New Member Diagnosed Today

[orangetabby8]

Hi everyone,

My sweet 8.5 year old girl got diagnosed with diabetes today. She is an orange tabby and so wonderful.

Backstory: I went on vacation in November and got a call from the boarding place that she was drinking a lot of water. This particular place I boarded her at tracks everything the cat does, measures how much they drink, etc. They said she could have a urinary issue and that I should take her to the vet. I was immediately worried about diabetes. I was able to get an appointment yesterday where they checked her blood and urine. They called me this morning saying she has diabetes and needs to be started on insulin.

Values:

Blood Glucose: 367
Urine: Glucose with no Ketones
Creatinine: 1.4
Weight: 12.3 pounds

Current Diet:

1/2 cup of Blue Wilderness Salmon Dry Food daily

Now that I have recovered from the initial shock this morning, it's time to get started.

Purchased so far:

Relion Gluometer (I practiced on myself multiple times)
Test Strips
Alcohol Swaps
Lancets
Batters for Glucometer

Vets recommendation:

The soonest appointment I could get to start insulin (because of my work schedule their schedule) is next Wednesday. My vet recommended DM dry food and Prozinc Insulin (she hasn't said a dosage or schedule yet). After reading through the forums I do have a couple questions.

1. It seems like wet food is preferred over dry food. I was planning to go buy the the Friskies pate. Is this the correct Friskies food to buy?

2. If I switch her from wet food to dry food, how will that affect the amount of insulin she needs? Since my vet recommended dry food instead of wet food, I'm concerned she won't be as familiar with wet food.

3. I am going to be gone for a couple days for Christmas. Thankfully my pet sitter is extremely well-versed in insulin, injecting, monitoring, etc. but should I still do vacation dosing for her? Should I wait and start insulin after Christmas? From what I've read, the wet food will bring her down too. I was thinking to start the wet food and then the insulin. I asked my vet about this but she said my cat could go into DKA if I don't start ASAP. At the same time she said wasn't worried about waiting from now until Wednesday to start. I feel unsure if I should be worried about DKA and the urgency of the situation.

4. Am I missing anything else I should be getting to be prepared for this?

Thanks in advance

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum to you both.
I see you have set up the spreadsheet and bought a ReliOn meter. That’s fantastic!

seems like wet food is preferred over dry food. I was planning to go buy the the Friskies pate. Is this the correct Friskies food to buy?

Dry food is very high in carbohydrates which is very bad for cats. You need wet food that is 10% or less carbs. Most use carbs around 4 to 7%. Look for them on the food chart link below. Friskies is ok. A lot use Fancy Feast pates. There are also many other canned foods that are suitable. It is not necessary to buy any prescription foods at all.
FOOD CHART LINK

2. If I switch her from wet food to dry food, how will that affect the amount of insulin she needs? Since my vet recommended dry food instead of wet food, I'm concerned she won't be as familiar with wet food.

If you can’t have an appointment with the vet to start the insulin until next Wednesday, now is a good time to do the swap over to the wet food…do it over a few days…not cold turkey. I see she didnt have any ketones on diagnosis…that is good. But as you are not starting the insulin until next Wednesday I would get a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and test your kittys urine daily for ketones as a precaution. Not a hard test.
The starting dose would be around 1 unit of Prozinc twice a day. I would post once you have the insulin and ask for help.
You always test before every shot to see it is safe to give the dose, then again during the first half of the cycle to see how low the dose is taking your kitty.
I will post a link to prozinc use at the bottom for you.
I would start doing some tests now and entering them on the spreadsheet so we can see how he is before the insulin starts and it’s good practice for you.

am going to be gone for a couple days for Christmas. Thankfully my pet sitter is extremely well-versed in insulin, injecting, monitoring, etc. but should I still do vacation dosing for her? Should I wait and start insulin after Christmas?

NO…do not wait until after Christmas start the insulin. It is true that untreated diabetic cats can get DKA..by testing for ketones that can be avoided but don’t leave starting the insulin until after Christmas.

feel unsure if I should be worried about DKA and the urgency of the situation.

As I said above, you should be fine to wait until Wednesday to start the insulin as long as you are testing for ketones. And I would continue to test for them a couple of times a week until she gets into good numbers. It is an insurance policy that can save a cats life and a lot of money.

