New member...hello

[Mitzi's Mum]

Hi, im Emma. My lovely mitzi , who is around 8( I don't know her actual birthday) was just diagnosed this week. We started insulin ( caninsulin 0.5 units twice per day) on monday night, so 8 know it will take a little while before I see an improvement, but she's so skinny and the constant crying for food is breaking my heart. Please tell me it gets better, I feel like a monster denying such a skinny cat more than two small portions of food per day

 

[April & Quincy]

Hi, im Emma. My lovely mitzi , who is around 8( I don't know her actual birthday) was just diagnosed this week. We started insulin ( caninsulin 0.5 units twice per day) on monday night, so 8 know it will take a little while before I see an improvement, but she's so skinny and the constant crying for food is breaking my heart. Please tell me it gets better, I feel like a monster denying such a skinny cat more than two small portions of food per day

You can definitely feed more than twice a day (many members feed 4 mini meals or more throughout the day), and if she's hungry, feed her!! More members will come on and explain but the diabetes is making her body not be able to accept the nutrients so feel free to feed her more.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Feeding twice a day is old school thinking, cats weren't meant to live that way.
Your profile says you're not home testing yet, that will have to change. That's when you'll feel like a monster but I promise you we've all been through it and what seems like a tragedy now will become a mere inconvenience.

 

[Mitzi's Mum]

Thankyou both, I will give her more food and see how we go. My hubby is type 1, and I think has a spare accucheck meter somewhere, so I'll give home testing a shot so I can at least see if the insulin is having any effect. We are back at the vets on the 27th, too, so I can ask a few more questions. I was abit overwhelmed on our first visit.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I would feed her as much as she wants at this point except for the 2 hours before you test to see if it is safe to give the insulin

 

[Mitzi's Mum]

So to update on miss Mitzi.. I've let her eat much more today, along with her raw food, she's had some freeze dried chicken snacks, a small can of catfood from Republic of cats and several bowls of cat milk. She's still begging and scavenging though, and I think the canned food will have to go because her belly swelled up like a balloon as soon as she'd eaten it, and then she went straight to her water bowl after for a big drink, which had calmed down a lot when I switched her to the raw stuff this week. Still looking for a blood monitor and strips which I know we have somewhere in the house, so I can start attempting to check her levels pre and post insulin.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

If you can't track down your spare meter, Walmart's Relion meter has the least expensive strips around.

I want to strongly encourage you to start home testing. Caninsulin is a type of insulin that can drop blood glucose (BG) numbers hard and fast. In fact, the American Animal Hospital Assn no longer recommends it for feline diabetes treatment due to its short duration. They recommend Lantus (glargine) and Prozine for the treatment of feline diabetes. This is a link to the basic information on Caninsulin.

There's not a great deal of information about the nutritional profile on the Republic of Cats food. It does seem like there may be a fair amount of carbs, but that's a guess on my part. It also looks like you may be outside of the US so my suggestion about a meter may not be useful. We do have food lists for outside of the US. Alternatively, you want to select canned or raw food diets that are low in carbs. We consider low carb ad less than 10% although most people generally select options that are around 5% carb.

You want to test prior to giving a shot. With Caninsulin, you test, feed your cat, wait 20 min or so and then give insulin. You need to make sure there's food on board given the fast action of Caninsulin. You also need to test at the lowest point in the cycle. With Caninsulin getting at least a test at around +4 would let you know if numbers are dropping and if you need to intervene.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

You can get The Relion Premier Classic for 9 dollars ( human meter)

17.88 for 100 test strips
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 any brand
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can also put a thin layer of vaseline on the ear ,to help the blood bead up
A video one of our members posted
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

 

[Mitzi's Mum]

Thankyou both, yes I'm in the UK, so my only choice of treatment at the moment is caninsulin, unfortunately. I was gifted the canned food,which is a subscription service, when I looked into it yesterday, they said they couldn't supply us with food as she's diabetic and they can't guarantee that their food would be suitable. I have started her on Bella and Duke this week, another subscription but it is raw food and low carb as far as I can tell. If I can't find the spare meter, I'm going to purchase one from my local pharmacy tomorrow. In the UK you can buy glucose meters over the counter, but not insulin as its considered a controlled drug and therefore needs a prescription, although my hubby has some spare levemir in the fridge, as he uses a different long acting Insulin now. His is in cartridge pen form though, and can't be dosed at less than 1 unit. I'd be very wary of using that one on mitzi, especially as we won't be able to get any more of it since kev's prescription has now changed.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

UK information
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...-vit-b12-and-other-need-to-know-stuff.137376/
I see all the meters that are listed can be found on Amazon UK and extra test strips

 

[Mitzi's Mum]

UK information
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...-vit-b12-and-other-need-to-know-stuff.137376/
I see all the meters that are listed can be found on Amazon UK and extra test strips

I've just purchased the gluco navii and some lancets, which should arrive tues/ weds. Thanks for the uk specific info, very helpful x

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

@Elizabeth and Bertie is in the UK and she can provide you with resources.

