Thank u so much. My head is spinning. I haven’t slept. How am I going to do this. My car sitter is going to be a couple hundred dollars a month. I’m a mess.Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
Here is a video one of our members did
That is a crazy price , ask your vet tomorrow if any of the vet techs might be interested in helping you out and can test also
Lantus is best given 12 hours apart, but in saying that, you have to work around what you can do with your job.
Just tell the vet you can’t afford to pay that much for canned food. The prescription food is no better than the food you can buy at the supermarket. It should not be called prescription food as there is nothing prescription about it. Just make sure you buy cans that as 10% or less carbs. Also make sure you have a hypo kit set up in case it is needed.
You can try PureBites freeze dried chicken, if Scout likes these you can buy the bigger bag for dogs and just break them up into smaller pieces, you'll get more for your money