As you are going to be away for a free days, post and ask for advice about a vacation dose for your kitty. Most people reduce the dose just slightly while they are away.

LINK TO HELP US HELP YOU has a lot of useful information in it including the signature set up and the hypo kit.

PROZINC BASICS

PROZINC DOSING METHODS

Keep asking lots of questions.
Bron

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Also meant to mention that you feed a main meal before giving the insulin, then give a couple of snacks during the first half of each cycle around +2 and +5 or +3 and +6. Whatever works for you.
So you always test the BG/ feed the meal/ then give the insulin in that order.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB.

Bron has provided many of the helpful links. What I would suggest is to do what you planned -- pick up supplies and start testing your cat. I suspect you will also need to get some low carb treats. Many people here use freeze dried chicken (or other freeze dried protein) as they are zero carb. However, if you cat likes cooked or raw chicken, that's fine too. (Any treat is fine as long as it's low in carbs.) Getting your kitty used to testing before you start insulin is good for a couple of reasons.

• You won't be frantic about whether you're doing things right the first few times and worrying about the numbers.
• You'll be able to see if there is a drop in blood glucose (BG) numbers as a result of switching your cat to a low carb diet. (You really don't want to feed DM dry. It's surprisingly high in carbs and not a high quality food despite the price.)
• You'll have a better idea of what your cat's numbers look like at home vs at the vet's office. Many cats have a rise in their BG numbers due to stress from being at the vet's office (i.e., stress hyperglycemia).

A change in diet can have a marked influence on your cat's BG numbers. Getting some baseline measures will help you (and your vet) have better insight into a starting dose. If you've switched your kitty to a low carb diet, we typically encourage members to start their cat at a 0.5u dose.

You will also need to get a prescription for Prozinc. Your vet may keep this in stock. Chewy's has competitive prices for Prozinc. You will also need U40 syringes that are marked in half unit increments.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Purchased so far: Alcohol Swaps

No reason for those. Most here just put a little petrolatum (e.g. Vasoline)on our finger/thumb and rub it on the ear where you are going to poke. The petrolatum cause the blood to bead up vide being drawn into the fur. DO not use too much since that can clog the passage in the strip that draws the blood.

 

[B&B Aspen]

You can do this! We are new here also but already seeing improvements after 1 week with recommendations from this group. One day at a time. Mango is an orange tabby too.

 

[orangetabby8]

Hi and welcome to the forum to you both.
I see you have set up the spreadsheet and bought a ReliOn meter. That’s fantastic!


Dry food is very high in carbohydrates which is very bad for cats. You need wet food that is 10% or less carbs. Most use carbs around 4 to 7%. Look for them on the food chart link below. Friskies is ok. A lot use Fancy Feast pates. There are also many other canned foods that are suitable. It is not necessary to buy any prescription foods at all.
FOOD CHART LINK

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

Thank you! I went and bought Fancy Feast pates today and she got her first serving tonight. She absolutely loves it which is a nice bright side to this whole situation.

If you can’t have an appointment with the vet to start the insulin until next Wednesday, now is a good time to do the swap over to the wet food…do it over a few days…not cold turkey. I see she didnt have any ketones on diagnosis…that is good. But as you are not starting the insulin until next Wednesday I would get a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and test your kittys urine daily for ketones as a precaution. Not a hard test.
The starting dose would be around 1 unit of Prozinc twice a day. I would post once you have the insulin and ask for help.
You always test before every shot to see it is safe to give the dose, then again during the first half of the cycle to see how low the dose is taking your kitty.
I will post a link to prozinc use at the bottom for you.
I would start doing some tests now and entering them on the spreadsheet so we can see how he is before the insulin starts and it’s good practice for you.

Okay thank you, I'll transition to the wet food before Wednesday so that we can see what her blood glucose is on the wet food. I called the veterinarian today and was told that she will be on 1 unit twice a day. I ordered the insulin through Chewy today as well.

Her blood glucose this morning (after a little food to convince her to let me prick her) was 246. Much different than her number at the vet which was 378 (made a typo in original post).

NO…

do not wait until after Christmas start the insulin. It is true that untreated diabetic cats can get DKA..by testing for ketones that can be avoided but don’t leave starting the insulin until after Christmas.

Thanks, good to know! I bought the ketone testing strips for her urine.