Vets in the UK do have options with regard to insulin choice. Prozinc has been approved.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hi, im Emma. My lovely mitzi , who is around 8( I don't know her actual birthday) was just diagnosed this week. We started insulin ( caninsulin 0.5 units twice per day) on monday night, so 8 know it will take a little while before I see an improvement, but she's so skinny and the constant crying for food is breaking my heart. Please tell me it gets better, I feel like a monster denying such a skinny cat more than two small portions of food per day

Hi Emma, waving from Surrey!

My first diabetic, Bertie, was also diagnosed at age 8, and he lived to be 20, bless him. With good care and just a little luck a diabetic kitty can live as long and as happily as a non-diabetic.

As said further up the thread, just feeding twice a day is very 'old school' thinking. And in fact the RVC's guidelines say that if a cat is used to being free-fed or is a grazer then they can continue to do that.
However we just advise that the cat does have a good meal on board prior to being given a Caninsulin injection. So, you do need that the kitty is hungry enough to eat a decent meal at that point. And it is helpful to wait 20 - 30 minutes after feeding before giving the injection, just so that the food has a chance to get into the system before the insulin takes effect. If the kitty needs to be distracted during the injection then it's fine to give a wee snack or a couple of treats.

Once the blood glucose gets under better control the appetite should become more normal. So please don't worry.

Also, as said above there is another insulin in the UK that's licensed for cats now, called Prozinc. But many vets are still prescribing the older Caninsulin. This is often because Caninsulin is just what vets have been used to using for a long time. And Caninsulin is also cheaper than Prozinc so may be prescribed where cost is an important factor. However, although Prozinc has a higher upfront cost it also usually has a longer shelf life once opened, and this can help to balance out the cost somewhat.
If you find that your kitty isn't doing well on Caninsulin then it should be an easy matter for your vet to switch to Prozinc.
It is good that your vet has started on a sensible low dose of 0.5 of a unit.

It's great that you want to hometest blood glucose. Good for you! This makes managing feline diabetes safer and more effective. And many UK folks use the Gluco Navii meter.

I have started her on Bella and Duke this week, another subscription but it is raw food and low carb as far as I can tell.

Regarding diet, what was Mitzi eating at the time of her diagnosis? And can you confirm what she is eating now?

Eliz

 

[Mitzi's Mum]

Hi Emma, waving from Surrey!

My first diabetic, Bertie, was also diagnosed at age 8, and he lived to be 20, bless him. With good care and just a little luck a diabetic kitty can live as long and as happily as a non-diabetic.

As said further up the thread, just feeding twice a day is very 'old school' thinking. And in fact the RVC's guidelines say that if a cat is used to being free-fed or is a grazer then they can continue to do that.
However we just advise that the cat does have a good meal on board prior to being given a Caninsulin injection. So, you do need that the kitty is hungry enough to eat a decent meal at that point. And it is helpful to wait 20 - 30 minutes after feeding before giving the injection, just so that the food has a chance to get into the system before the insulin takes effect. If the kitty needs to be distracted during the injection then it's fine to give a wee snack or a couple of treats.

Once the blood glucose gets under better control the appetite should become more normal. So please don't worry.

Also, as said above there is another insulin in the UK that's licensed for cats now, called Prozinc. But many vets are still prescribing the older Caninsulin. This is often because Caninsulin is just what vets have been used to using for a long time. And Caninsulin is also cheaper than Prozinc so may be prescribed where cost is an important factor. However, although Prozinc has a higher upfront cost it also usually has a longer shelf life once opened, and this can help to balance out the cost somewhat.
If you find that your kitty isn't doing well on Caninsulin then it should be an easy matter for your vet to switch to Prozinc.
It is good that your vet has started on a sensible low dose of 0.5 of a unit.

It's great that you want to hometest blood glucose. Good for you! This makes managing feline diabetes safer and more effective. And many UK folks use the Gluco Navii meter.


Regarding diet, what was Mitzi eating at the time of her diagnosis? And can you confirm what she is eating now?

Eliz

She was eating a combination of felix pouches and dry food to graze on. She's been a bit of a sod for begging for a while now, so perhaps that should have been an indicator with hindsight. I'm lucky that she's always preferred wet food though, and only really ate the biscuits as a last resort when begging didn't get her fed between meals, and she's been so hungry that the transition hasn't been an issue, she's wolfing down the raw food quite happily. Fingers crossed her glucose monitor should arrive today, a d we'll give testing a go so I know how she's doing. X

 

[Mitzi's Mum]

Just managed our first home glucose test....not an easy task but I think I'm forgiven for now lol. Her reading was 22.6, so I called the vets who aren't concerned by the number at all. I don't know if I should be disappointed or not because it seems high to me but I have no idea what her numbers were at diagnosis, so can't tell if it's an improvement or not. She's not begging as much today, so I think that's a good sign.