Also meant to mention that you feed a main meal before giving the insulin, then give a couple of snacks during the first half of each cycle around +2 and +5 or +3 and +6. Whatever works for you.
So you always test the BG/ feed the meal/ then give the insulin in that order.

How do you recommend giving the snacks during the day with a work schedule? I work 10-12 hours per day 6 days per week.

Welcome to FDMB.

Bron has provided many of the helpful links. What I would suggest is to do what you planned -- pick up supplies and start testing your cat. I suspect you will also need to get some low carb treats. Many people here use freeze dried chicken (or other freeze dried protein) as they are zero carb. However, if you cat likes cooked or raw chicken, that's fine too. (Any treat is fine as long as it's low in carbs.) Getting your kitty used to testing before you start insulin is good for a couple of reasons.

• You won't be frantic about whether you're doing things right the first few times and worrying about the numbers.
• You'll be able to see if there is a drop in blood glucose (BG) numbers as a result of switching your cat to a low carb diet. (You really don't want to feed DM dry. It's surprisingly high in carbs and not a high quality food despite the price.)
• You'll have a better idea of what your cat's numbers look like at home vs at the vet's office. Many cats have a rise in their BG numbers due to stress from being at the vet's office (i.e., stress hyperglycemia).

A change in diet can have a marked influence on your cat's BG numbers. Getting some baseline measures will help you (and your vet) have better insight into a starting dose. If you've switched your kitty to a low carb diet, we typically encourage members to start their cat at a 0.5u dose.

You will also need to get a prescription for Prozinc. Your vet may keep this in stock. Chewy's has competitive prices for Prozinc. You will also need U40 syringes that are marked in half unit increments.

Thanks, I'm hoping the diet will make a difference for her. Her BG this morning was 246 and that's before starting the wet food. Still not a great number but better than at the vet's office. I'm really hoping for remission if possibe.

No reason for those. Most here just put a little petrolatum (e.g. Vasoline)on our finger/thumb and rub it on the ear where you are going to poke. The petrolatum cause the blood to bead up vide being drawn into the fur. DO not use too much since that can clog the passage in the strip that draws the blood.

Thanks, is there not a concern for infection with pricking them? That's why I was using the alcohol pad.

You can do this! We are new here also but already seeing improvements after 1 week with recommendations from this group. One day at a time. Mango is an orange tabby too.

Thank you! How is Mango doing with the ear pricks? I'm really concerned that my baby will hate them. She wasn't super pleased this morning.

 

[tiffmaxee]

[QUOTE="orangetabby8, post: 2888327, member: 34949




Okay thank you, I'll transition to the wet food before Wednesday so that we can see what her blood glucose is on the wet food. I called the veterinarian today and was told that she will be on 1 unit twice a day. I ordered the insulin through Chewy today as well.

Her blood glucose this morning (after a little food to convince her to let me prick her) was 246. Much different than her number at the vet which was 378 (made a typo in original post).

Cats are stressed at the vet and often will test higher.

Thanks, good to know! I bought the ketone testing strips for her urine.




How do you recommend giving the snacks during the day with a work schedule? I work 10-12 hours per day 6 days per week.

You can get an auto feeder and set it to go off while at work and when you are asleep if necessary.

Thanks, I'm hoping the diet will make a difference for her. Her BG this morning was 246 and that's before starting the wet food. Still not a great number but better than at the vet's office. I'm really hoping for remission if possibe.



Thanks, is there not a concern for infection with pricking them? That's why I was using the alcohol pad.

There’s no concern from infection for ear pricks. I thought Max would hate testing and hide from me all the time but I was wrong. He never minded testing he got a freeze dried protein treat after each test and waited patiently for it if I forgot.

Thank you! How is Mango doing with the ear pricks? I'm really concerned that my baby will hate them. She wasn't super pleased this morning.[/QUOTE]

 

[orangetabby8]

[QUOTE="orangetabby8, post: 2888327, member: 34949]
You can get an auto feeder and set it to go off while at work and when you are asleep if necessary.

Any recommendations for snacks to put in the auto feeder that you feel has worked well?

 

[tiffmaxee]

A teaspoon or two of lc is what is recommended. When a cat eats the pancreas brings the bg down about 3 hours later. It’s usually suggested when on .10 or a drop dose if the preshot bg is above 100 but sometimes works when getting .25. If it doesn’t work, just stop giving it.